Should I buy LSi7s?

RutgersFTW

I got an unexpected stimulus check, and I'd like to stimulate my ears. I know they won't match the rest of my setup, so I'd hook them up as a 2.1ch until I can afford LSiC and surrounds.

Anyway, the questions -

1. These are a nominally 6 Ohm speaker - will my H/K receiver get me 90% of the performance out of these speakers? I'll buy a power amp someday, but I want to get almost all of the musicality from these (particularly if I cross them over at 60 or 80 so they're not fighting to push midbass).

2. Are there any secret stupid good deals on these speakers to be had? (I see the set of PD eBay shhhh no one else mention them) I want to spend no more than ~ $399. New, used, I'm cool with whatever.

3. I find that most of what I listen to is stereo. Mostly music, mostly stereo TV and DVD tracks. My music tends from acoustic folk and folk rock through heavier rock, but also jazz and classical when it's business time. Will the LSi7 provide the upgrade I think they will?

I like my RTi6 a lot, but if the LSi7 would be better on my ears and not much more why the heck not jump in now?

My room is 16 X 13 - will the LSi7 fill it well?

I think that's all for now. Maybe I should do a poll... ah, nevermind.

Frank840

Lsi7's are 4ohm speaker. your avr will power them but nothing great. I believe the 247 is only rated at 50wpc and has preouts already. Like everyone that has told me you wont get any potiential unless you have a amp to drive them. also you can get a nice deal on some LSI9's for around 500ish and i would spend the extra 100 for 9's over the 7's. hope it helps

dkg999

Yes.

ben62670

The 9's really go quit a bit lower than 4 ohms. 50 watts of HK is much better than 100 watts of most other store receivers. The HK should be fine. An amp would be nice, but if you are not driving them to crazy levels you should be pretty happy. If you go with 9's you really should consider an amp. I see you have a sub so again unless you really wanted to spend more money 7's should be fine. Hopefully other that have experience with LSI's will chime in.
Ben

McLoki

The 7's are the easiest of the LSi series to drive. I think you will be ok driving them from an AVR. I had 4 LSi7's (and an LSiC) running in a very large room and really liked them.

I did end up moving to 15's for my front speakers and noticed a slight benefit, but my wife (the non-audio part of the equasion) did not. I think you will be well within the 90% range. One word of caution - the LSi's are laid back as well as your HK AVR. You may or may or may not like the combo.

I do have RTi6's in my bedroom and like the LSi's more, but I think you will have better synergy with the RTi's and your HK due to the laid back nature mentioned above.

In Jazz and vocals the LSi's will be a big improvement - the harder rock you listen to, the better chance you have of RTi's being a better fit (imo).

I do think they are worth a shot - They are well worth $350-$400 used. I would not go much higher though. (for a used price)

Michael

RutgersFTW

I listened to a pair of LSi15s the other day and was very taken with them, but they're a definite departure from my normal listening prejudices. I think the RTi series might be a better fit in general, but with the well-recorded acoustic music and male vocals I demoed on the LSis I had the classic hairs-on-back-of-neck-stand-up experience... I liked it a lot. I'm hoping the 7s convey as much drama as the 15s since my apartment lifestyle is much friendlier to bookshelves.

The only other speaker that revealed as much detail, cast as wide and deep a soundstage, and pulled me in with rich dynamics and drama were... I'm almost scared to mention them... Klipsch RB-61s. They were more front row than the LSis, which I like, but I could see that becoming a liability with some intense material. On the other hand, they're obscenely sensitive and easy-to-drive.

I don't think there are two more different speakers to consider moving into a system, but I have to listen to both more with more of my CD collection before I can know for sure. Thanks for the "free" money, government!

PSOVLSK

Get 'em and move the RTi 6's to surround. I have no experience with the Rti series, but I love my 7's (Upgraded to the 15's with the same results that McLoki mentioned). I also agree with McLoki about the laid back sound of the LSi's and H/K. As he said, you may or may not like it, but I personally love the combo.

You are probably already know about it, but check audiogon.com

RutgersFTW

Yeah, I see those 7s on there for $395. They're in the running if he takes an offer for a little less.

I can't wait to go listen to the LSis again tomorrow. This is getting interesting.

RutgersFTW

Yeah, I see those 7s on there for $395. They're in the running if he takes an offer for a little less.

I can't wait to go listen to the LSis again tomorrow. This is getting interesting.

lanion

hmm... it depends what your long term plans are.

For folk and Jazz music The Totem Mites outdid my LSi7s at low to moderate volumes, and they can be found for under $400. If you could find an older model of the Paradigm Studio 20s check those out too.

I love the LSi7s for what they can do, but there are a lot of fantastic 2way bookshelves out there for $400 used.

AndyGwis

I have Lsi7s and love them. I run them on a HK 3480 and never have problems with volume/output. It is a 120/150 wpc 8/4 ohms receiver.

I have Lsi9s and an LsiC in the HT room. Very laid back, but still very detailed with GREAT soundstage and imaging. I was listening to a new CD on that system tonight in 2 channel stereo and actually put my head up to the center speaker at one point. Vocals were right there in the middle.

Other good bookies in that price range to look at would be Paradigm 20s as previously mentioned, Totem Mites / Dreamcatcher / Rainmaker, Usher S-520s, Monitor Audio. . .

BLACKHAMMERJAMM

The LSi9's are solid...I'm also thinking on using the 7's for the rear.

skipf

Listen to 9's and 7's in a side by side comparison and you'll not even think of buying the 7's. The 9's are very power hungry though, and may put a strain on your HK. You can find deals on 9's for around $500. I feel I got a great deal even though I paid full retail for mine. The 9's are just that good.

devani

I know at one time I did mention to you about getting LSi7's...as a fellow HK/POLK combination user, I find it very neutral to my ears and those who come to visit and did I mention that I love the combination?....if you cross them at 60 or 80, then you should have no problems driving LSi7's....I enjoy every bit of music that I listen to...it's mostly classic and jazz

RutgersFTW

Off to listen again with my favorite CDs. I'll ask them to hook the 9s up, too. The normal setup in their LSi listening room is two sets of 15s and a LSiC, but they should be cool with fiddling with things (it being a Thursday morning and all).

RutgersFTW

It's all about the dynamics. The RTi speakers are wonderful and a great deal at any price, but they don't grab me as much as I'd like them to.

I don't want to come across as though I'm not in love with the RTi line, because I think they OWN their price bracket whereas the LSis have a LOT more legitimate competition at their (retail) price point. It's a testament to their quality and value that they're considered up to snuff against some serious competition.

Anyway, I'm off.

RutgersFTW

I want LSi7s. Someone sell me yours for cheap.

AndyGwis

Good luck! Keep an eye out on ebay, audiogon, craigslist, post a WTB in FM here.

You can get some for $250 - $350 if you are patient and search enough. $400 is probably the average price, though.

RutgersFTW

Patience... does not compute.

I'm looking, though. I'll take 9s or 7s, depending on what deal is available soonest.

I've seen people on other boards commenting that 9s are easy to drive with Onkyo and Yamaha AVRs... if this is true, why so much fearmongering here that I absolutely MUST have a super-ultra-high-current amp to drive the 9s? I'm not saying they wouldn't sound better with nicer amplification, but some of the responses lead me to believe I'll be listening to $899 **** boxes.

cfrizz

We are not fearmongering. We simply want you to hear the FULL potential of those 899 boxes. And if you crank them too loud on those 2 receivers, they will most likely go into protect mode & shut down. (better scenario) Or they might bust the tweeters (worst scenario) & then you will truly HAVE 899 **** boxes!

My brother has the LSI 7's. He originally ran them on a 50wpc Rotel amp. After some heavy duty listening at moderate volume, you could fry an egg on top of the Rotel! Did they sound good? Yes. Do they sound better & the 205wpc Parasound amp run much cooler at all volumes? DEFINATELY!

Stepping up to the LSI's is an expensive proposition all the way around if you want to do it right. If you just want to do it half-assed then get them & enjoy. It's your money & no harm to us.

BTW, what other boards think that they are easy to drive? If it's Audioholics, I'd rather listen to scratchy nails on a chalk board then take anything those crackpots say as reliable!

AndyGwis

I ran my Lsi9s in stereo for a while last night. Damn, they image well and had great soundstage. I have them on a 150wpc B&K 507S2. Got pretty warm, but B&K always runs warm so pretty typical. I do feel seperate amps would be even better and tap into their bass potential.

So, sure you can run 7s or 9s on a receiver and it willi probably sound pretty good... but it might clip, and it might go into protection mode if you over-run, and you definitely won't get the most out of them.

ben62670

Keep in mind that the 9' also use 2 4ohm woofers which translated into 2ohms in the lower frequencies. The 7's have a single 4ohm woofer. Much easier on the receivers. Later when the bug is driving you mad you can move your 7's to the rear.

Norm Apter

Ben and Cathy are right. Its not that they will sound poor or even mediocre with an AVR. Its rather all about getting the most out of a fantastic speaker.

I have a pair of Lsi9s. For the first few months I had them, I was running them off of a Yamaha 2 channel AVR (RX-797), equipped with "high-current amplification" and designed to handle a 4-,6- or 8-ohm load. Yamaha only gives ratings for this AVR at 8 ohms, and in such a format its rated at 100 w/pc. Most folks I spoke with said that it would probably put out 140 w/pc when run with 4-ohm speakers. The pairing sounded very, very nice....much better than anything I had before. It definately gave me a taste of what the Lsi9s are about. They never clipped, but I was never listening to them at insane levels (never beyond the 10 o'clock position but that was because I live in an apartment rather than fear of doing damage). But after discussing things with folks here at CP, I was convinced to go out and get a separate amp, settling on a 225w Parasound Halo A23 amp. Wow! Its not like a shocking night and day difference for everything, but the sound pumped through them just makes the music fuller from top to bottom. Its a little difficult to describe but certainly noticeable when compare them directly. The Yamaha has pre-outs so its now functioning as my pre/tuner. I've ordered a matching Parasound Halo P3 pre-amp (it should have arrived already but thats another story) and this should make the Lsi9s sound even better, but I'll have to report back later on that.

In sum, if you've settle on the Lsi series rather than Rti series and will be running them off of a receiver then you should at least have a receiver that is designed to handle a 4-ohm load, have "high current amplification" and have pre-outs so that you at least have the option of hooking up a separate amp to them in the future to see what they can really do. I think most people are saying that here, so I'm sorry if this is repetitive. But I've gone through the exact sort of thing that you're currently thinking about.

RutgersFTW

All right, downers. New set of questions:

1. Is a NAD C270 a decent power amp?

2. Will the C270 make my RTi6 sound better?

3. Will the C270 handle whatever LSi I send its way with ease?

Thanks, you motherpolkers.

RutgersFTW

Also, what's a fair price for a used C270?

AndyGwis

I think that amp would handle Lsi's very nicely, certainly much better than anything other an uber expensive AVR.

Price. . . one sold on Polk Forum for $325, which is probably on the low end.

If in very good shape, $300-$400 in good shape. There are plenty of good amps in that price range that will handle the Lsi's very well.

RutgersFTW

So I guess the one on A'gon for $200 with some scratches on the front is perfect. Here's hoping he gets back to me soon.

tonyb

RutgersFTW wrote: »

Patience... does not compute.

I'm looking, though. I'll take 9s or 7s, depending on what deal is available soonest.

I've seen people on other boards commenting that 9s are easy to drive with Onkyo and Yamaha AVRs... if this is true, why so much fearmongering here that I absolutely MUST have a super-ultra-high-current amp to drive the 9s? I'm not saying they wouldn't sound better with nicer amplification, but some of the responses lead me to believe I'll be listening to $899 **** boxes.

Well,because after under powering any speaker over time will leave you with
$899 "**** boxes".You can hook up any speaker to a receiver and get sound.Good sound? Questionable.Good for the speakers or componants? Also questionable.Get your read on and understand what all those specs mean and quality power for your speakers.A big difference in power between AVR's and seperate amps.The volume you listen to will also play a role.A super ultra high current amp is not needed,but a decent one is.Check out mid line RTI's if you don't want to spend the coin on an amp,otherwise,you risk damaging your gear,and it's your coin to blow,so if you don't care.......

RutgersFTW

tonyb wrote: »

Well,because after under powering any speaker over time will leave you with
$899 "**** boxes".You can hook up any speaker to a receiver and get sound.Good sound? Questionable.Good for the speakers or componants? Also questionable.Get your read on and understand what all those specs mean and quality power for your speakers.A big difference in power between AVR's and seperate amps.The volume you listen to will also play a role.A super ultra high current amp is not needed,but a decent one is.Check out mid line RTI's if you don't want to spend the coin on an amp,otherwise,you risk damaging your gear,and it's your coin to blow,so if you don't care.......

I've gotten "my read on." I just posted that I'm considering a NAD C270 amp. I already have RTi series speakers, and was hoping someone could chime in on if I'd have any performance improvement from upping the power from what they're already getting from my H/K 247... which claims to provide "high-current" amplification.

As for impedance... the LSi7 has measured as a nominally 6 ohm speaker (see the Stereophile review). It's lowest dip is barely below 4 ohms and spends most of its time above 6, which is easy for nearly any amp to drive. The 9 is probably more difficult, and I can't find a good impedance sweep graph for that particular speaker, but I'd imagine I wouldn't risk damaging the speakers with my receiver.

I need to decide which upgrade to make now since I can't afford to do both. So you see, I've done mucho reading and was hoping to get some advice beyond "get an amp to do them justice."

McLoki

They will sound great - The HK is a decent performer and with an amp, you will see a slight improvement - just running 2 LSi7's from your AVR will be fine.

RutgersFTW

Well, I just bought the NAD amp for the hell of it. It will look cool in my rack.

I've got my eyes on two sets of LSi7s but now that I'll have gobs of juice I'm lowering my willing-to-pay price on LSi7s and opening up to LSi9s.

Thanks for the heads-up anyway, McLoki.