Lsi speakers need a break in period?????????????????????????????

whitecamaross

So i bought 3 pairs of lsi speakers. I bought a brand new pair of lsi7s and a new pair of lsi9s. The other pair is a pair of lsi9's that have around 100 hours of use on them. anyhow, i first used the lsi7s as front speakers and they sounded very bright to me ( i am using the onkyo 1009 receiver) and with little bass which is nothing new. So i went ahead and bought a used pair of lsi9's, brought them home and connected them as fronts. I was severely astonished with the bass on these. i thought i had my subwoofer on!
they sounded very nice, deep bass, warm without any fatiguing high frequencies.. i loved them so much that i just bought another pair of lsi9s and got them connected yesterday. HOWEVER, here is where i am confused.They sounded nice and had the deep bass, but why do they sound so "high pitched" like the lsi7s i have? they dont sound warm like the used lsi9s i bought.. am i missing something? do they need to be broken in? if so, how long? how should they be broken in??

thanks in advance!

whitecamaross

anyone??????

BlueFox

All decent speakers need a few hundred hours break-in.

littlewoodboats

Over on the vintage forum I was given 100 to 200 hours on new parts for settle in time.

cnh

As said. Give them enough break in time, they should not sound bright. But they may be a little brighter than the 9s in general--different crossovers, more bass, etc.

Mine were also a little brighter than they should've been out of the box. But everything is fine now. Also, the 7s do have decent bass just not as much as the 9s which some may argue have a slightly more "exaggerated" sound! I, myself, find unmodded 7s to be a slightly cleaner sounding speaker than 9s that also have no mods?

cnh

whitecamaross

ok i see your point, but my issue was finding OLDER lsi9s sounding much warmer than new ones? i thought the lsi9s were supposed to be warm speakers?

whitecamaross

cnh wrote: »

As said. Give them enough break in time, they should not sound bright. But they may be a little brighter than the 9s in general--different crossovers, more bass, etc.

Mine were also a little brighter than they should've been out of the box. But everything is fine now. Also, the 7s do have decent bass just not as much as the 9s which some may argue have a slightly more "exaggerated" sound! I, myself, find unmodded 7s to be a slightly cleaner sounding speaker than 9s that also have no mods?



cnh

have you heard lsi9s that are modded? not me..

whitecamaross

How much better can modded lsi9s be? ...they are very good sounding as they are, but i keep hearing that lsi9s need a separate amp to really shine..

whitecamaross

also, who mods these speakers?

whitecamaross

BlueFox wrote: »

All decent speakers need a few hundred hours break-in.

whats your break in method?

B Run

Vr3 is the guy to talk to about mods, and apparently they can get a lot better according to several members here. I haven't personally got to hear any though.

whitecamaross

B Run wrote: »

Vr3 is the guy to talk to about mods, and apparently they can get a lot better according to several members here. I haven't personally got to hear any though.

sounds good.

BlueFox

whitecamaross wrote: »

whats your break in method?

Play music.

nhhiep

yes, my new Lsi9s didn't meet my expectation initially too. In fact, when new, I found they sound so much like my old Rti12s (yes, that bright) in identical setup. After a few months now, my lsi9s are getting better or my ears adapted to the sound. Last month, I scored a Lsi7s set for $150 on CL to run in 4.1 setup. yes, I agree with you that the Lsi9s dig pretty deep for the size.

I wrote a mini review.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?129629-Mini-Review-LSi9-vs-RTi-12-A9

blairfrischx

whitecamaross wrote: »

whats your break in method?

Just use them as normal. Let them settle in. Listen, but don't bother listening critically.

Drenis

nhhiep wrote: »

yes, my new Lsi9s didn't meet my expectation initially too. In fact, when new, I found they sound so much like my old Rti12s (yes, that bright) in identical setup. After a few months now, my lsi9s are getting better or my ears adapted to the sound. Last month, I scored a Lsi7s set for $150 on CL to run in 4.1 setup. yes, I agree with you that the Lsi9s dig pretty deep for the size.

I wrote a mini review.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?129629-Mini-Review-LSi9-vs-RTi-12-A9

Wow... looks like everyone WAS right after all. Glad you're enjoying them.

Someday I'll hear a pair and probably love them too.

nhhiep

u should have bought them when they were $510 new shipped.

tonyb

Driving 3 sets of LSI's off a receiver isn't helping much too. I would get an amp for the 9's and let the receiver handle the 7's, the easier of the bunch to drive. Also, your source will play a role along with cables. What are you using ? The lsi's will reveal the rest of your systems weakness, so that could be what your hearing.

whitecamaross

tonyb wrote: »

Driving 3 sets of LSI's off a receiver isn't helping much too. I would get an amp for the 9's and let the receiver handle the 7's, the easier of the bunch to drive. Also, your source will play a role along with cables. What are you using ? The lsi's will reveal the rest of your systems weakness, so that could be what your hearing.

i am using a playstation to watch movies and as far as cables i use thx certified speaker cable (i believe it is 14 gauge).

whitecamaross

Drenis wrote: »

Wow... looks like everyone WAS right after all. Glad you're enjoying them.

Someday I'll hear a pair and probably love them too.

again, i have enjoyed them alot. I have been playing lots of music and doing what everyone suggested. I am definitely thinking i need a separate amp to really get them to shine. However, living in an apartment kinda sucks even though my neighbors dont really complain when i drive my system pretty loud.

tonyb

whitecamaross wrote: »

i am using a playstation to watch movies and as far as cables i use thx certified speaker cable (i believe it is 14 gauge).

Thx certified doesn't mean much, look for a warmer sounding cable like a Kimber 8tc. Also, since you plan on adding an amp, which you should, look for decent interconnect cables for the amp too. Plenty of brands to choose from. Audioquest, Kimber, Morrow, MIT, hundreds to look at over off the shelf stuff. Even some DIY cable guys like Pepster here on the forum can make you a good cable for not alot of coin. It will make a difference in taming those speaks down a bit on the top end and possibly give you a better bottom end. What are you using as a source for music ? The PS3 ?

whitecamaross

ps3 and i play through the front usb port. I had a 5 channel paraound amp that was 225x5 rms. I loved it and noticed that my sound got warmed when i first connected that amp ( i had definitive technology mythos back then) and the same thx cables i have now. My question is, can speaker cable warm up the sound? i thought it was more the amplifier or receiver what makes the sound warm or bright? the reason i ask is because before i had a denon receiver which made my def tech's speakers bright and well these speakers are bright to begin with, but once i added the parasound amp to it, it just made those speakers warm and sound very good. So, this brings me to considering just adding an outlaw audio 7x125 rms amplifier and hopefully that cures the brightness?

tonyb

Well, yes and no. Everything in the chain plays a role in coloring the sound to your taste. Trick is, matching everything with similiar sound characteristics or offsetting a bright speaker with warmer sounding gear or vise versa. Cables can warm up or brighten up, depends. The Outlaw amp, in my opinion is fairly nuetral, maybe a tad on the bright side of nuetral and the Parasound is definately a warmer sounding amp. Why not look for another if you liked it that much ? Just curious is all, no offense ment.

whitecamaross

tonyb wrote: »

Well, yes and no. Everything in the chain plays a role in coloring the sound to your taste. Trick is, matching everything with similiar sound characteristics or offsetting a bright speaker with warmer sounding gear or vise versa. Cables can warm up or brighten up, depends. The Outlaw amp, in my opinion is fairly nuetral, maybe a tad on the bright side of nuetral and the Parasound is definately a warmer sounding amp. Why not look for another if you liked it that much ? Just curious is all, no offense ment.

parasound amps are hard to come by at a good price. i was thinking of getting the outlaw audio 7125 since it is rated at 190wpc at 4ohms. it would be an amp that is perfect for a room of my size. I have never heard the outlaw amps, but i have read that they are not really bright. See, the thing about warm sound is that you can actually blast your music and not feel like your ears are ringing after hours of listening and that is what i like. This would be the main reason why i went with the lsi series because i heard their tweeter is out of this world. however, i must say that the more i read the more i feel like an amp is a MUST for all of the lsi series.

Drenis

whitecamaross wrote: »

See, the thing about warm sound is that you can actually blast your music and not feel like your ears are ringing after hours of listening and that is what i like.

uh, no.

whitecamaross wrote: »

i must say that the more i read the more i feel like an amp is a MUST for all of the lsi series.

To properly achieve what they are capable of, you bet!

tonyb

If you intend to blast away on all those LSI's with a receiver.....then you're opening that can of worms of possibly damaging your speakers, receiver, or both. Just an FYI my friend.

Some consideration is needed for the rest of your system too and not just speakers is what I'm getting at. I too like a warmer sound for the same reasons, but speakers alone may or may not get you there. Which is why your source,power, cabling, and placement are key to achieve the desired results.

Amherst

All good advise above. Be careful with a receiver with these speakers.
Had a B&K amp hooked to my nines when I had them. It was the best sounding combo of three different amps tried at the time.

Still have the amp available if you have interest in it. Send PM.

whitecamaross

Drenis wrote: »

uh, no.



To properly achieve what they are capable of, you bet!

why not?

whitecamaross

tonyb wrote: »

If you intend to blast away on all those LSI's with a receiver.....then you're opening that can of worms of possibly damaging your speakers, receiver, or both. Just an FYI my friend.

Some consideration is needed for the rest of your system too and not just speakers is what I'm getting at. I too like a warmer sound for the same reasons, but speakers alone may or may not get you there. Which is why your source,power, cabling, and placement are key to achieve the desired results.

I agree with what you stated above. That being said, i have taken the right amount of time to place them on stands so that the tweeeter is around 3 fett off the ground which is more or less the same as my ears when i am sitting down on my couch. I also have them toed in to the main listening position and they are about 2 feet away from the back wall. As far as amplificiation, i dont really drive them to the max (even though the onkyo 1009 is rated at 135x7, i might be pushing it no more than half way its max volume). I would love to throw a 7 channel power amp at them and see what improvements are made.

whitecamaross

Amherst wrote: »

All good advise above. Be careful with a receiver with these speakers.
Had a B&K amp hooked to my nines when I had them. It was the best sounding combo of three different amps tried at the time.

Still have the amp available if you have interest in it. Send PM.

what other amps did you try with the ls9s?

BlueFox

whitecamaross wrote: »

However, living in an apartment kinda sucks even though my neighbors dont really complain when i drive my system pretty loud.

Keep it up, and one day the police will be knocking. Later you will get an eviction notice.