Finally got the LSi9's; Comments and Recommendations Welcome

Ok, if you search my previous posts, I had expressed interest in getting the LSi9s to replace my Monitor 60s. Here's some background on my old setup:

Pioneer VSX-1015TX Pioneer Receiver (120Wx7)
Fronts: Monitor 60s
Center: CS2
Rears: Monitor 30s
Sub: Velodyne DPS 12"

I had been happy with my setup's performance for home theater, but I wanted a little more for 2ch music. I listen to my audio in a standard stereo setup with a 50 Hz cross-over to the Velodyne. I do listen pretty loud, but nothing ridiculous. I wanted more clarity, better imaging, and slightly better mid to low response out of the Monitor 60's.

Well this weekend the LSi9s were $100 off at Tweeter. I debated buying a set on Ebay for sometime, but it's harder to find the Ebony's and from everything I read here, I was concerned they wouldn't work in my system due to the 4ohm/8ohm issues and my modest receiver. Tweeter has a 30 day return policy so I figured I'd give them a try. After asking and searching here I felt that the speakers wouldn't work at all with my receiver. This in contrary to the fact that both Tweeter and Fry's demo the LSi9s (and they sound awesome) in their demos on switchable A/V Receivers without any additional amplification. In fact at Fry's, I powered the LSi9s on a $299 Harmon Kardon system with 2x50w stereo power (granted, HK rates a more realistic number, 50w by HK standards is VERY low, probably like 80-90w from a Pioneer, Yamaha, or Denon).

Needless to say, I hooked the LSi9s up at home and immediately listened in stereo. The Pioneer receiver had no problem powering them. Granted, I do end up cranking the volume a little more to achieve the same volume level as with the 60s, it didn't seem too overwhelming. I played music at LOUD volumes for 30 minutes without hitch. I reconfigured the A/V receiver using MCAA and it adjusted the front speakers to match the rest of the set. It only gave a +1db adjustment to the front speakers to make it fit with the remaining setup. In fact, I believe my Monitor 60s even detected a +1db adjustment to match with the CS2.

I watched Terminator 2 Extreme Edition last night at LOUD levels and found the system better than before, especially with super high effects like glass shattering, and lows (we'll get to BASS next).

Like said, I had been running my crossover network at 50 Hz for the sub. I noticed with the LSi9s that my bass seemed a lot louder. I thought it was due to my sub's gain being turned up, but I turned the sub off completely. Even w/ the 50 Hz cross-over still on (sub off), the low end response out of the LSi9s was just sensational. I never thought bookshelfs could do that. It was considerably better than what my Monitor 60's could do. I've heard the RTi12s in stereo config without a sub before and was impressed at the bass, but I'd say the LSi9s are similar.

I think I'm going to set my fronts as Large and not use the cross-over or sub at all when listening to music, at least music that doesn't have much bass less than 50Hz anyways. Although occasionally I listen to RAP, it's quite rare and that's the only thing I have that produces sound that low.

In summary, I'm fairly impressed with the LSi9s, especially with their low end response. The ROI on going from the M60s to the LSi9s wasn't as significant as one would think, but I think that's a testament to the M60s being great speakers, especially when using a good sub. Going from my old Panasonic speakers to the M60s seemed like night and day. The M60s to LSi9s was noticable, but not night and day. That's true of all things, you get diminishing returns as you go higher up the line. The other great thing about the LSi9s is the quality of them. You can tell they're nice by just looking at them; the detail of the wood, etc.

Although I ultimately have plans of going LSiC and LSi7, I'm more into music than HT so the LSi9s will hold me over for my music needs indefinitely. My reason for posting was to explain that even with a modest $500 receiver, I'm happy with the performance of the LSi9s and I'm even satisfied with how they fit in on the HT side with the CS2 and M30s. The receiver handles the mix of 4ohm and 8ohm fine (albeit they are separate channels).

Of course, I will watch over time to see if the receiver overheats and ever goes into protection and then go with an auxiliary amp, but for now I think all is ok. Maybe with the LSiC and LSi7s it might be overdoing it for the amp. When/if that happens, I'll just make the final purchase of a good 5 channel amp (which from my understanding can be had for a good deal on Ebay).

I must inform you that I'm not a hardcore audiophile so I'm sure many of you will think my approach and configuration is garbage, and that's fine, you're entitled to your opinion. On the contrary, I had EXTREME hesitation to install the LSi9s because of what everyone on here told me. I'll definitely report back if I run into any future problems, but at this point all is well, and I'm happy. I also spoke with the Manager at Tweeter about the LSi series and he says that they sell full LSi setups with sub $1,000 AV receivers all the time and never have returns/complaints.

Take it for what it's worth. I'm interested in your experiences/comments, even if they're negative.

On a final note, I'm continually impressed with the quality of Polk speakers. Both in terms of sound and overall build quality.

Thanks,
Brian