How much power does it take to drive a pair of LSi M 705s ?

mollygoat

I have an old Harmon-Kardon HK 3480 receiver that puts out 120 watts per channel (driven to 8 ohms) to 150 watts per channel (driven to 4 ohms). Will this be enough to power a new pair of LSi M 705s?
Thanks in advance.

honestaquarian

Welcome to the forum!

Best way to find out is simply to hook'em up and see if what you get satisfies you.
(*this is VERY SUBJECTIVE-meaning the right answer will change from one person to the next*)
If not does the receiver have preamp outputs to drive an external amp?

hochpt21

What @nbrowser said.

Those HK's are pretty solid receivers. It'll drive them for sure, just depends to what level you listen and how big your room is.

You can listen to it as is for awhile and then add a power amp and use the HK as a pre, provided it has that pre-out jack.

Nightfall

One million watts. Exactly.

mollygoat

Thank you all for the taking the time to respond (and so quickly). Here's some additional information: my favorite spot on my sofa is eight feet from both speakers; I listen mostly to classical music and the blues but, being 60 years old, I sometimes will want to play Exile On Main Street or Dark Side Of The Moon; also these LSi M 705s will serve as the only speakers when I watch a movie or play a DVD. Any more thoughts?

hochpt21

mollygoat wrote: »

Thank you all for the taking the time to respond (and so quickly). Here's some additional information: my favorite spot on my sofa is eight feet from both speakers; I listen mostly to classical music and the blues but, being 60 years old, I sometimes will want to play Exile On Main Street or Dark Side Of The Moon; also these LSi M 705s will serve as the only speakers when I watch a movie or play a DVD. Any more thoughts?

How big is your room?
How loud do you listen?

txcoastal1

705's my personal favorites in the LSiM line. Easy to drive. Seen these powered in a 12x12 room with a 12watt set integrated amp to 200watt solid state. If you have gear ideas and budget, along with room size as suggested by Hochpt21, pitch them out there and we can give you better suggestions.

Welcome to Club Polk

mollygoat

Thanks for the two new comments. The listening area is about 8 X 10 square feet (it's like an alcove set off from a larger room by a curved wall).
As for how loud I listen, my hearing has slightly declined in the last 10 years, but I'm not the kind of person who plays music loud enough to rattle the blinds. Last night I watched the DVD of Mad Max: Fury Road and, of course, such a film needs to be enjoyed with the volume "up".

txcoastal1

120watts@8ohm no pre-outs

Could you do better?...probably, are you under powering? Not Really

Mad Max: Fury Road was probably the most played demo at CEDIA this year, has lots of boom and bang. As long as you didn't here in weird screeches or warbles then you are fine. If you are being bitten by the upgrade bug then go run and hide...because Club Polk likes to spend your money

hochpt21

@txcoastal1 makes some very good points.

It's really up to you. I have no fear that you are under powering with your listening habits and your space.

At this point it's not necessarily about quantity, but quality. You can definitely get a better quality amp, but the $$ increases fairly quickly

mikeyb128

txcoastal1 wrote: »

120watts@8ohm no pre-outs

Could you do better?...probably, are you under powering? Not Really

Mad Max: Fury Road was probably the most played demo at CEDIA this year, has lots of boom and bang. As long as you didn't here in weird screeches or warbles then you are fine. If you are being bitten by the upgrade bug then go run and hide...because Club Polk likes to spend your money

Club Polk empties your bank account in a hurry that's for sure.

tonyb

You'll be fine with that receiver, that's the bottom line answer.