LSi9's pooping out

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lhbrennan
lhbrennan Posts: 13
edited May 2008 in Electronics
I have a Marantz sr5002 receiver hooked up to an Emotiva XPA-5 powering my pair of LSi9's, with a low end klipsch sub. It sounds really good.

The problem is, when I play loud music, the system starts to **** out. It usually happens with electronic dance music that is very bass heavy, and the clipping usually starts when I turn up my receiver to 0 or +1.

I was under the impression that this system would be able to perform without strain at a volume higher than i could stand... is there anything that might be causing this? Are the speakers the weak link, or the power amp? Are there any tweaks I could perform to get a little more from it?

Also, would bi-amping the LSi9's help alleviate the strain?

I'm a beginner with all of this so I really appreciate all your commentary/advice!

Also sorry if this is the wrong forum for this thread, I wasn't quite sure...
Post edited by lhbrennan on
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  • lhbrennan
    lhbrennan Posts: 13
    edited May 2008
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    Also, I'm usually playing music from my computer or my ipod. I currently have them hooked into the tape and tv inputs. Not sure if that changes anything.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 52,268
    edited May 2008
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    There are limits to everything, you've found the limits of your set up. A real man's amp would help, but even they have limits. Turn it down, your ears will thank you years from now.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited May 2008
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    Try raising the XO on the 9's with serious bass heavy music/HT. Try 80 first, and then 60. The 9's dip real low in impedance on bass notes.
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited May 2008
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    ben62670 wrote: »
    Try raising the XO on the 9's with serious bass heavy music/HT. Try 80 first, and then 60. The 9's dip real low in impedance on bass notes.
    IIRC, down to 2 ohms.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited May 2008
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    as F1Nut said.. you can't expect speaker's with a 6.5" drivers to give you extreme amounts of bass.. for that you need to add a big beefy subwoofer..
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited May 2008
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    danger boy wrote: »
    as F1Nut said.. you can't expect speaker's with a 6.5" drivers to give you extreme amounts of bass.. for that you need to add a big beefy subwoofer..
    They're 5.25".
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited May 2008
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    Face wrote: »
    They're 5.25".

    there you go.. even more of a reason not to expect deep bass out of them..
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • lhbrennan
    lhbrennan Posts: 13
    edited May 2008
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    Thanks for all the responses. I started to fiddle more with the marantz receiver settings. A couple questions:

    There is a crossover dial on the Klipsch sub, but the receiver seems to be bypassing it or something, because when i turn it, the bass response doesn't change. Does the receiver automatically do this?

    Anyway, I changed the speakers settings on the receiver to "small," which according to the manual cuts out everything below a certain frequency from the main speakers, sending it to the sub only. The marantz only lets me choose either 80hz, 100hz.. and so on up. This is not very exact; I would much prefer to use the dial. Anyway, set at 80hz, I have avoided the clipping from before, so at least I'm not damaging the LSi9's. But it seems like theres a hole in the bass response now... in between the frequencies sent to the sub and those sent to the mains. It doesn't feel like the sub is picking up the slack all the way...

    Any thoughts? Thanks a lot everyone.
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  • McLoki
    McLoki Posts: 5,231
    edited May 2008
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    Turn the crossover dial on the subwoofer all the way up. (defeat it if you can)

    If you have an LFE input on your subwoofer, plug the sub cable into that.

    Michael

    BTW - Welcome to club polk...
    Mains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
    Center............Polk LSiC (Crossover upgraded)
    Surrounds.......Polk LSi7 (Gloss Black - wood sides removed and crossovers upgraded)
    Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
    Pre\Pro...........NAD T163 (Modded with LM4562 opamps)
    Amplifier.........Cinepro 3k6 (6-channel, 500wpc@4ohms)
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  • jayman_1975
    jayman_1975 Posts: 672
    edited May 2008
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    F1nut wrote: »
    A real man's amp would help

    I can't wait for someone to respond to that quote. Lots of people rant about these amps on here. I gotta go get some popcorn.
    Onkyo TX NR 5008 modified by The Upgrade Company
    Oppo BDP 93 modified by The Upgrade Company
    Arcam CD37
    Monitor Audio Gold GS 60
    Revolver Audio Music 5 towers.(surround)
    Vandersteen V2W
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 52,268
    edited May 2008
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    I like mine with butter, thanks.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,077
    edited May 2008
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    ben62670 wrote: »
    Try raising the XO on the 9's with serious bass heavy music/HT. Try 80 first, and then 60. The 9's dip real low in impedance on bass notes.

    Yeah,and that Emotive is having a hard time.Dude,turn it down,as Jessie said,everything has it's limits.That low end sub probably doesn't go much lower than the 9's anyway.Being the curious f#%k that I am,what gave you the impression that getting an amp would allow you to crank on the volume dial ? Get your read on grasshopper.
    HT SYSTEM-
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    SVS SB-2000
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    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited May 2008
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    Not only have you reached the limits of your speakers, you are also fliritng with deafness!
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • lhbrennan
    lhbrennan Posts: 13
    edited May 2008
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    I only turn it up that loud when I have a mini dance party in my room! I swear!

    Anyway, I thought that clipping was most often the result of underpowered speakers. I'm still a beginner with all this stuff. It seems that some of you think I've reached the limit of the speakers, and some of you think the emotiva is not quite up to what I'm demanding. I guess its a bit of both?

    Also, I don't want to discourage anyone who is considering these speakers from making a purchase. They really do sound great.
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  • Meeks32
    Meeks32 Posts: 330
    edited May 2008
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    Your amp states 450wpc when driving 2 channels at 4ohms, I doubt its your amp.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited May 2008
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    You amp is fine. Your Speakers are fine. If you want more bass get a better sub.
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  • obieone
    obieone Posts: 5,077
    edited May 2008
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    lhbrennan wrote: »
    with a low end klipsch sub.
    ...

    There's your PROBLEM!
    I refuse to argue with idiots, because people can't tell the DIFFERENCE!
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited May 2008
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    Get an SVS sub & you'll be all set.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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