Lsi7 combined with Lsi fronts + Amp or with LSIM fronts

[sahmen]

I recently purchased a set of LSi7s and they've got me thinking of adding other speakers in order to build a complete HT set up that would be dedicated as much to serious music listening as well as to movies. Since this ht set up will be driven by a Denon AVR-3313, I initially thought I would just complete the system with other LSi speakers (which are all 4 ohm speakers), and add an amp (an Emotiva xpa-3 or xpa-5) to power at least the fronts in order to take some of the pressure off the Denon... I have however learnt that there seems to be no guarantee that the Amp would necessarily make the speakers sound better, so another idea has occurred to me:

1. Add a set of fronts from the Lsim series (a pair of 703s and a 704c), which everyone seems to think are leaps and bounds better-sounding than the Lsi series speakers, and ditch the idea of the amp for now at least in order to save money. The idea is that the LSiM fronts are all 8 ohm speakers and will play nicer with the Denon. I am wondering though whether the set of LSIM fronts will gel well with the LSi7's as rears?

2. The main question can be summarized as follows: with the lsi7's as rears, will it make more musical sense, in the short run, to add 3 Lsi-series fronts + an Emotiva amp, or 3 LSIM series fronts without the amp?

3.Note that this is inevitably a temporary solution as what I am envisaging here, is, when all is said and done, a 7.1 or 7.2 system. It means that eventually, as more funds become available, the Lsi7's are going to end up as surround backs, with their place taken either by a pair of Lsi fx's or Lsim702f/x's depending on how item #2 is resolved.

4. For a sub, I currently use a PSW 505. Does it have enough juice to meet the needs of the above system, sonically and musically?

5. Obviously, the most elegant solution would be to go out and purchase a total HT system made up entirely of LSIM series speakers: It is what I'd ideally do were money not an issue, but current budgetary constraints will not allow that... This is why I have to build this system in stages.

Any help would be really welcome. Thanks.

[rpf65]

If I were going the route you are, I would do the following.

Purchase the LSIM's, and sell the LSI speakers. Live with 2 channel, and after selling the LSI's, purchase the LSIM center. You should just about break even on the sale/purchase. Then I would purchase the surrounds, and try them. AT this point you will probably be running you AVR fairly hard, so then would come the amp.

The final choice would be between deciding if I had enough bass, and adding a sub, or if 7.1 would be better.

I would never mix 4 and 8 ohm speakers, even with an amp running one or the other. People tend to forget about mixing impedance over time, and bad things happen.

[DSkip]

YMMV, but when I started building a surround sound, my main focus was speakers that were musical, so I went with the LSi's. The end result was that for movies, it just didn't draw me in like I expected it to. I've always felt that the RTi/RTiA line was way too heavy into HT and the LSi was too heavy into the musical sound. The LSiM bridges the gap some and outperforms its predecessor with ease. I say get the M's if for no other reason than to get the best speakers you can, then worry about the electronics. The 703 is outstanding and I expect it will blow you away with how good it sounds.

[sahmen]

Great inputs: rpf65 and Dskip: It seems just right to go for the LSIMs, and even sell the Lsi7's if necessary (even though I've fallen in love with them in the short time I have had them, and letting them go would be somewhat heartbreaking). Still, I have time since I currently have a couple of very capable ht sets in place already, and there is no need to do anything hastily... There is currently a 704c on ebay going for $555 brand new/shipped! Does that sound like a good deal? If so, I shall snag it, and that would take care of one piece in the puzzle, with the two 703s to follow shortly.

Let me know what you think, and thanks again for your prompt responses.

[rpf65]

Considering Polk E=Bay is selling them for $637, I would say that it is a pretty good deal at $555. I would check Newegg and Nextag before pulling the trigger though. Haven't checked those sites myself for a while, but who knows.