Hello. New LSi9 owner.
Barefoot
Posts: 149
With the economy the way it is I thought it wise to scale back my h/t setup to an honest to goodness 2 channel stereo system. Actually it's something I've wanted to do for awhile now -- with multi-channel I've lost that "it" factor when it comes to music. In the process of moving gear out I picked up some polk LSI-9 in part to word of mouth about the tweeter. Never heard the actual LSi line before but I am quite familiar with the X25 so I decided to take the plunge. Maybe it's the amplification upgrade, maybe the speakers, whatever. I'm amazed by the end result. These little (ok not so little) monitors give me 80% of the satisfaction I got with my old Revel/NAD multi-channel combo, at less than 1/6 of the price. I've heard Polks before; like my dad's 1980's SDA-CRS's and an old college buddy's RT setup from the late 90's - it was alright just not my thing musically. But wow. These LSi's have totally changed my thinking towards mass market speakers. I'm not even sure if these things are mass market.
Anyway, count me in as a fan. And a member of the club.
Anyway, count me in as a fan. And a member of the club.
Post edited by Barefoot on
Comments
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Welcome to Club Polk barefoot. Stick around this place is really fun.
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Congrats. The LSi9 are great speakers. Nice gear btw, I also have the LSi9 running on NAD equipment.
Try to play around with their placement and toe in.
The LSi9 are not mass market speakers. They're only sold in selected dealers.
Enjoy the new speakers. -
Hey thanks. This is day 2 with them. Their bass capabilities are amazing. No need for a subwoofer.
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Hey thanks. This is day 2 with them. Their bass capabilities are amazing. No need for a subwoofer.
Thats what I thought, until i put one with them. Can't play them without the sub now
However, it is a real pain in the a** to blend just right.TV...............Hitachi 42hdS52a plasma (sexy one with the swival)
Pre/Processor - Emotiva MMC
Seven Ch AMP - Emotiva LPA
Fronts - Tyler Acoustics 7U's
Center - Polk LSIC
Sub - DSWPRO600
DAC - Music Hall 25.3CD - Marantz cc4001
Blue Ray - PS3
Speaker cables - Audioquest cv4 dbs
Interconnects - MIT AVT1's
Power Filter....Monster HTS 3500 MKII -
Congrats on the new LSi 9's. I have had mine for about two weeks now and evertime I play them it puts a smile on my face.:DAVR: Marantz 7008
AMP: Emotiva XPA-5
Mains: LSi 15
Center: LSiC
Side Surronds: LSi 9
Rear Surronds: LSi 7
Sub: eD A2-300
Bluray: PS3
Turntable: Rega P2 -
Hey thanks. This is day 2 with them. Their bass capabilities are amazing. No need for a subwoofer.
That depends on what kind of music you are playing, and the size of your room. (among other things)
I'm using 2 small passive subs y-cabled off the main L/R, along with a large powered sub. That made blending much, much easier. The 9's sound terrific on their own, but adding a sub(s) is really worth doing.
Oh, and welcome to CP! -
Hey thanks. This is day 2 with them. Their bass capabilities are amazing. No need for a subwoofer.
You might want to rethink that...especially if you want to enjoy music at it's best. The way it was meant to be reproduced & enjoyed."2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
pearsall001 wrote: »You might want to rethink that...especially if you want to enjoy music at it's best. The way it was meant to be reproduced & enjoyed.
Personally, I seriously doubt much music was intended to have as much bass as some of the sub fiends seem to think it does.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Personally, I seriously doubt much music was intended to have as much bass as some of the sub fiends seem to think it does.
Lowest key on a piano is 27.5 Hz. Large drums can go lower. The LSi 9 tapers off quickly around 50. Unless you are in a room the size of a jail cell, a sub is needed with a bookshelf speaker.
I see your point by the car trunk rattlers, but low bass is present in a lot of music. Subs can't add bass that's not already there. Sure, there are idiots that want to only hear bass, (and they seem to make sure you hear it too):D but a properly set up sub can greatly improve a rig.
Sub/no sub, as long as you enjoy it, that's all that matters. -
Personally, I seriously doubt much music was intended to have as much bass as some of the sub fiends seem to think it does.
Music certainly was intended to have as much bass as it does...where do you think all the bass in music comes from? The subs aren't adding extra bass that wasn't there before.
Some people go overboard with it, and think that they need four 15" subs with a 1.21 jigawatt power amp in their trunk...which goes beyond musicality, and just turns into noise. That isn't necessary by any means...
The LSi9's do pretty well without a sub still from what I've gathered, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. They're rated down to 38hz, but they're only flat to 50hz at -3db lower limit. A good sub would really help to fill that in.The nirvana inducer-
APC H10 Power Conditioner
Marantz UD5005 universal player
Parasound Halo P5 preamp
Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's -
Welcome Barefoot,
Nice gear! The 9's are a great speaker to build from. I've been happy listening to them without a sub for about a year now. I do however have an HSU sub on order as I know I am missing some low frequencies. Either way, as long as you are happy that's the key!
Mains - Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand
Subs - Rel T5 x 2
Amplification - Bryston 3b cubed
Pre Amp - Marantz Sc11-1
SACD - Marantz Sa11-1
Stream - Cambridge Audio CXN v2
Dac - Marantz Dac-1
TT - Pro-Ject RPM 9.1 w/ Ortofon 2M Black Cartidge
Phono Stage - Project Tube box DS -
Personally, I seriously doubt much music was intended to have as much bass as some of the sub fiends seem to think it does.
It has nothing to do with giving you more bass. What it's doing is giving you the quality bass that was meant to be heard on the recording. A single box speaker simply just can't give you that. Sure they sound damn good without a sub but you're still lacking in the true bass department.
In reality there are very few true full range speakers out there. Even those mighty floorstanders have their performance elevated by the addition of a quality sub (even better by using 2). Think "quality" not "quantity".
Bottom line...whatever sounds good to you is the way to go."2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
pearsall001 wrote: »It has nothing to do with giving you more bass. What it's doing is giving you the quality bass that was meant to be heard on the recording. A single box speaker simply just can't give you that. Sure they sound damn good without a sub but you're still lacking in the true bass department.
In reality there are very few true full range speakers out there. Even those mighty floorstanders have their performance elevated by the addition of a quality sub (even better by using 2). Think "quality" not "quantity".
Bottom line...whatever sounds good to you is the way to go.
I'm with you on this.
What gets me riled up though are the HT 'experts' that say a sub is required with bookshelves even for music because deep bass will hurt your bookshelves.
Since when has music become a danger to bookshelves?
If anything, it is the tweeter that is the most vulnerable due to overdriving the amp into clipping.
Sorry....ramble mode off....:o
H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music. -
pearsall001 wrote: »It has nothing to do with giving you more bass. What it's doing is giving you the quality bass that was meant to be heard on the recording.
I know that. However, what I was alluding to above (sorry for not being word perfect) is many subusers think of the sub as another tone control, and crank it up. I seriously doubt if most music producers intended their recordings to be played that way.pearsall001 wrote: »Bottom line...whatever sounds good to you is the way to go.
True.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Hi Barefoot,
Well I can tell you you are in excellent company with your Lsi-9. How so?
Well, a group of senior forum members were invited to visit with Matt Polk at his home last October, now this man can have anything he wants.
His two channel rig consisted of the exact same LSi-9 you now have in your home and that is it, now I would say that is pretty good company.
Welcome to the Club, enjoy yourself.
RT1 -
reeltrouble1 wrote: »Hi Barefoot,
Well I can tell you you are in excellent company with your Lsi-9. How so?
Well, a group of senior forum members were invited to visit with Matt Polk at his home last October, now this man can have anything he wants.
His two channel rig consisted of the exact same LSi-9 you now have in your home and that is it, now I would say that is pretty good company.
Welcome to the Club, enjoy yourself.RT1
Thanks again. Yeah I have zero interest in getting a sub. I had the entire 5.1 setup with speakers everywhere and cables every which way, just got tired of it from both an aesthetic and economic pov. It became a real eyesore, taking away my enjoyment of the source which for my listening habits is 90% music anyway. So a back to basics approach with plain ol' 2channel/no bass management is definitely what needed to be done. So far I have no regrets, and I still can't believe how these 9's hold up against my older Revels. -
If you are so inclined you will find that putting higher end electronics with these speakers will yield great results, as a matter of fact, picking out the speakers and then the gear to run them is an excellent plan.
RT1 -
comfortablycurt wrote: »1.21 jigawatt power amp
Sweet quote!!HT Rig
Receiver- Onkyo TX-SR806
Mains- Polk Audio Monitor 70
Center- Polk Audio CS2
Surrounds- Polk Audio TSi 500's
Sub- Polk Audio PSW125
Retired- Polk Audio Monitor 40's
T.V.- 60" Sony SXRD KDS-60A2000 LCoS
Blu-Ray- 80 GB PS3
2 CH rig (in progress)
Polk Audio Monitor 10A's :cool:
It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. -
Personally, I seriously doubt much music was intended to have as much bass as some of the sub fiends seem to think it does.
Agreed. I find that I actually prefer just a small amount of bass in when listening to music in 2 ch. Yes some music is over bloated with bass.. and it sounds bad to me. on the flip side, if some music doesn't have enough bass, it also sounds tinny. but i'll take less bass over to much bass any day. PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin: -
With the economy the way it is I thought it wise to scale back my h/t setup to an honest to goodness 2 channel stereo system. Actually it's something I've wanted to do for awhile now -- with multi-channel I've lost that "it" factor when it comes to music.
Welcome to the club! I'm in the same situation - slowly getting rid of my home theater gear and looking for a solid 2 channel system to build on. Just picked up a pair of RTiA3's for this purpose. I strongly considered the Lsi9's, but after reading these forums did not figure my lower-end Denon AVR could drive them. With my recent entrance into vinyl (Pro-ject Debut III and VPI 16.5 RCM), a new integrated or seperates is a little ways off...small steps!
Anyway, I'm really enjoying my new Polks and look forward to being a member of these forums!2-Channel:
Pro-Ject Debut III
Oppo DV-980H
Rogue Cronus (Magnum)
Totem Mites -
With my recent entrance into vinyl (Pro-ject Debut III and VPI 16.5 RCM), a new integrated or seperates is a little ways off...small steps!
Anyway, I'm really enjoying my new Polks and look forward to being a member of these forums!
Welcome to Club Polk krankwald. Congrats on your vinyl setup. -
I strongly considered the Lsi9's, but after reading these forums did not figure my lower-end Denon AVR could drive them.
Does your Denon have pre-outs? A lot of people think that they need to buy an expensive amp to drive the LSi's. I drive my LSi9's with a used Adcom GFA-535L that I bought off of Ebay for $170 shipped. I have seen them sell here for about $50 less. It doesn't get really loud, but it is plenty for my setup in a medium size room. Any louder and I would probably damage my ears. The next step up is the Adcom 545 which sells for about $100 more.
There are a lot of really nice, powerful amps out there but you can at least get the 535 as a temporary measure until you have more money to go larger. Then you can sell the 535 for almost the same price you paid for it. -
reeltrouble1 wrote: »Hi Barefoot,
Well I can tell you you are in excellent company with your Lsi-9. How so?
Well, a group of senior forum members were invited to visit with Matt Polk at his home last October, now this man can have anything he wants.
His two channel rig consisted of the exact same LSi-9 you now have in your home and that is it, now I would say that is pretty good company.
Welcome to the Club, enjoy yourself.
RT1
Any of the forum members who made the trip remember how he had the 9's mounted and what type amp he was using? -
maximillian wrote: »Does your Denon have pre-outs? A lot of people think that they need to buy an expensive amp to drive the LSi's. I drive my LSi9's with a used Adcom GFA-535L that I bought off of Ebay for $170 shipped. I have seen them sell here for about $50 less. It doesn't get really loud, but it is plenty for my setup in a medium size room.
Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately my Denon AVR-687 does not have pre-outs. I believe it can only drive down to 6 ohms as well. I'll have to check out the Adcoms, and maybe a used pre if I went that route. I live in a small apartment, so high volume listening is not required. To be honest, the RtiA3's sound great - much better than what I had - but I think that somewhere down the line I will want a pair of LSi9's, especially once I do upgrade my electronics...2-Channel:
Pro-Ject Debut III
Oppo DV-980H
Rogue Cronus (Magnum)
Totem Mites -
I had Lsi9s for fronts in my HT setup. Great speakers! I think the B&K 507S2 pushed them pretty well, but I know they would've really shined with some better power. When I moved, I'm going to hook the Lsi9s up to my 2-channel rig and see how they do with the upgraded electronics. I found the bass to be very good for their size but used a sub to fill in the bottom a bit.
Great gear you have there, barefoot! The NAD M3 int reminds me a little of my MF 308 in size and specs. Loved that damned MF 308 and have no idea why I sold it. May get an MF308 and pair it with my McCormack for a best of both worlds. The McCormack amp isn't that much better than the MF308 integrated, though. Not sure it's worth the extra $1000 to have separates over the integrated. . .Stereo Rig: Hales Revelation 3, Musical Fidelity CD-Pre 24, Forte Model 3 amp, Lexicon RT-10 SACD, MMF-5 w/speedbox, Forte Model 2 Phono Pre, Cardas Crosslink, APC H15, URC MX-950, Lovan Stand
Bedroom: Samsung HPR-4252, Toshiba HD-A2, HK 3480, Signal Cable, AQ speaker cable, Totem Dreamcatchers, SVS PB10-NSD, URC MX-850 -
I've always been a fan of B&K. Thanks for the gear compliment. I shopped around seemingly forever, but I ended up paying way less than MSRP (thankfully). The M3 was what first grabbed my attention. The M5 was just the cherry on top. I also listen to alot of radio, so I'd like to grab the M4 one day. Although right now its price certainly doesn't justify the means.
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Welcome to Club Polk Krankwald.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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Hey!
I've had my LSi9s for one year now and after joining Club Polk Forum - have decided to take the plunge and buy a sub. I borrowed my son's just to see if there would be a marked difference and there certainly is! The LSi9s are my sixth pair of Polks in 20 years and they just keep getting better. -
wehavtwins wrote: »Hey!
I've had my LSi9s for one year now and after joining Club Polk Forum - have decided to take the plunge and buy a sub. I borrowed my son's just to see if there would be a marked difference and there certainly is! The LSi9s are my sixth pair of Polks in 20 years and they just keep getting better.
Without a doubt a well integrated sub will up the anty for your music enjoyment. A box speaker just can't cut the mustard when it comes to producing quality bass as it was intended by the recording artist. Once you experience what you've been missing there's no going back to being subless. Music (all of it) never sounded better!"2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
Welcome to Club Polk wehavetwins!
