New HT: Polk LSi9's and Onkyo SR707 or 806?

fiveholio

Hey folks, newbie here.

I'm in the market for a new HT setup, though we do a lot of music listening as well. We have in-wall and in-ceiling Polks (and PSW12) in our MBR and the setup kicks **** for our needs, so I thought I'd go down the Polk avenue first when looking at our FR setup.

I've been eyeing the Onkyo SR707 and like the features, but want to make sure it'll power the setup I want (or think I want). I was thinking about the LSi9's on stands as front speakers, but am not sure what to get for center or rears (though I'm leaning towards smaller rears). The room has a 52" Aquos on the short wall of a 11'x15' room with a 10' ceiling, and I'm expecting to need a SW as well. In a perfect world, I'd keep the speaker costs to ~1200-1300 so that the HT setup would total about $2K. I'm primarily looking for value here, but want to be able to crank some metal/alternative (and Guitar Hero) without a problem.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom!

Bernal

The Lsi 9s are the toughest to drive, although you should invest in an amp either way.

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01) DENON AVR-4308CI: Advanced 7.1 CH/5.1+2 CH/ 3.1+2+2 CH A/V Home Theater /MultiMedia Multi-Source/Zone Receiver with Networking and WiFi/170 watts x 7 channels
02) SUNFIRE Grand Signature - Bob Carver's
03) OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio
04) OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio / DENON DVD-2500BTCI: Blu-ray Disc™ DVD/CD Digital Player/Transport
05) HITACHI P55T501. 55" HD1080 Plasma HDTV
06) POLKAUDIO LSiC (Center speaker)
07) POLKAUDIO LSi15 LEFT (Front speaker)
08) POLKAUDIO LSi15 RIGHT (Front speaker)
09) POLKAUDIO LSif/x LEFT (Surround speaker)
10) POLKAUDIO LSif/x RIGHT (Surround speaker)
11) VELODYNE 12" OPTIMUN SERIES (High Output Digital EQ SubWoofer 2400W/1200WRMS)

PSOVLSK

Here are a couple of options. I wouldn't run the 9's without an amp.

Used pricing (someone please correct me if I'm off on pricing) BTW, I'm trying to include possible shipping costs

Lsi9: $600
5 channel amp: varies, but let's say $500
AVR: $500 (Not an Onkyo, but H/K and Yammie have new models with pre-outs in the $400 range.
Sub: using my estimates you have $400 left for the sub

or

Lsi7: $400
Onkyo SR707: ??? (My opinion is that the 7's will be okay, but you'll might want an amp later to get the most out of them).
Sub: Get the biggest, baddest you can afford. I'm fond of my SVS, but there are obviously other good choices

Don't forget to figure in the cost for decent speaker stands ($100). I tried getting off cheap and even the 7's are too heavy for cheaper stands.

Oh yeah, Welcome to CP!!

PSOVLSK

xcapri79 wrote: »

Onkyo SR707 AVR
Emotiva XPA-3 Amplifier
2 X LSi9's front
LSiC center
2 X LSi7's side surrounds
DSW microPRO 4000 subwoofer

Great setup, but this would cost upwards of $3000. His stated budget was around $2000. Again, great recommendations if he can stretch the budget.

fiveholio

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys! And yes, I'm only concerned with 5.1 at this time.

I'm not in a huge hurry, so I can shop around for deals to get the right setup. I'm also not married to the 707, especially with the prices I've seen on the 806's lately. I guess the question there is whether the 806 would save me from getting an amp, or whether I should factor that in anyway.

I guess I could also look at other speakers, and it seems like the LSi7's might be a bit of overkill as rears. Would the LSi f/x's save me anything? I know it's a major step down, but maybe I start with LSi7's in the front and f/x's in the rear, then someday step up to 9's in the front (if needed) and cycle the 7's to the rear.

Any and all ideas are welcome! I don't get this opportunity often, and I can't go crazy, but I want the best value I can get with a pretty decent system.

cfrizz

Welcome to Club Polk. If you plan on getting ANY LSI's, factor in an amplifier of at least 200wpc @ 8ohms.

There is no such thing as overkill if it is what you want. Get the receiver that has all the bells & whistles that you want it to have & make sure it has preouts for the amp you will need to get.

You can purchase a used amp from Audiogon to get more bang for your buck. Good choices to get are: Parasound, Sunfire, Adcom, Rotel, Nad, B & K, Emotiva, Outlaw.

pablo_rodz

Both LSi7 & 9's are 4ohms, you will need an external amp to power them. If you have patience you should be able to piece together a great system. Look at Polk Direct (Polks ebay store) every now and then they post LSi's at great deals. Also look in the Flea Market...

Welcome to CP!

PSOVLSK

xcapri79 wrote: »

I want to clear up some misconceptions about powering the LSi7's.
The Polk LSi7's are not as difficult to drive as the other LSi's.
They can be powered nicely by either the Onkyo 707 or 806.

Note the response from a previous post by Eric Wong, Polk Audio customer service and the frequency response of the LSi7's from Face. Note that the LSi9's are a different story and dip quite low into 2 ohms at around 50Hz.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=976671&postcount=26

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=976260&postcount=19

+1 to this. I've run my 7's with an AVR with no issues. Do they sound better with an external amp? Sure, they'd sound pretty sweet with one of those Onkyo's IMO.

fiveholio

Good times... the wife changed up the acceptable config on me. I did order the Onkyo SR707, but it sounds like I'll need to steer more towards smaller, wall-mounted speakers. Budget for these is probably right around $1500, and I'm looking for 5.1.

The sets jumping out at me at this point are the Klipsch Cinema 10 and the KEF KHT3005 and 5005. Anyone know much about these, and if Polk does anything comparable? Like previously stated, we'll be splitting music and HT, though I guess I won't be cranking the music like I planned on the LSi9's.

Thanks again for the help... sorry to be a moving target. Believe me.

bookshelf^love

THe Pioneer Elite tsx84 isnt bad...great dac and can easily power the 9's