Upgrade Path LSi Series and Electronics

mwaarna

This is going to be a crazy post with lots of different answers and questions...

Current Setup 3.1
LSi9's for LR
LSiC for Center
SVS PB12/+2 Sub

Electronics:
HK AVR 235 with Pre-Outs
Outlaw Audio 750 5x168 @8

Now with the coming Xmas season I will have a budget of 1500, max stretch to 2k.

Now here is the fun/hard part....

I know if i get a full 5.1 set of LSI my current AMP will not cut it.

I have been thinking of getting LSI15's for the fronts and moving the 9's to the rear, or I could get LSI FX's for the rears instead of moving my 9's back there.

So with the LSI 15's new would be 1200 or used under 1k... That would leave about 800 or so for electronics.

or LSI FX 700 new or 500 used. leaving 1500 for electronics.

Then looking at Receivers what would you guys recommend as a Pre-Amp? HDMI in and out is a requirements before i upgrade to a real AVR. Denon is releasing a 2808 which looks like an option for a future upgrade...

Also what kind of amplification does everyone suggest? I saw outlaw released a new 7 channel 300x7@8 amp, if they would release a 300x5@8 that would be something to save up for. Or I could get seperates to run the L&R and maybe the center also.

But soo many choices, its hard to make any decisions.

ohskigod

I love the LSi15's, but if your room isnt huge, the 9's with the sub are more than fine.

actually, I think that outlaw 750 will at least be ok with the 9's, C, and FX's

forget getting anothr reciever as a pre pro, go with the Outlaw 990. I have the 950 and love it, and have heard no one say the 990 wasnt as good, if not better. I think they run about 900 ish or so.

maybe a used 2 channel amp if you really want to upgrade amplification on the cheap. a Carver m4.0t drives the 9's nicey nice, then use the outlaw for everything else (biamp the center, and one channel per surround, one channel unused, or for 6.1 down the road)

john22614

Well, I heard the 990 is great too.....but, I just got the outlaw 970 a couple weeks ago and its no slouch either.....great seamless sound stage for HT and music, wonderful musical bass tones, and excellent vocal clarity and transparency. I got it because I only wanted one LFE out and a single zone, plus I don't use it for video. It also has a great on the fly individual speaker volume trim function from the remote that the 990 doesn't have. If it were me, I would keep the 9's up front, get FX's or 7's for the back, get one of the outlaw pre pros and stick with with the amp you already have. Trim every thing to small to maximize the amp capabilities and take advantage of your nice sub ........livin large and good to go.

lomic

Not sure why you're worried about your amp - that Outlaw will drive all 5 channels with 250wpc @ 4 ohms. That's pretty much overkill already.

Depending on the configuration of your room, you might even want to stay with 3.1 - I took my LSi7's out of the back because they were too close to my sitting position with no room to move them. I found surround effects to distract from movies instead of adding to them... "Oh, that speaker just made a bird tweeting sound. Neat."

Since you already have an insanely killer sub, you might actually be let down adding LSi15's to the front - compared to the 9's they add some great low-end foundation, but you're rock solid there - and the 15's have been known to sacrifice a little mid-range detail.

I'd say your best upgrade path depends on whether you enjoy using your system for serious music listening. My recommendations would be, based on how you use your system:

HT Only:
1) LSi/FX
2) Outlaw 990
3) Room treatments depending on room suitability/WAF

Music/HT:
1) 2 Channel Pre-Amp (Tubes!)
2) Quality DAC
3) LSi/FX

Best of luck with whatever you decide - enjoy the fun!

Shannon W.

Leave your 9's in the front. Buy a pair of FX's for the rear. Sell the Outlaw amp and buy a used Rotel,sunfire, Or what ever your budget will allow once you sell you amp that you have now. Add that with the money you didn't spend out of your upgrade $$$ and there is your cash for a Kick @ss amp. Not that your outlaw isn't a Kick @ss amp. So if you kept it 5.1 and HT that is what I would do. Also keep the HK for the pre amp for now and just buy you a HDMI switch from Monoprice ($50) and it works. Then next X-mass you will be able to sink you money into a Pre Amp that you want.

I mean look at the junk I have and is sound wonderful with out towers.
This was just a humble thought.

Shannon

mwaarna

Thanks for all the advice.

I think I will keep my eyes open for used 15' and FX's. I am leaning towards getting FX's over 15's.


Personally I think my SVS is more than enough bass, maybe even a bit overkill for my intents and purposes.

As far as which electronic piece to upgrade first.. is a hard one....

Looking at electronics the longer you wait, tvs, iPhones what ever the longer you wait the better deal you can get.

Amps seem to be the one thing in electronics that changes the least and drops in price the least. Where as receivers get upgraded every 2 years or so.

I am debating on replacing my Amp first.. but maybe instead of replacing my amp.. i could look for some solution to power LCR and keep the old outlaw to power the rest...

I have not made any decisions.. i missed out on a deal of 15's which i regret.. there was a pair of 15's for sale for 700 used, but at the time i did not have the budget for.. I will keep my eye on ebay and audiogon to see what comes up.

As far as my listening habits... i would say
video gaming the primary thing i do.. (xbox 360, Wii, ps2)
Movies in HD, HD-DVD's and x264 rips rock btw
and 20% music.

I am in the middle of a moving process, once i get that done and over with (sep 30th) I will come back and start discussions again..

But this is what its all about.. the little decisions in the never ending upgrade path..

mantis

I suggest going with the Lsifx for rears. Keep your amp which looks to have plenty of power and get a Pioneer Elite vsx92tsxi receiver and use it as a preamp. It's HDMI 1.3a.

I usually don't suggest getting a receiver as a preamp but Pioneer Elite receivers work well in this duty plus they have all the nessary decoding and features that todays theaters should have.

Preamps are behind as usual but far enough to go this route. Funny thing is I'm actually thinking of also going this route depending on B&K and Rotel with there new preamps coming out.

We shall see. Good luck with your upgrades.

Dan

mwaarna

So after a few months of doing a bit of research.. finding out what I needed and wanted... this is what I ended up with.

I purchased a used pair of LSI FX Speakers.
I also purchased a new Pre-Amp the Onkyo PR-SC885P(which arrived today from UPS)

I will try to write up some impressions on the product, I already love it that now I only have 1 cable to my TV and everything else directly to my Pre-Amp.

With my old HK OSD was though composite and there were no HDMI inputs.

Now I will have a used HK 235 for sale and a set of BJC Component video cables for sale soon.

Now I gotta start looking at replacing my amp for the spring :-)

McLoki

Great upgrade. Definately let us know what you think of the Pre-amp as there are just not many available that offer HDMI yet. If it is not to personal, what did the pre-amp run you? (1k-1.5k or over 1.5k?)

Thanks and I am looking forward to the review...

Michael

mwaarna

McLoki wrote: »

Great upgrade. Definately let us know what you think of the Pre-amp as there are just not many available that offer HDMI yet. If it is not to personal, what did the pre-amp run you? (1k-1.5k or over 1.5k?)

Thanks and I am looking forward to the review...

Michael

I paid 1400 and change with tax and shipping, and got it delivered straight form Onkyo distributor.
I ordered through trox.com on their website, it says its for educational purposes only, but i was allowed to order any way. But now people are saying any new order, must be verified as a educational purchase...

So far setup has been a breeze. I have comcast cable with an HD DVR, and no lip sync issues that people have complained about. I am connecting my DVR with HDMI and I am connecting to my Samsung DLP with HDMI as well.

I did the auto calibration by audessey and that went smoothly, took about 10 minutes to run thought and did three different seating positions.

I love how all control is now on the Onkyo remote, TV, Pre-amp, and cable box.

Also on screen display of volume change is a nice touch, since my older avr only had osd with composite.

I have not had time to setup anything else.

wout

Matti, You got lucky on that. Right now there is a guy on Ebay selling 2 of them for 2100 or so. List plus fees because there is a long waiting period. By the way I did buy that Ebay Cinenova you recommended. Thanks!

hockeyboy

Nice purchase Mwaarna:

http://www.onkyopro.com/model.cfm?m=PR-SC885P&class=Preamplifier&p=i

cfrizz

Congrats!

Wow lotsa Polkies doing some serious upgrading!

AndyGwis

Good score.