Is the LSI 7 just as good?

dhart86

This may seem a bit obvious to some, but I need specifics answers to address a debate I'm having with my cousin. I own a pair of LSI 9's and he owns a pair of LSI 7's. He claims that in a room-size 20 X 25 the LSI 7's sound every bit as good as the LSI 9's. I believe that the LSI 9's provide more information, more detail in the mid bass. Can anyone tell me why owning a pair of LSI 9's are superior to the LSI 7's a smaller room?

mdaudioguy

2 drivers > 1 driver and the 9s deliver a greater frequency range. If they were the same, who'd buy them? He's just jealous.

Face

That's a large room for a pair of LSi7's. I heard a pair in a similar sized room and thought they sounded thin.

dhart86

Exactly! I just needed to tell him why 9's are better. He said at lower level listening they sounded pretty much the same. Thanks for the reply mdaudioguy

McLoki

7's are a lot cheaper to upgrade the crossovers in though... (and they look much better as rear surrounds)

Anyway - both sound like LSi's. I would like either one (but really like the 7's I have :p:p)

comfortablycurt

This is something I've debated myself. I've heard LSi9's on several occasions, but I've never heard the LSi7's. Many people have stated that the 9's have a midbass hump, which may or may not be to your liking. A lot of people seem to prefer the 7's for 2 channel.

I'm planning on getting a pair of LSi9's later this year, but I'm going to make a point of it to check out the 7's before I do. Eventually, I'm probably going to add some stereo subs as well, so that would basically negate the additional bass of the 9's, if I find myself to prefer the 7's. The 9's definitely look much better though IMO.;)

Face

Mike, I agree the 7's are much cheaper to mod. Don't forget, the procedure is much easier too!

Curt, skip the subs, pick up a pair of LSi15's, and mod them.

In a smaller listening space, such as a nearfield environment, I'd take the LSi7's. For an average sized room and above, I'd go with the 9's and 15's due to the fuller bottom end.

maximillian

Never heard the 7's, but I use 9's for my HT, but mainly for music. For some movies if I get close to the 9's I can tell the sound coming out is not being fully utilized by the 9's. I think the AVR is passing the lower stuff to the sub instead of the 9's. So for a HT the difference between the 9's and the 7's might not be all that much. For music (AVR set to "straight") I love the 9's, but again I haven't been able to do a side-by-side comparison.

bluecomet

I have both the 9's and 7's. The 9's are superior. Much better range and bass. My favorite speaker in the Lsi line are by far the 25's. There's a reason why they are top of the line in the Lsi line up. They are all around great speakers. They do well in HT or music.

TroyD

I've owned them both.....for 2ch, smallish to medium sized room, I prefer the 7's.

Any 'decent' amp will drive either......

BDT

Cpyder

I've got the 9s and I can say they have amazing bass for bookshelves. I've been asked on multiple occasions, "Where is your sub?" The room is sound treated and not too big. I would think too large of a room would kill the low end from these. I'd like to hear the 7s in the same room setup.

Cpyder

xcapri79 wrote: »

+1 on that.

The advantage of the LSi7's over the LSi9's are that they are easier to drive and are smaller so they can be hung on a wall.

The LSi7's are really nice for a two channel system driven directly by a decent stereo receiver.
I use a HK3490 for my bedroom two channel system and love it.

With the LSi9's, I would recommend a decent external two channel amp to maximize their performance and save your receiver.
The LSi9's actually dip to 2 ohms.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1280165&postcount=6

+1 on the separate amp. I don't actually know of ANY receivers that can push these adequately at high volume. What receivers don't go into protect with the 2 ohm dip?

TroyD

I've ran both, simultaneously in a 5.1 setup from an AVR and encountered zero issues. The impedence curve is not that bad......

The -3db down point on the 9's is 50hz vice 53 on the 7's. The 9's have a hump in the upper bass to make it sound like they go deeper than they really do.

Now, don't get me wrong, I LIKE the 9's but they aren't dramatically superior to the 7's....I find the 7's to be more accurate.

BDT

dkg999

For HT go with the 9's. For a music only or mostly system I would go with the 7's and a really good musical sub.

comfortablycurt

Face wrote: »

Curt, skip the subs, pick up a pair of LSi15's, and mod them.

I've thought about that too...but I think LSi15's are going to be a later step down the road. I've been discovering the virtues of smaller bookshelf speakers lately, and really want to play around with them some more. I'm not a bass head, so I'd be able to live with the "wimpy" bass of the 9's with no problem, until I could grab some stereo subs.

I've also realized that the best location for imaging, from a mid-range and high frequency perspective, isn't going to necessarily be the best location for good bass performance. The way I see things, this really makes floor standers a compromise in a way. With a bookshelf/stereo sub combo, the bookshelves can be placed to provide optimal imagine, and the subs can be placed to provide optimum bass response.

I'm eventually going to work towards putting together an integrated 2 channel/HT rig, which will use all LSi's. I'll likely add some 15's eventually, and move the 9's(or 7's) to surround duty.

Once I do that, I'll be moving on something else speakerwise in the real 2 channel rig.:)



But...this is all just speculation right now...and my mind will probably change about 20 more times before an actual purchase is made...lol

McLoki

I will say the modded 7's really have a surprising amount of bass to them (Much more and better balanced bass than stock has)....

ctrulock

I love my lsi9's but they do have a boom at around 50 hz. I run them sat. off a sub with a high pass at 80hz. If i had it to do over again i'd buy the 7's and run with a sub LFE.

PSOVLSK

No the 7's aren't just as good as the 9's, but as TroyD said, the 9's are not dramatically superior. I would agree with bluecomet's assessment that the 9's have more range and better bass.

Face

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I've thought about that too...but I think LSi15's are going to be a later step down the road. I've been discovering the virtues of smaller bookshelf speakers lately

IMO, bookshelves are over rated. In many cases, it's the narrow cabinet that gives better imaging(less diffraction), but a narrow tower such as the LSi15 should do just as well.

But...this is all just speculation right now...and my mind will probably change about 20 more times before an actual purchase is made...lol

Ya think?

steveinaz

2-way designs lend themselves well to smooth driver integration, this why alot of times they are preferred to multi-driver/multi-crossover designs.

steveinaz

2-way designs lend themselves well to smooth driver integration, this why alot of times they are preferred to multi-driver/multi-crossover designs.

comfortablycurt

Face wrote: »

IMO, bookshelves are over rated. In many cases, it's the narrow cabinet that gives better imaging(less diffraction), but a narrow tower such as the LSi15 should do just as well.

Interesting...I've never really thought of it that way. I always figured it was more due to the fact that it's more decoupled from the floor, and that the mid-tweeter array doesn't have to fight with the woofers to create an image. Definitely some food for thought...

In this case, the 15's are actually a bit narrower than the 9's, due to not having the "wings" that the 9's have. Not right next to the mid-tweeter array anyway.

Ya think?

Yes...I've been known to be a bit indecisive...lol At this point though, I'm basically settled on the direction I'm going. The Parasound Halo P3/A23 combo, with some LSi speakers. I've still gotta get my ears on the 15's and the 7's though.

hockeyboy

I love my 15's. Of course if you and your brother came over you would have 16's (9's+7's) which would be one better than mine.:D