Just hooked up my AVR, AMP, LSi9s for the first time.

I have to crank my B&K 507 S2 pretty good to get a high volume level. The Lsi9s are certainly not the most efficient speaker on the market. As long as your amp isn't crapping out and going into protection mode, burning hot, or distorting, you can turn it up a little louder. I have listened to my B&K 507S2 around -8 for some music. That's when it sounds great! You can measure with a SPL meter (long as it's under 95-100, it's not "ear bleeding"). But, as long as your amp isn't losing steam, the number on the Marantz is just that. . . a number.

If the marantz is just doing the processing / preamp piece, wouldn't worry how warm it runs. Unless it's defective, it would never be damaged / overworked just by processing. If it was powering the Lsi's itself (w/o separate amplification), then yes, that probably would be an issue at some point.


"Set the gains on the Lsi9s" not really sure what this means. Unless they are in a real awkwardly shaped room, or the left is further from you then the right, you shouldn't need to do much calibration for a stereo setup. I wouldn't raise the gains on the Marantz just to raise them, though.

I think volume is non-linear in most pre-pros, so, yes, the step by step gain from -10 to +18 will be larger and more noticeable than at the lower end of the spectrum. Feel free to test it out sometime and post your thoughts. I'm sure you can go to about 0, then it will be pretty darn loud. Again, as long as the speakers are distorted / clipping and the amp isn't burning hot / going into overprotect, the speakers should be fine even at higher volume.

Nothing wrong with them being on the floor other than soundstage and imaging will be affecting negatively. Make sure they aren't scratching the bottoms, though. The stands will make them sound better so if you like the sound now, you'll really like it then.

Does your amp have gain pots for each channel? If so, turn them all the way up and let the AVR control the volume.

The floor is cool for now, especially if you have no furniture and sit on the floor. Just kidding! Stands will be much better. Try putting them on your kitchen chairs to get them up till your stands arrive.

Your number is only a reference. My kit gets to ear bleed level at 50.

Face wrote: »

I'm not familiar with Marantz amps and preamps, but that's a big no no with McIntosh. I would see what the manual suggests and follow their guidelines.

I agree, but, there always is a but isn't there?

When I bought my first amp, the B&K 7250, I was excited to get it installed. Got it all hooked up and was completely let down. After all else fails, read the instuctions. Kinda like putting a Barbie fun house together Christmas eve after several glasses of wine.

What I failed to notice on the amp was 5 little knobs on the back. They were all turned down. My audio guy was very kind and understanding as he guided me in turning those 5 knobs all the way up. Now the amp was outputting as it should.


Face, your right on the Mac. Don't have to worry about it on my kit until the 501s turn into tubes. I think!

Gordon

Shicks18, congrats on the new toys. Hope you enjoy them and they bring you hours of enjoyment.

Hawkeye wrote: »

When I bought my first amp, the B&K 7250, I was excited to get it installed. Got it all hooked up and was completely let down. After all else fails, read the instuctions.

What I failed to notice on the amp was 5 little knobs on the back. They were all turned down. My audio guy was very kind and understanding as he guided me in turning those 5 knobs all the way up. Now the amp was outputting as it should.

I think we've all had a "doh" moment with audio. I got what looked like a mint B&K ST-1430II for a real good price, which immediately raised some concern. When I got home, it turned right on but there was NO output. I switched out ICs, rehooked everything, etc. Then, I notice a "control" button on the back for some kind of trigger. Apparently it was "on" which meant the amp was "off" except for the power light which still came on.

Very confusing but a great relief once I pressed it and got glorious sound.

With my first AVR, a Pioneer VSX-1015, I kept looking for a "loudness" button as I'd have to crank it to get listenable levels with movies. No loudness button existed so I took it back. Great move in hindsight cuz the HK 635 I got to replace it was a dream come true for only about $100 more.

then lay on the floor for now!

Make sure to fine-tune your crossover and sub output as much as possible to integrate. I've always struggled with getting subs to seamlessly add base / depth to music without standing out too much.

In my HT room it sounds great, but I'm not too critical of music in that setup. I only put music on in there to bump, and the Mirage Omni S-12 certainly comes through on that when needed.

What type of stands did you end up getting?



Nick

How tall are they?

I ended up going with 24" stands in my setup. The nines seemed a little to bright on the 31" stands. They sound much more natural to me on the 24" stands.

Are they supposed to arrive today?


Nick

On my sunfire amp I don't have a gain but there are two outputs for the L/R front channels. One is a Voltage source and the other is a Current source. I have mine on the Current side. It says in the manual that the current source is for electrostatic,planar magnetic, or ribbon speakers.The voltage source (i.e, near zero impedance) output for all typical applications.
I don't know if that is the correct way to hook up the LSi9's on my amp but they sound pretty darn good. But then again I never tried the voltage-source output on them.
So have I done a Major NO,NO? LoL
Also my normal volume position on my system is -30 to -19<--- at very max!
Shannon.