LSi9's Arrived - Sound great

[kprhok]

Thanks to all the help I received on this forum, I am up and running with a Harmon Kardon 3490 and Lsi9 Bookshelf speakers.

They sound great!

I noticed however that I'm enjoying them positioned about 3 feet from the wall.
I had planned to have them on the bookshelf but bass seems to boomy.

Is it my imagination? I had previously never put any thought into where they would go, but seems there is more ambient, stage type sound when they are away from the wall a bit. Thoughts?

[BlueFox]

There are a lot of factors that can influence a speaker's sound in a room. Placement is one of them. As you found out, one posistion sounds better than another. Experiment and find out which placment sounds best to you.

[anonymouse]

Post a picture of the setup and room and we can give you some ideas.

[xcapri79]

Congratulations on your LSi9's.
The LSi9's are really too deep to be "bookshelf" speakers and they will sound better away from the wall driven by a better amp than what you have in the HK receiver.

The LSi9's actually dip low, close to 2 ohms at certain frequencies, and are not the easiest speakers to drive.
I have my LSi9's normally powered by an Adcom 5802, which does a wonderful job, however right now I have them connected to a pair of UPA-1 monoblocks that I just received.

For bookshelf speakers with the HK 3490, I would recommend using a pair of LSi7's.
That is what I use for a compact two channel system.

[kprhok]

My Reply to Anonymous' comment re: Photo....

I don't have a photo (wife has camera on trip) but the room is roughly 15x15 completely unfurnished except for the bookcase I am building. One shelf is 20 inches deep where the 15 inch deep LSi9's will be sitting.

They will be 10 feet apart. I plan to have my chair 13 feet away to complete the triangle. Not sure if this helps but any further advice is always appreciated. Thanks

[kprhok]

My reply to XCapri79 on HK 3490....

I thought I had done my homework on the power needed for the LSi9s, and purchased the HK. My follow up question for you, XCapri79, is that if I am really only planning to use the speakers in the 15x15 room at modest to relatively low volumes, is there still a problem with the mismatch? Stated another way, is the need for more powerful amp due to the capacity of the speakers to handle such power, or the fact that sound quality even at modest levels will be compromised if I use LSi9s with a receiver that doesn't have more power.

Thanks for the guidance, although I am now sitting here wondering if I blew it in terms of matching speakers and power.

[cfrizz]

Keeping it at low volume will be beneficial so that you run less risk of having it go into protect mode. However, regardless of how loud you turn it up, you will NOT be hearing the full potential of what your speakers can do.

The good news is that your receiver DOES have preouts for seperate amplification. So I would suggest enjoy it for now, and watch the volume, but if you truly want to hear what your speakers are capable of, save for a seperate 2 channel amp of at least 200wpc @ 8ohms.

My brothers LSI 7s sound great being powered by a Parasound 1500A. You can usually find one on Audiogon.

[Conradicles]

That HK is 120 watts at 8 ohms and is 4 ohm capable. Not sure how many watts into 4 ohms, but don't be mistaken folks, it is no slouch of a stero receiver.

[cokewithvanilla]

I noticed however that I'm enjoying them positioned about 3 feet from the wall.
I had planned to have them on the bookshelf but bass seems to boomy.

Is it my imagination? I had previously never put any thought into where they would go, but seems there is more ambient, stage type sound when they are away from the wall a bit. Thoughts?

I believe that is what i suggested for placement when you asked earlier. That is how I have my 25's placed. No surprises. I found that giving them room usually helps. :D

[anonymouse]

Are you planning to place them on the top of the bookshelf, or in one of the shelves where it might be boxed in on all sides? I would not recommend boxing these speakers in at all.

[mdaudioguy]

That HK is 120 watts at 8 ohms and is 4 ohm capable. Not sure how many watts into 4 ohms, but don't be mistaken folks, it is no slouch of a stero receiver.

+1 on that. The OP is not the only one here running 4ohm speaks with that receiver. Congrats on the new gear kprhok! Remember, audio is a journey... enjoy your trip! :)

[PSOVLSK]

I am now sitting here wondering if I blew it in terms of matching speakers and power.

Enjoy your purchase. You stated in the title that they "Sound Great." That's all that matters.

As you have found out, placement most certainly can make a difference.

[Jim Shearer]

If you are building a bookcase, then you should have no problem building stands for your speakers. It would be a shame to put them on a bookcase and waste their potential!

[kprhok]

If you are building a bookcase, then you should have no problem building stands for your speakers. It would be a shame to put them on a bookcase and waste their potential!

I woke up this morning thinking the same thing (building stands). Building stands should not be too difficult..

Thanks

[domflane]

Congrats on the speakers, and + 1 on the HK being a very capable stereo receiver. I have the older version of the 3490 which is still 120 watts into 8 ohms and it has plenty of power both for my Monitor 5's and my RTi10's. I can drive it hard with no clipping or distortion. That's not to say that a seperate amp will not give you more power, just don't think that you made a bad decision. You will be happy with the Harman untill the upgrade-itis kicks in, which it will . . . enjoy,

Dom

[xcapri79]

My reply to XCapri79 on HK 3490....

I thought I had done my homework on the power needed for the LSi9s, and purchased the HK. My follow up question for you, XCapri79, is that if I am really only planning to use the speakers in the 15x15 room at modest to relatively low volumes, is there still a problem with the mismatch? Stated another way, is the need for more powerful amp due to the capacity of the speakers to handle such power, or the fact that sound quality even at modest levels will be compromised if I use LSi9s with a receiver that doesn't have more power.

Thanks for the guidance, although I am now sitting here wondering if I blew it in terms of matching speakers and power.

Good question.
I'm going to move my LSi9's to my HK3490 system and compare with the LSi7's which I feel are a better match with the receiver. I'll let you know what I find.

[kprhok]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

[xcapri79]

Good question.
I'm going to move my LSi9's to my HK3490 system and compare with the LSi7's which I feel are a better match with the receiver. I'll let you know what I find.

After some listening, the LSi9's at low to mid volumes sound good. The LSi7's sounded similar but I felt that the sound was better balanced high to low with the LSi7's. The LSi9's didn't sound as good as they are capable of.

I'm moving them back to my other room to be powered by either a pair of UPA-1's or an Adcom 5802.
The LSi9's need their power.

[fx20]

After some listening, the LSi9's at low to mid volumes sound good. The LSi7's sounded similar but I felt that the sound was better balanced high to low with the LSi7's. The LSi9's didn't sound as good as they are capable of.

I'm moving them back to my other room to be powered by either a pair of UPA-1's or an Adcom 5802.
The LSi9's need their power.

How do you like your LSi7 and LSi9 on UPA-1s?

[cnh]

That HK is 120 watts at 8 ohms and is 4 ohm capable. Not sure how many watts into 4 ohms, but don't be mistaken folks, it is no slouch of a stero receiver.

That would be 150 watts x 2 into 4 ohms. Not bad. But the LSI-9s could use a bit more.

Like Cathy said...the good news is that the HK has pre-outs and is not a bad pre!

cnh