Matching LSi25, LSiC with FXi3's

buyck

Hi all - first post here. I'd appreciate any opinions about mixing the LSi and RTi speakers. I am starting an incremental home theater upgrade. Since we are moving into a house with an "open" floorplan - I'll need bigger speakers. So I am changing my fronts from RTi4s to LSi25s and an LSiC. I'd like to keep my FXi'3s for surround duty for now, and maybe use the RTi4's to go from 5.1 to 6.1 or 7.1 until I can recover from the front speaker upgrade. Thanks, David

fatchowmein

Make sure you can drive 4ohms on the LSi's.

mantis

What are you driving them with? Most receivers sound like po on the Lsi's. If your thinking Lsi then you better think High end receiver like a B&k or Rotel or seperates. Not to mention the Fxi3's will not match well with them. They sound very different.

Save you money and do your system correclty. You will be happier in the end.

Dan

buyck

Thanks for these responses. Mantis, I will start off using a Sony STR-DA5200ES (let the controversy begin;) ). I have had great luck with this AVR bi-amping the LR fronts. We'll see how she does with the LSi's 4ohm load. Based on digging deeper in these forums I am thinking I'll do LSi15's instead of LSi25's and use outlaw monoblocks if the AVR sounds anemic to me. Seems like LSi surrounds are in order too. I am heading to Crutchfield's retail store tomorrow to compare all these speakers - should be fun.

mantis

Cool man actually Sony is one of the only companies that build receiver amps that can handle a 4ohm load. They sound pretty good but not on the level with LSi. Lsi is a poor mans high end speaker if you will. It sounds almost as good as higher end speakers and pretty much beats everything in it's price class.

Dan

zx_toth

buyck wrote: »

Since we are moving into a house with an "open" floorplan - I'll need bigger speakers.

Hi Dave,

I have some LSi25's on the way and have an offer placed on an open concept home ... I would like to see some pics of how you finally place your system into such an open area. My upgrading is also from fear of my current system sounding like a cricket with laryngitis ...

Of course the girlfriend dislikes the idea of large speakers ruining the visual appeal of the open space so Im wondering how to "tactfully" place the big bad wolf in a flock of sheep without being too over powering ... Otherwise if this can not be accomplihed than my system and I are banished to a 11x13 in the basement ... yikes! ...

Zsolt

McLoki

zx_toth wrote: »

Hi Dave,

I have some LSi25's on the way and have an offer placed on an open concept home ... I would like to see some pics of how you finally place your system into such an open area. My upgrading is also from fear of my current system sounding like a cricket with laryngitis ...

Of course the girlfriend dislikes the idea of large speakers ruining the visual appeal of the open space so Im wondering how to "tactfully" place the big bad wolf in a flock of sheep without being too over powering ... Otherwise if this can not be accomplihed than my system and I are banished to a 11x13 in the basement ... yikes! ...

Zsolt

My floorplan is pretty open as well. (with LSi15's.) you can get an idea of what it looks like by clicking on the quote in my sig. (that will take you to my system showcase) I can fill the room with sound fine, but the main thing that I get is the floorplan messes with the bass something terrible. I can correct it somewhat with my BFD, but when push comes to shove - the room always wins...

Michael

zx_toth

McLoki wrote: »

My floorplan is pretty open as well. (with LSi15's.) you can get an idea of what it looks like by clicking on the quote in my sig. (that will take you to my system showcase) I can fill the room with sound fine, but the main thing that I get is the floorplan messes with the bass something terrible. I can correct it somewhat with my BFD, but when push comes to shove - the room always wins...

Michael

Thanks,

I do remember seeing your system showcase and thinking "Wow, that must be a challenge", I can see why you kept upgrading your front mains (a spouses worst nightmare:) ). But I like the way the LSi15 seemingly meld into the fire place and really arent that noticeable. Good job for sure. Ill be tinkering with my setup too ... at present we only have an offer on the place so no guarnatees that this will be a problem I have to tackle but look forward to the challenge if the time comes. You can bet Ill have a few questions for you Michael if the time comes.

Zsolt

buyck

Dan, thanks for the feedback on the Sony. So far I have been pleased with it, but I will reserve judgement until I hear it with LSi's. I'll post my opinions when I get into the new place. We move in in late June and I'll buy the LSi's then.

Zsolt, Good luck with your offer on the new house - please post on how that turns out. I'll also be interested in how you handle speaker placement. We'll move into our "open-concept" place in late July. My wife would have never consented to speakers bigger than bookshelves in our main space - that is until I made a huge concession of my own - agreeing to move. I love my current home theater set-up and am going to miss it. It has excellent acoustic properties - a rectangle where the dimensions are all in the "golden-ratio" so it's very forgiving and pretty much any reasonable speaker, even bookshelves, sounds good. So I was very content with RTi4's and a sub. Since I agreed to the move its out with the bookshelves, and in with the floorstanders.

Michael, that is an impressive setup you have. I agree with Zsolt about how well the '15's blend in visually.

Part of my trip this week involved a stop at Crutchfield's brick and mortar in Charlottesville, VA. I got to compare the LSi15, LSi25, RTi12s, and some Thiels (way out of my price-range!). At first blush, the RTi12's sounded best to me, but as I listened longer, this changed. I tend to like a bright sounding speaker but over time the RTi12s struck me as a little harsh (this has been my experience with my RTi4's in extended listening - first 30 min is great then a little tiring. The 15s stole the show, even from the Thiels. Even dynamically, open, great imaging, excellent soundstage. The 25s were also great, but poorly placed in the listening room and only had XM via DirecTV as a source, so they could not live up to their full potential. As I tinkered for a while, I was very impressed with the amount of control the 25s offered for bass. So in the end, I think I am leaning back toward the 25's. I agree with Dan, above that the RTiFX3's and the LSiFX's are very different sounding. So, my next job will be to chose between the LSi9's and LSiFXs for surrounds. . .

G-2

Hi David, and welcome to the madness. Go with the LSiFX's and you'll be glad you did. Even with the Sony handling the 4ohm load, your receiver will probably get a bit warmer. Just something to consider; you can get started with the Sony and add amps as you can afford them. Great call on the 15's as well. I AB'd the 15's, 25's, a couple pair of Focal's and some Dynaudio's that were quite a bit out of our range ($$). 15's took the show. Good luck on your upgrade and please keep us posted!

buyck

Thanks all for these suggestions. An update on my situation. Even though I don't move into the new place until endo of July, I ordered the LSi25s, LSiC and LSi-FXs to take advantage of Crutchfield's sale. Funny- the sale ended yesterday, and the sale price I paid is now the new "low-low" price. Oh well, having the big-a** LSi25 shipping boxes in my current basement will both increase my anticipation and help desensitize my wife as we move up in size from RTi4's in front to LSi25s. Ultimately, I went with the 25's over the 15's because I thought it would handle the bigger space better than the 15's and give my Sony '5200ES more of a fighting chance in driving the LSis. Any thoughts/predicitons on how the LSiFXs will do on stands in the side positions with about 10-12ft of open space behind and beside them, rather than mounted on a wall? Thanks, David

zx_toth

G-2 wrote: »

Hi David, and welcome to the madness. Go with the LSiFX's and you'll be glad you did. !

Why are the LSiFX superior to the LSi9s for surround? Please explain what your experience has shown. Thanks.

Buyck: Our offer on the home was bumped by a retired couple who flexed their financial muscle ... no worries, there will always be others. Looking at a few more places soon.


Zsolt

McLoki

It is not the speaker sound, but rather the design that makes it good for surround duty. For rear surrounds, it is really a mono signal (the back 2 speakers in 7.1). With the Fx's firing sound to the sides rather than directly at the listener, it diffuses the sound over a larger area making it harder to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. (that is why 7.1 is better than 6.1 even with the same mono signal sent in either case.)

Much like speaker sound in general, some people prefer the sound of a FX style speaker in all 4 locations while others prefer direct radiating (like the LSi 9 or 7) in either the back or side positions. I hate to say it, but if possible you should listen to both and keep what you think works best for you and your room.

Michael

Here is a pretty good article comparing the 2 speaker types for surround duty.

zx_toth

Thanks Michael ... appreciate the article.

Zsolt