First Time Hearing the LSI Line

mldennison

I have recently started the process of auditioning new front speakers to replace my (aging) S series that I have had forever. I have been wanting to hear the LSI series for some time but never had the chance to. Well this weekend I was able to get out and listen to the 9's and the 15's as well as a number of other similarly priced speakers and I have to say I was quite impressed!

The LSI's I listened to were at a Tweeter in the Boston area, where they actually had a very decent setup. The electronics that were available were all receivers so I ended up listening on their top Yamaha receiver but the salesperson took the time to move the 9's and the 15's out from the wall and get them toed in to my position quite well. He also had a pair of Focal's setup to compare to (not really sure what model and have not been able to find much info on the Internet about them).

As for my impressions, I immediately noticed very nice detail in the mids and especially in the highs. Both of these speakers had a very nice soundstage and good seperation among instrumets. Both were very laid back and relaxed (which i definately prefer) with the 15's being a little more relaxed than the 9's. Both of them I thought were every bit as detailed as the Focal floorstanding model (which retails for $2000) and I definately liked the relaxed feeling of them more than the Focals.

The one thing I thought that that might be a downside is that they are a little TOO relaxed for some types of music (namely classical). For Accoustic and Rock they had just enough edge to make things sound great but then with Classical it seemed like i was waiting on the edge of my seat just waiting for them to pull me in but they did not quite do that. This however, could definately be a function of the electronics that I was hearing them on. I have no doubt that my Adcom would power them much better and may make up for this limitation (anyone have any thoughts?)

I was also able to make a stop at Spearit sound on this trip and while there heard the B&W 600 and 700 series as well as the Paradigm Studio 40 and a bookshelf from Dali, I think it was in the Ikon series. Out of those, I was most impressed with the B&W 705 and 704 and am having a tough time deciding between those 2 models and the LSI's. I am not really sure however, if I have given the LSI's a fair shake considering that they were being powered by a receiver and the B&W's were running on a Rotel CDP and Integrated.

I still have a few models that I am really interested in listening to (Dynaudio and Totem) but so far the LSI's are right at the top of a short list.

Joey_V

Sean... I think I know where your predictions lie...

cfrizz

I think that if the LSI's had been powered by a separate amp, they wouldn't have sounded quite so laid back! It's nice having Spearit & Tweeter just 2 doors away from one another!

aaharvel

Yamaha receiver, flagship or not-
until they've been hooked up to something that can drive 4ohms and under with skill, such as a quality high current amplifier, you ain't heard nothin' yet.

mldennison

thanks everyone for reading through all of that. i definately agree with you guys that the LSI's could have had more power to make them sound better. i think that my adcom would probably create that sort of sound since it tends to be a little bright. i guess that is what i was liking so much about the LSI's, that they could take the "bright" out of my system and leave me with something detailed but more natural and open.

zero - i will definately let you know when i get to hear the dynaudio's and the totem's. there is a place in waltham (Goodwins High End) which carries both lines so i am hoping to hear them this week or this weekend. after all of the good things that i have heard, i am really looking foward to the audition.

Ferres

Try to audition some Tannoy Sensys DC1's or DC2's as well.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/loudspeakers/204tannoy/

Joey_V

MLDennison,

Looking forward to your thoughts on the Totem and Dyns...

wingnut4772

Defnitely give the Lsis an audition with some beefy amplification.

cfrizz

Goodwins High End used to be Goodwins Audio where Spearit Sound is now. It is where I got my first real system, including my Polks!

mldennison wrote:

thanks everyone for reading through all of that. i definately agree with you guys that the LSI's could have had more power to make them sound better. i think that my adcom would probably create that sort of sound since it tends to be a little bright. i guess that is what i was liking so much about the LSI's, that they could take the "bright" out of my system and leave me with something detailed but more natural and open.

zero - i will definately let you know when i get to hear the dynaudio's and the totem's. there is a place in waltham (Goodwins High End) which carries both lines so i am hoping to hear them this week or this weekend. after all of the good things that i have heard, i am really looking foward to the audition.

mldennison

cfrizz wrote:

Goodwins High End used to be Goodwins Audio where Spearit Sound is now. It is where I got my first real system, including my Polks!

you know, i thought that was the case, i had been to that location (on Comm Ave) maybe 5-6 years ago when i was helping a friend buy some stuff and loved that shop and remembered the name. i had not been back and when i went looking for Goodwins i was pleasently suprised to see that it was located right down the street from me

mldennison

thought i would add a quick update...

i got a chance the other night to audition the Dynaudio Audience 52se and the Totem Model 1. man was i impressed :eek: , they are both fantastic speakers! they were driven by moon audio electronics in a very nice accoustically treated room. lucky for me, the gentleman that was setting up the demo had a number of other customers to deal with so i actually got about an hour with each of hte speakers to really hear what they were capable of. unfortunately, that 2 hours put me up to closing time so i have to go back (hopefully this weekend) to hear the Dynaudio Focus 110 and 140 which i am really excited about.

as for the comparison. both of these speakers were head and shoulders ahead of the other speakers i have listened to. the detail and accuracy that they posess was amazing to my ears. the soundstage of both far outpaces anything i have heard so far. what was interesting was how similar that they sounded, which then made sense when i found out that totem uses a dynaudio woofer in the model 1. end the end however, i decided that i like the 52se a little more. being someone who does care about asthetics, i went into this really expecting to like the totem since it is much nicer looking. the one thing that i could determine as a difference was the ability of the dynaudio to disappear just a little more. most of the time both of the speakers were impossible to pick out but from time to time i could pinpoint the totem with i just could not do with the 52se. i could take either of these speakers home and be set for life i think but head to head the 52se was just a slight bit better to my ears (which admittedly dont have alot of experience).

so now i considering the rave reviews that i am hearing about the dynaudio focus line, i am very excited to hear them this weekend and decide between that and the 52se. i am not seeing much in the way of used dynaudio's on the market so i might have to wait a while before i can get something to come my way...

tryrrthg

Good to hear you enjoyed your audition. I'm also a huge Dynaudio fan

I'm also a big fan of "This Old House" on PBS and as I was watching one day they showed the owner of Goodwins High End installing the homeowner's new system (the homeowner is an audiophile). System included Dynaudio Confidence C2's, Arcam electronics, and an REL Studio sub. real nice!

http://goodwinshighend.com/aboutus.htm#This_Old_House

List of Electronics used in the house

mldennison

yeah, Goodwins was outstanding! no showrooms at all, they had all of their extra speakers in the center hallway and the entire store was dedicated to listening rooms with only a single pair of speakers.

of course they put me in a room with a pair of dynaudio evidence master's, i think just to tease me or something.

mldennison

Zero wrote:

Its time to look at your account and say goodbye to your money!

that is exactly what i was thinking when the first notes started coming out of the dynaudio's. bad bad bad :rolleyes:

jmierzur

mldennison wrote:

that is exactly what i was thinking when the first notes started coming out of the dynaudio's. bad bad bad :rolleyes:

That was exactly my thought about six years ago when I first heard the Audience and Contour series.