LSI 7 & LSI C (4 ohms)

wilsonnb

I'm purchasing a pair of LSI 7s for my main l/r and a LSI C for the center. Both of these are 4 ohms. I now am in the market for the rears, but I need something fairly unobtrusive, thereby eliminating the matching LSI fxi surrounds (4ohms). Vast majority of satellites/rears are 8 ohms. HOw important is it that everything matches. I'll be running with a DENON 3803 receiver. Thanks for the feedback.:)

Frank Z

Timbre matching is very important for multi-channel music, so I would get another pair of 7's, or perhaps use 9's for the mains and 7's for the rear/surrounds. Obviously it will depend on your budget.

Your Denon should be able to handle the Lsi's without too much difficulty, make sure that you have adequate air space around it to prevent over heating.

If you don't already own a sub I would strongly suggest one. The 7's are a great speakers but they simply cannot reproduce the lower frequencies.

wilsonnb

Thank you for your prompt reply. I did purchase a PSW 450 sub to complement the LSI 7s. You mentioned timber matching, does that mean that I have to stay with all LSIs or ALL Polks? It's not that I don't like LSIs, it's just that I don't have the room for rear LSI 7s or LSI FX. I was hoping for a much smaller, less obtrusive look since Wifey is not real keen on having massive speakers mounted on the wall. However, the real issue is whether I can mix 4 ohm with 8 ohm speakers. 90% of the speakers I've seen are of the 8 ohm variety. I know that I'm sacrificing quality but I really don't have any options unless I go with POLK's lower line of surround speakers (rsi 28 or even outdoors?). Please let me know if you have any further advice. THanks.;)

avelanchefan

I have a mixed matched system (see my signature). While it works for me, it may not work for others. I went with all Polk thinking that I would be good with timber matching. But I soon found out that you need to carry all of the same line (ie...LSI's) to be truely matched.

Eventually I will be getting a pair of LSI9's to replace my RT25i's, but for now my current setup is more than adaquate. I can only notice it (slightly) when playing music in five channel stereo. But during movies I do not notice it at all.

BTW- you are going to love the 7's. Give them a good 6 months to break in. They sound good out of the box, but playing them (at normal levels) on a consistent basis will break them in, and over time you will notcie a change in detail.

Ceruleance

I have polks as my back speakers and infinity for my front soundstage and I don't like listening to five channel music much because it just doesnt sound good with the mix (This may be because my JVC receiver doesnt have the power for the added channels) however, if you are looking for just home theatre (As I assume you are because you are considering the F/X line) I think mixing lines or even manufacturers wont matter. By the way though, the 7's are tiny compared to a lot of speakers (I have RT55i's in the back) I am not sure how much smaller you can get and still have a decent speaker, maybe you need in-walls..

RuSsMaN

Bag some Atriums, then use em outdoors later if you upgrade.

Zen Dragon

I use the polk M series for the rear surround right now. They are a fairly milk toast speaker, but work great for the Home Theater 5.1 thing, and they are small, oddly shaped to fit in corners, or unique set ups, and they are easily mountable.
If I'm listening to serious music, I do it 2 channel anyway.
As to the 4 ohm 8 ohm thing. If you are driving them with the same amplification, you may notice, especially at lower listening levels that your 8 ohm speakers sound louder. They use power more efficiently to generate sound. This can easily be tweaked in the speaker set-up menus. If you are just gonna use them for HT, the M series work great, and are available on E-bay cheap. You could do the same thing with a smaller RT series as well, and get better sound from the rears.