Need a good receiver for LSi7

jolax73

Polk Audio mania!

I have a pair of Lsi7 and wanting to use it for HT and music. I am looking for the best bang for the buck for the receiver but not really sure what to get since I have been reading in the forum that this speaker is power hungry. I am thinking of all in one receiver that has 5 channels and HDMI input but could not find any in the forum. I was inclined on the NAD C720BEE but this looks only a 2 channel amplifier and not a receiver. Any recommendation for a under $500 receiver for this lovely speakers? Also is DSW Pro 500 sub compliment this or should a Yamaha YSTSW216BL will do justice to this speakers?

Again, I am a new bee in home speaker system and what kind of cable is highly recommended for these Lsi7. I haven't got the rear speakers yet, any recommendation for a good price and sound? Also for the center channel, still looking.

Thanks in advance for the advice and input folks!!

kawizx9r

xcapri79 wrote: »

You are on the right track on using NAD. You might find something like a NAD - T-755 for close to what you ewant to pay. The LSi7's are not a demanding as the rest of the LSi series in that it doesn't go below 4 ohms as say the LSi9 does, however you need a good receiver with a 4 ohm rating such as the NAD or use a separate amp with a receiver with pre-outs. I would say you will need to check the used market to meet your price point.

+1
Find yourself a good pre amp/receiver and utilize it as your pro. Many good AVR's can be had for around what youre looking to spend, but you will have to cough up some more coin for a proper amp to power the LSi's. You'll find alot of owners will chime in and recommend you run these off a seperate amp, even if it's just a 2 channel amp as several people here run more than 1 seperate amp for their HT setup.

jolax73

Yeah, I was reading more forums regarding the Lsi7 and I kind of hooked to the Emotiva XPA-5. So this seems like a separate amplifier and no receiver. So if I were to use this, I would need a receiver still to plug all my HDMI inputs, right?

How is the XPA-5 paired to Lsi7 compared to the NAD T755??

kawizx9r

A receiver with pre amp outputs, make sure it has pre outs as few people have made this mistake in the past *raises hand* not like it matters in my case unless I want to use my SDA's as part of my HT, thats for another thread though :eek:

jolax73

So does any kind of receiver matter or do I still get a good one. I mean if I use a so so receiver, but good amplifier, will it make the sound different? I am saying is will the receiver just work as a bypass?

Please help me understand....thanks!

kawizx9r

Good receiver should still be in the works, not all DACs are the same. Some will seem "warm" others "bright" and so on. Personally I like my Denon as it sounds a bit more natural than my older Pioneer I replaced, but I've heard a few HK's I liked. Never owned/heard Onkyo so I can't say anything regarding them but those who own them will give you their .02

Kex

The main advantage of a NAD receiver, in this case, is that it can famously drive 4 ohm speakers without seperate amplification at all, so you don't absolutely need to get an amplifier straight away. Once you've tried it out, you can then decide if you think you want the amplifier or not.

NAD are also frequently mentioned as more "musical" than other receivers, whatever that means, but if music is a high priority vs. Home Theater, you might consider it useful information.

For bargain pricing and ease of availability, spearitsound.com is a good, reputable source. The current T7x5 models will have HDMI and Audyssey auto-calibration (with specific NAD tweaked settings). The older T7x4 models will save you a few hundred bucks, but will not have HDMI or auto-calibration. I can highly recommend the NAD for difficult loads, since I have tried the T754 with far more difficult loads than the LSi7, and it performed admirably.

http://www.spearitsound.com/nad/nadspec.htm
http://www.spearitsound.com/nad/T754.asp
http://www.spearitsound.com/nad/T755.asp

P.S. Welcome to Club Polk, BTW!

Barefoot

an old nad receiver i had before the m3 upgrade drove my 9's w/o fuss. Aren't the 7's 6ohm speakers? Shouldn't be a problem. Personally I think the whole amp/pre argument is somewhat overblown. jmo.

jolax73

Look at T755 specs and does not seem to have the hdmi support. IS that correct? Also polk audio manias, what is the best bang for the buck receiver/amplifier for the lsi7 that can give warm sound. Yes, I like warm sound, not the bright kind like Sony or Pioneer speakers.

Again my option are either go with NAD T755 receiver, or get the Emotiva XPA-5 (seems to have very good review for the price; but not really sure if this is a good match with the Lsi7) or the Harman Kardon....but my problem I am thinkng of creating a 5.1 setup or maybe even just 4 channel without a center speaker.

Please help me with choosing the right amplifier/speaker and what is the good wire speaker for this set?

Thanks again folks for the reply....!!

jolax73

BTW, the T755 also does not support HDMI audio. Is this a big deal? Does this has pre-outs? Anyone that used T755 to power their LSi7, please let me know your experience.

Please share your experience running the Lsi7 with other amp or receiver.

cfrizz

Just like the rest of the LSI's the 7's enjoy & benefit greatly from power. My Brother has them. He originally ran them off of a Rotel 50wpc amp prepro combo. While they did sound good, after a 2 hr movie, you could fry an egg on top of the amp!

He now runs them with a Denon receiver & a 205wpc Parasound amp. They sound even better & the amp stays nice & cool.

He has to crank the Denon up quite a bit to get the volume he wants, but with the amp in place, he doesn't have to worry about it going into protect mode.

This is what proved to me how much power it takes to drive the LSI series. I figured he would have plenty volume at -30 which was just fine with my RTA-8T's, but it was nothing on the LSI's.

One other note is that you WILL need a sub to fill in the bottom end. When watching a movie or listening to music the 7's really struggled to play everything. By adding a sub the 7's will be able to excel at what they do best, rather than sounding kind of muddy trying to play the low bass.

Welcome to Club Polk!

Shicks18

imho, you've stepped into a potentially expensive hobby, especially with the purchase of LSi7's. With that kind of purchase, you raised the standard/expectations on the remaining equipment. I don't know what kind of plans you have in store on the future, but if it is to purchase more speakers, assuming they are LSi speakers, then you will need a powerful multi channel amp.

With that said, the previously mentioned XPA-5 will be wonderful. To maximize sound quality while still keeping your budget in mind, you need to buy the amp used, as well as purchase a used preamp/processor. You can try another Emotiva product, the LMC-1, to suit your needs. When it is all said and done you've spent around $800 or so on the proper processing/amplification.

jolax73

Hmm....so now I am a bit confused as to go with the NAD T755 receiver or the Emotiva XPA-5 or also the need to get the pre amplifier.....

Is it really necessary to get the pre amp if I were to use the EPA-5??

jolax73

cfrizz wrote: »

Just like the rest of the LSI's the 7's enjoy & benefit greatly from power. My Brother has them. He originally ran them off of a Rotel 50wpc amp prepro combo. While they did sound good, after a 2 hr movie, you could fry an egg on top of the amp!

He now runs them with a Denon receiver & a 205wpc Parasound amp. They sound even better & the amp stays nice & cool.

He has to crank the Denon up quite a bit to get the volume he wants, but with the amp in place, he doesn't have to worry about it going into protect mode.

This is what proved to me how much power it takes to drive the LSI series. I figured he would have plenty volume at -30 which was just fine with my RTA-8T's, but it was nothing on the LSI's.

One other note is that you WILL need a sub to fill in the bottom end. When watching a movie or listening to music the 7's really struggled to play everything. By adding a sub the 7's will be able to excel at what they do best, rather than sounding kind of muddy trying to play the low bass.

Welcome to Club Polk!

CFRIZZ so what is the consensus, what is your recommendation to run my Lsi7? Should I get a receiver and separate amp? If so, what brand do you recommend for the amp and the receiver?

Kex

Jolax, there is not a definite consensus on this topic. The added power from external amplification is supposed to yield extra dynamics and headroom, since you wouldn't normally need that much power (under normal circumstances in a normal sized room) to get to very loud levels. Cfrizz always recommends 200w/ch into 8 ohms for this very reason, and also because of the expectation that if you decide to buy different speakers later, that you will already have enough power to drive them, whatever their specifications.

You'll have to make up your own mind if you think you need the extra power for added dynamics or not, since not everyone agrees with the necessity. There are plenty of examples of huge dynamics being achieved with modestly powered, high quality products with just 30w/ch or 50w/ch, even with very difficult speakers (low impendance and low sensitivity, for instance), and that's without even considering integrated tube amplifiers. There are also examples of those who have added external amplification and been disappointed by the results.

One thing you do need is the capability for 4 ohms, even if the LSi7 are really only 6 ohms. Very few receivers are able to do this, whereas most external amplifiers are. Every NAD receiver that I have ever come accross, however, is rated for 4, and even 2 ohms so something like a T755 will not damage itself, or your speakers.

As for HDMI, like just about all the entry level "high end" equipment, most of the current NAD range will not process HD audio, although some products can be upgraded to do so (T765 and up) by adding new "modules" (they are a recent innovation, and are not cheap). There are several mass market brands, including Yamaha and Onkyo, that have become popular choices because of the ability of some of their models to process these HD formats. The choice here is yours and yours alone. Some will argue that a NAD, or similar, even without HD audio will always sound noticeably better than any Onkyo or Yamaha. Others will argue that HD audio is such a great advancement that it is still worth getting a "lesser" quality receiver that can process these formats, and then add an external amplifier such as the Emotiva you have been considering. Nobody can really make this decision for you.

cfrizz

Jolax you have to decide for yourself if you want to buy a receiver for all the latest bells & whistles with preouts & a separate amp. or go straight for a prepro & amp realizing in most cases the prepro won't have all the latest & greatest.

I have had both types of sytstem & prefer the prepro/amp combo.

Good amps are Parasound, Outlaw Rotel, Emotiva, Nad, Adcom, Sunfire, B & K, etc. www.Audiogon.com is your friend.

jolax73

Polk Guru, I have decided to get a separate amp and a receiver. For under $700 amp, what is the recommended top 3 5-channel amplifier? I was looking at that price range, so far is Emotiva XPA-5. IS this a good pair with the Lsi, meaning it can bring out the warmth and the character of this speaker?

Let me know your thought on this. thanks!

cfrizz

The XPA will do just great with the LSI's. And right now it is the best bang for the buck amp to get brand new.

I saw where you are looking for a Rotel 1075, but if you plan on adding more LSI's, that Rotel really won't cut it.

We had a guy a few years back who went with one for his system. I was the lone one that said hold out for more power. Needless to say he was back on here complaining that his amp went into protect mode & got really hot.

It's better to have it & not need it rather than need it & not have it.

Good luck in your search for an amp.

jimmydep

jolax73 wrote: »

Polk Guru, I have decided to get a separate amp and a receiver. For under $700 amp, what is the recommended top 3 5-channel amplifier? I was looking at that price range, so far is Emotiva XPA-5. IS this a good pair with the Lsi, meaning it can bring out the warmth and the character of this speaker?

Let me know your thought on this. thanks!

What cfrizz said +
The XPA-5 is a great compliment to the LSI speakers......the XPA-5 is a very dynamic and powerfull amp, the LSI's being very laid back will jump to life with the Emotiva.
I actually like my XPA-5 better than my Sunfire Cinema Grand with the LSI's.


Jimmy

jolax73

So Jimmydep...what other option aside from Emotiva XPA-5 since I got a yes from you.. Any other similar quality and price?? Just for an option here.

jimmydep

jolax73 wrote: »

So Jimmydep...what other option aside from Emotiva XPA-5 since I got a yes from you.. Any other similar quality and price?? Just for an option here.

If you want a very warm sounding amp the Sunfire Cinema Grand 200x5 would be an excellent choice and you can select between voltage and current source outputs, the current source is supposed to mimic the properties of a tube amp, I found that output to be luke warm and it did nothing for the LSI's. A used Sunfire amp can be found in the $800+ range.

Here's one on e-bay now auction closing in about 2 hours http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320397186649

I can only personally speak for the two amps that I own, many here like the Rotel, Parasound and Adcom amps.

Whichever you choose for your LSI's I'd make sure you have at least 300wpc@4ohm, just in case you want to bump up to the larger LSI's or any low impedance speaker in the future.


Isn't this fun....


Jimmy

shack

jimmydep wrote:

Whichever you choose for your LSI's I'd make sure you have at least 300wpc@4ohm, just in case you want to bump up to the larger LSI's or any low impedance speaker in the future.

Not an absolute.

I would forego the HDMI inputs and go with the NAD T755 in a heartbeat. HDMI for audio is is not necessary and the HDMI video can be run straight from the DVD player to the monitor. New at $799 or refurb at $699...either is a killer deal. I pesonally would not buy and Emovtiva product over a NAD...but that is my preference. Also...don't be fooled by the 80wpc...it is deceptively CONSERATIVE. The T755 will drive the LSi7s effortlessly...to levels louder than one should listen to. The NAD recievers are also considered to be exception for music reproduction...not just HT.

Face

LSi7's are easy to drive in comparison with the rest of the LSi series. A good integrated or receiver(such as HK, etc...) should be able to drive them without a problem. LSi9's and LSiC's, that's a different story, I would definitely recommend an amp.

shack

Face wrote: »

LSi7's are easy to drive in comparison with the rest of the LSi series. A good integrated or receiver(such as HK, etc...) should be able to drive them without a problem. LSi9's and LSiC's, that's a different story, I would definitely recommend an amp.

Again, you have to be careful of generalizations. One of the best 2 channel rigs I ever heard was a pair of LSi9s running off a NAD C320BEE integrated rated at 50wpc in a medium sized room (no sub). IIRC the source was a modded Sony C222ES CDP. Talk about synergy...It was a sweet sounding setup that I would be proud to own.

jolax73

Polk Guru,

Thanks for the input once again. I am prolly convince that you definitely know what u r talking about here. So I might stick to the NAD T755...but what about that Sunfire Grand Cinema that was mentioned earlier by one of the responder. Which would you recommend?

Face

The Grand Cinema is a good amp if you plan on adding a LSiC and surrounds.

IMO, it would be silly to purchase a new processor/receiver that doesn't have HDMI, you'll be missing out on the new audio formats and will have a lot less cables to deal with.

jolax73

Face, that's is what I plan to do, to have a center speaker (Lsic) and a surround. What do u recommend for the surround to compliment my LSi7. I don't need expensive surround but just something not big and nice sounding for the surroung, any suggestion?

And for this kind of setup what do you recommend since you mention about not recommending buying the NAD which do not support the HDMI audio. Let me know your inputs. Thanks!

Kex

shack wrote: »

... I would forego the HDMI inputs and go with the NAD T755 in a heartbeat. HDMI for audio is is not necessary and the HDMI video can be run straight from the DVD player to the monitor. New at $799 or refurb at $699...either is a killer deal. ...

Actually, just to clarify, the T755 does actually have HDMI, but for video only.

shack wrote: »

Again, you have to be careful of generalizations. One of the best 2 channel rigs I ever heard was a pair of LSi9s running off a NAD C320BEE integrated rated at 50wpc in a medium sized room (no sub). IIRC the source was a modded Sony C222ES CDP. Talk about synergy...It was a sweet sounding setup that I would be proud to own.

Agree 100% on that assessment! I've pushed the T754 with the Mark & Daniel, 3-6 ohm speakers, rated at just 82.5dB efficiency, which you would expect to be much more difficult than the LSi7, and it was effortless in my average sized room - no signs of heat or stress at all, so I didn't even bother to engage soft clipping protection during testing.

I also know exactly what the T754 does with my 5.1 RT55/CS400 setup, and it is simply outstanding, a very sginificant improvement over the Emotiva LPA-1 IMO, despite being 70w/ch vs. 125w/ch.

I'm not suggesting the OP should not buy the Emotiva he's considering, or that it "won't work", but I agree with Shack when he suggests that one should beware of generalizations since they may actually cost you lost performance, as well as lost money. Everyone has their own priorities (including absolutely wanting HD audio or not necessarily) and the OP really needs to figure this one out for himself. He won't go far wrong either way.

cfrizz

The Sunfire is also a good option. If you check my signature, you will see I have one myself. Either a Sunfire or the Emotiva will get the job done, now & in the future through all other upgrade to your system.

The Sunfire can be gotten on Audiogon or Ebay. Personally I trust Audiogon more.

cfrizz

So long as he is using the amp I hardly think he will be losing performance or money. There is also the fact that he intends to add more LSI speakers which will be a further drain on any receiver he gets regardless of the quality of the product.

Either way you slice it, it is going to cost quite a bit of money to do this properly. When all is said & done I'd rather overspend once & be all set for years to come, rather than take a cheaper short cut & come up wanting.

Jolax, now has both sides of the argument, lets just let him decide which direction he wants to go in.

jolax73

cfrizz wrote: »

Jolax you have to decide for yourself if you want to buy a receiver for all the latest bells & whistles with preouts & a separate amp. or go straight for a prepro & amp realizing in most cases the prepro won't have all the latest & greatest.

I have had both types of sytstem & prefer the prepro/amp combo.

Good amps are Parasound, Outlaw Rotel, Emotiva, Nad, Adcom, Sunfire, B & K, etc. www.Audiogon.com is your friend.

Cfrizz,

What is a prepro by the way?? Sorry I am new to home audio...so some of the terms are not familiar yet.