Need some help matching speakers to lsi15 for 5.1

[Resiroth]

By shear luck I found a pair of perfect ( brand spanking new ) lsi 15s for 500 dollars and a velodyne DLS-3500R ( not a bass freak, this is definitely more than adequate ) for 150. I don't have a lot of money right now but I'd like to know what speakers I should be on the lookout for ( used ). I saw a CS400i for 200 used ( probably could haggle to 150 ) but I have no idea if they would match lsi's sound. Which series out there I should keep a lookout for outside of the lsi series? I am interested in the center and surrounds of course.

Note: I'm not a finicky audiophile and I do not need to play my music loud. If there is some nuance you have to look for, that's fine.

To give you an idea of my hearing I listen to 320kbps mp3 and I'm fine with that ( I prefer lossless but I don't demand it ).

Music/movies I'd be listening to would be coming from the ps3 ( which I doubt has perfect sound reproduction ).

Thanks for reading my post, looking forward to reading your responses.

[McLoki]

see signature.....

Welcome to club Polk...

[Resiroth]

Well the lsi7s are alright at being 350 or so on ebay but what about the center? I'm sure the LSI C is nice but I can't really justify 450.. I am definitely buying these off ebay or used so I'd like to know some previous series that had the same tone as these. What about the CS400i? I'd love to just buy the lsi series straight off but I simply do not have the money to spend on them.

[McLoki]

Have you thought about not running a center. (seriously)

It is called a phantom center (in most AVR's) and will often sound better than a non-voice matched center. Basically it sends everything that would normally go to your center to each front speaker as a mono signal. Depending on your speaker and seating arrangement, it can sound anywhere from fantastic to just ok. (it was ok in my system so I got the center channel)

I would definatly run without a center until you find a good deal on and LSiC. You do not have to purchase everything at once.... Enjoy,

Michael


BTW - here is one for $349 with free shipping. (no affiliation - just sayin' you should end up paying no more than $300-$350 for a used LSiC)

[Resiroth]

So you're suggesting to run rear surrounds and a phantom center until I can buy an lsiC? That sounds interesting if it works well. Would this work with 5.1 from a blu ray disc for ex.? I'll try this out. I'm not in any serious rush as 2.1 sounds surprisingly good already.
Right now the costs would be:
LSI7 350/pair
LSIC 350

The other issue is that I'm running this with an onkyo receiver which is fine for 2 channel ( w/e some purists say ) but I agree that a 5 channel setup could pose an issue. I don't drive my music or video hard at all ( probably maximum of 90db if that ) so I'm not sure if I can scrape by regardless. My lsi15s do not have to produce any deep bass ( sub does all that ) if that helps. This is one of the reasons I'm a tad nervous about going all 4 ohm speakers. The Lsi C would be placed 2.5 feet above the ground and cannot be placed above the TV ( too thin ). Would tilting it from this height be necessary? Would hanging it from the ceiling ( at ear level ) be a good idea?

The onkyo runs hot but it still hasn't bothered to turn on its fans yet and apparently it's intended to be that hot. If temp is the issue I can always rig a small quiet fan to turn on when the receiver is turned on.

I also have found some old paradigm titans which could be used as surrounds. They're the original model; http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-Paradig...QQcmdZViewItem. I'm not sure if I can convince my father to part with them ( we both share a love of home theater, those are not his main speakers obviously ) but for speculation would they work alright? They apparently are an easy load (8ohms ) to drive and they'd be used exclusively for home theater ( I never listen to 5.1 music ). I've never noticed an extraordinary amount of sound coming from surrounds ( mostly effects, brief things like gunshots whizzing past ).

If I bought an LSI C and used those as surrounds do you think that that at lower volumes a 507 could handle the load? I know I should ideally have fancy amplifiers etc. but I have some saving to do.

Sorry for all these questions and thank you once again for your help.

EDIT: I never considered an amp because I'm driving these speakers with standard consumer electronics audio chips. I don't ( and still don't ) think that an amplifier would make a difference at lower volumes. By difference I mean a significant difference you'd notice without trying to.