New LSI9 Owner

zasquatch

Hi girls n guys! Been lurking here for a couple of weeks now and all of your positive posts of the LSI convinced me to give them a try, so I ordered a pair from Crutchfield.

The first time hooked em up and listened to them I'm like WwwooOoowwW!!! This can't be real! They ate my current speakers (Monitor Audio S6's) for lunch and spit em out! Ok, ok, maybe I exaggerate just a bit. But the bass and the mids are much tighter and cleaner on the LSI. The S6 extends a little lower, but I got subwoofs for that. The S6 has a pretty sweet tweeter, but I like the LSI's better - more presence and a little smoother. Has a certain ambiance about it.

Anyway, prolly preachin to the choir here, so on to my main question: If I love the LSI9, does that mean I'd love the 15 even more? I've searched and read every 9 vs. 15 thread I can find on here, but I still can't make up my mind! Between me and my wife we listen most types of music but I do listen to a lot of jazz and older rock (and she loves the 9's too, but she's ok with going with the 15's if I decide to go that way).

System will be used for both music and HT, but I'm alot pickier about how they sound for music. My room is 16'x16'x7.5'. Placement is already somewhat of a problem with the 9's because to get them in the ideal positions I have to get them out into the traffic flow. But I don't really care about that, I like em enough that I'll make it work one way or another. But it makes we wonder if the 15's will be even harder to position.

From reading all the LSI posts here I know your first question is "What are you powering them with?" I'm currently using my Rotel RB-985 separate amp (5x100w). When I first connected them I just hooked them up normal to 2 channels and noticed a little bit of bass bloat and looseness (but not much). After listening for a few hours I decided to go ahead and bi-amp them and that tightened the bass up nicely. I'll prolly eventually look for some more powerful amps in the future after my wallet recovers, but I think I got it covered pretty good for now.

So waddya all think? Keep the 9's or send em back for the 15's?

cmy330go

That's really a call only you can make. Personally I'm more impressed dollar for dollar with the 9's. I also have found the 9's to be less picky with placement. If it were me I would stick with the 9's, but as I said you really need to make the call. Nobody can tell what you are going to prefer.

Congrats on the new toys, and welcome!

knownalien

well, you didn't really say what else you were using in your HT which needs more speakers. I think you (like my sig would show) have the answer already. Get the 15's too!! Use the 9's as surrounds. Or, use the 9's as "B" speakers. But with the 9's, you'll likely need a sub if you want to get a few lower notes spoken really well, and I am not just talking about pipe organ music.

steveinaz

Great speakers, enjoy!

ohskigod

personally, I like the 15's better in a large room. they just seem more effortless at the higher volumes, where the 9's start to get a little squirly for lack of a better phrase. If you have a smaller listening room, its a flat out crapshoot.

When I was using the Lsi's in my 2 channel rig, I liked the 15's because they handled my basements myriad of sound environment issues better than the 9's. I really didnt side by side them in a normal listening environment. I just wound up getting an LSiC and putting all the LSi's in my theater, thus ending any desire for speaker upgrades in that department for the forseeable future.

Crutchfield has a return policy dont they, try em. even if you eat shipping, its worth it to get the best speaker for the job that you like best.

congrats on being part of the LSi club

Joey_V

zasquatch wrote:

H
So waddya all think? Keep the 9's or send em back for the 15's?

I would go with the 15s, personally.

Joey

steveinaz

Big sound = big speaker, if you want a bigger sound, have a large room, and/or like your music at concert levels, go with the Lsi15.

pblanc

I have used both the LSi9s and the LSi15s as front speakers in a 7.1/6.1 surround system. My vote would be for the 15s. I agree, they seem to handle higher volumes more effortlessly. Also, the 9s up on even good quality stands are a bit top-heavy. The 15s really don't have any bigger footprint than the 9s up on good stands, and they will be a lot more stable, especially if they are in the traffic pattern. When I switched from LSi9s to LSi15s as front main speakers, I moved the 9s to back surrounds, but I really felt they were wasted there. I then put both 9s on top of my TV and moved my LSiC to a mono back surround (6.1) position and I'm happy with that arrangement. I think a pair of LSi9s sound a lot better than an LSiC as a center channel speaker (seems obvious, I guess). I am using LSi FXs as surrounds and recommend them highly.

zasquatch

Thanks all for the responses. I really like the 9s and really would like to make sure I don't lose any SQ if I switch.

To pblanc: Thanks for confirming my thoughts on the 9s being topheavy on stands. I've been looking around at stands and haven't seen many that I'd be comfortable having the 9s on, other than a few very expensive ones. But let me ask you this: When you switched from the 9s to the 15s for your fronts did you feel like you lost anything at all as far as soundstage, imaging, bass tightness, midrange quality or anything else? Anything at all?

Keeping the 9s and getting the 15s also is not in the budget at the moment (I still have to buy the center yet), so I'm leaning pretty strongly towards sending them back and getting the 15s (and the center) and maybe adding the 7s later for the surrounds. I sometimes like my music somewhat loud and I've noticed the 9s can get just a little boxy sounding and strain just a little at higher volumes. Hopefully the 15s would remedy that and surely would be more stable. And any other gains would just be a bonus.

2+2

Note: Your Rotel is not enough power for the 15s, even when biamped. You will probably have some bass boominess with the 15s. (I previously had 1075).

zasquatch

Thanks for the info 2+2. I was afraid that might be the case. I've been scoping out used amps on Audiogon and E-bay. Not sure if I can swing the cost at the moment. I may try the 15s with my Rotel for the time being and buy a bigger amp just as soon as I can. Or maybe I'll put off buying the LSIC until later and by an amp. I still have my MA S6 center until I sell them.

ohskigod

2+2 wrote:

Note: Your Rotel is not enough power for the 15s, even when biamped. You will probably have some bass boominess with the 15s. (I previously had 1075).

good point, it will be enough to power safely, but not optimally.

I went from Outlaw monos at 300 watts into 4 ohm to the Carver m4.0t at 500 into 4 ohms, and the 15's rewarded me for it in spades. remember, those outlaw mono's are no slouches in and of themselves.

Joey_V

zasquatch wrote:

Thanks for the info 2+2. I was afraid that might be the case. I've been scoping out used amps on Audiogon and E-bay. Not sure if I can swing the cost at the moment. I may try the 15s with my Rotel for the time being and buy a bigger amp just as soon as I can. Or maybe I'll put off buying the LSIC until later and by an amp. I still have my MA S6 center until I sell them.

Thats the way to go I think.

ohskigod

I concur with better amplification before the LSiC purchase

2+2

Also, be forewarned that 15s can sometimes sound strange on some recordings (many classical recordings)...as if the sound is coming from the back of the speakers. This effect is increased if you have a "laid back" amp or receiver (such as HK). It makes these recordings horrible and unlistenable. This is almost none existent in LSi 7s...but 7s sound (and are) smaller. I never heard the 9s so I cant comment there but it may fall between 15s and 7s regarding this characteristic..

cstpeter

LSi15's for cheap on Audiogon right now:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1165784609

zasquatch

Thx cstpeter. I just e-mailed the guy a request for pics.

I think I will go ahead and skip the center speaker for now and get a better amp.

Do any of you have experience with the Aragon 8002? (125W@8Ohms, 250W@4Ohms)

How about the Carver M-1.0t? (200W@8Ohms, 350W@4Ohms)

cstpeter

Never heard either of those two amps, but I used to own this Rotel RB-991 (2x200) with LSi9 and was very pleased with it. It received a best-buy award from Sensible Sound several years ago. Powerful and cheap:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rotel-RB-991-THX_W0QQitemZ330044568042QQihZ014QQcategoryZ39783QQcmdZViewItem

cfrizz

Welcome Zasquatch! You should start with a minumun of 200wpc & go up! So I would choose the Carvers. I think there are a few on here who have Carvers. Hopefully they will chime in.

pblanc

Zasquatch, In answer to your question, obviously the LSi15s and LSi9s sound more alike than they sound different, so if you like the LSi9s I'm pretty sure you would like the LSi15s. They do sound a bit different though and they both sound very good, so I guess what is gained and what is given up in going from one to another comes down to taste and personal preference. For me the LSi9s slightly overemphasize the mid bass. They have a lot of mid bass punch which sounds good on a lot of music. Most would agree they have an impressive amount of bass output for their size. My thinking may be simplistic, but it seems to me they acheive that bass output with only a pair of cascaded 5.25 inch drivers at the expense of overdoing the upper bass, and mid bass registers. The LSi15s have the same three drivers but add an 8 inch woofer and the bass crossover point is lower. It seems like this "unloads" the midbass drivers and gives the LSi15s a cleaner midrange and better overall balance. They definitely seem to handle the higher voumes better. One channel of my Outlaw 7125 amplifier went into thermal protection mode twice driving the 9s. It has yet to do so driving the 15s at what seems to be comparable volume levels.
I was using StudioTech Ultra 30 inch stands for the LSi9s. They are heavy duty metal, can be filled with sand or shot for added stability, and have some decent spikes. Cost is about $200 shipped from Racks and Stands.
Think about this: keep the LSi9s for now and order a pair of LSi15s. If you order from Crutchfield or Acoustic Sound Design you can return them in 30 days. Then you can do a direct comparison in your listening room. If you prefer the LSi15s consider keeping the LSi9s and using one or two as a center channel speaker instead of getting an LSiC. Consider the cost of an LSiC, the cost of a pair of good stands for the LSi9s, and the shipping cost of returning the LSi9s and you might find that you come close to breaking even by using a 9 or a pair of 9s as a center. They look great and are a better match appearance-wise, with the LSi15s as a center stage, and to me they sound better. If you have a seven channel amp you can run two 9s as a center stage and have a single back surround.

goldear

Zasquatch,

While I dumped my Aragon 8002 for a couple 8008 series amps a few years ago, the 8002 is a powerful amp, conservatively rated at 125w (8ohms). It has much of the same internals as the 8008 series and is very capable of driving low-impedance loads like those found in the LSi.
I'm now using a complete Aragon setup (recently added an upgraded 7.1 Soundstage) with my LSi system and it is a great combination. The 800x series livelier top-end and high damping factor performs wonderfully with LSi's Ring Radiator and control over the bass/woofer on the 15s.

Ironically, the symmetry between the Aragon amps and the LSis (and the Soundstage) are so good, that this is the closest I've come to finally consolidating my two systems. While I'm more of a casual music listener, I'm really surprised at the level of sound I'm achieving with some of these older "used" components and what is a relatively inexpensive speaker system. Good Luck.
-Chris

Sthrndream

Sunfire:D

cfrizz

Man, what a nice system you have there Sthrndream!