Lsi25/lsic

askinquestions

I made the plunge into getting the LSI25's and my yamaha amp handles them pretty good. I've been reading up on these and my eyes are starting to hurt. I plan on getting an amp to power the 25's to take full advantage of these babies, but was wondering once I purchase the lsic this week, if this will get over powered with a 2 channel amp on the 25's. I plan on adding the lsifx later when $ permits and was going to get another amp to power these. It seems the 5 channel amps I want are pretty expensive. I was just going to add some adcom gfa555 II as they seem to be most economical at around $300 a piece used and fit the lsi line better. What do you think and advise. Thanks for the help.......

engtaz

Just make sure that you get at least 200 watts to all 3 speakers. You could go 3 Outlaw mono blocks, a three channel amp, adcom 555 and mono amp, or some other 2 channel plus mono amps. There are just examples.

reeltrouble1

If you use the receiver to power the center it will not get overpowered, you will need to balance the Speaker Pressure Levels within the menu of the AVR you are using. Have fun, there are many amplifiers to choose from, I know budget is always a consideration but specs are not the only thing to rely on in making a purchase, you need a high current amplifier, the current or ampre rating is the key for you in driving 4ohm speakers like the LSI.

RT1

fatchowmein

Hopefully, you have a more powerful Yammie than I do. Mine isn't powering the LSiC's correctly so I was getting intermittent problems with clarity and volume turning into a rollercoaster ride. Been living on 2 channel until my new amp arrives on Thu. I don't think it's the center because I tried a LSi9 in it's place and it too came out muddy (more so than the C).

Good luck!

BTW, I'm running 15's.

tcrossma

fatchowmein wrote: »

Hopefully, you have a more powerful Yammie than I do. Mine isn't powering the LSiC's correctly so I was getting intermittent problems with clarity and volume turning into a rollercoaster ride. Been living on 2 channel until my new amp arrives on Thu. I don't think it's the center because I tried a LSi9 in it's place and it too came out muddy (more so than the C).

Good luck!

BTW, I'm running 15's.

What Yammie are you using? I only ask because I have a RX-V2500 and am thinking about making the move to the LSi15's/LSiC and was considering using it to power the center and rears.

tim

sbpolk

Have you considered the Emotiva LPA-1? $449 shipped right now during their promotion. This amp has gotten very good reviews, and is 225 x5 watts at 4ohms...

engtaz

That is a good price.

askinquestions

Looks like a pretty sweet deal. I did read all the feed back from others on this and it all seems to come back pretty good. If no one else has anything bad to say about this amp, I think I'll go ahead and order it tomorrow which will be the 5th. Thanks for the find.

woofiepaws

You are going to hear this over and over: the LSi series love power. I've been learing a lot here in the last few months. More power makes them sound BETTER, louder yes, but better. My LSi25s have sounded better everytime I upgraded the amp. The best: Carver Silver 9t monoblocks. I wish I could afford to do a whole 7.1 system with them:o My B&K puts out 375 watts at 4 ohms and drives the whoe system quite well. Get a good AVR with pre-outs. That will get you going. Save up for a good amp and you will be kicking ****.

john22614

There is no question the LSI's love current.....I'm running my 9's and LSIc up front with an Anthem MCA3 at 225wpc at 8ohms using a Yamaha RXV630 as a pre and they just sing.....the clarity and transparent sound is fantastic.....even at moderate volumes. Using the surround channels on the 75 wpc Yammie to run a couple of very nice Monitor 8 ohm Radius 180's. The Anthem wasn't cheap at $1200....but, its a one time only purchase, and in my view, well worth it. I like the fact that is is not too big, just a single unit, rock solid, will last forever.
I play a lot of music and neither the Yammie or the
Anthem ever get hot....jutst barely on the warm side.
I like the idea of the same amount of current going to all three lsi's up front.....you will notice improved vocal clarity on the lsic for movies with that solution, however, you can skip the center and use your Yammie for it with proper calibration.

Good luck in your purchase....you're gonna love it when you have it all put together.

askinquestions

woofiepaws wrote: »

You are going to hear this over and over: the LSi series love power. I've been learing a lot here in the last few months. More power makes them sound BETTER, louder yes, but better. My LSi25s have sounded better everytime I upgraded the amp. The best: Carver Silver 9t monoblocks. I wish I could afford to do a whole 7.1 system with them:o My B&K puts out 375 watts at 4 ohms and drives the whoe system quite well. Get a good AVR with pre-outs. That will get you going. Save up for a good amp and you will be kicking ****.

So would you recommend getting a beefier amp than the one I was going to get???

fatchowmein

tcrossma wrote: »

What Yammie are you using? I only ask because I have a RX-V2500 and am thinking about making the move to the LSi15's/LSiC and was considering using it to power the center and rears.

tim

HTR5760. I was looking at a new Rotel RMB-1075 ($900 at local Home Theatre Store) and RMB-1095 ($1300 used on Audiogon) and Adcom GFA-7705 (Onecall had it on sale for $1499) but I couldn't pass up the Emotiva deal at $449 (includes shipping). Delivery today but I won't be home. Wedding and birthday parties this weekend so I don't know when I'll be able to hook it up. Sigh...

Anyway, I live in an apartment so 225Wx5 @ 4ohms should be plenty for now with a 12" sub so if the Emotiva works out I'll wait on the 300W+ when we buy a house. Your needs may differ from mine but get the most power your budget can handle. LSi's are very power hungry. Suckers just won't budge.

engtaz

I do like 200 watts into 8 ohms rather then 200 into 4 ohms because 200 into 8 ohms usually gets you over 300 into 4 ohms.
Adcom 555II:
200 W per channel @ 8 ohms
325 W per channel @ 4 ohms
600 W bridged @ 8 ohms
850 W bridged @ 4 ohms

sbpolk

My Emotiva LPA-1 will be here at the beginning of next week. 200 watts at 8ohms and thus over 300 at 4ohms is definately better than 225 @ 4ohms! However, the $449 price tag is what I can handle for now, and will be much better than the AVR that I was driving them with.

This amp has compared very favorably with the Rotel RMB-1075.

fatchowmein

Got the LPA-1 in and instead of testing it, I hooked it up at my cousin's place (LSi25's, LSiC, LSi7's, Harmon AVR) since he wasn't quite sure if he wanted a separate amp. Tested using Beethoven's 5th Symphony (Carlos Kleiber) on SACD first through a DVD player (nice) then through the Oppo (SACD) at +9 volume. Freakin' amazing. SACD's sounds best with extra power. Next, we ran Gladiator on DTS. The LSiC came to life. Everything came to life. The sound quality became richer, cleaner, and the soundstage grew wider on everything we threw at it and the Emotiva didn't even break a sweat, never got hot.

He ordered a LPA-1.

sbpolk

fatchowmein wrote: »

Got the LPA-1 in and instead of testing it, I hooked it up at my cousin's place (LSi25's, LSiC, LSi7's, Harmon AVR) since he wasn't quite sure if he wanted a separate amp. Tested using Beethoven's 5th Symphony (Carlos Kleiber) on SACD first through a DVD player (nice) then through the Oppo (SACD) at +9 volume. Freakin' amazing. SACD's sounds best with extra power. Next, we ran Gladiator on DTS. The LSiC came to life. Everything came to life. The sound quality became richer, cleaner, and the soundstage grew wider on everything we threw at it and the Emotiva didn't even break a sweat, never got hot.

He ordered a LPA-1.

Nice, mine will be here on Tuesday and I am very excited about it. I also ordered an HD-DVD player, so that along with my PS3 will make me format neutral. Very excited about that too!

I will post my impressions once I get everything hooked up. I am also waiting for a Belkin PureAV powerconditioner, so it may take me until next weekend to get real impressions.

I am glad you like yours.

askinquestions

fatchowmein wrote: »

Got the LPA-1 in and instead of testing it, I hooked it up at my cousin's place (LSi25's, LSiC, LSi7's, Harmon AVR) since he wasn't quite sure if he wanted a separate amp. Tested using Beethoven's 5th Symphony (Carlos Kleiber) on SACD first through a DVD player (nice) then through the Oppo (SACD) at +9 volume. Freakin' amazing. SACD's sounds best with extra power. Next, we ran Gladiator on DTS. The LSiC came to life. Everything came to life. The sound quality became richer, cleaner, and the soundstage grew wider on everything we threw at it and the Emotiva didn't even break a sweat, never got hot.

He ordered a LPA-1.

Great to hear you like the amp. I was hoping to hear something like this before the sale ended.

tdeluce

woofiepaws wrote: »

You are going to hear this over and over: the LSi series love power. I've been learing a lot here in the last few months. More power makes them sound BETTER, louder yes, but better. My LSi25s have sounded better everytime I upgraded the amp. The best: Carver Silver 9t monoblocks. I wish I could afford to do a whole 7.1 system with them:o My B&K puts out 375 watts at 4 ohms and drives the whoe system quite well. Get a good AVR with pre-outs. That will get you going. Save up for a good amp and you will be kicking ****.

I agree - at 600 watts the LSI15s really open up :-)

fatchowmein

Hey Askingquestions,
So, did you pick a path yet?

SBpolk,
Did you set your LPA-1 up yet?

ejd

I tried to drive my LSi15s and Lsic with a HK435 at 80WPC at 8 ohms. Bad mistake. Poor quality and distortion issues. After much discussion with Polk and HK I finally bought 3 Outlaw mono-blocks rated at 300 Watts at 4 ohms. WOW am I happy. According to the article at http://www.hometoys.com/htinews/feb04/articles/polk/impedence.htm you should match the impedance for best performance. Worked for me. I don't work the speakers hard but I do like clarity.

askinquestions

fatchowmein wrote: »

Hey Askingquestions,
So, did you pick a path yet?

SBpolk,
Did you set your LPA-1 up yet?

Ahh the fun saga of figuring this crap out. I was going to get the LPA-1 then started reading up on the MPS-1. The MPS seemed to be a better fit, and it was also onsale. So I get all pumped to get it, but I can't wait 2 months for back order. Now I'm back to shopping for the best deal on a used amp. Then I started to think about if I need to get better speaker cable with a new amp. Right now I have monster cable 12G on my speaks. But with the upgrade to all Lsi soon with a new amp, what do you think???

tonyb

Please oh please....no more cable debates.
Your monsters are ok but if you go thru the trouble and cost of upgradeing your speakers and amp,it's only logical you would want to hear them at their best.So to me,the answer is yes,go for it.

sbpolk

tonyb wrote: »

Please oh please....no more cable debates.
Your monsters are ok but if you go thru the trouble and cost of upgradeing your speakers and amp,it's only logical you would want to hear them at their best.So to me,the answer is yes,go for it.

What cable would you suggest? I have always kinda thought speaker cable is speaker cable, just use sufficient guage for longer runs.... But, want the most out of the equipment that I have!

I hooked up my LMC-1/LPA-1 combo last night. I have calibration to do, but it SOUNDS GREAT! The LSi15's sound much better to me! Since I have had them, I have kindof missed my RTi70's. Last night, in my own home, I finally heard what the LSi rave is all about. They really opened up, they sound much fuller! I love it! The LMC-1 has some limitations that I think I will live with until Emotiva comes out with a new HDMI 1.3 pre/pro... But man, it sounds good!

tonyb

Your ears are the best judge...if it sounds great to you now,why change anything?
Cable options are too numerous to mention,but some that folks seem to like are cables from,Signal,Kimber,Audioquest,Reality cables,Bluejean cables,and tons more.Trying to stay in the realm of affordability here.
Cables are not all created equal but some will tell you differently.Just like all speakers,amps,avr's,pre-amps,are not all created equally.Trial and error is needed in the area of cables to find what you are looking for.Try and borrow some from friends or here,before you run out to spend your dough.But like I said at the top,if it sounds good to you,thats all that matters.

askinquestions

Just picked up a Adcom GFA-7500 for $600. Seemed like a good starter amp and once I get my full system, I'll probably upgrade. I thought for the price, I could probably get what I paid for when I sell. 5 channel 225 at 4ohm should be enough to power the mains, and plenty for the rest. After I get my full set-up, I'll probably look into a 7 channel. Thanks for the help, look forward to askin future questions as my system grows.