Avr for lsi series

adrorda

Hello everyone,
i'm going to buy a set of speakers as follows: Lsi15, Lsi7, lsmi704c.

I know there are already discussions about the AVR for these speakers, but they are all a few years ago minimal. I read about:
Nad t748 v2, Nad t763, Pioneer sc-1222k, pioneer sc-65, pioneer sc-07, onkyo 809
But, as I said, this are all tips dating back to a few years ago. Any other advice is welcome, my budjet is unfortunately quite low, i would say maximum 4/500 euros, of course i am willing to buy also used.

mlistens03

I think you'd have trouble driving the LSi15s at any kind of highish volume with an AVR. for $575ish USD (Thanks Google!), you may be able to find a couple of year old AVR to run the center and rears and a power amplifier to run the 15s.

As far as AVRs go I've had good experiences with Yamahas and older Pioneers. Marantzs (How do you pluralize that?) are nice receivers as well, although I don't have experience with them. Be sure to get other advice as well, cause I've never really done audio-video stuff, only on a much smaller scale with much easier to drive speakers.

As far as amplifiers go (Which I know a bit more about), look at old Parasound, NAD, Hafler, and Carver pieces. I'd probably go with a NAD, but that's probably more brand loyalty than anything else. Never heard any of the others in person, again, wait until further advice is provided to make a decision. Some integrated amplifiers like my NAD can have their preamp and amplifier sections disconnected so you can use them individually, meaning that if you find a nice integrated with this feature cheaply, it can be (in my opinion, I'm certain others will disagree) a good option.

I don't know if any of these are available where you live, or as affordable as they are here. If you gave us a bit of an idea where you live, we could probably help more.

I'm not going to get into wattage ratings, other than to say that a lot of watts < a lot of current, and a good way to see if there's a lot of current is if the wattage doubles into four ohms.

And last, but not least, Welcome to Club Polk!!

-Micah

P.S. Other members, if I'm wrong on any of this, please let me know.

adrorda

Thanks a lot for the answer. From what i've read, some avr should be able to handle it, like the Pioneer sc-1222k, or even the Nad, or at least i hope! Is it possible that there aren't even more recent models able to do it? In another forum, i read about the Marantz SR5009 ... I live in Italy, some avr can be found here, many others should necessarily be shipped from abroad. Thanks for the welcome, happy to be here.

mlistens03

adrorda wrote: »

Thanks a lot for the answer. From what i've read, some avr should be able to handle it, like the Pioneer sc-1222k, or even the Nad, or at least i hope! Is it possible that there aren't even more recent models able to do it? In another forum, i read about the Marantz SR5009 ... I live in Italy, some avr can be found here, many others should necessarily be shipped from abroad. Thanks for the welcome, happy to be here.

Hmm... I'd never heard that before. Can some other members advise?

I thought the deal was that you can run them on an AVR, but you don't want to, or something along those lines.

I had LSi25s for quite some time, and for a while, I ran them on a Yamaha AVR. They sounded good. I then got a power amplifier (Not even a good one! A Crown pro amplifier) and it was like a veil was lifted off my speakers. I then purchased a NAD C352 (A third of the power in watts, but a LOT more current) And once again, a veil was lifted.

There may be some proper high current AVRs out there that can truly handle these beasts, but I wouldn't know of any of them. I will Google those models and see what I can find. Just, don't buy a pro amp. I learned my lesson on that the hard way.

Googled a few of those receivers, they all appear above average but still have ratings from one channel at 1% distortion. That will drastically worsen as you use more channels.

-Micah

tonyb

With those receivers mentioned, sure you can hook them up and you'll get sound. Won't be the best sound those speakers are capable of. So to me, why have those particular speakers if your not going to want the best they can do.

To have them play at their best, they need current, a good healthy dose of it, and most all receivers aren't going to deliver that. You need a receiver with pre outs and a separate amp for at least the front left and right. Used Parasound, B&k, Carver/Sunfire, Adcom...and a host of others would work well. Most can be had around the 400 buck mark.

If you can't afford an amp now, then save your pennies and don't go crazy on the volume dial or you risk damage to the speakers.

Strong Bad

Check the specs very carefully on which receiver you purchase. When I bought the Denon AVR-X4500H, I just assumed it would handle the 4ohm impedance on my Lsi25's, but wound up discovering it would only handle down to 6ohm.

As others said, even if it handles 4ohm, don't expect the world out of it. I wound up adding in 3 of the Outlaw 2200 mono blocks for my Left / Center / Right channels and it opened up a new dimension in my home theater. Now the AVR only has to handle the four 8ohm rear channels.

I know your budget is limited, so limit your receiver options to ones that only power your 5 channels or maybe 7 at most. The more options that are added to receivers, the more they cut quality from other areas to meet a certain price point. In the cost of receivers, especially these days, are costs associated with licensing things like Dolby, DTS, Audyssey and other options. To meet the price point, they cut back on the power supply quality and other things like that. Then the specs quote power ratings for 2 of the channels. I even saw Denon quoting a power rating on a receiver..."Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 10% 1ch Drive) 140 W". Really Denon...why even bother putting that in.

You have an excellent lineup of speakers and I hope you find something that can utilize them fairly well.

tonyb

If you just want a receiver, the Signature series speakers are easier to drive with just about any receiver.

adrorda

Thanks for all the answers. For 4 ohm speakers the Integra brand is often suggested, has anyone ever tried it? Indeed it is one of the few where it is written very clearly that it supports 4ohm, looking at the models, something like the integra dtr 40.4, which is also quite cheap, which in theory guarantees 220w at 4ohm, don't you think it can work? Some specs:

Channels 7.2
POWER (8 Ω 20-20kHZ 0.7%) / CH 110
POWER (8 Ω 20-20kHZ 0.05%) / CH
Amplifier Frequency Response (WRAT) 5Hz - 100kHz
THX Certified ✓
Continuous 6 Ω Rated ✓
Certified 4 Ω Performance ✓

Power Output (8 Ω, 20 Hz-20 kHz, FTC) 110W /Channel (8 Ω)
Dynamic Power 220W /Channel (3 Ω)
220W /Channel (4 Ω)
130W /Channel (8 Ω)
THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) 0.08%(Power Rated)
Damping Factor 60 (Front, 1 kHz, 8Ω)
Input Sensitivity and Impedance 200 mV/47 kΩ (LINE)
Rated RCA Output Level and Impedance 200 mV/470 Ω (PRE OUT)
Maximum RCA Output Level and Impedance 4.6 V/470 Ω (PRE OUT)
Frequency Response 5 Hz–100 kHz/ +1 dB-3 dB (DIRECT)
Tone Control ±10dB, 50 Hz (BASS)
±10dB, 20 kHz (TREB)
Signal to Noise Ratio 106 dB (LINE, IHF-A)
80 dB (Phono MM, IHF-A)
Speaker Impedance 4 Ω–16 Ω


Or even more recent models such as the integra dtm-7, which, however, offer above all more connectivity...


It should be considered that my problem is not so much just being able to turn up the volume, i live in an apartment (the neighbors would kill me if i increase the volume too much), but of audio quality, at a reasonable cost (or better, sustainable for me ).

tonyb

I wouldn't personally, those specs are kinda skewed as most avr specs are. Being "certified " to run 4 ohm speakers means they cut the current so the amp section of the avr doesn't overheat. That is totally opposite of what a 4 ohm speaker needs to sound it's best. More current, better they perform. Current is measured in amperes peak to peak, you won't even find that spec on receivers. They'd be embarrassed to print it.

Since your in an apartment too, without a good dose of current they'll sound kinda dull and flat at lower volumes. You'll find yourself turning up the volume to get some dynamics out of them.

They may not be the speaker for your application, given your dwelling .

adrorda

The fact is that i found an excellent opportunity to buy these speakers at a great price, and obviously i like them very much!
Assuming that there are no avr that can manage everything, the best and at the same time the cheapest solution that you recommend?

dromunds

I liked the Pioneer Elite SC-05 on LSi-7’s, and also the 9’s. I ran a center but did not have surrounds at the time so it was either two - or 3 - channel and I didn’t go nuts with the volume. The SC-07 is another classic. Older but classics. If you can get the LSi set real cheap why not and get an amp when you can and don’t run all the LSi’s initially, just run 3 channel

adrorda

can't it work even with a high level avr, like the NAD T775, the Rotel RSX-1560 or a cheaper arcam fmj400? A little more expensive than my budjet, but not so much...