Newb question, but be easy! Lsi's matched w/Denon 3805?

pjohnscpa

I am looking at the Lsi9's, matching center, and the fxi's for surrounds. I have a new Denon 3805 receiver.

Will this set-up work? Will the Denon perform okay driving these speakers? I am about 85-15% movies vs. music.

Thanks in advance!!

ken brydson

You might have problems. The Lsi's are 4 ohm speakers. I don't "think" the Denon is rated to 4 ohm but I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure I've seen posts from people with 3803's that had problems. It will probably be OK at lower volumes but if your 85% HT, I'd think you'd want it louder. Just my .02

pjohnscpa

In other words, am I now going to have to buy a separate amp to power the fronts, and use the Denon to power the center, sub and surrounds?

ken brydson

That would be one option if you're set on Lsi's. Might want to look at the new RT series. They match up with Denon real nice

Lsi9

The Denon will be fine...I doubt you need a 4ohm amp to properly run the Lsi9s

marcpam

Denon will not be fine. It is designed to go to 6 ohm stable and THAT IS IT. Don't be misled by these people. You can run a Denon on anything, will it last, no. It will overheat your Denon and eventually you will learn the hard way. You need to go to denon's website and look at there stats and decide for yourself. If you don't you will get misled and therefore be wasting your money. Find an amp that is 4 ohm stable. My opinion would be Outlaw. At the very least, it is a good place to start. Looks like LSi9 needs to do more research before he misleads people. Do us a favor, before you open your mouth and decide what is best for people, open up a ht magazine and read just a little.

ken brydson

Originally posted by marcpam
Denon will not be fine. It is designed to go to 6 ohm stable and THAT IS IT. Don't be misled by these people. You can run a Denon on anything, will it last, no. It will overheat your Denon and eventually you will learn the hard way. You need to go to denon's website and look at there stats and decide for yourself. If you don't you will get misled and therefore be wasting your money. Find an amp that is 4 ohm stable. My opinion would be Outlaw. At the very least, it is a good place to start.

Thank you. That's what I was saying but what do I know? :rolleyes:

mantis

Thats correct,
Denon is n't friendly with Lsi speakers.Go rt series if you dig polk and already own Denon.

Or return the Denon and get something better.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by marcpam
Looks like LSi9 needs to do more research before he misleads people. Do us a favor, before you open your mouth and decide what is best for people, open up a ht magazine and read just a little.

Why can't we just be courteous to each other...sheeesh. You could have still communicated your opinion without getting personal...just my $.02

faster100

exactly, sheesh again......... be nice about it. It looks like LSI9 has a denon and lsi's, so possibly it works for him and is why he stated his opinion... who knows

PolkWannabie

MAYBE it does, but from the specs it's not something I'd want to push on ...

The THD goes up by a factor of more than 10 when going to 6 ohms from 8. Wonder what happens at 4.

marcpam

Everyone on these boards are looking for a bit of honest and accurate responses. If you guys like to have people like lsi9 on these boards giving out false information to someone who is new to ht than that is your perogative. I did not say anything that is insulting, but more of the truth. If you were asking for suggestions, would you want accuracy or lack of. Go figure

pjohnscpa

Thanks everyone for the responses. It looks like I am getting the info. I really did not want to hear. Oh well.

ken brydson

Originally posted by marcpam
Everyone on these boards are looking for a bit of honest and accurate responses. If you guys like to have people like lsi9 on these boards giving out false information to someone who is new to ht than that is your perogative. I did not say anything that is insulting, but more of the truth. If you were asking for suggestions, would you want accuracy or lack of. Go figure

It was his opinion. I didn't agree. Neither did you or Mantis. The biggest issue to me is that he's running a PAIR of 9's. That's it. His Denon might be OK with that. Pjohnscpa is asking about a FULL LINE of Lsi's. No way will it work.

pjohnscpa

Ken,
Any suggestions on an amp? Should I get a 2ch,5ch?? With using an amp, do I lose all the features of my NEW Denon--like the Dolby, etc.?

Thanks. I am definitely new to the amp side.

ken brydson

Originally posted by pjohnscpa
Ken,
Any suggestions on an amp? Should I get a 2ch,5ch?? With using an amp, do I lose all the features of my NEW Denon--like the Dolby, etc.?

Thanks. I am definitely new to the amp side.

Sorry, I'm not the amp guy. Strictly receivers here. A lot of forum members can give alot better rec's. Post a budget and whether you're opposed to used gear and you'll get a ton of responses.
Good luck!

Frank Z

Adding a seperate amp will not cause you to lose any of the features that you currently have. All that you will be doing is adding a different power source for your speakers. All of the features of the denon will still be available for use. The up side to adding a seperate amp is a dedicated piece of equipment that is designed to do 1 thing, and 1 thing only....amplify. Keep in mind that your receiver will only be performing 1/2 of it's duties. It will no longer be using the amplifier section. Basically you end up with a piece of equipment that you paid full price for, but are not using to it's fullest potential. For some folks this is a reason to make the break from an all inclusive receiver to seperates. Yes seperates are more expensive, but the benefits are plentifull. Dedicated components can make a tremendous difference in sound quality and flexibility with regards to system setup/configuration.

As previously stated, Outlaw is a great place to get started, as are used pieces of equipment. I think that there are more and more Polksters opening up to the benefits, sound quality, and Bang vs. Buck ratio that Outlaw offers. Is it the greatest gear you'll ever hear? Probably not, but then again who could afford the "BEST?" It's all about priorities and what fits your budget. Let's face facts, this stuff is nothing more than expensive toys....and we all love our toys!!

KarlJShields

pjohnscpa,
One of the things that drew me to this forum was the exact issue that you are encountering. I loved the Lsi9s, but had read that many--if not most--receivers were not up to driving the Lsi series.

I started by looking at Denon, and then H-K, and, despite the local salemen's assurances that either would work fine, followed the advice given here. Neither the Denon or H-K were spec'd for four ohm operation, and I figured the manufacturers knew more than the sales-kid.

In my case, I'm running an NAD T752 with two pairs of Lsi9s--front and surrounds--and an Lsi-C, and am very satisfied with my combination.

Dr. Spec

perogative

That's "prerogative". If you're going to lecture someone and use big words, at least spell them correctly.

I'm with the general consensus. The Denon AVRs are outstanding, but are not designed to run 4 ohm loads.

As usual, Frank's advice is on the bean. If you want to retain the Denon for all its great features and processing capabilities, then just buy an external amp like the Outlaw and be done with it. If you are going to eventually go 7.1, buy the 7 channel Outlaw up front to save headaches down the road. If they will all be set to small and used with a good sub, I think 100 WPC (of Outlaw power) is plenty.

Doc

howie777

Another thing to keep in mind when determining if a receiver can handle a 4 ohm load or not is how are you setting up your speakers. Now I'm not going to say the Denon will run Lsi’s at all because I have no idea (But I'd trust the majority of this forum and not try it myself). But my speakers are rated at 4 ohms and I run them on a Marantz SR 8200 with no issues at all. After talking with the manufacture of my speakers they tell me that actually if you have them set to small they are only 6 ohm nominal as they don't hit 4 ohms until you reach well below 80 Hz. So if I were to run my speakers as large I could damage my receiver over time. It would be nice if speaker manufactures would rate their speakers impedance at various frequencies (low end, 80 Hz, and maybe 120 Hz or better yet give a graph). This would allow you to determine what is the lowest impedance your receiver would see based on the setup of your system.

Howie

marcpam

Originally posted by Dr. Spec
That's "prerogative". If you're going to lecture someone and use big words, at least spell them correctly.

I'm with the general consensus. The Denon AVRs are outstanding, but are not designed to run 4 ohm loads.

As usual, Frank's advice is on the bean. If you want to retain the Denon for all its great features and processing capabilities, then just buy an external amp like the Outlaw and be done with it. If you are going to eventually go 7.1, buy the 7 channel Outlaw up front to save headaches down the road. If they will all be set to small and used with a good sub, I think 100 WPC (of Outlaw power) is plenty.

Doc

If you are to read carefully at my thread, I have already told him to start at the Outlaw products. Why are you contradicting me. If you were to spend more time at coming up with your own ideas instead of correcting someone for grammar, then your opinion would be, at the very least, respected. Peope like you never cease to amaze me.

fireshoes

Marcpam, you kinda got off on the wrong foot on this board. Not trying to mean, but you did come off as an **** in you first post in this thread, whether you found it insulting or not. Just chill. Dr. Spec is one of the most respected people in Club Polk.

pjohnscpa

Thank you ALL so much! Your posts are insightful and very much appreciated.

Off to research some Outlaw Amps!

Thanks again.

Frank Z

Brilliant!!:D

Dr. Spec

If you are to read carefully at my thread, I have already told him to start at the Outlaw products.

I never said you didn't. I agreed with your advice, it was sound, and it also represents the general consensus.

Why are you contradicting me.

I haven't contradicted you anywhere. I merely pointed out your spelling error.

you did come off as an **** in your first post in this thread

I agree, and he even corroborated your initial impression with his second and third posts. I always knew you to be a fine judge of character, fireshoes.

marcpam

i am sorry if i upset anybody. I just get concerned when someone tries to recommend something that is not meant to work. Reason: it has happened to me when i began in this hobby. So i will stress to all of you again, i am sorry. No hard feelings Dr. Spek

mantis

Bottom line is this,

Can the Denon handle the load correctly? NO

Should you use and external amp if keeping the Denon?Absolutely

Is seperates the better way to go?Allday

You asking these question isn't offending or hurting anyone.If the above people want to argue about this,let them.Stick with the bottom line and you'll be fine.

I know alot about receivers and seperates.I know a ton about Denon as I work with them each and every single day.We sell tons of them and I know exactly there strenghts and weakness.I also used to own a Denon.Not to metion try to run a pair of Lsi15's off a avr3801 and it sounded terrible and didn't like high volumes.I added a Rotel amp to the mix untill I upgraded to B&K.

So the answer you are looking for look no further.Topic finished.

New topic should be what to do next.

Good luck man and by the way I have learned the hard way as well.Trail and error allday.

Dan

pjohnscpa

Again, thanks for all the advice. I read a ton yesterday and last night & because of time constraints I went ahead and purchased the Outlaw 7100.

I am really looking forward to hooking everything up and hearing the sound!

Frank Z

COOL! You're gonna love it!