Lsi 9's sounded fantastic, but

F1nut · January 2016

The only problem with the speakers set a s large, when I go any higher then -10 on the Pioneer SC 25 pre outs into a Carver amp

Your Carver amp could also be the problem in that it cannot control the speakers properly. Which model do you have?

mikejl46 · January 2016

Carver A-400X stereo amplifier

8-ohm FTC rated power/ch 200 W
4-ohm FTC rated power/ch 300 W
Bridged mono power 500 W
4/8-ohm FTC rated THD <0.01%
Input Impedance (Line) 47 kohms
Input Sensitivity 1.4V
Gain 29dB
Rated full power bandwidth 20-20kHz
S/N-IHF A-Weighted,dB >115dB
Dimensions (HxWxD inches) 4.5x19x15.7 (with handles)

http://www.carversound.com/carver-amplifiers/a-400x/

tonyb · January 2016

I see no reason why the Carver shouldn't handle the 9's easily. These are bookies, not full range speakers, thus can't handle the full range sound especially at higher volumes. Lower volumes maybe, but your going to do damage to them cranking volume at full range settings.

That's why you need to cross them over at around 60- 80, take some of the load off of them and you might get more volume.

How big is this room btw ?

deronb1 · January 2016

If you like it really loud and want near full range, for around 800.00 new, i would look at Cerwin Vega.

tonyb · January 2016

deronb1 wrote: »

If you like it really loud and want near full range, for around 800.00 new, i would look at Cerwin Vega.

....do plugs for your ears come with them ? LOL

deronb1 · January 2016

tonyb wrote: »

deronb1 wrote: »

If you like it really loud and want near full range, for around 800.00 new, i would look at Cerwin Vega.

....do plugs for your ears come with them ? LOL

Well, duh!.....

mikejl46 · January 2016

LOL, Well of course ear plugs came with my old Pioneer speakers, They had no problem going into the 0 + range.

My room is about 15 x 20 with open doorways that go into a 25 x 30 area kitchen dinning area.

I'm gonna try and keep the volume down below -10, The LSI 9's really do sound great though.

Crossed over, set to small, I get volume, but they sound thin.

Even at low volume they sound way way better set to large. Even without the sub, the bass sounds great at all low volumes levels set to large.

I only crank it up on songs that sound good cranked, that would be a small % of the songs I listen to.

I listen to a lot of classic rock, for example The Little River band, Down on the Border, sounds great loud, when the song kicks in about 50 seconds in. If I'm above the -10 at that point 50 seconds into the song, the LSI 9's want to puke out.

F1nut · January 2016

I still wouldn't discount the amp. I once had a similar issue with some bookies bottoming out, changed the amp and the issue went away. I've since changed the amp 3 more times with the same bookies without the issue occuring again. Obvious conclusion, it was the original amp. Besides, it would do you good to hear something other than Carver solid state. You'll thank me.

mikejl46 · January 2016

I just did a test, I get about 95 db at my seating position at -10 volume, when the, Down on the border song kicks in.

I guess that would be in the danger zone for my ears, but I'm 55 and still can hear fine.

http://www.hearnet.com/at_risk/risk_trivia.shtml
regular sustained exposure may cause permanent damage 90-95 dB

power mower 107 dB

PSOVLSK · January 2016

Not full range speakers, but most (me included) find the LSiM703 bookies to be easier to drive and to sound better than the 9's.

Do you happen to be located anywhere near Dallas?

halo · January 2016

If you have a FRY's Electronics near you, look into the Energy RC70 when they go on sale. Sale price is between $199 - $249 per speaker. They're brand new, fairly efficient, and, despite the rated specs, they dig deep while giving a very nice presentation overall. I've been pleasantly surprised by these 3-way floorstanding speakers.

Energy RC70

FWIW, We drove the LSi9 speakers to some seriously LOUD levels at the Chicagoland Polkfast back in '07 and they performed beautifully. They were powered by a Sanders Sound Systems ESL amp in conjunction with a VTL 2.5 preamp, and a stand alone CDP (Raysonic IIRC). No clipping or popping whatsoever and they weren't lacking anything IMHO. @heiney9 was there and should be able to confirm that they played very nicely.

Nightfall · January 2016

I have to ask if you're artificially boosting the bass or not.

erniejade · January 2016

Nightfall wrote: »

I have to ask if you're artificially boosting the bass or not.

Now that's a question I didn't think of. I pushed mine with a Mcintosh mc402. It is a high wattage and current amp to some good levels without issues. If you want to take the pressure off them, keep them at large but cross the over at 80/100 so it takes the pressure off them.

mikejl46 · January 2016

I think I will redo MCACC, set everything back to default settings.

I'm thinking about picking up one of these new Pioneer receivers. The specs indicate you can use 4 ohm speakers. I haven't seen this with the earlier receivers like the one I have, SC 25. How well do you think the LSI 9's work with this receiver, or will I still need to use the carver amp?

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Elite+Receivers/SC-97

Dennis Gardner · January 2016

I was going to suggest that you drive the 9s with just the front channels of the current receiver that you have to see if 100dBs is attainable for short bursts without the driver popping issue. This would tell you if the Carver is the problem. You really should be able to attain 95+ dBs without an issue unless the bass is pushed so much that it is throwing the amps into distress. For extended periods like a whole high energy song is a different animal entirely and can tax any system at its edge of power reserves. Running MCACC again is never a bad idea.

9s should handle 60-80hz at those volumes without blinking. My guess is that you have something out of adjustment or spec.

mikejl46 · February 2016

I picked me up some RTIa7's, form Polk on ebay refurbished, hooked these up to my Pioneer Sc25, with Carver amp. Listened to music for about 10 minutes to some of my favorite music, that I know well, so I will know if they sound equal to or better then the LSI9's. The bass needs for sure to sound great at low volumes like the LSI'9s. NOT.

Thought dang, I have these big heavy suckers I either have to ship back or try to sell locally, I thought the sounded terrible. So I fiddled around with crossover settings and things for a while, still no luck.

Well then, duh remembered I needed to run the MCACC on the Pioneer. Then WOW, They came to life, These RTIa7's are awesome, and not even broke in yet, For me they sound just as good as the LSI's 9 and better. They seem to have more detail, more like there is a live band in your living room. They definitely will have the volume, I inched the volume up there a bit to see, and yep these are gonna crank, I will take it easy for awhile till they break in. I guess this is more what I was looking for in a speaker. RTIa7's rock. Just my opinion.

Upstatemax · February 2016

Nice!!

Always good to get your ears on different stuff and figuring out what works for you, in your system.

The RTi A7's are certainly a more forward speaker than the LSi 9's. Glad you're digging them.

OldSchoolPolk · February 2016

Well....

If you want loud then look at the new Klipsch RP260 or RP280. LOUD.

Even though they're newly revised tweeters are supposed to be less fatiguing I don't think they can keep up sonically w/ high end Polks they guys are suggesting.

But LOUD, yes.

mikejl46 · February 2016

Upstatemax wrote: »

Nice!!

Always good to get your ears on different stuff and figuring out what works for you, in your system.

The RTi A7's are certainly a more forward speaker than the LSi 9's. Glad you're digging them.

Yes, they did seem a little bright at first, so I went into the pioneer EQ settings turn down the 2 high eq setting down a couple of notches, but then after a few days, the high end seem to disappear some, and felt I need that high end back, so I set it back to flat, and the rtia'7 sound great now. Not sure if the speakers toned down some, or I just got use to it, but they sound great now, The Lsi9's were great and all, sounded like I was listening to my CD's. The Rtia7's sound like I'm listening to a live band in my living room.

K_M · March 2016

I think that MCACC thing could have been the problem all along.

I think most are assuming you are running the speakers (lsi9) with all tone controls and all automatic sound modifying programs bypassed.

Without bypassing tone controls (manual or automatic) it is very hard to diagnose why something does not seem "right"

I agree the Rti line is voiced to sound a decent bit more forward and sizzly.
Did you get rid of the Lsi9's?

For high volume loud head banging music, I agree they would not be my first choice, but for well recorded classical, and acoustic music, especially voices, they are more accurate, albeit less impressive at first.

mikejl46 · March 2016

Yes, running MCACC did solve the problem, but still they sounded weak set to small, I just had a heck of a time getting them to mesh with the sub, tried everything, at least I think I did, I'm obviously missing something, because others say they are great with a sub set to small. I even have the velodyne sms-1, so I can see what's going on with phase, crossover and things. but I'm no expert at any of this, so most likely user error.

So now I have the Rti a7's run the MCACC, I have set the Rti a7' set to small, I tried it large with plus sub, and the bass cancels out, less bass, adjusting phase had little effect.

But they sound great set to small, cross over 80. Like going from lsi9's little concert to Big concert levels with the Rti a7 no end to the volume, sound great at all volume levels, bass even sounds great at very low volume levels. Very happy with the Rti a7's

I have the LSI 9's in another room where I listen at low volume levels, and they work great there.

mikejl46 · March 2016

My Rti a7's. I know they all look the same.

Thorton · March 2016

Very nice Mike. I like the screen!

TCK · March 2016

Doesn't matter if we have seen them a million times. Audio p o r n is always good.

Nightfall · March 2016

Looks like the left speaker is toed in more than the right? Pull them 2" ahead of the entertainment center and make sure they're toed the same degrees.

TCK · March 2016

^^^^^ You will get a lot of this tho ^^^^^^^

mikejl46 · March 2016

I built the screen into the top of the entertainment center, so when it's up you would have no clue there was a screen there.

I don't have the speakers toed in at all, but I may try that and see how that sounds.

I picked these speakers up on Ebay Polk site for about $360 per, They are what they call refurbished, they look like brand new, not a scratch on them, wouldn't know the difference.

Yep, Audio p o r n is always good.

K_M · March 2016

Is that screen 96"?

Polkie2009 · March 2016

Is that an SR I'm eying in the corner?

mikejl46 · March 2016

It's a 92" screen.

I have bass guitar amp sitting on top of my Adire Rava Sub.

Lsi 9's sounded fantastic, but

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