Infinity Kappa dashtop upgrade
 

Time: 1hr, complexity: Simple. Basic tools required: Hex socket, strong pliers, silicone sealant, small Philips screwdriver, cable stripper.

After doing some research I decided on the Infinity Kappa 42.9i co-ax speakers as the replacements for my dash-top speakers. I won't go into the reasons in depth - but they're on the Infinity website, but the main reasons were these speakers are almost designed for the modest upgrade (I'm planning 50watts RMS per channel) and are very efficient too. I'm not going for hi-fi, nor am I going for street bass, but 93dB/Watt is impressive.

Anyway, the procedure is fairly straightforward. There are plenty of guides on the web, but this is how I did it:

1) remove hex-screws with a tip. These should be hand-tight only.

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf1.jpg

2) Use a small screw driver to push the edge of the connector in to remove the socket. Curiously , this has a VW/Audi logo on it (!)

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf2.jpg

3) You may have a tweeter installed. Just snip the wires near the tweeter and leave it in situ, we won't be using it.

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf3.jpg

4) Thank your little helper, but tell him politely but firmly his help isn't needed :)

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf4.jpg

5) Don't let the fact that the paper coned original looks bigger...

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf5.jpg

6) Flip them over to see the obvious difference.

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf6.jpg

7) We only require the mounting ring from the original , so cut all the way round...

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf7.jpg

8) and then seprate by cutting out the cone by the rubber ring surround

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf8.jpg

9) What you're left with looks simple, but is invaluable for a quick and easy fix:

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf9.jpg

10) you will need to cut the lugs down, approx half-way and go for a trial fitting. It's better to have a tight fit than a loose one - as the four lugs will be the securing points on to the mounting ring

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf10.jpg

11) Once your happy with the fit, hot glue/silicone the bottoms of the lugs, and pull up the mounting ring. Once the glue has gone off/set, use the foam supplied with the speakers to seal the edge the whole way round

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf11.jpg

12) I decided to get rid of as much of the dirty, dusty crumbly foam from the inside of the grill as I could:

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf12.jpg

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf13.jpg


13) Finally, re-assemble the speaker with the now attached mounting ring back onto the grill housing using the three screws that you removed to take off the speaker.

The Kappas have a lead with a +ive and -ive junction box so rather than try and re-use the old connector, I simply cut off the connector, bared back the wires and screwed them in to the junction box. IIRC Yellow and Yellow/brown and red and red/brown were the speaker wire colours, the brown stripe indicating negative.

Before remounting the speakers, I managed to stuff approx 12" square of acoustic wadding down the cavity.

14) AS a final touch, I prised off the infinity badges from the original grills and managed to get them glued to the car's.

http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf15.jpg

:cheers:

Awesome post! Seriously, thanks for this!

Nice work! I love Infinity speakers! Especially Kappa's!

Great post Gary, one more for my "to do list"

:cheers:

Nice work!

What did you use to cut up the outside mounting locations on the Kappas?

Some heavy duty pliers (we refer to them as 'tin snips')

Another pic:
http://www.garyhanda.com/speakers/inf14.jpg

Good write up Gary. I just did the same exact thing with some Polk DB401 speakers. One tip I would like to add is DONT drop the bit down your defroster duct!!! It's easy for that little bit to slip out of your fingers and slide in to the duct.

Fortunatly a little fishing line and magnet setup retrived it from the bowls of the dash but I think I was very lucky to get it. Maybe some painters tape or a cloth over the duct is a good idea....

Yep, a lot of us did that last year. There are a few posts back in october somewhere. Nice pics, you should see if the mod will put them over to the DIY section.

The rears were a little bit more tricky though. Here is a post of what I did. Hope it helps.

Dont know what happened to the pics.
http://www.987forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22449

Just completed mine yesterday. Infinity 429I sound great much better than the original. One small remark, is that don't mix-up the right and left front grids they are NOT reversible. Took me half and hour to figure out.... :D

video
 

There's actually a video on Youtube that shows you how to do this. Maybe it'll help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0LPyCoq5k8

Do 5 inch speakers fit instead of 4">
 

Also, why did you pick Infinity Kappa over other series (such as Reference or Kappa Perfect?

Thanks!

I am going to try the kappas in the dash. My 97 has 5 or 6 inch door speakers (aftermarket) that need to be replaced. Has any one tried something in the door that they liked?

Thanks.

great post Gary! this seems like a perfect speaker solution and a great weekend project! thanks!