Questions on LSI 15 & LSI 25's

naturallight

Now i really like my RTi 12's..but i keep reading how good the LSi15's are, and much better for strait 2 channel music. So i have that nagging feeling, i'm missing the better mids, and high end. So i'm thinking of selling off a bunch of stuff (including my 12's) to get the 15's.



Now the LSi 25's....nobody seems to really like. The powered sub, in those, just dose not seem to work for most people. So that dose not seem the speaker to go with.

Now keep in mind....this is NOTHING but a 2 channel music system...thats all it will ever be used for.



My concern is..I'm used to the bottom end of the 12's..which is really good. I also play the 12's pretty loud....which is is kind of bland Statement and can mean anything. But the 12's sit in a 17x30' room, and i sit 15 or so feet back in the room. With my Onkyo M-504 power amp...I never really push this past 11 Oclock on the Adcom pre for most source material, but the 12's will put out alot of volume and bass at that control level. At least for my needs.



Now if the LSi 15's can't match the bass output of the 12's....or at least fill the same room, with the volume the 12's do..then this may not be such a great deal. Now most of the posts say the LSi 15's need a sub. But i don't know if thats just for HT.....or a strict 2 channel stereo system. If the 15's need a sub, to match the 12's bottom end...then i'm into something i know nothing about. Plus i can NOT afford to throw 1K at a sub. What i could afford would be like a DSW Pro 550 wi, off the Ebay site..or max....$400 bucks at the most.



Now the other thing that i'm not sure of.....will the Onkyo M504 like the LSi15's. Now it has never had a problem pushing SDA's, or any other speaker I threw at it. But there are little or no spec's from even Onkyo about this amp left, except on there website, which gives the flat 165 watts at 8 ohms, but says it has no problem pushing "low Impedance" speakers to "life like volumes"....LOL Which can mean anything. They give no watts at 4 ohms...but i would guess, it's in the 200+ watt range.



So thats my Dilemma on this......I'd probably really love the 15's. But i'm not willing to give up the bass, or the "volume" of the RTi 12's... Any thoughts about this?? Any body running the 15's in a strict 2 channel system???

nhhiep

if you're concerning about bass with LSI. how about LSi9+sub? this way you get great sound, bass, without turning the system up so loud. I've been using this setup for over 6 months now. Never like my Rti12s with music because by the time I get good bass out of it, it's too bright to my ears.

In my room, the Lsi9s actually go very low, flat down to 40hz.

EndersShadow

Where you located at naturallight? Maybe a Polkie nearby has a set for you to listen to.

naturallight

I'm a little west of Atlanta ,GA. But I don't really drive that far any more.
I'm just thinking about selling off a bunch of music equipment, even my set of SDA 1C's that I have owned since new..just because i can't really pull them apart to upgrade stuff anymore. I'm just thinking the LSI 15 are a better speaker then the 12's...and if they can put out the volume, and come close the the bass..(or if i need a sub)..then that will be the pretty much last set of speakers i buy. I tend to keep stuff forever, never sell anything...but at this point...not sure it's worth keeping this stuff.

EndersShadow

If you sell those IC's make sure to post em here. I am sure there are some GA and TN Polkies that would be all over em.

That said the 1C's for 2 channel are what I would suggest sticking with. They are on my list to try when I finally get a 2 channel room. If your interested in moding them but need help, maybe there are some local folks around that can facilitate that.

halo71

Where at west of Atlanta? Douglasville area?

naturallight

Ok..with the comments about the SDA's...I went and pulled them out of the back room. Now i had left the QSC amp there after the test..so i wheeled out the 1C's..just stuck them right next to the 12's.and used the QSC, as the power amp. Now i just stuck them a foot off the wall...and there sitting righ next to the 12's....But yeah..the SDA sound....is right there. The tweeters on 1 speaker, did shut down.....and if you really push them...and i mean really push them, say the 1812...if the volume is to high (at ear splitting type stuff), some of the drivers are not real happy with that. Well it was a test..had to try it out......Probably more volume then anybody would listen to them.......



But otherwise.....the dam speakers are perfect....as they were 20 years ago....you just can't find stuff that sounds like SDA's.....



The only thing i get out of this is the Onkyo, needs to be rebuilt...or I need just a bigger power amp..that is not so old.

Even with the QSC...the dam speakers sounded great....bass was there...I don't really know if the bass is better then the 12's....but was there for sure.



The updates with the X over and the RDO tweeters..may make these speakers unbeatable...don't know.

But I need some NEW or rebuilt power amp..in the range of 200+ watts to make these speakers work.



And yes I live in douglasville...but not so sure i would sell the 1 c's at this point.....LOL

EndersShadow

Check out Drenis's Carver TFM-42. Power for days and recently rebuilt!!!!!

Upgrade the SDA 1C's. Worth the price of admission no questions asked!

naturallight

I would guess i'm dealing with 2 problems at this point. The Onkyo, i'm sure could use a refresh at this point...But it plays the 12's and a set of old Advents i have perfectly. Very warm and musical, no matter which speaker you hook up. Or what volume you play them at. The Onkyo no longer plays nice with the SDA's. Now is that the fault of the SDA's??? Maybe, since there pretty much bone stock from 1987, and the X-overs were not the greatest even back then. So what load it's handing to the Onkyo at this point, when you try and turn them up, I don't really know. But it is apparently something that the Onkyo no longer wants to handle well.



Now the QSC was still sitting there, all hooked up.....So rather then try and move the rack...I just used the QSC.

To my utter amazement, the SDA's sat up and sang...and sang LOUD. Now granted the QSC has stupid power, and it dose not care what load you hand it. It works as well with a 2 ohm load as it dose with an 8 ohm load. So whatever the SDA's dropped down too, at this point. The QSC didn't care.



I was so taken with the old SDA sound again, i sat and listened to them for over an hour. Now how well the QSC really worked, as far as sound "Quality"....that i'm not to sure. Far to many Canadian Clubs at that point....LOL

Plus i was just too far into that old SDA sound stage thing to care....



The RTi 12's are great speakers, give you great bass, a big sound stage..It's just a really good speaker. But when you put a set of SDA 1C's right next to them, even with the QSC amp. You pretty much get smacked in the face, with the sound that no other speaker can give you. So after that little test with the QSC amp...No...I can never sell these.(not really sure i would have anyway..never seem to sell stuff) Do they need work..you bet your boots. The first thing has to be the X-overs, then the tweeters. Will the SDA's play nice with the Onkyo, with new X-overs? That i don't know. Probably not worth the money to refresh the Onkyo...may just have it to run 8ohm speakers, and move it upstairs.

EndersShadow

I am glad you enjoyed the SDA's. As I said, they are on my list to try and honestly I really want to own a pair long term once I aquire them.

naturallight

Well i have certanly had these long term...LOL I'm the original owner, and bought them new back in 1987....
They have been with me thru many house moves and all the rest. When they started to NOT play nice with the Onkyo, then i moved them into the back room, so i have not played them in well over a year if not more. I went with the RTi 12's since i really have had nothing but Polk speakers since the 80's.

But bringing them out, and running them with the QSC..which dose not care about the ohms, or how low it drops too. Was the smack in the face. There is just really no speakers that sounds like an SDA....If you have never heard them, then i can't really tell you what they sound like. The stereo mags at the time, were calling them false stereo speakers....they thought it was all a gimick. It bottom line is still one of the best speakers out there.....

ALWALLER

For the best of both worlds LSI 9 + a monster sub.
Excellent two channel for music & a great front with the LSIC for 5.1

mesquitehead

My wife made me move my SDA1C's out of the house and I too am currently searching for a replacement set of speakers that will meet her demands and my needs. I will say that nothing beats a good ol Carver amp and a set of SDA's! I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a pair of the LSi15's and doing the woofer mod myself unless I find something else that my ears and my wife likes.

NewHTguy

I may be in the minority but I enjoyed my LSI 25s. One reason was the endless tweaking one could do if so inclined, which is handy with dual woofers. The other reason was that, at least for me, they had sufficient base to preclude needing a sub for music. I even sold my velodyne spl-1200r which was awesome. These days I have the lsi9s and 7s in different set-ups. Frankly, in small room I prefer the 7s as long as there is a musical sub in the mix. But both are enjoyable.