lsi9 or lsifx for surround (with room complications)

natebates

With tweeter going out of business I just grabbed myself some new lsi15's for the front and some lsi9's for the rear. Listening to 7ch surround (well, 4 channels so far) they sound great, but not quite balanced. My goal is a 5.1, with the lsic and maybe a psw505 next (taking suggestions for a sub too!)

Right now the rears are on end tables next to the couch and slightly behind (I moved the couch forward for the speakers). They're facing toward the couch and one of the problems I'm having is that when you're in the left seat on the couch the left speaker is a foot from your ear and quite loud. I'm wondering if the balance will be better if I put the speakers on stands -- will it fill the room more and not be quite so directional into my ear?

I was thinking about getting some lsifx's instead (and I'd try to pawn off the 9's on one of you)... I would not be able to mount the fx's on left and right walls, they would have to go on the wall directly behind the couch. I like the idea of being able to mount the fx's, but I'm worried about how this will sound because in this scenario, the left wall is directly next to the left speaker.

Please let me know what you think would be the best placement for my room. I would love the system to sound good from all 3 seats on the couch, and I will be using this for 5.1 channel stereo and home theater, with my ear a little more critical when listening to music. I'll probably go in early and snag the fx's tomorrow (if tweeter still has them), so hopefully whichever way I go someone will be interested in the other speakers (the lsi9's were 300 for the pair, open box... hopefully the fx's are similarly priced)

all recommendations greatly appreciated!! thanks, guys!

attachment comments: like the cat shields on top of the speakers? you can see that the room is not that big... but it does have an open ceiling. and you can see the wall constraints behind the couch. also, do you think the fronts are too far apart? (I can't really make them closer since the tv wouldn't be centered with the couch)

leroyjr1

I had the same problem as you. My couch was right up against the wall. I found that the bi/dipole speakers sounded better than my bookshelf speakers. I mounted mine on the wall behind my couch about 2 feet above my head.

As far as subs go I think the new micropro series subs would be a better fit than the psw 505.

natebates

shoot.... the guy at tweeter tried to sell me a micropro 4000 for like $450, but when he demo'd it i wasn't impressed by the sound... he had it turned up a little loud at first and it was very oompa -y (sorray, that's a horrible description but i don't have the stereo vocabulary!).... and it was like a folky chick singer he was playing me, so it wasn't anything that should've made it oompa-y

maybe it's just the way he had it configured. i knew it was a good deal, but didn't want to drop $450 on a sub that had been beat on as a floor model or sounded that harsh. also, because it's so expensive to buy it new, i haven't found too many reviews on it. maybe i'll see if they have it tomorrow -- local store tomorrow, this time i'll have to pay tax

leroyjr1

$450 is a great price. Any problems it's under warranty.

danger boy

if you can go with some LSiFx's instead of the 9's. Mount them about 3 feet above your seated position of your head on the couch. with their unique design they are more forgiving as surrounds are than traditional forward firing speakers are.

Use the LSi9's for a separate two channel system.

natebates

yeah, good point. i keep forgetting that the open box stuff still comes with a warranty since it's technically the initial purchase.

i see you've got one yourself -- is it amazing?

i guess i'll have to grab it tomorrow... and if they don't have it i'll have to drive somewhere that does.

leroyjr1

Amazing???????? No. It hits hard and sounds good. Well worth the $450 price at tweeters. No other $450 sub will sound better.

leroyjr1

What condition were those 9's in?

natebates

a few little scratches on the gloss piano black... not deep or anything.. i've never used a scratch fixer or anything, but perhaps that would fix it.

cherry & grills look to be perfect, actual mechanics of the speakers appear perfect too. i haven't registered them yet (is that all you need to do for the warranty, or do you need the receipt?)

if i am successful getting the fx's and prefer them, i'll take some pictures of the 9's (with my real camera, not my phone -- which i used for the pics i took above). i'll try to highlight the scratches so whoever buys them knows what they are getting. when i went over to look at the scratches, i had to bring a light. i definitely need to look for the scratches in order to see them.

natebates

well, looks like i might not get those fx's... tweeter had been counting down the days until closing ("last 5 days!"), but they were closed yesterday and today... i figured it was just to give them time to work out the last minute details of closing a store, but this article says that they stopped the liquidation of the store and just fired everyone!:

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2008/12/are_hackers_pla.html

guess i'll have to try to trade my 9's for fx's ... i've never made a swap like that over the web, does it usually work out okay or are there a ton of trading horror stories?

maximillian

natebates wrote: »

guess i'll have to try to trade my 9's for fx's ... i've never made a swap like that over the web, does it usually work out okay or are there a ton of trading horror stories?

Either here or on Ebay try to deal with someone with decent feedback. That's not to say that newbies are dishonest, it's just that you don't know. In general, trading and dealing on this forum is much better than Ebay. If you can make a deal with someone local then at least you can make sure that the other party doesn't run off with the stuff.

My advice as a seller... if dealing with a newbie then insist on postal money orders. If they want to pay with a check then make them wait 2-3 weeks while the check clears. With Paypal a dishonest person can use their credit card then make a charge back after they get your stuff and Paypal is of little help afterwards.

As a buyer try to use Paypal so if a dishonest seller tries to take your money without shipping then you can do a charge back. You are rather new so many people may not trust buying something off of you without some proof that you're an OK guy. If you have a good Ebay rating then you may be able to convince them though.

However if you find someone with decent feedback then you can relax and use whatever means of payment that is comfortable to the two of you. My advice to you... You can try to do a trade but I think you will have a hard time finding someone. Therefore you may want to try to sell the 9's on this forum first then try Ebay second. The FX's don't sell here that often so I would look to buy on Ebay.

natebates

maximillian,

thanks for all the advice! i guess i'll finish building my system (lsic and an undetermined sub) and keep my eyes on polk's ebay store and the forums here... and i've only tried the speakers with enhanced stereo, so maybe they'll sound fine with movies, which are probably overall less demanding, right? (wind / ambient noises / surround stuff might sound fine)

but if the sound is only "good" and not "great", i'll see what i can figure out with all this online selling / buying.

gtu2004

maximillian wrote: »

Either here or on Ebay try to deal with someone with decent feedback. That's not to say that newbies are dishonest, it's just that you don't know. In general, trading and dealing on this forum is much better than Ebay. If you can make a deal with someone local then at least you can make sure that the other party doesn't run off with the stuff.

My advice as a seller... if dealing with a newbie then insist on postal money orders. If they want to pay with a check then make them wait 2-3 weeks while the check clears. With Paypal a dishonest person can use their credit card then make a charge back after they get your stuff and Paypal is of little help afterwards.

As a buyer try to use Paypal so if a dishonest seller tries to take your money without shipping then you can do a charge back. You are rather new so many people may not trust buying something off of you without some proof that you're an OK guy. If you have a good Ebay rating then you may be able to convince them though.

However if you find someone with decent feedback then you can relax and use whatever means of payment that is comfortable to the two of you. My advice to you... You can try to do a trade but I think you will have a hard time finding someone. Therefore you may want to try to sell the 9's on this forum first then try Ebay second. The FX's don't sell here that often so I would look to buy on Ebay.

good advice. +1