Comparison of A9's vs. LSIM707's anyone?

arcman

I hate the boxy cabs on my Rti12's. (same guts as A9's) I'm now thinking of getting a pair of the 707's, which I think are a much better looking speaker. My wife thinks so too.

Since the only dealer Polk said had these on the floor was in NYC, and being 1,000 miles away, I'm not going to get to demo them. That's a chance I'll take. I'm assuming these will be a more accurate speaker but I am concerned about how loud these can go compared to the A9's. I currently have a NAD C370 and a C270 running mono to each channel, which more than fills the need for volume.

I also have a pair of Lsi9's, a very nice sounding speaker, that I really like but the listening level at the same volume settings as the 12's is night and day.

Wondering if anyone here has compared the Rti12/A9's to the 707's? Does being down 88db to 90db efficiency make that much of a difference in loudness?

Appreciate any info.

Thanks.

mlistens03

arcman wrote: »

I hate the boxy cabs on my Rti12's. (same guts as A9's) I'm now thinking of getting a pair of the 707's, which I think are a much better looking speaker. My wife thinks so too.

Since the only dealer Polk said had these on the floor was in NYC, and being 1,000 miles away, I'm not going to get to demo them. That's a chance I'll take. I'm assuming these will be a more accurate speaker but I am concerned about how loud these can go compared to the A9's. I currently have a NAD C370 and a C270 running mono to each channel, which more than fills the need for volume.

I also have a pair of Lsi9's, a very nice sounding speaker, that I really like but the listening level at the same volume settings as the 12's is night and day.

Wondering if anyone here has compared the Rti12/A9's to the 707's? Does being down 88db to 90db efficiency make that much of a difference in loudness?

Appreciate any info.

Thanks.

It will not. Another thing is that the LSiMs are much easier to drive than you RTI12s. One last thing, you said you like your LSis better, the LSiMs are many times more accurate/more fun/better than the LSi series.
Micah

rpf65

I went from RTI A5’s to LSI M705’s, and found the 705’s much better speakers for music.

When I had the A5’s, I used to listen to them around the 65-70dB range. They sounded fairly loud, but not excessively so.

Switched to the 705’s, and one evening I had to go outside for something or other, and left the cd playing. I was able to hear the music playing fairly far away from the door. Grabbed the spl meter, and found the music was playing at around 85 dB.

I didn’t realize the volume was that loud, thought I was playing them about as loud as the A5’s. Few days later, the neighbor’s kid commented that he heard my music turned up again, so I guess this was going on for a while.

Guess what I’m trying to say is with the different sound signature you may actually play the 707’s measurably louder than your 12’s without realizing it.

Wouldn’t really worry about efficiency ratings too much. Better to have better sound than a better measurement.

tonyb

I would take those Nads out of mono mode. The 12's require current and can dip well below 8 ohms. Running the Nads in mono is only suggested for an 8 ohm speaker, which most amps in mono don't like anything below 8 ohms. Your probably sacrificing some sound quality for loudness.

That said, the LSIM series you'll find much more pleasing for music than the RTI series.....but even then I'd still just use the bigger Nad and not run mono.

adabro

Can't answer your specific question, but I went from the A9's to the 705'sand loved the change. I found the 705's much 'nicer' for music.

mrloren

I went from RTi8 to signature S60, Music improvement is outstanding. RTi line is geared more for Home Theater than music.

If you're getting a deal on the LSiM then go for it.

F1nut

I also have a pair of Lsi9's, a very nice sounding speaker, that I really like but the listening level at the same volume settings as the 12's is night and day.

Well yeah! One is a 4 ohm speaker while the other is an 8 ohm speaker.

Looks wise, the RTiA series look much better than the LSiM and the cherry version has real cherry veneer. Sound wise for music the LSiM is much better.

arcman

tonyb,

Other than when these amps had some loosened solder joints (a common problem with them), I've never heard any signs of distortion whatsoever, and I'm talking at some seriously high volumes. With two subs, I need no more volume. A little more accuracy might be nice but I don't want to trade it off for loudness.

The 707's are rated at 300w vs. 500 for the 12's. Not knowing the ins and outs of impedances and loads, I'm a bit concerned cranking up a 300 watt amp into them will put the package into the fatigue zone.

I love the Rti12's. Again, I'm just hoping to get a smidge more accurate sound, similar volume levels and a better looking piece of furniture.

The integrated C370 in bridged mono mode is rated 300w into a 8 ohm load. The C270 is the power amp version. The Rti12's are 8 ohm's. I'm curious why you think there's an issue here?

Here's something copied from NAD's **** sheet about their circuitry...

Impedance Sensing Circuit (ISC):

The C370 also benefits from NAD's proprietary Impedance Sensing Circuit
(ISC) topology, now well established and used in many NAD models including
the highly reviewed C320 and C340.

The ISC topology allows the C370 to deliver maximum performance under
virtually any circumstance, independent of the loudspeakers it is driving. The
circuitry automatically senses the impedance characteristics of the loudspeaker and will then adjust its power supply settings to best cope with that specific
load. With ISC topology, the relationship of voltage to current is kept at an
ideal proportion, eliminating the current limiting distortion common in lesser
designs. This also gives it an unusual characteristic compared to traditional
amplifiers when measuring its continuous output power; the RMS output power remains the same at 120 Watts with either an eight or a four ohms
load. This is not unusual for NAD however.
NAD takes a stance to the mindless "brochure power" approach which doesn't give a realistic indication of an amplifier's true capabilities. Instead, the
ISC topology is a practical approach to enable an amplifier to easily deal with
musical dynamics and difficult speaker loads. More meaningful in the real
world are the C370's dynamic capabilities; up to 450 Watts into 2 ohms and
up to 70 amps current capability into 1 ohm!

Mikey081057

I have had and heard most of the Polk line and to me the best sounding and balanced of the bunch was the 705's. The 707's were a bit boomy/bloated for my taste. Save some $$$ and put it towards a nice svs sub to go with the 705's. They are ok for music and ok for HT. If music is your bag then there are many better options out there than any of the Polks. The (VR3 modded) Lsi 9's were my second favorite pair of Polks.

F1nut

The 707's are rated at 300w vs. 500 for the 12's. Not knowing the ins and outs of impedances and loads, I'm a bit concerned cranking up a 300 watt amp into them will put the package into the fatigue zone.

Meaningless spec.

The integrated C370 in bridged mono mode is rated 300w into a 8 ohm load. The C270 is the power amp version. The Rti12's are 8 ohm's. I'm curious why you think there's an issue here?

Bridging causes the noise floor to rise.



I agree with Mikey, the 705's are the best of that lot.

jeremymarcinko

I have the RTI12s in the HT and LSM705s in the 2ch. Both are great speakers but the 705’s easily bring the most enjoyment musically, even if they’re a little less accurate. The 12’s accuracy is spot on, given a decent room, but will take a lot of current to be musical given its ruler flat frequency response. The 705s do a fantastic job with a whole lot less.