If you’re one of those folks who has shelled out big bucks for a new car only to find out that the factory stereo system still sounds like 1972, you’re in luck. The folks at Infinity have been working on a way to ease your pain in the form of the new Infinity Kappa 62.11i coaxial speakers. These high quality loudspeakers will easily outperform anything that came in your car from the factory, and best of all at just $169.99, they’ll do it without stressing your wallet. These 2 ohm rated speakers are not only perfect replacements for your stockers but they are also built to handle high power amplifiers, which means you won’t need to replace them when you decide to get some real power for your system. The engineering team at Infinity wanted to produce a speaker that not only had the sonic accuracy expected from an Infinity branded product, but also one that was robust enough to handle the typical abuse a car system gets and remain reliable for many years.
Features
The Kappa 62.11i are built from an Injected Carbon Glass Matrix (iCGM), chosen for its resistance to environmental extremes, as well as its exceptional strength and rigidity. The “Plus One” woofer cone also benefits from some techno wizardry, providing greater cone area than competitive speakers of the same diameter for extended low frequency response, while a special carbon-injected glass fiber cone material is responsible for a lighter and more rigid cone. This improves speaker sensitivity and reduced distortion. The use of a two ohm voice coil allows maximum performance from the OEM system while providing greater output.
On the high frequency side of things, the Kappa 62.11i speakers employ 25.4 mm (1 inch) soft dome, edge-driven tweeters. These tweeters are claimed to provide better power handling and lower distortion than conventional tweeters, as well as better dispersion characteristics. And with most coaxials relegated to the lower area of the door, better dispersion is a welcome characteristic. The Kappa’s tweeter also features Infinity’s innovative and patented “UniPivot” tweeter aiming system, allowing you get the tweeters aimed at the optimal angle during installation.
Electrical connections are made via sturdy screw-type gold plated terminals which will accept up to 12 gauge cable.
To install the Kappa 62.11i you can mount the baskets directly to your baffle board using the four equal-spaced mounting tabs, or to mount them to an OEM style bolt pattern you can use the supplied adapter mounting rings. The speakers have a mounting depth of 2.125 inches, and nicely finished grilles are included.
Listening
I was looking forward to listening the Kappas as Infinity has a reputation for producing good sounding speakers even at the lower end of the price scale. After a few hours of exercising them, I sat down to listen to a good sounding yet modestly priced system. And sure enough, the Infinity did not disappoint. The Kappa 62.11i have a smooth, warm sonic character. Bottom end had good definition and extension, better than one would expect from a 6.5 inch driver. The midrange was quite forward, with a warm round sound that most people will find pleasing. I did notice that while playing certain tracks the speakers had a bit of a thickness or “chesty” sound in the upper midrange, particularly noticeable on female vocals. However, when comparing the sound quality of these speakers to the OEM alternative, these sound like pure sonic nirvana. The top end was smooth and detailed, with excellent output without any harshness or brittleness. Overall, I found the system very pleasing, and the minor frequency response aberrations weren’t anything that most people would even notice.
On The Bench
As usual, I waited until I had completed all of my listening before making any technical measurements on the system. The system measured well, and the data obtained concurred with what my ears had observed. Although this is a 2 ohm system, I made my response graph at 2 volts, which Ohms Law tells us is actually 2 watts instead of my standard 1 watt. I did this to illustrate the output difference the Kappa system provides, because it makes a significant positive difference from most 4 ohm coaxials. After measuring I learned that the actual impedance is closer to 3 ohms. This says a lot for the speaker’s sensitivity, because it obviously does not require high power to develop high output levels.
Tech Specs
Power Handling 5-100 watts continuous
Frequency Range 75-25 kHz
Sensitivity 89dB/SPL @ 1.73V (1W)
Nominal Impedance 3 ohms
Conclusion
When it comes to replacing the OEM speakers that came with your car, the Infinity speakers offer high quality materials and construction, and they are built with reliability in mind. With the benefits of the UniPivot edge driven tweeter, the composite basket and the Plus One cone technology, the Infinity Kappa 62.11i coaxials are strong contenders for the top of your speaker replacement shopping list.
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