Driving LSi7/9

lomic

Thinking of getting some LSi's soon, since my RTi6's seem to be lacking depth and realism in music - but that post is for the speaker forum.

What I'm hoping to gain here is an idea of price/performance what's the best amp for driving these suckers (didn't find much with search). I see that used amps are usually much cheaper, but don't see many going in FM so I'm looking for amps that are usually for sale on ebay. Hoping to spend about $200 or less, but I'll save up if necissary. Gonna be using my H/K as a pre obviously.

Thanks, amps are by far the most confusing thing to me at this point.

gidrah

I can only speak for 2 brands. Carver and Soundcraftsmen. I haven't driven any LSi models with them, but each one drove my Monitor 10B's (6 ohm) without breaking a sweat. To me the Carver sounded a little more accurate but dry. The Soundcraftsmen sounded a little more extended but thicker in the bass. NAD and Rotel are reputedly to be good but I can't honestly comment.

Possible Speaker forum topics:
I'd first look into placement, room acoustics, wire/cables, etc. If any of the above are compromised the LSi line will not sound as good as they could. You're right in considering an amplifier upgrade, but don't throw good money into an endeavor that could be resolved cheaply. Consider a floor-stander. IMHO - If you want realism don't replace a bookshelf with an expensive bookshelf and expect it to solve your problems, unless you have a pair of speaker that are in a bookshelf (and can't fit floorstanders) and would like to improve.

hamzahsh

http://www.integrahometheater.com/model.cfm?class=Amplifier&m=ADM-2.1&p=i


Integra ADM-2.1 is only $450 Cdn. You can convert the price into US dollars and see how much it comes to. I think it is around $300 something.

Great price for a good 2-ch AMP. Love it!

amulford

For the amount you want to spend, I'd say go with a used Carver. Just make sure whatever you buy will be stable at 4 ohms.

Hamzahsh - I read the specs on the Integra, they didn't say anything about four ohm output, but did mention 6 ohm. That would lead me to think they weren't stable below 6, like alot of Denons. Not that they are bad, but not for this application.

Early B.

For $200, get a used HK PA 2000. However, I suggest you increase your budget by at least $100. That way, you'll have many more options -- Parasound, Rotel, NAD, etc. Two hundred bucks won't buy very much power and quality. If you're gonna do it, do it right the first time.

PolknPepsi

I'm with Early B.......it is hard and really tries ones patience but saving for something better usually pays off in the long run!


Goodluck Buddy.......... ..............Pat

lomic

Alright, let's up the budget to $400 and say I'm also going to need to push an LSiC with the same amp, or get 2ch amp + mono amp for the purpose. Maybe that can narrow down the recommendations.

Thanks for the input so far.

nemos2

I have got to throw my $0.02 in here.

You might want to look at outlaw, I am not sure what you could find on the used market, but try audiogon for an outlaw M200 mono block.

You might also want to check the fleamarket, every now and then an outlaw amp shows up.

I love mine (the 755), and it does a great job of driving my LSi's

ian

hamzahsh

Originally posted by amulford
For the amount you want to spend, I'd say go with a used Carver. Just make sure whatever you buy will be stable at 4 ohms.

Hamzahsh - I read the specs on the Integra, they didn't say anything about four ohm output, but did mention 6 ohm. That would lead me to think they weren't stable below 6, like alot of Denons. Not that they are bad, but not for this application.

Thanks amulford for pointing it out! I didn't realize that its for 4 OHM application.

For $200, it would be hard to find something really good. My 2nd recommendation is a NAD C272 2-ch amp, which can deliver 150 x 2 RMS for 4/8 OHM speakers. It will drive your 4 OHM speakers with ease. I personally use this AMP and I've no words to describe how much I love this AMP. I know its double the amount of your budget but you always get what you pay for. Outlaw is another brand to look for.

http://www.nadelectronics.com/hifi_amplifiers/C272_framset.htm

Agree with Early B. If you're doing it, do it once and get done with it.

lomic

Thanks all, a few hours of solid research on the models mentioned here has given me a much better idea of amps and what I'm looking for.

I've decided on th Parasound HCA-1500A once I can get a good deal on one. Guessing it's probably gonna set me back $400-500 used but at least it will last me longer than a new computer I was gonna buy.

Early B.

Alright, let's up the budget to $400 and say I'm also going to need to push an LSiC with the same amp, or get 2ch amp + mono amp for the purpose. Maybe that can narrow down the recommendations.

Since you increased the budget to $400 and added the need to power the center channel, aren't you right back to where you started? I'd do one of two things:

1. forget about powering the center channel until later and get a two-channel amp for the fronts with a $300 - $400 budget.

2. get a good three-channel amp, but it'll probably cost you more than $400.