LSi25 or RTiA9

[f1loco]

Ok, on the fence and thinking about jumping up to the LSi25's. I'm running a Technics DX930, which allegedly is 100x2, and can run 4, 6, or 8 ohms on L/R speaker output. Will this be ok to push the speakers for now?

Getting rid of an old acoustimas10 from Bose. :)

[ben62670]

Welcome to Club Polk. The receiver you have won't really push either speaker very well. Watts are not watts with many receivers. It would push them fine for now, but you most likely will be wanting more.
Ben

[f1loco]

Thanks, if I am trying to avoid a separate woofer, would the Lsi25's then be a better choice? Remember, I've been listening to an acoustimas10 for the last 6 years.

[Sami]

IMO, I think 15's would be your best option if your primary use is music. I personally don't care much for the 25's and for music I think the 15's produce enough bass. The RTi line does not sound as good as the LSi line.

By looking at the specs of your receiver, it is unclear whether it has L/R preouts (I am assuming not). If it has, consider adding an external amp as well. The Carver AV405 on flea market section would be enough to really push LSi's.

[f1loco]

Thanks for the input. I've heard the LSi25's tend to making a popping sound with the Sub's cutting on/off b/w music. As it replaces the Bose, it will take double duty b/w TV and music.

[f1loco]

Apparently the DX930 does have pre-amp outputs...

[f1loco]

What about the Onkyo A-9555B? Looking at the back of the same, what do I need to get the same in line with the DX930?

http://saigonsuperstore.com/shop/popup_image.php?pID=6195&image=1&osCsid=41

[curved]

[QUOTE=Sami;935457]The RTi line does not sound as good as the LSi line.
QUOTE]

I agree, but it depends who you ask. If you like a warm, smooth speaker, the LSi's are the speaker for you. If you like a speaker on the bright side (and a lot do for HT), then the RTi is the speaker for you.

[Sami]

I found the LSi's better for HT too but yes, it all depends on what you like.

[f1loco]

Well, I did it now.. ordered the LSi25's. Didn't want to to mess with my amp set up, hopefully and the powered sub's will hopefully keep that from happening. Sorry to the LSi15's purists.

[Fatwalnut]

Congrats on ordering Lsi25's. I've had mine for a year and I am very happy with them. You will here an audible pop/clicking sound from both speakers when you power up your amp/receiver. This is normal. Once they start to receive a signal "sound", you will hear an additional click from both speakers again. All this hoopla is just your speaker amps waking up. This will not cause any damage to the 10" woofers. Enjoy !!!!!

[f1loco]

Thanks. If that's all that's been talked about, no worries. The initial firing on my Crate 4x12 stack and head tube would probably scare the bajeebees out of these guys. That's the sound of power... :)

[Kex]

Well, I did it now.. ordered the LSi25's. ...
Great introduction to Club Polk! Some of us have to settle for more modest beginnings, congratulations and welcome!

[f1loco]

Well they arrived and sound great. Once I cranked the Technics receiver though, I had overload in about 10 min's. Guess I'm going to have upgrade the receiver/amp. Any suggestions w/o taking out a second mortgage for these 4 ohm babies?

[ben62670]

You will need an amp. Adcom, and parasound can be had for $200-$400 on the used market. I don't know if your receiver has Pre outs, but if it does you can use it till its time to upgrade.
Enjoy.
Ben

[f1loco]

No pre-out/pre-amp unfortunately.

[McLoki]

You need home theater or just 2 channel? (will make a pretty big difference in cost - especially used) What is required if you are spending the money anyway (HDMi, bass management, Hi-definition decoding, etc.)? What is your budget?

Michael

[f1loco]

No, 2 channel is fine Going down from a 5.1 set up from Bose. What a difference, and we haven't gotten the LSi25's broken in yet. Finally a complete range from low to high is present.

I need something that will control DDS/DVD/CD(Mac) inputs, and drive the 4 ohms with sufficient power as to not overload once the sub's get pumping. Seemed that heavy pop/hip hop caused the Technics to overload quickly.

[Monster Jam]

Take it easy with the volume knob until you get an amp to drive the 25's. Seriously. The last thing you want to do is damage your new gear.

And for what its worth, 25's are excellent speakers. You will love them.

[f1loco]

Thank goodness the Technics has an Overload mode to shut down. :) Really looking hard on the HK3490 at 150w at 4ohms and $300, seems pretty reasonable. However, I noticed distortion is .2% and range 20-20 and the LSi25, are 20-27, so would I be missing too much and gaining too much mush?

[Face]

Save your money for a real amp.

[f1loco]

Suggestions??? Not finding a lot of 4 ohm receivers out there...

[maximillian]

As Ben and others have mentioned, do these babies justice and get a separate amp. You can get an Adcom GFA-545 or GFA-555 for only ($200-$400) on the used market. There are other brands you should consider as well. Ebay is a good start but the FS forum here will be a little cheaper and the people are nicer to deal with. Generally speaking you want an amp that will have a higher rated output at 4 Ohms compared to 8.

Depending on your room size and listening level, you will want an amp with at least 100W but try to get to 200W if possible in your budget. I have LSi9's powered by an Adcom GFA-535 (60W at 8 Ohms and 100W at 4) and they get loud enough for me in my small to medium room. However, others will find the power level to be too little. I can't run them at their full intensity in my basement without the wife complaining about the volume. So don't go too crazy with output unless you really like it loud and you are careful about the possible damage to your ears. BTW, this little amp barely gets warm with the LSi9's.

Then get a pre-amp or receiver with pre-outs. If you will be doing HT then get a HT receiver with pre-outs that has the features you want. Don't worry about the power rating too much since you will have an external amp that can handle it. The HT receiver will allow you to expand to multi-channel should you choose to do so in the future. If you really don't have the money on a receiver (after the amp) then get a cheap (<$100) used stereo only receiver off of Ebay that has pre-outs.

Of course if you are really thinking about expansion in the future and want to some day add a LSi center, then you may want to consider at least a 3 channel amp. These will be pricier but not too bad.

Get a good external amp to meet your needs (channels and power). Avoid receivers that have amps rated for 4 ohms.

[f1loco]

Ok, you guys have road me to spend more money. :) Think I am going with a Yamaha processor/pre-amp, and a Krell 2250 amp to power them. That should be more than plenty to push them. :) Of course, I don't want to see how many shoes this is going to cost me with the wife. LOL

[Fatwalnut]

I originally had the lsi's hooked up to a Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver. This receiver is rated at 130 watts per channel. At a loudness setting of about -18db, the receiver would lose its ooomph and start to distort. I added a Rotel 1075 amp, and "after a good break-in period", had no problem with loss of power. This amp is rated at a continuous 120 watts x 5, 8 ohm, to 200 watts peak at a 4 ohm load. -18db is not a problem now. Actually I've had my receiver "Pre-amp" at -10db, and it scared me, but the sound was loud and clean. Just realize that right out of the box this amp might sound very flat. Give it time and it opens up nicly. Your speakers also need a good break in period, so be patient, you will be happy.

[xcapri79]

Consider Emotiva amps for your LSi's. They offer great value IMHO. The amp I have drives my LSi's nicely.

[anonymouse]

Ok, you guys have road me to spend more money. :) Think I am going with a Yamaha processor/pre-amp, and a Krell 2250 amp to power them. That should be more than plenty to push them. :) Of course, I don't want to see how many shoes this is going to cost me with the wife. LOL

I'm not a huge fan of Yamaha processing, but that Krell seems like a great decision. 500WPC at 4ohms should tame the LSi's really well.

[MADGSF]

^ Agree, I'm not sure putting a low end pre in front of an amp that is thousands of dollars, used even, is the best idea. Since you only care about 2 channel even with DVDs how about a nice used Krell KAV 400xi. You could just run the analog out from your sources. You would get a great pre along with a great amp that will have plenty of power with money left over for a good CD Player.

[rru2s]

Ok, you guys have road me to spend more money. :) I don't want to see how many shoes this is going to cost me with the wife. LOL
LSi25 + amp => WAF + Shoes ? ? ?

You are lucky to get off so easily. I had to redo my $3000 porch, $2100 doors just for a bedroom system with a HK3490, Polk Monitor 60s, and a Marantz CD player.

Then when I bought the 350W Epik Valor sub I had up the ante to 1.5 carats. Well, eventually I negotiated back down to 1.4 carats...

If I ever wanted LSi25s I'd have to ante up 5 plane tickets to Thailand, literally, it's where she wants to go to see family this year.

[arbata]

Good to hear I am not alone with wife repercussions. I am expected to redo master bath, redo kitchen, and buy a "fat" diamond ring, because I bought my first audio system since we married 14 years ago.

I have anthem amp mca30 to drive my lsi25s and lsi c. can get an mca20 (2 channel) used, for under 400. They dish out 300W into 2 channels. 120 db signal to noise ratio at 225Watts. THD between .0015 to .03% can't beat the value from what I have seen so far. Those babies will drive your lsi's. I have my amp tucked with almost no breathing room, and they still don't sweat.