Newbie with a couple of Q's

mjweimer

Hello Group.

Total newbie to the Polk Forum and proud new owner of a pair of LSi25's purchased as a Christmas gift to myself as a first step to upgrading my HT set-up. I am currently running an older Yamaha 5.1 receiver that so far has worked like a champ even with the low impedance LSi's.

Before I ask any questions let me share my goals for my HT as time and budget allow.

7 Channel high current amp ~200W @4 Ohms
Pre-pro with HDMI 1.3a/b for True HD + DTS HD MA
Dual format HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player (complete)
LSi 25 - fronts (complete)
LSi C - center (soon)
LSi?? - rears

In my current room I do not have the ability to utilize any type of side effects speakers for a true 7 channel experience but I hope to have a dedicated room in the next year or two so I want to buy the equipment to handle it at a later date.

My questions:

What do you think about using LSi 15's for rears? The current price at Fry's for a pair is cheaper than a pair of LSi 7's and they have low stock at my location so I need to act soon.

Does anyone know if Outlaw will be updating the 990 pre-pro for HDMI 1.3 and Dolby True HD + DTS HD-MA?

Are there other choices for a pre-pro currently on the market that meet this latest spec?

I may end up using a HT receiver as a pre-pro but it is tough to find one today at a reasonable price that includes line-level outs and HDMI 1.3...but maybe there is one I am overlooking.

Thanks for the bandwidth and I am looking forward to your responses.

Happy New Year!

Matt

john22614

If you have the room, don't mind the size, and if you get the amp, the 15's would sound great. I prefer no more than 2 big speakers in a room, so I would opt for something smaller. But, sonically, you can't go wrong. I'm not sure what the new 990 will have, but the expectation on the outlaw forum is that the new model with the HDMI stuff is coming out in '08

venomclan

Welcome Matt,
If you have the space and a good deal, go with the 15's for your rears.

As for a pre/pro with HDMI, the first 1 that comes to mind is the Cary Cinema 11combo at $6k. The Onkyo and Integra AVR's do HDMI switching and you can always use those as your pre/pro.

But let me ask you one question as this whole HDMI thing has my mind boggled. Why is everyone going nuts trying to find a pre/pro that does HDMI switching?

The reason I ask is this:
1- Out of all the magazines I read and people in the industry I talk to, not 1 can tell me that the new Dolby True HD sounds any better than DD/DTS or any of the current THX modes.

2- HDMI is very problematic with a lot of bugs. 1.4 is on the horizon hoping to cure the bugs of 1.3. But word from Cedia and CES is that HDMI is actually being slated for departure and the original connection first anticipated will now be set up as the standard format - Firewire. Thus, obsoleting HDMI anyway.

3- Why not just go directly into the TV for HDMI? Most newer tvs have more than 2 connections, and for $100 you can get a HDMI switcher.

4- I find that most people here are pretty happy with 5.1, as there are very few 7.1 coded movies.

I do not mean to throw this much at you on your first post Matt, but I am intrigued by thie HDMI craze people are in just for the convenience of a few less wires. I have about 30 wires in my system, a few less makes no difference.
Venom

Sherardp

All the suggestions mentioned are right on, Welcome to the Club and thats an awesome system youre putting together. I dont see a sub listed, Epik, Ed, SVS are the head bangers out right now.

ben62670

venomclan wrote: »

But let me ask you one question as this whole HDMI thing has my mind boggled. Why is everyone going nuts trying to find a pre/pro that does HDMI switching?


3- Why not just go directly into the TV for HDMI? Most newer tvs have more than 2 connections, and for $100 you can get a HDMI switcher.
Venom

B
I
N
G
O
!!!

My outlaw 990 has DVI, and I don't care.

woofiepaws

I moved my LSi25s to the sides of my 7.1 system and am very happy. I have them set to large and the powered woofers seem to even out the bass, in my room anyway.

The B&K amp puts out more than enough power to reach deafening levels without clipping.

Just some thoughts.

mjweimer

You bring up several good points regarding HDMI. From what I have read it is definitely buggy, even to the point of needing to boot-up equipment in a certain order to get proper handshaking.

I think the big deal being made about HDMI is simply most people looking forward to the new "lossless" audio formats and being able to eventually take advantage of them. Future proof is a phrase that is thrown about often in regards to these new AVR's and I find that somewhat amusing.

In regards to True HD and DTS-MA, I do not know what to expect. From what I understand it *should* sound better since it is uncompressed...will we actually be able to tell in the real world? Who knows.

I am still on the fence in regards to all of the above and will probably wait a while longer to see how the whole thing shakes out.

Matt

venomclan wrote: »

Welcome Matt,
But let me ask you one question as this whole HDMI thing has my mind boggled. Why is everyone going nuts trying to find a pre/pro that does HDMI switching?

The reason I ask is this:
1- Out of all the magazines I read and people in the industry I talk to, not 1 can tell me that the new Dolby True HD sounds any better than DD/DTS or any of the current THX modes.

2- HDMI is very problematic with a lot of bugs. 1.4 is on the horizon hoping to cure the bugs of 1.3. But word from Cedia and CES is that HDMI is actually being slated for departure and the original connection first anticipated will now be set up as the standard format - Firewire. Thus, obsoleting HDMI anyway.

3- Why not just go directly into the TV for HDMI? Most newer tvs have more than 2 connections, and for $100 you can get a HDMI switcher.

4- I find that most people here are pretty happy with 5.1, as there are very few 7.1 coded movies.

Venom

mjweimer

Thanks for all of the thoughts and info regarding my questions.

The 15's may be overkill size wise for my current room but the deal is pretty good and I won't need to worry about speaker stands.

I do not have a sub listed at this point because of room layout. This is one of the reasons I went with the 25's for the fronts and so far I am very pleased even with my old AVR. When I finally get a more appropriate room a sub will be on the upgrade list.

Matt

reeltrouble1

7.1 trumps 5.1, I would never go back to 5.1 in the theater room, but then it is a theater room.

If you can use the in-ceiling speakers in your new room they offer alot of flexability and a seamless look. Of course it is best to plan them pre-construction however they can be retro-fit.

RT1