LSiM 705 have arrived

Tama

On a side note Warren, my current front speakers are the Polk Monitor 12 series II, had them for 30 years - always liked them, just looking for something a little brighter, more detailed 91db sensitivity is what they are rated at...saw the 705's on sale, but even the SVS Ultra's are 88db, is the consensus that if you can afford a nice speaker Flagship - Reference line of speaker, you can afford the power to run them,,,I was also looking at Tekton as well...later Tama

Tama

Warren, do you think the Onkyo will make the 705's shine without having to buy a bigger Amp? 165w@8ohm, BTW these will be used for movies also

halo

If you want more detail > laid back/warm, you may prefer the Signature Series. They are more forward than the LSiM705 but not as forward as the RTiA9. The RTiA9 will require gobs of power to make them sound their best but the SIgnature Series are pretty efficient.

Clipdat

Tama wrote: »

1. because of the sensitivity 89db - I'm concerned about having to turn them up more than normal for evening listening, I live in the burbs on a spacious lot - not concerned about neighbors, but just concerned that I would have to turn them up to get a sound that would not keep me from relaxing 2. I will be using a Onkyo M504 165wX2 @8ohm, I'm sure they would be fine, but last thing I need is - I've had this amp since 1992 - perfect condition, will these work it harder and wind up shortening it's life

Huh???

Clipdat

Tama wrote: »

On a side note Warren, my current front speakers are the Polk Monitor 12 series II, had them for 30 years - always liked them, just looking for something a little brighter, more detailed 91db sensitivity is what they are rated at...saw the 705's on sale, but even the SVS Ultra's are 88db, is the consensus that if you can afford a nice speaker Flagship - Reference line of speaker, you can afford the power to run them,,,I was also looking at Tekton as well...later Tama

I think you are unnaturally obsessed with a speaker's arbitrary sensitivity rating. I suggest you stop worrying about that, as in most real world use cases it has very little meaning.

Tama

yea...your right Clipdat,,,I do have on occasion reading into people's comments about power consumption, and taking everything people say as Gospel. Sensitivity, ECT, the only reason I leached onto the whole sensitivity thing is people mention needing more than an average - watt output to drive low sensitivity ratings - hence getting into the the whole clipping of low power AMP's..but thanks for your advice !

msg

I did notice that the output was lower on 705s when I first got them in, moving from 703s. Not a big deal though. It didn't mean I had to play them louder to get them moving. I did find that to be a characteristic with LSi7 bookshelf speakers on some systems. Those particular speakers could sound empty without some volume behind them, but that'll depend on gear, room size, source, etc. The LSiM705s do VERY well at lower volumes in smaller spaces.

Speaking to the question of detail/sparkle, etc. - the LSiM705 is NOT a speaker I would call dull by any means. How's your hearing for high frequencies? If you have hearing loss, you may prefer a bright forward speaker, and anything less may sound dull to you.

I would echo Halo's comments above. He states it very succinctly, and I'd say focus on that and make your decision. I agree, and can understand - you're obsessing. None of these speakers are likely to put loads on your amp that will kill it. Not that you necessarily need it, but if that amp is 4ohm stable you should be more than okay. It looks like others have that question - See here on AudioKarma
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/onkyo-m-504-at-4ohms.646990/

Supporting Halo's comments... I did a side by side comparison a few years ago with a friend with the LSiM703s, Signature S20, and, I think, Monitor 60.

In my space with my system, the LSiM703 was the best of the three for music, providing a bit more musical nuance and character over the S20. It was close, but not difficult to hear the differences. It is difficult to describe, but easy to hear, the LSiM703 just sounded a bit fuller. This was all without a sub and in a large-ish space.

The S20 was still enjoyable for music, where I cannot say the same in the least for the RTi10, my first Polk speaker from those years prior (I found that speaker to be absolutely unlistenable for music, and I really tried to like them). The Monitor 60 was the dull one of the bunch, and it was very obvious in the comparison of the three. It was as if there was a thin towel hanging over the front of the speaker.

I was so surprised by the performance of the Signature S20 that I remember sharing in my findings here on the forum that, had the Signature Series been available when I first started this hobby back in late 2013, and had I started with them and not RTi10s, I don't think I'd have fallen as deeply into this hobby as I did in trying to find a pleasing system setup. The Signatures are very good. I even left the S20s running for several weeks in place of the 703s, and didn't miss the 703s during that time. The S20s were better than the 703s for theater, but for music I welcomed the return of the LSiM703s.

Tama

Thank you msg for your comments - very much Appreciated !!, here is a question for you, burn time, I think i read 80 - 100 so called required for them to "really open up", then it was like someone turned on a switch and Whooo,,,all so nice, true/not true? also, my hearing is pretty good, so I think I'm safe there.

Tama

80 - 100 = hrs

msg

When I first set up the 705s, they started to fill out on the bottom end noticeably within 4 to 5 hours. When I had my 703s, I remember walking through the room 9 months later and stopping in my tracks looking over for a moment at the realization of how good everything sounded. That was with daily listening throughout that time at moderate to loud background music as well as tv. Those speakers just seemed to get better and better with time on them.

I've seen figures of up to 200 hours. I don't know how much of this is burn-in vs driver break-in.

I've not personally experienced the "switch" sensation before, but won't discount others' experiences. For me it's always been more of a gradual improvement, with a few instances of observation of not-quite-subtle performance characteristics improvements.

Tama

Ok...thanks for the insight msg, and quick reply, yea....the more and more I compare the 705's to other models...Klipsch rp8000f, JBL monitor 590, to name a few, from build quality, or small sound stage. For the discount, these seem to be reappearing on top of my buy list, I have the center S35 Sig polk, F1nut suggest if I buy these to get a LSI series center to keep match tembre, do you agree?

Tama

Sir msg, yep .... I found that thread a month or so ago,,,,lol that's why I started asking all these ohm questions, and power watt questions...thanks for the reminder, yep yep all good...thanks again Sir !

msg

I never agree with anything F1 says. That guy's a hack!

Actually, quite to the contrary, F1 helped me out a lot in the beginning after a lot of obsessing and frustration when I first started here. All the guys did and everyone was helpful. I had a few conversations with Jesse re: vintage Polks and such that helped me settle on a direction, making a couple of key moves.

It's really tough to choose gear and speakers when you can't easily get ears on stuff without bringing it all in house at once to test. I agree with matching front stage, yes.

You might also want to keep whatever you have for a little while if possible, for comparison. Though, beware - this is how you end up a "collector".

Tama

So msg just 2 more questions, 1.) The Polk S35 center I have, will that be ok with the 705's, F1nut commented that I should get one of the LSI line for center to keep Tembre, will I really notice the difference? 2.) Watching You Tube Vids, I can Bi amp the 705's by running two sets of speaker wire "system 1" which is speaker "A" and the same for 'System 2" which is speaker "B", OR just use Y end speaker cable out of System 1 - basically speaker "A" only, alot of people have said there can tell a difference -your thought Sir?

Tama

yea F1nut seems to be Da Man, I figured that out by his title...lol

marvda1

@tama how much are the 705's?

rooftop59

Tama wrote: »

So msg just 2 more questions, 1.) The Polk S35 center I have, will that be ok with the 705's, F1nut commented that I should get one of the LSI line for center to keep Tembre, will I really notice the difference? 2.) Watching You Tube Vids, I can Bi amp the 705's by running two sets of speaker wire "system 1" which is speaker "A" and the same for 'System 2" which is speaker "B", OR just use Y end speaker cable out of System 1 - basically speaker "A" only, alot of people have said there can tell a difference -your thought Sir?

Bi-wiring is a joke and just marketing. Your just wasting speaker wire. You would be much better served getting one run of better quality wires...

I think you will want to upgrade your center, but wait and see. The LSiM704c is an excellent center channel!

Tama

msg - Sorry for the redundant question for the center, you commented before i could repost..lol

Tama

@marvda1 , the 705's are $749.00 each

Tama

@ rooftop59, yea about a year ago I picked up 2 15ft 12AWG Mmonoprice speaker cable - not top of the line but they came in a pretty foam box each...shielded, and all that neat copper claimed fame stuff...

Tama

@msg...tea I already have a room of old vintage stuff...I still have a pair of old EPI 1100 "human" speakers that I bought back in 12th grade...1980 sumtin..man I'm old..lol

Tama

*yea Not tea..

msg

Here's the thing - you don't have to do what anyone here says. A lot of the contributions here are in the interest of getting you the best result. And also to spend your money, but that's neither here nor there. But try it for yourself.

If music's your thing and you don't care about TV that much, you might find you're fine with the S35 center for TV. If you're only going to be using the mains for music, the S35 center won't matter at all in that scenario. If you want to listen to 3.1 or 5.1 channel music, though, it will matter more that you're timbre matched. It still matters for TV/theater, but how much a factor is for you to decide. I prefer them matched just because it's best, and I sometimes play "surround" music.

I don't have a sense of the output of the S35 center with respect to how it compares to a center like the S30 with two larger drivers, but I did notice that, sound characteristic wise, the S20s in my comparison were better than the 703s to my ear for TV use. If timbre-mixing the front stage, the way you have it would be the way to do it. Since the center channel does most of the work for TV and theater, it might be a little crisper with the Signature series.

I use the LSiM706 for the center with 703s for the fronts in the combo use system.

Tama

understood msg....yea...I will take your advice on keeping the s35 to see how the 705's match up,,,,I think I pretty much made up my mind on the purchase, if I need a new center I'll look at the 706c & 704c, the S35 was a fairly new purchase along with 2 HTS 10's, it may be hard to explain as to why I needed another center to my girlfriend, I'll just wrap it and give it to he for a Christmas present...who needs jewelry anyways !

Tama

*Her Not he....lol