Decide: LSi25, LSi15, RTi12, or LSi9

Pwrmx24

I know this has probably been posted a million times but......I am trying to decide on LSi25, LSi15, RTi12, or LSi9s. I care about music more than HT (say 80/20 %). I will probably start off with an Onkyo 705 (100W x7.1) and enjoy this for a while and then thinking of buying an amp for it if needed. All I have ever had is an Onkyo TX-80 with Bose 301 Series II's. Yeah I know LOL but I'm finally in a position to afford a decent system.
It looks to me the LSi15's are just LSi9's with a woofer on the bottom?!
I have only been able to listen to the RTi12's on a Denon 3808 at the store. They don't have any of the others in my area. So I have no idea how the LSi's compare. I really like having my bookshelfs out of the way but I'm guessing the floor stands in my 20x18 living room will sound better. I see most places carry the 25's for $2500 which is my upper limit for speakers so any of these are in my price range.
Thought I saw a thread comparing the 25's to the 15's but can't find it now.
Any help would be appreciated.

Early B.

Get the 15's with a 2-channel amp (or multi-channel amp). Do NOT run the Lsi series on a receiver because they are 4 ohm speakers and most AV receivers aren't designed to handle the load.

If you are 80% music, then you'll need a separate CD player, too.

Based on your listening patterns, consider building the best 2-channel system you can, then build the HT system around it.

reeltrouble1

If you decide you are going to have an HT are you going to get a sub-woofer? something to consider as far as bookshelf.

If I were buying it for my home I would get the 15 or the 25, I have a pair of the Polk powered sub speakers and like them, however, most of the bubba's here do not and favor the 15.

RT1

Pwrmx24

Thanks for the reply. Do you mind elaborating on why you like the 15's over the 25's. Wouldn't the powered subwoofer give better response?
The Crutchfield folks tell me the Onkyo 705 can power 4 Ohm speakers.
I have a Sony RDR-GX300 DVD/CD player which does not play SACDs.

thejck

lot of people here swear by the 15's being better for music. I have never had a chance to listen to them so I cant say. I like my rti12's in a 2 channel setup right now. i give them plenty of power with my parasound hca-3500 amp. You should look at getting a seperate amplifier rather than just a receiver. you could save some money on the 12's and get a good amp.

reeltrouble1

Yes, the Onk can power the speakers but we mostly agree that having an seperate amplifier for them is better, the standard recommendation is 200w but its really the amount of current flow the amplifier can pass that makes the difference. Just remember that specs alone is not the best way to buy audio gear.

Crutchfield is a good on line dealer, but they do not push amplifier's they sell receivers.

Subwoofer

---

well most guys that have HT and music rig together have a big hunkin sub that can dig into the 20hz ranges, so I would guess the tendency is to focus on the front speakers being musical and let the sub handle the low freq.

I would not say its a case of the 15 being better, just a little different than the 25.

RT1

venomclan

For music in a small to medium room, I think your best bet are the Lsi 15's. Many audiofools, including myself do not like powered towers for a few reasons.

1- A lot of rooms have Bass nodes, powered towers are harder to place and cannot correct these modes as well as the placement of a sub. It is also harder to tweak/tune a powered tower.

2- Powered towers have to be plugeed into an outlet, not as easy to do in some rooms, if an outlet is on an opposite wall or being used by something else.

3- A lot of the amps in powered towers are not equal to the amps people use to run their speakers. On difficult passages, the tower amp can clip or be too slow.

4- Powered towers will produce decent bass but not as deep as a seperate sub.

It is up to you to decide, but a sperate sub is the norm for most people.

I would recommend using a seperate amp also, you will not reach the Lsi's full potential on a mass market receiever. Check out www.audiogon.com for some good used deals.
Venom

Pwrmx24

I was also wondering if the 15's or 25's would be too big for my living room.
The Lsi9's paired w/ say a DSW Pro 500 subwoofer would be more flexible if I move to a new home.

Pwrmx24

Thanks to all for the replies.

So I think, for me, I am down to the Lsi15's or the Lsi9's and either way I go getting a sub sounds like a good idea.

I've had my bookshelfs for so long I guess I wouldn't know what to do with the floor standers although I wouln't have any problem finding room for them right now.

wingnut4772

I like the 9's with a sub. I used to have the 15s and the 9s and I just liked the 9 better.

woofiepaws

I found the powered subs on the LSi 25s to be a pain to adjust for music. Rock vs classical vs whatever, I wished the speakers came with a remote as I was constantly getting up to twiddle those little knobs on the back. I now use the 25s for side surrounds, set to large, and it sounds pretty good.

Pwrmx24

Well I just ordered the Lsi15's.

Maybe a snap decision but with all the great reviews they've been getting I can't see how I can go wrong.

Now I'll be searching for what to drive them with.....

Pwrmx24

I didn't order a sub with them but will check it out once I get my electronics settled.
I do very little HT so maybe the 15's will work fine for me w/out the sub.

vlam

I hope you didn't order with Crutchfield.

You can get the LSi25 for ~$1500 here.

http://shop4.outpost.com/ShopCartServlet?action=ship_calc

Pwrmx24

Bought them at Fry's. Looks like they are on sale and it's the best price I could find.

Pwrmx24

Saved some $$ so I can get a decent amp....I hope.

Thanks for the advice from all. I'm looking around on the net for some of the recommended amps for these speakers and don't see a lot of places to buy on line (other than pr-owned on audiogon).

cfrizz

www.outlawaudio.com
www.emotiva.com
www.audioadvisor.com (for Parasound & Adcom)

You can get more for your money buying used from Audiogon.

I got my amp from Audiogon.

Pwrmx24 wrote: »

Saved some $$ so I can get a decent amp....I hope.

Thanks for the advice from all. I'm looking around on the net for some of the recommended amps for these speakers and don't see a lot of places to buy on line (other than pr-owned on audiogon).

Monster Jam

awesome. I think you might find that you can live without the sub if your listeing 80% music. My experiences anyhow...

Pwrmx24

I emailed Onkyo on the 705 and they replied:

Yes you may use 4 Ohm speakers. There is a setting is the SP Config where you can change the impedance.

This information is all on page # 46 of the manual.

However on their own web pg the specs have a column for 4 Ohm certified and it is unchecked meaning it is not certified for 4 Ohms.

The Crutchfield guys to their credit sent me this:

Thanks for your patience while I research your question about the minimum impedance rating on the Onkyo TX-SR705 receiver.

My research team has indicated that we have erroneous information listed, as the minimum impedance recommended by Onkyo is indeed 6-ohms. This information has been corrected internally. I’m sorry for the confusion here, and apologize for the inconvenience.

I'll be buying an amp.

Pwrmx24

I plan on going to listen to some amps at the store.
I have Lsi15's on the way but they don't have them at the stereo store I am going to. (I hope they don't get shipping damage by DHL from Frys).

Anyway I was hoping they would let me check out a Rotel 1075 and 1095 with my speakers at my house for a couple of hours but I seriously doubt it.

Question: For 2 channel, can I take the 1075 (120 wpc @ 8 ohms x 5) and take two channels and dedicate them to one speaker via biamping and get close to the performance of the 1095 (200 wpc @ 8 ohms x 5) ??

I will get a matching prepro for the amp and was hoping to save the $1000 diff in the 1075 and 1095 to go toward that. I understand from a previous post that the biamp on the LSi 15's only separates the tweeter. True?

I don't really know what bridging is but can you bridge a 5 ch amp to put more power to one channel?

I watch a movie at home once in a blue moon and when I do I could just reconnect for 5.1. A pain probably but I'm blamestorming to come up w/ ideas to save $$.

Pwrmx24

Well thanks for all the advice here. I have my LSI15s hooked up to a Rotel 1066 sorruound processoer (7.1) w/ a Rotel 200W at 8 ohms amp.
sounds great! I am going to try to use my Bose 301s for surround for now and see how that goes.

I am going to try to bi-wire the 15's today.

Ever seen a watt meter to hook up to see how much power the speaker are receiving?

cfrizz

Congratulations on doing it right the first time around!!! Enjoy your new system.

tonyb

Congrats on your new love.

Forget about tooling around to see how many watts is going to your speakers.You would be surprised at how little they use at normal listening levels.As another poster stated,it's all about current,not watts.

Sherardp

Congrats on your purchase, I had Bose as surrounds for about a month, and upgraded to FXi3s and Rti4s and realized that I was missing out on what surrounds are supposed to sound like. So much detail gets lost in those things. I gave them away.

McLoki

Congrats on a great setup - enjoy.....

Phasearray

It's ok to power 4 ohm amps with a 8 ohm min receiver. Just don't keep the volume low.

PSOVLSK

I am going to try to use my Bose 301s for surround for now and see how that goes.QUOTE wrote:

Give me your impressions. I also have Bose 301 for surround and think the are pretty good. I think the Bose "stereo everywhere" as they call it, works well for surrounds. I wouldn't have the 301's for mains again, but for surrounds I haven't been able to justify an upgrade (although I been close a few times:))

phuz

Pwrmx24 wrote: »

Well thanks for all the advice here. I have my LSI15s hooked up to a Rotel 1066 sorruound processoer (7.1) w/ a Rotel 200W at 8 ohms amp.
sounds great!

Oh man... are your pants still on? How big is your puddle of drool? Just wait till you get LSi speakers all around, break them all in, and have it set up properly! YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE THAT ROOM AGAIN!