Sticky NEEDED for LSi and 4 ohm capable amps

zx_toth

It seems like there are weekly posts about people wanting to use LSis with their Sony HTIB recievers or Denon recievers. It is certainly easier for new posters to post the question rather than doing a search. I wondered if the moderator would consider adding a permanent STICKY on the topic in the speakers section where we could point people to when they asked this question.

It would cut down on the same questions being asked every couple of days.

Thoughts?

Zsolt

treitz3

Naw man. It gets the folks involved when they have questions. Every situation is different and there is no "one" answer. At least that's the way I see things.....

zx_toth

treitz3 wrote: »

Naw man. It gets the folks involved when they have questions. Every situation is different and there is no "one" answer. At least that's the way I see things.....

Hey, if there is always a knowledgeable Polk Member who hasnt grown old of the same question willing to answer a newbie's post than thats great. I agree that without such a question many new members may not know what else to start a post with.

Sometimes I feel a bit of annoyance in some veteran Polk forum members' responses ... for example "Use the search feature before posting" and figured this might reduce some of that backlash.

Carry on

treitz3

Do you have a specific question we can help with?

treitz3

xcapri79 wrote: »

When there are questions are about Onkyos driving LSi's, there is usually a flock of responses advising external amps. Certain brands trigger definite responses.

Certain amps folks here on the forum have actual experience with, which triggers responses. Most, not all, but most responses come from folks with experience that can actually answer your question with complete certainty. Unless you know how to properly advise/address the OP's question, why bother with the time it takes to post "blah, blah, blah" [Translation: "I have no clue!"] with an answer?

xcapri79 wrote: »

Would it be too easy to have a chart showing receivers qualified to drive LSi's. An exception might be the LSi7 which apparently does not dip below 4 ohms according to Eric Wong. There may be several receivers including the higher end Onkyo's capable of adequately driving them.

Actually, that would be a chore as there are different scenarios for different situations. The #1 response for those who did not plan accordingly and purchased a pair of LSi's? Get separate amplification to bring out the best in LSi's.

treitz3

I'll put it to you this way. A good friend of mine used to say, "Piss poor planning leads to a piss poor performance."

That saying is as valid today as it was then.

BlueFox

If there is a “sticky” for this subject I would like to see it written as an official statement by Polk Audio. I have been reading and posting on this forum for a few years under two different names, and this subject has generated a very large portion of opinion based posts. Unfortunately, to me, it appears many of the posts on this subject are wrong, and that is not the best information to be giving out as gospel.

megasat16

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Just wondering is there a Handbook for how to do it right for Audio?

Just asking.

McLoki

megasat16 wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Just wondering is there a Handbook for how to do it right for Audio?

Just asking.

Here is a start from your friends at Polk Audio....

Michael

McLoki

The LSi7 as close to a 6 ohm load has been know for quite awhile. Here is a quote from a Stereophile review of the LSi7 from March 2003... (BTW - here is the source)

The impedance is specified as 4 ohms, but as the plot of impedance magnitude and phase against frequency shows (fig.1), the load remains above 6 ohms for much of the audioband, with a minimum value of 4.2 ohms at 212Hz. However, the electrical phase angle is quite severe in the upper bass, which will add to the drive difficulty. A good amplifier or receiver rated into 4 ohms will work best with the speaker.

Michael

McLoki

xcapri79 wrote: »

Is there similar information for the LSi25, LSi15, LSi9, LSiFX and LSiC speakers?

I am sorry to say, I have not come across as in-depth a review for the rest of the LSi line....

Michael

Edit - I want to say I have read some decent articles on the LSi15's (not as in depth in a single article but when pieced together, there was a decent amount of info) I just cannot find them now. If I come across them again - I will send them your way.

megasat16

McLoki wrote: »

Here is a start from your friends at Polk Audio....

Michael

Thanks Michael! I've never before read those ones from Polk before. It's quite informative for the starters and most of the simple questions such as speaker cables and amplification requirements are covered there.

We should made that link sticky for starters if it's not already done so.

But for LSi series speakers, suggesting an amp that works well with LSi speaker is a bit more complicated since there is no rules of thump. But rather simply answering the question with the basic reply - 200WPC minimum at 4 ohms for the LSi speakers.

If we provide any definite answer to the question, the person seeking for answer may be very frustrated. Besides, the amp in the list may sound sucks for him even though it sounds good to me.

I know LSi sounds different with different amps coz I've tried with Adcom, Parasound, Rotel, Pioneer, Onkyo, B&K, Acurus, Harman Kardon, ML, MAC, and Luxman. I've never paired my LSi speakers with any kind of AVR before and I'll never try it. It's very possible some AVR can power LSi happily all day long but I am pretty sure I may not like how it sounds.

Suggesting AVR to go with LSi is still possible but it's not going to be easy. It's going to be a big task for a single person but may be possible if it's a community efforts. Someone needs to measure many popular AVR models from several manufacturer for true power ratings for 2 channel and multi channel to begin with. After that, other factors needs such as the model of LSi speakers and the listening habit (how loud) the listener crank the AVR for movies or music and how large is the listening room needs to be considered to make a possible match for the LSi speakers and amp or AVR.

treitz3

http://www.polkaudio.com/education/index.php

megasat16

Hey Tom, I didn't know Polk has so many education to be given to the Audio Community. These links should be made permanent on top of every forum category and appears first in the search results.

cnh

There's also the problem of the fact that a list of amps that would power LSI (4 ohm or lower loads) would be fairly extensive, perhaps 'unfamiliar' to those just coming onto the forum, and let's face it...everyone has their personal favorites--and those favorites themselves evolve. People may start off with a good cheap SS amp and graduate to tubes, or prefer a class A weighted amp...or...or...how about the new ICE-power amps?

I have to agree with treitz3...different strokes for different folks. And, personally, I believe that some of us, who haven't been around as long, have not yet reached our...'here we go again' stage...don't yet mind repeating ourselves--it's probably boring for the veterans) and I can understand that--will probably be there myself if I'm still on years from now.

cnh