LSi M 705 Thinking of Upgrading the AMP - Suggestions

I have been running a dedicated 2 Channel Audio System that I purchased new for about three years now. Polk LSi M 705 powered by a NAD C375BEE 150W x 2 integrated amp.

I find at moderate listening levels the NAD does a good job. When it warms up it's does well on some of my reference music like Stevie ray Vaughan's - Tin Pan Alley, James Taylor's - Gaia, Donald Fagen's - Nightfly, most of my Jazz stuff is pretty good, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, etc...

My issue is two fold - I will be moving the system to a much larger space about 3 times the size of the current listening area and I find that when I want to push the system and move into some of my rock reference material, the NAD can't really get it's teeth in to and when asked to really drive a song at loud volume, the amp has a tendency to "harden up" and it really can sound cluttered with busier tracks.

I borrowed a friends Peachtree Audio Grand Integrated X-1 Integrated Amplifier, 440W x 2, and boy did the amp take control of the 705's woofers. The bass line exploded in Dire Straits - Heavy Fuel and Spiderbait's version of Black Betty was a a bit insane. BUT - going back to my previous mentioned reference material the Peachtree sounded a bit cold and the sound stage too distinct (the woofers, mid's and tweeter sounded too separated) - even with the front-end tubes engaged on the Peachtree, I missed the warmth of the NAD.

So as I start to look for an upgrade path (I am open to going to a separate amp and pre-amp), I was wondering what kind of advise the forum members could offer? My budget is around $3.5k.





Comments

  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    take a look at the kinki ex-m1 integrated at about $2200
    http://hifiknights.com/reviews/aplifiers/kinki-studio-ex-m1/
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • Thank you for the link. I have read through some very positive reviews. Have you heard the EX-M1?
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    yes, i do own the amp. here is a link to my review and others.
    https://www.kinki-studio.com/news
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    biased, no drink, unbiased three drinks in B)
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    edited November 2018
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • I am not sure I can properly ventilate a singled ended class A tube amp! But it would incredible to have some first hand feedback on some amp choice's with the 707's - 100% I will pay for the drinks - maybe Bruichladdich Black Art single malt?
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    josephp732 wrote: »
    I am not sure I can properly ventilate a singled ended class A tube amp! But it would incredible to have some first hand feedback on some amp choice's with the 707's - 100% I will pay for the drinks - maybe Bruichladdich Black Art single malt?

    preamps run nowhere near as hot as power amps.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • Sorry - I was referring to the MastersounD BoX, I am not sure if I could ventilate properly. Skip - what should my next step be?
  • josephp732
    josephp732 Posts: 38
    edited November 2018
    I don't need a DAC, phono is a big plus, remote is a nice to have. Marvins Kinki integrated seems very interesting. If I was to up the budget - how do think your McIntosh would drive these?

    I have a friend that will let me borrow his Anthem STR amp 400w x 2 (though he not very enthusiastic about carting over 60lbs)- I was thinking of testing this by using my NAD as a pre-amp.
  • Thank you Skip - sent you a PM with my contact info.
  • shs
    shs Posts: 105
    I am driving my 705s with a D-Sonic amp and like it very much. Plenty of power.
    SONY VPL-VW385ES, Da-Lite 92" 0.9 HD progressive 16x9 screen, Apple TV 4K, Oppo UDP 203, Anthem AVM 60, D-Sonic 4000 (800x3, 400x4) for bed layer, 2 Crown XLS 1002 (225x4) for Atmos; Speakers: Polk LSiM 705s, 703 front, 4 702F/X surround, 4 Polk TL3 (Atmos), Velodyne DD15 Subwoofer.
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    @josephp732 - The McCormack DNA-125 and Cary CPA-1, available in the flea market from yours truly, are a great combo to drive the 705's!

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/183988/cary-audio-design-cpa-1-stereo-preamp#latest

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/183989/mccormack-dna-125-stereo-power-amp#latest

    You get the tube pre sound without having to mess with the tubes,
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
    HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
  • mpitogo
    mpitogo Posts: 475
    I can tell you without a doubt the LSiM 707 will come alive with McIntosh equipment. I currently have my pair running with a C47 pre and an MC452 amp, the results are amazing. I was previously using the same pre with a Rotel RB-1590 it’s like night and day. I could not believe the effortless and authoritative bass coming out of the builtin subs.

    In my case less is not always more, more is definitely more! I’ve also run an MA5200 integrated without the autoformer, powerguard will come on and heatsinks will get hot, Class A hot. The MA5200 is quite comfortable running the previous gen LSi25 which is mainly an MTM with a builtin powered subs.
    • Living Room Music-2.0 Polk Legend L800 | McIntosh C70 | McIntosh MA5200 (Treble) | McIntosh MC452 (Bass) | Sublimeacoustic K231 Active xover | Denon DP-2500A | Denafrips Ares II | Belkin Soundform Connect | iPad Air USB to DAC
    • Media Room Ht-7.2.6/13.1 (Atmos/Auro-3D) Polk LSiM707, LSiM706c, LSiM702 F/X [x4], height LSiM703 [x6], HSU VTF-15H MK2 Dual | Marantz AV8805A | Rotel RB-1590 (L/R) | Appollon NC500 11ch | Sony UBP-X800 | AppleTV 4K | JVC RS2100
    • Game Room-5.1 Polk LSi25, LSiC, LSiF/X | Marantz SR7009 | AppleTV 4K | Xbox One S | Sony PS2, PS3 | Nintendo Wii | Gaming PC | Sony 75" LCD
    • Master Bedroom Music-2.0 Totem Hawk | Marantz PM-10 | Marantz SA-10 | SONY PS-HX500
    • Office-2.0 Ascend Acoustics Sierra LX, DSW microPRO3000 | Rotel RA-1570 | Marantz HD-CD1
    • Daughter's Bedroom 1-2.0 TBD Martin Logan Forte
    • Guest Room 2-2.0 Klipsch RP-600M | Martin Logan Forte
    • Guest Room 3-3.0 Martin Logan Motion 40, 50XT | Onkyo TX-SR705 | Apple TV | Samsung 55" TV
    • Guest Room 4-2.0 QAcoustics 3030i | Sansui AU-6900 | Topping DX7s | Sansui FR-1080 | TV
    • Maintenance: Pro-Ject VC-S Record Cleaning Machine
  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    I have 705’s and went from two Linn LK240’s running them to four of them and they sing!
    Marantz as a pre
    They don’t need a lot of power to sound good, but they need a little more to sound amazing.
  • Keep the amp, upgrade your speakers.
    I have 705’s and have enjoyed them on Mcintosh gear. On a whim I bought a pair of JBL 4311wx’s at a local auction for a fraction of the price of my 705’s. Almost 50 year old speakers, hooked them up to my Mac amps just to listen and oh my, what I’ve been missing!...the polks sound very nice, polite even but the old JBLs have an excitment and live sound the polks lack. The 705’s are now up for sale.
  • Thanks everybody for the advise and commentary. A special thanks to Skip for testing equipment for me.

    I wound up spending considerably more than I had budgeted. After testing some of my friends gear and going to a few local shops, I took the plunge and purchased a T+A PA3000HV 300Wx2 Integrated Amplifier, T+A MP3000HV Multi Source Player and a Music Hall MMF-9.3 Turntable with the Goldring Eroica LX MC cartridge.

    I have not had a chance to set-up the integrated yet, as need the help of a friend because of the weight - when I do get this set-up this week-end I will post a first review and some pictures.

    If your not familiar with this equipment here is a review that was written by the abso!ute sound: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/ta-pa-3000-hv-and-mp-3000-hv/
  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    Congrats!!! Awesome gear!
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    josephp732 wrote: »
    Thanks everybody for the advise and commentary. A special thanks to Skip for testing equipment for me.

    I wound up spending considerably more than I had budgeted. After testing some of my friends gear and going to a few local shops, I took the plunge and purchased a T+A PA3000HV 300Wx2 Integrated Amplifier, T+A MP3000HV Multi Source Player and a Music Hall MMF-9.3 Turntable with the Goldring Eroica LX MC cartridge.

    I have not had a chance to set-up the integrated yet, as need the help of a friend because of the weight - when I do get this set-up this week-end I will post a first review and some pictures.

    If your not familiar with this equipment here is a review that was written by the abso!ute sound: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/ta-pa-3000-hv-and-mp-3000-hv/

    you might have just out stripped your speakers. start saving for the upgrade. :'(
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • DSkip wrote: »
    Correct. I’ve got a lot of amplification at my disposal right now too. MastersounD, North Star, T+A, McIntosh, B&K, audible illusions, Dayens, Norma, Marvins Kinki....

    Meh just pass me that B&K would ya? No point in letting it sit there =P
    Just a dude doing dude-ly things

    "Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
    " I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
    "Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
    "Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
    "Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    DSkip wrote: »
    Correct. I’ve got a lot of amplification at my disposal right now too. MastersounD, North Star, T+A, McIntosh, B&K, audible illusions, Dayens, Norma, Marvins Kinki....

    Meh just pass me that B&K would ya? No point in letting it sit there =P

    no kidding
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • mpitogo
    mpitogo Posts: 475
    edited December 2018
    Congrats! Talk about busted budget $3.5k hehe. You better be getting some orgasmic sounding T&A from your T+A!
    • Living Room Music-2.0 Polk Legend L800 | McIntosh C70 | McIntosh MA5200 (Treble) | McIntosh MC452 (Bass) | Sublimeacoustic K231 Active xover | Denon DP-2500A | Denafrips Ares II | Belkin Soundform Connect | iPad Air USB to DAC
    • Media Room Ht-7.2.6/13.1 (Atmos/Auro-3D) Polk LSiM707, LSiM706c, LSiM702 F/X [x4], height LSiM703 [x6], HSU VTF-15H MK2 Dual | Marantz AV8805A | Rotel RB-1590 (L/R) | Appollon NC500 11ch | Sony UBP-X800 | AppleTV 4K | JVC RS2100
    • Game Room-5.1 Polk LSi25, LSiC, LSiF/X | Marantz SR7009 | AppleTV 4K | Xbox One S | Sony PS2, PS3 | Nintendo Wii | Gaming PC | Sony 75" LCD
    • Master Bedroom Music-2.0 Totem Hawk | Marantz PM-10 | Marantz SA-10 | SONY PS-HX500
    • Office-2.0 Ascend Acoustics Sierra LX, DSW microPRO3000 | Rotel RA-1570 | Marantz HD-CD1
    • Daughter's Bedroom 1-2.0 TBD Martin Logan Forte
    • Guest Room 2-2.0 Klipsch RP-600M | Martin Logan Forte
    • Guest Room 3-3.0 Martin Logan Motion 40, 50XT | Onkyo TX-SR705 | Apple TV | Samsung 55" TV
    • Guest Room 4-2.0 QAcoustics 3030i | Sansui AU-6900 | Topping DX7s | Sansui FR-1080 | TV
    • Maintenance: Pro-Ject VC-S Record Cleaning Machine
  • I have been running the new system pretty non-stop for the last week and all I can say is it's 100% completely different - and I am blown away. There is so much depth and clarity - this wound up being a fantastic match for my speakers. (BIG THANKS TO SKIP - now somebody needs to buy his T+A integrated!)

    As I was unboxing and setting up I was amazed with the build quality and each T+A piece feels like a solid block of aluminium, as an added bonus the T+A MC phono module was installed in the integrated amp, normally a $1,600 option. So I was able to return the external phono pre-amp that I purchased.

    I did run a new dedicated 30 amp 10 gauge service line from the panel for this system, I have the integrated amp plugged directly into the wall and the other components going to a Furman PST-8D, the MP3000HV has two power cables one for the digital side and one for the analog side, so I spit the power connection between each isolated bank. The only other A/C plug in the system is the adapter for the turn table. The system is dead quite.

    The T+A PA3000HV allows for bi-wiring and in software you can "join" the A and B terminals and the speaker selector switch. In the T+A manual it recommends low frequencies use the A terminals and mid & high frequencies use the B terminals, so that is the way I wired up the Polk speakers.

    Very hard to stop the ear to ear smile!

    au5a98sl6sdc.jpg





  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    Wow. Looks great man. Congrats.
  • Milito
    Milito Posts: 1,908
    Very nice.
    Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables.
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    Slick looking setup! Enjoy!
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
    HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
  • Thank you! I couldn't figure out how to correct the image!