Completed the LSi Set!

knownalien

I have been unable to post for months now, but I have return. I now have the setup I have dreamt about for a long time now:

LSi15's
LSiC
LSi9's

!!

I was scared to get the new LSi sub and opted instead for the SVS 20-39 PC Plus (I have it set down to 16 hz though it can go to 12).

Now I am looking at the Outlaw 990/7700(or7500) combo. It will be my reward for coming off a tour! In any event, I wanted to share my thoughts with you guys and get your input which I missed dearly while unable to post. I opted for the LSi9's as opposed to their smaller sibling because with the sub I have the LSi15's can move to another room . . . or not. But now I have two very powerful front speaker options. Here is my plan if I get the Outlaws I mentioned. I already have two 2200 mono blocks from them, but the imaging is off because the Denon AVR-2105 is powering the rest of the system. What I wanted to do is use the 7700/7500 to run the system and only use the 2200's to power the 8' woofer of the LSi15's via line level inputs. I would use the balanced input of the 7700/7500 to power everything else and the mids and highs of the LSi15's. I wish the 990 had assignable surround back channels so that you could pump the fronts through them like the Denons offer (higher end models) but I can make do with my idea here. The guy at Outlaw told me that using the line level for the 2200 mono blocks would help compensate for the db difference between the 7700/7500 and the 2200 assuming I used the balanced input from the 7700/7500. Also I am stuck trying to decide on the 7700 or the 7500. I am also stuck within the fact that the LSi15's are rated at 250 watts max and bi-amping them will throw 300 watts into the 8' and the mids and highs each. Lastly, the 8' woofer on the LSi15 may have become a tad bit obsolete with the SVS sub I have. Now "cascading" and other things may be a factor. But can you ever have enough bass??

Joey_V

Congrats on the full onslaught of LSi goodness..

And no, you can never have enough sub.

I would set the mains to large and let the 8" do its work, especially in 2 channel, as you may want to turn the SVS off. For HT, you can never have too much so as long as you calibrate your system that it doesnt have Mt. Everest type peaks - you should be ok.

Key is.. calibrate.

Demiurge

Congrats. I'm working my way towards that exact speaker set-up myself.

aaharvel

Congratulations man. I'm in the process of dreaming of owning LSi's as we speak.

ohskigod

excellent, better late than never. thats my exact set up. it will serve you well, especially with that outlaw combo.

have fun

halo

aaharvel wrote:

Congratulations man. I'm in the process of dreaming of owning LSi's as we speak.

I'm in the process of dreaming Just go for it Andrew! DREAM AWAY!!!

Shizelbs

Very nice. Less posting, more listening.

knownalien

man, the drama intensified today when I called a guy named "wally" from a company called "Underwood Hifi." (http://www.underwoodhifi.com/mods.html) Essentially he was talking me out of the Outlaw approach and instead offering a Bel Canto S300i for stereo which even has a digital power supply and a Onix player (CD-3 I think) which is not currently on his site. We talked for close to an hour. He sounds very smart and he says he knows one of the guys at Outlaw, but the way he described the digital amp portion of the Bel Canto vs. the "inefficient" amps of the Outlaw 7700/7500, I am really thinking. I could keep my Denon and use it only for hometheater and also keep my monoblocks (though I see little reason to) and get the intergrated system he says with the CD player he says and come in at around $3000. At the moment, I am using a Samsung DVD/CD player!!!

the agony!

One piece at a time. I had the Sony SACD/DVD 400 one but it was too cumbersome. They say the source is important and either his modded Jolidas or Onix may be the way to go. The LSi scream for purity of signal. Now I am torn. In two weeks I go to Brazil! I want music now. I am thinking maybe Polk is ready to come out with a successor to the LSi series because I got the LSi9's on sale at Tweeter and there is no special holiday to speak of.

Shizelbs

What was the sale price?

faster100

I just did the same upgrade to all Lsi's.. its been years in the making for me and alot of guys here.. Go for it if anyone is on the fence and with all the recent lsi deals around here, almost a no brainer

Enjoy!!

knownalien

Shizelbs wrote:

What was the sale price?

$100 off

so from $999 to $899 for the pair.

I jumped on it.

Joey_V

I want a complete LSi set....

knownalien

these are the two things he said that stood out:

1) the Bel Canto has a digital amp. This means it can be lighter and run much cooler

2) the Outlaw 990 does not have a pure balanced output (my words). Meaning, the connection is there but internally it is not as this would mean dual circuitry. The 7700/7500 (which is basically from an ATI) however IS balanced. And what's more, the concept of "noise" is not so much an issue. Even with my rig, I get no noise. I will put my rig in my sig shortly.

aaharvel

knownalien wrote:

$100 off

so from $999 to $899 for the pair.

I jumped on it.

Don't sweat it. The 10% sale at Tweeter is used all the time, simply to move product to meet end of month expectatons. Did you even know, that if one asks for a discount at Tweeter, the sales person is cleared to give the customer that 10%? If they want more, they have to go to the store manager and usually doesn't happen unless it's a VERY high dollar piece of equipment or more specifically a professional install. Getting Lsi's off at 10% doesn't mean they're in the process of liquidating the "old" models to make way for the new ones. You simply either saw a 10% off everything in the store sticker, or you were a smart enough buyer to ask for a discount, and received it.

Enjoy them. They're nice speakers. And my choice for amp/pre would probably be the Outlaw, but that's not from personal experience. Just word of mouth regarding their quality and especially their customer service.

Good luck.

knownalien

^^ you are correct. Can't argue that. Like Polk, Outlaw's customer service is to die for. That's why I keep coming back. And I paid full retail at tweeter on my LSi's. And I paid full retail on my RTi's at Circuit City years ago. I do it out of respect for a company that builds a great affordable product. The ONLY thing I bought that was not from an authorized dealer was a pair of RTi8's. That was a mistake as one came with a blown driver which I bought direct from polk. All in all, I think I have dropped close to $4000 on Polk and I don't regret it because these LSi's will stay with me whether they retire to a secondary room or play ying and yang to electrostats. I worked too hard to get these. And anyway, I am 10 minutes outside of Polk Headquarters!!!

My only issue with underwoodhifi is that I can't readily go to, say, audioreview.com and read up on his stuff. I do know one thing, however, I want to replace my Denon BADLY. I am just not impressed with the unit. In truth, I prefer music to movies and I think that is what this guy at Underwood was speaking to. When I see movies, it is the picture that matters most. But though I may only listen to one piano work by Chopin a day, it has to be special. And I am not a big fan of SACD or DVD audio because they are not readily available and "auditionable" though I hear once you go that route you never come back. But the LSi9's have put me a step closer to this goal. Even the Denon in Stereo 5 channel mode made the LSi's (minus the SVS sub) come to life. I made my wife sit in the one spot on the couch and listen to a little Rach piano concerto #3 and then Rush "Analog Kid" and "New World Man" from Signals. the vifa tweeter . . nothing makes it sing quite like Neal Peart hitting the ride cymbal!

Joey_V

aaharvel wrote:

Don't sweat it. The 10% sale at Tweeter is used all the time, simply to move product to meet end of month expectatons. Did you even know, that if one asks for a discount at Tweeter, the sales person is cleared to give the customer that 10%? If they want more, they have to go to the store manager and usually doesn't happen unless it's a VERY high dollar piece of equipment or more specifically a professional install.

Not true for most of their speaker line - maybe their TV line.

Tried to haggle their Summit price - $10K retail.... not even 1CENT. They wouldnt budge on the $5K Vantage....

aaharvel

Joey_V wrote:

Not true for most of their speaker line - maybe their TV line.

Tried to haggle their Summit price - $10K retail.... not even 1CENT. They wouldnt budge on the $5K Vantage....

depends on what sales person you get, I suppose. Maybe since it was a speciality item? Price/ or availability? Other than those possibilities, I stand by what I said because it was the store manager who went into detail about this very thing during a 2hr. interview I had not too long ago. I ended up turning the sales job down, however, I just can't work on 100% commission.

Joey_V

aaharvel wrote:

depends on what sales person you get, I suppose. Maybe since it was a speciality item? Price/ or availability? Other than those possibilities, I stand by what I said because it was the store manager who went into detail about this very thing during a 2hr. interview I had not too long ago. I ended up turning the sales job down, however, I just can't work on 100% commission.

Talked to head guy.... ML are price protected more so than Polks are. Not all products at Tweeter are negotiable.

DesertPilot

Hello all,

I haven't been on the forum for a while either (working hard on completing my home theater system).

Anyway...a little over a year ago I finally purchased my LSi system. LSi9 in the front. LSiC for the center. And LSiFx for the rear surround. I also added two PSW505 subs. It is powered by an Outlaw 990/755 pre and amp. My DVD player is a Denon 2910.

When playing SACD...all I can say is WOW! Here it is --- over a year later ---and I am still amazed at the clarity and richness of the sound. Telarc produces some truly excellent SACD material. Listen to Hiromi (piano jazz), especially her newest release Spiral. Or, maybe any of the classical stuff with Eric Kunzel directing the ASO. Lots more too.

For home theater...I really think the polk LSi system is also fabulous. I've recently added a front projection system (119" diag 16:9 screen). It all works great!

The Outlaw seems to work very well with the Polks...IMHO. And the LSi series is truly fantastic. Good luck with your system.

Marcus
-- currently contemplating a home theater PC to integrate in to the home theater...

knownalien

nice to hear from you. i have been considering the denon 3910 dvd from dakmart.com (b-stock). they are authorized from denon. my dvd player by sony is a disgrace to the rest of my system.

goldear

Congratulations on the new LSi system. As a new member and new LSi convert (15s/9s/C/FX), I must say that I'm also very impressed with the quality of these speakers. In the past, I have used seperate systems for HT and music...and while I have owned some very fine stereo pairs, it often became too expensive for me to outfit an entire 7.1 rig with matching components (especially since I often bought used, making it harder).

Ironically, in the past several months I have sold off some of my more current, higher-end pieces and settled on older, upgraded 7.1 Aragon Soundstage. Combined with my Aragon/Acurus amps, these LSi speakers are giving me some of the best sound I've had in my HT system. While I've still got pieces of my 2-channel rig, this latest combination may be the closest I have come to consolidating my systems...at a price I never thought possible.

-Chris

Hunter20

My neighbor has a similar setup...less the amp. I keep telling him to jump on one and he'll realllllllly be blown away.

cfrizz

Welcome Knownalien, Goldear & Hunter!

Congrats on the LSI converts, Hunter what do you have for a system?

kmartin971

I love my LSIs!!