LSi Speakers win again

teamjhertz

My audio journey begain with a set of r50 main speakers on sale from Fry's. I have gone through the ranks: monitor, RTi and finally all the way up to the LSi series. I was quite pleased with the performance of the RTi12, CSi5 and FXi5 for movies but always thought I was missing out on 2 channel only listening. It turns out I was right. I had the opportunity to purchase a full LSi set up from a fellow member a couple of weeks ago and I have yet to turn back.

I was suprised at how well the LSi series handles HT. It seems that everything sounds more natural, has more dynamics and promotes a better surround experience. This is all in additon to a superb set up for music.

I think the biggest suprise was the LSiC center channel. Everything I read about this speaker had me second guessing moving away from the CSi5. I am happy to report that this speaker does a heck of a job with the dialog.

I just wanted to share my experience because people are always asking how one series of speakers compares to another.

dbaldus

Are you just powering them with your SC-05 or do you have an external amp as well?

Edit: nm, I see you have the Emotiva for the front three. Does that mean you're powering the surrounds with the SC-05's internal amps? Any regrets or plans to get an external amp for the surrounds as well?

Curious to hear your thoughts as I would have nearly an identical setup if I moved to LSi's for home theater.

teamjhertz

I am sure that the LSiFX's would benefit with more power but I think that the SC-05 does a great job for the time being.

xj4094dg

I love my LSi HT setup. Enjoy!

mystik610

Polk baited me with the R50's too....then the Tsi300, RTi8, and now the LSi9's, which I haven't felt the need to upgrade.

steveinaz

A good music speaker will always work well as an HT speaker; but not all HT speakers work well for music.

DVOuSS

My LSi experience was very similar...it started off that i had a $1000 budget and went to a local frys to see what I could get for a HT set up. I already had the Onkyo receiver so I managed to get a polk center, mains, and rear speakers(don't remember the models) for the $1000 mark. I took them home and hooked them up and was very pleased with the sound...until I was looking at craiglist and happened across a pair of LSi 25s for $1000. Everything went back in the box and back to frys...been never ending since.

JimAckley

My LSi experience began in a Tweeter Audio store my junior year of highschool. I walked in one day after school and asked the salesman to show me something badass, so he put on either a DVD-A or SACD through an Onkyo receiver and an amp, I can't remember the brand/model, playing into LSi15s, an LSiC, and four LSiFXs. It was breathtaking. My jaw was literally hanging.

Fast forward three years to my sophomore year of college, at the University of Oklahoma. At that time, I was using a Kenwood VR-9070 HTR, a JBL EC35 center, JBL E50 L/R, and 4 Kenwood dipole surrounds (can't think of the model), and two JBL E250P subwoofers. I kept running into issues with my subwoofers blowing (literally and figuratively), so I sold them and bought a Crown XS900 and a Kicker L7 15" sub and made a ported enclosure for it. Needless to say, it slammed.

However, I was itching for a new setup, particularly for some Polks, still remembering the greatness I heard a few years before. I sold off everything except for my HTR, amplifier, and E50s. I was looking at the larger JBL Northridges initally (dual 10s, 4" midrange, .75" tweeter), to match my E50s. I was just about to bid, and then I found a guy on Ebay just north of me in Stillwater, OK selling LSi25s, LSiFXs, and a PSW1000. I made a deal with him for $1800 for the 25s and FXs. They sounded good, but I needed more bass, so I returned the FXs and bought his PSW1000. I haven't even thought about turning back since that day. I love my LSis like a fat kid loves cake.

A couple months ago I picked up the C and FXs to bring it up to 5.1 (which has been an epic change for my video games). I recently acquired and desided my LSi7s for a 2-ch rig, and plan on adding them as rear surrounds once I upgrade my receiver. I'll replace them with LSi9s when the time comes.

In short, LSis rock. Period.

B Run

I'm glad I found this thread. I'm thinking about moving up from my Rti's, but had heard the Lsi's can be too laid back for HT. I guess my biggest concerns were going from my Csi5 to the Lsic, and if the Lsi9's would be an improvement over my Rti8's? Im mainly movies/video games but do enjoy listening to music. I feel like I finally have the rest of my system where I want it and I think 200wpc should be enough for the Lsi's right?