I heard a VERY nice system today.

Dr. Spec
Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
edited January 2003 in Speakers
Here's the breakdown:

Monster HTS 5000 MKII power station

B&K AVR307 A/V receiver at 185W x 7 into 4 ohms

Zenith DVB-216 DVD Progressive Scan

Sony 51" HDTV ready monitor

LSi-15 mains

LSi-C center

LSi-F/X side surrounds

RT35i rear surround

Samson S1000 500W subwoofer amp

SVS Ultra subwoofer

I helped him calibrate it with my B&K SPL meter and the AVIA disc. We also ran a few FR sweeps on his subwoofer.

We played a bunch of stuff at reference level. We were seeing 117 dB peaks on the bass. The subwoofer is very impressive - very clean and powerful and seemingly limitless headroom and never sounding strained even at ridiculously high playback levels. It absorbed 500W and laughed at us.

I didn't have time to REALLY sit down and evaluate the LSi series on some classical, but my initial impressions were of a very detailed and neutral sound with excellent depth and stable soundstage. That Vifa tweeter is very impressive.

Overall, a VERY nice system.

Doc
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"

Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
Director - Technology and Customer Service
SVS
Post edited by Dr. Spec on

Comments

  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited January 2003
    So when are you getting YOUR Lsi's?
    9/11 - WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! (<---<<click)
    2005-06 Club Polk Football Pool Champion!! :D
  • polkatese
    polkatese Posts: 6,767
    edited January 2003
    Doc,
    were you able to notice any timbre mismatch between the RT and LSi in 7.1 stereo mode? I am just curious since his speaker setup is pretty similar with mine, with the exception of the rear surrounds, in which I am still deciding.......thanks
    I am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie.
  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by Frank Z
    So when are you getting YOUR Lsi's?

    NOT. I would be much better served by adding side surrounds and going to a 6.1 set-up. The RT line-up has nothing to be ashamed of.
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS
  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by polkatese
    Doc,
    were you able to notice any timbre mismatch between the RT and LSi in 7.1 stereo mode? I am just curious since his speaker setup is pretty similar with mine, with the exception of the rear surrounds, in which I am still deciding.......thanks

    The rear center was FAR behind me, probably the weakest link set-up wise and a limitation of the room.

    I did not notice it during music/movies. During the pink noise, I noticed the difference right away. The sonic signatures of the Vifa and the Mueller silk dome are quite different. Neither tweeter sounds bad, just different. I guess you could call that a timbre mismatch, yes.

    He is going to dual LSi9's in the back for true 7.1 in the near future.
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    edited January 2003
    Lsi and B&K I love it.I feel thats a really good match.The B&K has alot of power and detail.Lsi likes power and enjoys the clarity.
    Nice.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • polkatese
    polkatese Posts: 6,767
    edited January 2003
    Doc,
    thanks for feedback, going with LSi9 for the rears is exactly what I was planning for, or 7, depending what I want to do with my bedroom setup. I really like the 9 (in terms of look and size, that I think about the same height as the Fx, obviously, aq is given).

    Dan,
    how was your HT room project? coming along nicely? have you decided whether you're going with b&k 507? I've been thinking about the b&k ref 200.7 power and ref 50 pre/pro / or wait for the rsp-1098 that a lot of folks have been talking about, for the next upgrade. The big plus is its ability to convert composite and s-video to component. I guess I have to start collecting coins again....
    I am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie.
  • wlrandall
    wlrandall Posts: 440
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by Dr. Spec


    NOT. I would be much better served by adding side surrounds and going to a 6.1 set-up. The RT line-up has nothing to be ashamed of.


    AMEN!
  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited January 2003
    Come on doc, join the Club...I'll even teach ya the secret handshake.;)
    9/11 - WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! (<---<<click)
    2005-06 Club Polk Football Pool Champion!! :D
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    edited January 2003
    polkatese,
    The B&K avr507 and the ref50 don't do video upconverting.I don't know if the new Rotel rsp1098 can.It's a good feature when it works.Denon is having a terrible time getting it to go.Pioneer Elite vsx49txi does a fantastic job.
    My thinking today is the ref50,ref200.5 and the ref200.2.The avr507 is no slouch.It's a killer sounding reciever/intergraded.Both ways would yield a positive result.The avr507 would be the cheaper route.
    Rotel rsp1098......no balanced out,No THX ultra2,still only 5 video outs.I like the card frame.I gotta hear it go,touch it and all that.

    Rotel.......B&K can't go wrong.Which one is for you?I like em both alot.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited January 2003
    Dan,

    Has Denon recalled the receivers that are having the upconverting problems?

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
  • hoosier21
    hoosier21 Posts: 4,408
    edited January 2003
    Second question Dan, I have the 3803. I asked the dealer about this video upconverting problem, he was unaware of it, he has one set up in the showroom and has sold "over a hundred of those units" with zero mention of the problem.

    My question is, waas this on 1 or 2 units, or was it 5-6 or everyone you have seen? Give some more info.
    Dodd - Battery Preamp
    Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
    Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
    ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
    DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
    Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
    Outlaw ICBM - crossover
    Beringher BFD - sub eq

    Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!

    "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
  • polkatese
    polkatese Posts: 6,767
    edited January 2003
    Dan,
    I still like my 1065 a lot, and was just thinking about upgrading to separate when I am ready. Next project is to decide whether I want to go 7.1 with another receiver, or separate, pending the availability of upconvert feature. Either way, the 1065 will stay (it might migrate to the bedroom)..Now I am slowly upgrading ic and about to decide whether speaker cable upgrade make sense. I am happy with the monster custom s14-4r but wondering if m1.4 or m2.4 or signalcable will make a big difference.....
    I am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie.
  • wallstreet
    wallstreet Posts: 1,405
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by hoosier21
    Second question Dan, I have the 3803. I asked the dealer about this video upconverting problem, he was unaware of it, he has one set up in the showroom and has sold "over a hundred of those units" with zero mention of the problem.

    My question is, waas this on 1 or 2 units, or was it 5-6 or everyone you have seen? Give some more info.

    The 3803 manual states that in certain upconversions, a line conditioner may be needed. I'm not sure if people are not reading the manuals or just shooting down Denon's. There's no info on Denon's website about the problem
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    edited January 2003
    Troy,
    as a big chain store,we handle case by case.We send the word to Denon and see where it goes.They haven't pulled any units from our stores as of yeat.Denon is very good with fixing problems.I'm sure this one will be no different.
    hoosier,
    It was a bunch of units.We had one work so far.We sell alot of Denon receivers.Not everyone uses the upconverting.
    This problem happens when sending composite out component.S-video works sometimes and sometimes not.
    The avr3803 is suppost to upconvert all video signals sent to it.composite to component and s to component.
    polkatese,
    You should get a rb1050 and go 7.1 allday.Your receiver doesn't need to be upgraded anytime soon.Sound quality,you'll have to spend a ton to better the rsx1065.Upgrade the wires??Yes.M1.4s is what I use and I think for the money they are fantastic.There is alot better wires out there,but you'll pay more as well.You know how I feel about wire.I feel alot of performance benefits lay there.
    Balance is key.
    Wallstreet,
    a line conditioner??where does it go?I will have to look in the manual next time I install one for this.Is this like some type of filter?I don't get it.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • wallstreet
    wallstreet Posts: 1,405
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by mantis
    ...
    Wallstreet,
    a line conditioner??where does it go?I will have to look in the manual next time I install one for this.Is this like some type of filter?I don't get it.

    Here's what the 3803 manual says;
    "When the component video terminals are used to connect the 3803 with a TV and the video (yellow) or S video terminals are used to connect the 3803 with a VTR, depending on the combination of the TV and VTR the picture may flicker in the horizontal direction, be distorted, be out of sync or not display at all when playing video tapes. If this happens, connect a commercially available video stabilizer, etc., with a TBC (time base correction) function between the 3803 and the VTR, or if your VTR has TBC function, turn it on."