Amp advice needed for LSi series speakers

willyy1

Bought a house so I'm upgrading from a basic Onkyo HTIB and need advice for an amp. Figured I'd venture over here and get some advice on what I need to drive the LSi speakers. Below is what I've got so far and the amp is the last piece I need.


1 pair LSi 15
1 pair LSI 9
1 pair LSi 7
1 pair LSi F/X
LSiC
2 Outlaw LFM-1 EX Subwoofers
Onkyo 5010
Panasonic Viera TC-P65VT50

Devlon

I have been using Adcom's GFA-7500's. I am very happy with the sound. I was able to pick both of them up for around 700.00 total.So, they can be found at a good price if you keep looking. I have heard favorable remarks about the Emotiva XPA-5, but don't know that much about it.

falconcry72

Congrats on the new speakers, man! Will you be running all those speakers in one setup? How do you plan on configuring them?

For the (9) speakers you're looking to run, you'll have a better quality and quantity of amp selection if you go with (2) 5-channel amps, as opposed to (1) 9-channel amp.


What's your budget? New or used?

willyy1

Was hoping to run the subs directly to the SW outputs on the back of the receiver as well as either the LSi 7's or 9's and amp the rest. Looking for something new and was looking @ the Outlaw amps as they seem priced reasonably priced. I'm still new to this so hopefully I explained it right

cfrizz

Welcome Willy!

You are going to have one slamming system, but I wouldn't run any of the LSI's off of your receiver it would put too much strain on it and it doesn't have the power to drive any of the LSI's to their full potential.

Since you like Outlaw, I would recommend you get one of these: http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/7200.html and two of these: http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/2200.html

Then sit back and enjoy your system.

it's going to cost, but you will have a system that will keep you happy for years to come, and the amps can be used in any other system you might put together in the future.

willyy1

Damn I was hoping I could maybe get away with driving the 7's and 9's off the receiver and use 1 amp:mad:

ken brydson

willyy1 wrote: »

Damn I was hoping I could maybe get away with driving the 7's and 9's off the receiver and use 1 amp:mad:

7's maybe but the 9's can dip down to a 2 ohm load....

B Run

Very nice system you have there, but I agree and wouldn't drive anything more than the 7's off an AVR. What made you decide to go 9.1? Not knocking it at all just curious, is it in a very large room?

nwohlford

Depends on your set-up and your avr, how many speakers you can run off it. The lsi7s should be fine running off of any avr with a decent power supply. Speakers used as heights or widths will not receive much program material so they are unlikely to strain your avr much. Also, by setting you lsi9s or f/x to small you may be able to avoid the worst impedance dips.

Ideally, I would get a 7-channel amp and just run the 7s off the avr. I think that a 5-channel amp is doable depending on the avr and set-up.

willyy1

The AVR is a Onkyo TX-NR 5010. This will be setup in my living room 14x24

B Run

That's a very nice avr by the way it will handle the 7's just fine. What about a 5 channel amp for center and 4 surrounds, a 2 channel for your mains, and let the avr power the 7's?

willyy1

B Run wrote: »

That's a very nice avr by the way it will handle the 7's just fine. What about a 5 channel amp for center and 4 surrounds, a 2 channel for your mains, and let the avr power the 7's?

Thank you.

Sounds like a nice setup and not to much $$$$$$$. Like I said I'm new to this so looking for advice on how to run my setup without breaking the bank but don't wanna go cheap either

willyy1

cfrizz wrote: »

Welcome Willy!

You are going to have one slamming system, but I wouldn't run any of the LSI's off of your receiver it would put too much strain on it and it doesn't have the power to drive any of the LSI's to their full potential.

Since you like Outlaw, I would recommend you get one of these: http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/7200.html and two of these: http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/2200.html

Then sit back and enjoy your system.

it's going to cost, but you will have a system that will keep you happy for years to come, and the amps can be used in any other system you might put together in the future.

I'm guessing the 2200 to run each LSi 15 and the 7200 to run the rest?

cfrizz

Yes, that will work. I am the lone hold out for running the LSI 7s with an amp. My brother has these and he originally ran them off of a 50wpc Rotel amp, you could fry an egg off of the thing after a movie. Did they sound fine yes they did. They sounded even better being powered by a 205wpc Parasound 1500A, and the amp runs nice and cool.

While everyone says these are easier to drive than the rest of the LSI series, I disagree simply from a heat and volume issue. The higher you go with the volume, the higher the heat goes and heat really isn't good for these types of electronics.

If your going to do it, then do it right, don't skimp on the power just to save a few bucks now and possibly have to replace burnt out speakers later on.

shadowlight

Was just reading the Onkyo NX-5010 manual and they state that the Onkyo supports 4ohms to 16ohms (page 66) and if you run speakers with lower ohms you are likely to end up in protection state.

bthogan

With my LSi9s, I started out with an Adcom GFA-545, and frankly, I was little disappointed. I'd read a lot of people online saying that those 4 ohm speakers need 200+ watts per channel, and high current, but I was sort of committed to the 545, so I hoped for the best. They didn't sound bad, but I was hoping for more.

Then I got a used McCormack DNA-1, and...never mind. I'll be keeping this combo for a while. Like a new (better) pair of speakers - holographic, involving, etc. But...

I sent the DNA-1 in for upgrades; it turned out that it may take a bit of time before they're completed. I went back to the 545, but was unhappy; the McCormack showed me what these speakers could do. So I did some research and looked around, and got very lucky price-wise, and picked up a used Parasound HCA 1500A (205w/8 ohms, 315w/4 ohms, and 60 amperes @ peak current). Frankly, I'm amazed. This amp is a major improvement over the 545. I'm inclined to recommend Parasound (used) to people these days, rather than Adcom, as entry-level audiophile - they cost a little more, but my 1500A sounds much better than the 545. And it really runs these low-impedance speakers. Grain is gone, dryness is gone, and some of the McCormack's musicality and amazing imaging is there too. The Parasound HCA 1000A would probably do the trick, as well; it's 200w @ 4 ohms, and high current as well (HCA = High Current Amplifier). In my personal experience, more watts and high current do make a difference for my LSi9s.

As I said, the McCormack is magic, if you can find one. But I'm very pleased with the Parasound, which was a few hundred dollars cheaper. I didn't mind the idea of having the GFA-545 as a backup to the McCormack, but now, with the Parasound, I'm seriously thinking of setting up a second system in another room, with some other speakers, when the DNA-1 comes back. I don't want to put it to waste (but I do want it as a backup!).