Is it possible to replace a LSi Set up???

teamjhertz

Well I had to sell my complete LSi set up recently. I was very lucky to have a chance to own them. I had a spare set of Monitor 30's and a Energy eXL-S10 subwoofer laying around so I thought what the heck lets hook it up and take it for a drive. Well I was in awe of how bad this set up was. The louder I turned it up the worst the Monitors sounded and the sub was just getting ready to open up. I ran the sub about 6 db's hotter so I could at least hear it when I listened at moderate volumes to keep the Monitors in line. So I am stuck without a decent rig to watch movies on and listen to music with. I really loved the LSi tweeter it never was harsh and always sounded good. Unfortunately, I cannot replace that set up right now or purchase a separate amp for 4 ohm speakers.

With all that said what speakers do you recommend that have a sound similar to the LSi series that are not as expensive as the LSi's are going for used? I know this is a loaded question but I figured I could get something similar on the used market. I am just looking to start researching replacements and thought I could get steered in the right direction first. I could live with the subwoofer for a little while but need to get a new front stage quick. I have a SC-05 to power them in my fairly small room (14x12). My first thought is to get a decent bookshelf speaker or even a small tower similar to the LSi. Or my second option is to purchase a RTi8's, CSi5 and FXi3 package and not worry about the music aspect.

Thanks for the help.

jbooker82

Why not a pair of LSI book shelfs with a good subwoofer.

teamjhertz

Thanks for the recommendation but I need the fronts, center and surrounds. Purchasing a LSiC and LSiFX would be too much. I did think about getting the LSi7's LSiC's and then just the FXi3's. But I was looking to see if there was another alternative.

SolidSqual

Why not spend all your cash on a pair of speakers as opposed to complete surround. Focus your money until you have more to spend. You often have only three basic desires in this hobby - The Tri-Fecta. Three desires: More Gear, Better Sound, Simpler Solution. One goal will always be sacrificed to achieve the other two.

Spend all your cash on a really nice set of speakers, then build from there. I learned the hard way that it is better to buy what you want, than to settle for less. If you can't afford it. Just sit tight and be responsible.

cnh

SS has a good idea there. Or you could rebuild the LSI, slowly.

You have a sub. So two LSI-7s. Then later the Center. And you can run almost anything as the surrounds for a while...timbre matching not as relevant back there. That is certainly within budget.

And when you get some more cash, the LSI-7s become surrounds!

I use LSI-7s an a NAD integrated in my office. I just love that Vifa tweeter with the NAD! Smooth as silk and as good as anything twice their MSRP price.

For HT, I just use a Monitor 70 based system that sounds just fine for that! HT is not where Hi-Fi sound 'resides' for me!

cnh

teamjhertz

Good advice. I am sure my patience would pay off If I focused on the mains first.

teamjhertz

I think I am really going to consider the LSi7's. Now I just need to find a good deal on them... I know polk is selling them for $400 but $250 would be much better, lol

rebuy

You can still buy RTI 4's from J&R music world for 149. Their not LSI's but they better than monitors.
For 300 you can buy 2 pair.

teamjhertz

Very true. That might be a good idea to pair up with a CSi5...

teamjhertz

The main purpose of the post was to see if I was uninformed about any speakers similar to the LSi that were 8 ohm. I am thinking that is not the case since the Vifa tweeter is 4ohm.

cnh

I believe the new LSI-M bookshelves, series are 8 ohm compatible and they have a modified Vifa in there. But now, we're way out of budget!

cnh

teamjhertz

You are right about that. Maybe in 5 years I can get my hands on them.

leroyjr1

What's your budget? What about some vintage Polks? Like RTA's or monitors? They're very cheap and sound great:

teamjhertz

No more than $500 at this time. I would like that to cover all three fronts speakers if possible. Good idea about the vintage stuff. Are they more suited towards music or do they work well for HT? I am a newbie when it comes the vintage models.

nooshinjohn

You can go Magnepan MMG for $5oo.oo... a great speaker for the money when paired with a sub. For the buck I think the best speaker you can get.

cokewithvanilla

Why do you need a center? I used to run a full lsi setup for movies and I prefer no center now. Maybe the lsi center is weak or my pre/pro sucked, but the lsi center sounded so small... Vocals all came out of one place, regardless to where the speaking was coming from. Many movies put so much material in the center. I remember unplugging the center in v for vendetta, and all the fronts were playing was background music... That's a waste of your best speakers, if you ask me.

Anyway, I think you can deal with a phantom center for a while, and you may find that you prefer it.

BeefJerky

cokewithvanilla wrote: »

Why do you need a center? I used to run a full lsi setup for movies and I prefer no center now. Maybe the lsi center is weak or my pre/pro sucked but the lsi center sounded so small...

Some people seem to think the LSi center is a weak point, but mine seems to keep up just fine with my LSi9's.

Vocals all came out of one place, regardless to where the speaking was coming from. Many movies put so much material in the center. I remember unplugging the center in v for vendetta, and all the fronts were playing was background music... That's a waste of your best, speakers if you ask me.

The only people to blame for that are the ones who mixed the movie or TV show. If a speaking person is to the right/left/side/rear, then the voice should come out of the appropriate speakers and not the center. If it does, the mixing folks failed...miserably.

Anyway, I think you can deal with a phantom center for a while, and you may find that you prefer it.

This is not bad advice. You can always add the center later when you have more money.

cokewithvanilla

BeefJerky wrote: »

The only people to blame for that are the ones who mixed the movie or TV show. If a speaking person is to the right/left/side/rear, then the voice should come out of the appropriate speakers and not the center. If it does, the mixing folks failed...miserably.

I guess I should have elaborated on that, but I was typing on my phone. I did not mean that if they are definitely on the left or right (or behind)... I meant if, for example, two people were talking in close proximity to the center. Obviously, the people would not be on top of each other, one would be on one side, and the other on the other (even if only 8 inches apart). It's a small distinction, but with the center, the vocals would both come out of the same place, and without, they appear to have a bit of a distance apart.

Perhaps that particular movie is mixed poorly, but I noticed this with a lot of movies.... the center just seemed to shrink the sound stage (oh, and if it were mixed poorly, then wouldn't I have the same issue when removing the center, considering that my pro is just remixing it?).

EndersShadow

SolidSqual wrote: »

Why not spend all your cash on a pair of speakers as opposed to complete surround. Focus your money until you have more to spend. You often have only three basic desires in this hobby - The Tri-Fuckta. Three desires: More Gear, Better Sound, Simpler Solution. One goal will always be sacrificed to achieve the other two.

Spend all your cash on a really nice set of speakers, then build from there. I learned the hard way that it is better to buy what you want, than to settle for less. If you can't afford it. Just sit tight and be responsible.

That right there is a smart man. Personally I would recommend going with a front 3 of LSi 7's and a LSiC OR just L/R as suggested and go with the LSi 9's and a phantom center. Only concern is that the 9's do require a bit more current than the 7's, and are 50 over your budget (using Polks ebay prices).

If I had not gotten my LSi 15's for a steal I personally would be going with LSi 9 L/R & LSiC OR 2 LSi 7's for center.

Your SC-07 can drive 3 LSi's if setup properly (I believe JimAckley runs a full LSi setup on his). You would cross the fronts over at 90 hz (so your not killing your AVR). Then when you can upgrade to an amp, and just go with 8 ohm speakers for you surrounds. I dont plan on matching my rears to my fronts at all (running Infinity Primus 162's right now).

nooshinjohn wrote: »

You can go Magnepan MMG for $5oo.oo... a great speaker for the money when paired with a sub. For the buck I think the best speaker you can get.

I agree but his AVR has nowhere near the power needed to run those.

teamjhertz

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate it. I will do some research on the Vintage models and look for deals on the LSi. No center might be the trick for a little while. I did run my LSi15's, LSiC and LSiFX's just off the avr for a little bit and it handled it fine with the speakers set to small crossed over at 80hz.

BeefJerky

cokewithvanilla wrote: »

I guess I should have elaborated on that, but I was typing on my phone. I did not mean that if they are definitely on the left or right (or behind)... I meant if, for example, two people were talking in close proximity to the center. Obviously, the people would not be on top of each other, one would be on one side, and the other on the other (even if only 8 inches apart). It's a small distinction, but with the center, the vocals would both come out of the same place, and without, they appear to have a bit of a distance apart.

Perhaps that particular movie is mixed poorly, but I noticed this with a lot of movies.... the center just seemed to shrink the sound stage (oh, and if it were mixed poorly, then wouldn't I have the same issue when removing the center, considering that my pro is just remixing it?).

Maybe, but maybe not. Based on what you said about the front L and R speakers having zero dialog, that tells me the movies are clearly mixed with both vocals dead center. Your processor wouldn't alter that regardless of whether you are using a phantom center or not. I think it has more to do with the way human hearing works. I've noticed that things can sound different between having a center and not, even if they are perfectly matched and setup correctly. This could be the kind of "aural illusion" that you are hearing, and this is simply due to the way that the brain processes things.

tonyb

If the OP is looking to get the same sound from a full LSI setup for under 5oo, isn't going to happen. If you could do it, many here would have already. Your gonna have to accept that fact. That said, plenty of options abound for good sound in that budget, on par with the LSI's ? No, but good sound none the less. The rti4 was a good suggestion, get a pair and a decent sub to start,used even better to stretch out that budget. If you like that, then pop for a center, surrounds aren't as important as the front 3 speakers. You can pick those up used as time goes on.

cokewithvanilla

tonyb wrote: »

If the OP is looking to get the same sound from a full LSI setup for under 5oo, isn't going to happen. If you could do it, many here would have already. Your gonna have to accept that fact. That said, plenty of options abound for good sound in that budget, on par with the LSI's ? No, but good sound none the less. The rti4 was a good suggestion, get a pair and a decent sub to start,used even better to stretch out that budget. If you like that, then pop for a center, surrounds aren't as important as the front 3 speakers. You can pick those up used as time goes on.

That's a good point. I think the OP needs to really think about what he is going to use this system for. I know I am not the only one here who finds the LSi series to be lacking for HT. Perhaps, if he uses his system for more HT, he would be better suited for some RTis or even Klipsch speakers. If he listens to music more often, then he might want to spend the money on 2ch. If it's an even split... he has to make the decision where to put the money. In that case, it would be best to buy some now, and some later... perhaps live without rears for a while.

But one thing is for sure, he won't find $100 a piece speakers that sound like the LSi's

teamjhertz

I completely understand that I cannot get my old system back for $500. I was just wondering what other options were out there that had a similar sound. I will likely piece back a great system with the mains first. I have had about every one of the old RTi speakers and like you said they are more suited to HT. I may end up going that route again because I focus more on HT than music. I was just trying to cover my bases before I start sending paypal payments. Thanks again for all the feedback

teamjhertz

Well I just wanted to post an update. It took a long time and a lot of patience but I found a pair of RTi8's, CSi5 and FXi3's all locally. I am more geared towards HT now so this is a perfect fit for what I spend on them. I found some great deals on each of the speakers so I was well within budget. The weak point of the system is the sub which is still the Energy one that I had laying around but I might be on the look out for deals on DIY components and fix that problem.

Thanks for all the replies. My goal is still to get some LSi speakers at some point to create a 2 ch rig.

pyrocyborg

Good choice on those RTi as a HT setup. As for the LSis, they are on sale/clearance right now on Acoustic Sound Design / Sound Distributors with coupon code TV15. If you have a 360$ spare, you could get a pair of Lsi7, but yeah, I concede that you might already be out of your budget as you would need a 4 ohm compatible integrated amp/amp combo (but you can always go used for this).

Or wait a few years (5-6) until some LSiM are on sale/clearance (new series, or mid-life upgrade)... they might go for 1000$ a pair if we're lucky, then get a good amp and you're set:)

tonyb

SolidSqual wrote: »

Why not spend all your cash on a pair of speakers as opposed to complete surround. QUOTE]

Good advice here, one which I myself took along time ago. You can fill in surround channels with craigslist buys as money becomes available. Couldn't be happier too. Those front stereo pair are the most important in my book.

mdaudioguy

tonyb wrote: »

Good advice here, one which I myself took along time ago. You can fill in surround channels with craigslist buys as money becomes available. Couldn't be happier too. Those front stereo pair are the most important in my book.

Good advice, yeah, but it seems that wasn't what he wanted, as he just posted today that he's more into HT and just picked up some RTi speaks to go 5.1...

pyrocyborg

pyrocyborg wrote: »

Or wait a few years (5-6) until some LSiM are on sale/clearance (new series, or mid-life upgrade)... they might go for 1000$ a pair if we're lucky, then get a good amp and you're set:)

Just to make sure that I was refering to a pair of LSiM 703... I might grab them if they ever come under that price tag, in a few years... :P