newbie with amp/receiver question

petervan

I am purchasing the LSI25 fronts, LSIFX surround speakers and the LSI center speaker and am thinking of mating it to the Yamaha rxv671bl receiver. I hear the fronts require substantial power to run and wonder if this receiver is enough. Any thoughts?

cfrizz

Read these threads and do a search on the forum, this is a popular topic.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?130053-anothor-Newbie-needing-Amp-advice&p=1740348#post1740348

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?130783-LSi-Series-Home-Theater-Project

Oh and Welcome to Club Polk!:cheesygrin:

tonyb

Basically that receiver is useless on 4 ohm speakers which the LSI's are. You need a receiver with preouts to add an amplifier, or a beefier receiver like a Pioneer elite with the ice amps built in. Plenty of threads to read regarding powering Lsi's.

petervan

thank you both. I'll check out the links

petervan

OMG! We are talking about some huge money. Seems my $399 Yamaha receiver would need to be replaced with >=$800 worth of amp PLUS a receiver. Just didn't think the Polk LSI direction would cost so much beyond the speakers. Glad I checked on this forum. Time for another option and / or brand

tonyb

Your receiver is probably ok for the Polk monitor line, TSI line, and the lower portions of the RTIA line. Small to midsize 8 ohm speakers. Also keep in mind that in 7 channel surround, the power drops substantialy on entry level receivers so don't go too big.

pyrocyborg

Could look at the KEF Q series, if you don't wanna invest a lot in amps. However, please note that they won't sound as best as if you had an external amp. Being 8 ohm speakers, they are easier to drive with a receiver than the LSi, at the same price or so.

Anyways, you can drive any normal/high sensitivity (expressed in dB) 8 ohms speakers with an entry-level receiver, but as you get higher in "the food chain" of speakers, there is really no point in using a 400$ receiver to power 2000$ worth of speakers.... as your speakers could open up a lot more with a better amp. If I could reformulate, why put as much money in speakers if you don't back them up with the amplification they need? It's not about more power, but about better power.

petervan

Thank you all. It's been a LONG time since I bought audio equipment. What I started look at is far beyond what I used to buy at Crazy Eddie in Bklyn. I'll check out some of the lower end Polk speakers and go from there

ft_townman

Best Buy has the TSI line you can try out before you buy...if you're looking for something "right now" its not a bad line for rooms on a strict budget. if you're looking for quality i would suggest the RTIa line or better.They're completely different animals. and even more so when getting into the LSI line. good luck with your decision, hopefully you end up coming back to Polk for your choice.