Harsh Sounding LSi15

bankshot

I get too much upper midrange and the tweeters sounds thin.I thought it was
the Xover so I replaced it a while back but it didnt sound like that helped at all. Any ideas on what it could be.

PS:thanks for the help on the other problems I had.

VR3

Amplification?

Source?

Placement?

Room?

All could be factors...

Most of the time it is the gear or placement - and mostly the placement.

bankshot

The 15s are made as one being a left and the other a right, if I were to switch them do you think I could properly listen to them and see if it is a placement problem.

I only ask because these speakers are a good 70lbs. and I would hate to move them just to find out nothing.

Dennis Gardner

Placement doesn't cost a thing, stop bitchin' about how heavy they are and get your workout on. Guys on this forum have 180 pound Polks.

bankshot

Finnaly moved the suckers and right when I was about to the get the listening, my family decided they wanted to watch a movie. Now I have to wait 2hrs for them to watch that movie mr & ms smith. Now I really hate that movie.

mantis

It's a good movie. She looks Incredible in it.

bankshot

I agree on the part that she looks incredible.

Dennis Gardner

mantis wrote:

It's a good movie. She looks Incredible in it.

Why do all the best looking ones have to be so psycho?

F1nut

Switching the left and right speakers ISN'T a solution to placement problems. Placement solutions involve more or less toe-in, closer or further from the back and/or side walls, etc.

Did you just get these? What are you powering them with and what is the associated gear?

Ferres

Where is your Amplifier plugged into? Direct wall socket or powerstrip?

bankshot

F1nut: I was just switching them to see if it was the placement or if there is something wrong with the speakers.
I am using 2 Outlaw m200s for the 15s with a yamaha doing the processing.

It seems to be the speaker, but what it is I am not sure. Im still testing.

VR3

Maybe you just dont like the LSi sound...

You just want to.

F1nut

I'm not familiar with the Outlaw amps, but Yamaha has a reputation for being bright. The LSi's tweeter is very smooth, so I don't think the speakers are your problem, although you keep looking there. I think you have synergy issues, so you're going to have to try some different gear.....I'd start with a tube pre amp.

jcaut

Agree. There's not really much that can be wrong with the speakers themselves, as long as the all the drivers are working and not obviously damaged. Anything that happened to be wrong would manifest itself as something more obviously bad than just "harsh".

My first thought when I read the first post was amplification: I figured you were trying to power the 15's with a receiver. The Outlaw amps should be up to the task, however. If it's possible for you to try a different preamp/processor, I think that would be the best place to start looking. Sometimes things just don't work well together. Like F1 said, synergy, or lack of. If it's not that, I would think room placement or acoustic issues. I've heard the LSi's described lots of ways, both by people who like them and those who don't, but I don't think I've heard the word "harsh" in those descriptions.

halo

Your room may be the problem - can you give us a description?

bankshot

I think its the room. One side is a bare wall and the other has drapes. I guess Im being too critical.

wingnut4772

I run my my Lsi s with all Outlaw amps(M200s and 770) and all is well. No hint of brightness or harshness anywhere.

F1nut

I'll telling you it's your gear. Try some different stuff and tell me that I'm wrong.

Ferres

Are your amps getting enough clean power? Are they plugged directly to a wall outlet?

Harshness/hissy sounds can be a symptom of an amp not getting enough power from a lower gauged powerstrip. I had this problem before when I first got my parasounds. It got better when I replaced the strip with a heavy 10 gauged one.

RuSsMaN

Jesse has the big head lately, no? You sound like Dan's long lost brother.

It shouldn't matter if he's using a POS receiver to drive them, the basic tonal signature is just that. Why recommend a tube preamp? Just because? I could see that if he said his top end was too bright, but he didn't - you are the only one that mentioned bright.

Thin is the word he used. I don't know what thin means to you (or him) for that matter, but I read it as the top end is lifeless, too laid back, not enough presence - throwing tubes in THAT mix will most likely only make it worse.

The guy has admittedly been into his crossovers, WHO KNOWS what is going on as far as how they are wired now, and what has, or has not been done with the speakers. I'd start there, before blaming the gear - but that's just me.

Cheers,
Russ

dorokusai

This wouldn't be Polk Audio forum if we didn't suggest that he spend more money on something that he doesn't need right now....didn't you know that Russ?

I don't think anyone asked what his settings are on the Yamaha, as a soundfield choice(e.g. Chruch, Hall...etc) or HT setup, crossover choice could be the simple cause of the whole problem.....noooo spend money.

He could buy a POS gruntball RCV from the Salvation Army, Goodwill or other cheap source and rule out his Yamaha. You could rule out the RCV as the cause in 5 minutes, for a modest amount of money.

Good luck with your problem, you might want to start reading the manual and make sure you haven't setup the AVR incorrectly.

wingnut4772

Are your amps getting enough clean power? Are they plugged directly to a wall outlet?

This is a good point. I almost forgot. One time I was noticing my speakers did sound a little funny and I was wondering if they were clipping. It did not occur to me (duh) that the cheap Belkin 6 outlet plug I had my amp plugged into at the time would be the culprit. I removed it and plugged the amp into the wall (before getting a Panamax) and the problem was solved.

F1nut

No Russ, it's not me with the big head, it's you and Mark on the rag. The negativity flowing from both of you of late is oozing out of the screen. Instead of trying to pick apart my comments, perhaps you could offer your suggestions in a helpful manner as the other people in this thread have done.










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Normanality

Just a thought....

How about connecting your speaker cables to the top binding posts only.
Remove the brass jumper if you are using it.
This will remove the bass (and any issue of lack of power).
Try listening to something smoothe such as piano/guitar and see if the thinness is as obvious and the midrange as pronounced.
I did the same but on the bass only to detect standing waves and deal with room irregularities. It will be easier to detect issues this way.

dorokusai

F1nut wrote:

No Russ, it's not me with the big head, it's you and Mark on the rag. The negativity flowing from both of you of late is oozing out of the screen. Instead of trying to pick apart my comments, perhaps you could offer your suggestions in a helpful manner as the other people in this thread have done.

This statement coming from the resident Polk Ogre. Isn't there a newbie that you can runoff the forum or insult someones gear and/or choices?

If you read closer you'll see that I offered some help as opposed to telling him to immediately spend money. LOL, you're a riot.

Pot, Kettle, Black.

F1nut

dorokusai wrote:

If you read closer you'll see that I offered some help as opposed to telling him to immediately spend money.

Yes you did, but not without taking a shot first. Passive/agressive comes to mind, eh!?!

If you would read closer you will see that I took the time to ask him questions first before offering any suggestions. The same suggestions that others voiced also, yet the only one both of you chose to criticize was mine....pfft!

jcaut

Lol! Polk Ogre.

Sorry

bankshot

Ferres wrote:

Are your amps getting enough clean power? Are they plugged directly to a wall outlet?

Harshness/hissy sounds can be a symptom of an amp not getting enough power from a lower gauged powerstrip. I had this problem before when I first got my parasounds. It got better when I replaced the strip with a heavy 10 gauged one.

Im using a cheap Monster surge protector, never thought it would be that. Ill try using another power strip I have and see what that does.

bankshot

Normanality wrote:

Just a thought....

How about connecting your speaker cables to the top binding posts only.
Remove the brass jumper if you are using it.
This will remove the bass (and any issue of lack of power).
Try listening to something smoothe such as piano/guitar and see if the thinness is as obvious and the midrange as pronounced.
I did the same but on the bass only to detect standing waves and deal with room irregularities. It will be easier to detect issues this way.

Thats a good suggestion, Ill try doing that.

scottnbnj

on that note, ic's, speaker wire and/or wire management? i've had old (not cheap) ic's and old (cheap) speaker wires sound harsh or gritty. things like power cords running next to ic's or speaker wire might too. what kind of ic's and speaker wires do you use? are all of the speaker wire, jumper and ic connections clean and tight?

maybe source too. what are you using?

aiming speaks directly at the listening position ~might~ help lessen the strength of room acoustics problems. also, if you normally listen at farfield, try closer listening positions. this might also give you an idea how much the room v. speaks are the problem.

)

wingnut4772

Don't try another power strip yet. Remove that from the equation. Plug them babies into the wall and check it. It won't hurt to do so for a little bit....um...just not during a lightening storm or anything