New guy here, with questions

[Jfsounds]

Hello guys, new to the forum and looking for some help. Iv always loved having a nice loud stereo in my house even as a kid i would find old recieved, speakers, towers ect anything i could get my hands on free or cheap, well im 29 and thats how i still get my gear lol i just cant spend thousands on this kind of stuff unfortunately. So i look for the deals. Right now im wanting to get some really good towers for my home theater build. Currently i have a Marantz 7400 i paid $100 for, i have some cheap sony towers hooked up now that sound decent but im wanting something alot better. I have to admit im not very knowledgeable with all the functions, outputs, ohms, ratings, wattage, and settings to know the what, why, how, ins&outs of matching speakers with recievers. Iv been bad about this all my life just find a amp i like buy it, then find some speakers i like and hook them up and thats my setup. Right now im looking at a few different speakers and would like some advise which would be the best for the Marantz 7400 or if I should try to find a different amp.

Looking at the following towers

Athena as-f2 $225
Polk lsi15 $350
Polk rti8 & psw505 sub $250

Or would whatbare some other good towers to search for?

 

[lovinthehd]

The Polk LSi15 looks to be the most potent speaker in that bunch but indicates it needs a solid 4ohm amp, the Marantz unit should be okay with 4ohm loads by reputation, even if not in their specs in the manual, but should work well enough and has pre-amp outputs if you want to add a power amp. The rti8 with sub combo looks okay, altho Polk subs aren't something I'd buy. The Athena would be number 3 for me. Have no idea what's available where you are so hard to say what to look for.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

I would look for this combo in your budget: http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html + http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1200-12-120-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-629

Pretty sure it would be a lot better than those towers you list.

 

[rojo]

I'm thinking the LSi15s would be better than the AA + sub combo. That is Polk's higher end line, and the drivers will be higher quality than the entry-level Dayton drivers in the AA bookshelfs, exhibiting a more symmetrical BL(x) and probably better power handling. They've got a bit of age on them though, so you ought to audition them before committing.

 

[lovinthehd]

I would look for this combo in your budget: http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html + http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1200-12-120-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-629

Pretty sure it would be a lot better than those towers you list.

While the AA speakers are nice, and I did build a BR-1 kit for myself, I'd say for spl monsters the OP wants the LSi15's would be a better choice; while the AA/BR1s are nicely priced as is a Dayton sub, for my $350 I'd take the LSi15s (as long as they're in good shape of course).

 

[j_garcia]

LSi15s are also 4 Ohm and not easy to drive. 7400 is not 4 Ohm capable. It might work for just those two speakers as long as you don't push it too hard. I had the 8300 which was a much beefier Marantz and it still wasn't enough for 4 Ohm speakers when pushed hard.

First thing to check for are fried tweeters on the LSis.

 

[lovinthehd]

LSi15s are also 4 Ohm and not easy to drive. 7400 is not 4 Ohm capable. It might work for just those two speakers as long as you don't push it too hard. I had the 8300 which was a much beefier Marantz and it still wasn't enough for 4 Ohm speakers when pushed hard.

First thing to check for are fried tweeters on the LSis.

FWIW the manuals for the 7400 and 8300 appear to be the same amp section to me with identical specs; why do you say the 8300 had a beefier amp section?

 

[j_garcia]

7400 was 105W and 30lbs. 8300 was 120W and 42lbs, including a copper clad chassis. The 8xxx and 9xxx at the time had different power supplies and were still built in Japan, while many of the lower models were not.

 

[lovinthehd]

7400 was 105W and 30lbs. 8300 was 120W and 42lbs, including a copper clad chassis. The 8xxx and 9xxx at the time had different power supplies and were still built in Japan, while many of the lower models were not.

The 7400 and 8300 both show 105 w/ch at 8 ohm and 130 w/ch at 6 ohm with the same bandwidth and distortion spec per each manual.

 

[j_garcia]

Interesting that the manuals say that because the spec sheets don't. I've tried both. I owned a 4000, 5000, 6200 and used a 6400 and 7400 from a local shop, so I know first hand that there were differences. In any case, neither are truly 4 Ohm stable at elevated levels.

 

[lovinthehd]

Interesting that the manuals say that because the spec sheets don't. I've tried both. I owned a 4000, 5000, 6200 and used a 6400 and 7400 from a local shop, so I know first hand that there were differences. In any case, neither are truly 4 Ohm stable at elevated levels.

Dunno, curious, but I think the manuals tend to be the go-to source rather than the marketing department's "spec" sheet (which has almost no specs from what I see, altho I did find one for the 8300 just saying 120 w/ch with no basis stated, and one for the 7400 with 105 w/ch and no basis). Probably as good at 4 ohm loads as most avrs in any case....

 

[PENG]

LSi15s are also 4 Ohm and not easy to drive. 7400 is not 4 Ohm capable. It might work for just those two speakers as long as you don't push it too hard. I had the 8300 which was a much beefier Marantz and it still wasn't enough for 4 Ohm speakers when pushed hard.

First thing to check for are fried tweeters on the LSis.

I don't doubt that at all, and I also believe no AVRs can offer enough juice for 4 ohm speakers when pushed hard. On the other hand, a 100W rated Marantz AVR can be safety used for 4 ohm speakers if you voluntarily de-rate it to 50W. The same applies to integrated and power amps as well.

The LSI 15 appeared to have a sensitivity of 88 dB so for the AVR, it will be like driving an 8 ohm speaker with sensitivity of 85 dB.

I think this 4 ohm vs 8 ohm thing should be looked at in conjunction with other factors including the sensitivity, room dimension, sitting distance and the required SPL average, peaks etc.

For 4 ohm speakers, the difference between a good and strong (e.g. Marantz SR7010, Denon AVR-X4200W) 125W AVR and a 250W power amp is only 3-5 dB because a good and strong AVR typically can do a little more into 4 ohms and the power amp cannot truly double down. I am only talking about 2 channel applications obviously.

 

[Jfsounds]

Wow thanks guys for the replies. Im trying to learn more about everything as time allows. I found a couple more towers im looking at

1. NHT 2.9 asking $675 (im really liking these)
2. Bowers & Wilkins (DM604) asking $475

Thanks againg guys for the replies. Look forward to learning more.

 

[lovinthehd]

Are you going and listening to any of these?

 

[Jfsounds]

Yes ill listen to them before i purchase

 

[PENG]

Wow thanks guys for the replies. Im trying to learn more about everything as time allows. I found a couple more towers im looking at

1. NHT 2.9 asking $675 (im really liking these)
2. Bowers & Wilkins (DM604) asking $475

Thanks againg guys for the replies. Look forward to learning more.

I think the LSI 15 beats them both in sound quality.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes ill listen to them before i purchase

I meant in terms of ranking them now. Which ones do you like from an audition at this point? What other people like may not mean a thing to your ears....

 

[zieglj01]

The NHT is a nice decent speaker -- I would continue to keep it in mind.

 

[j_garcia]

LSis were good speakers but they really failed to deliver quality midrange deserving of the price category they were after. The LSiMs have improved there. I'd probably take the NHTs over the LSis.

I don't doubt that at all, and I also believe no AVRs can offer enough juice for 4 ohm speakers when pushed hard. On the other hand, a 100W rated Marantz AVR can be safety used for 4 ohm speakers if you voluntarily de-rate it to 50W. The same applies to integrated and power amps as well.

The LSI 15 appeared to have a sensitivity of 88 dB so for the AVR, it will be like driving an 8 ohm speaker with sensitivity of 85 dB.

I think this 4 ohm vs 8 ohm thing should be looked at in conjunction with other factors including the sensitivity, room dimension, sitting distance and the required SPL average, peaks etc.

For 4 ohm speakers, the difference between a good and strong (e.g. Marantz SR7010, Denon AVR-X4200W) 125W AVR and a 250W power amp is only 3-5 dB because a good and strong AVR typically can do a little more into 4 ohms and the power amp cannot truly double down. I am only talking about 2 channel applications obviously.

Of course it has to be looked at in terms of the whole use case, but in general, LSis were short lived because the people buying them just for the Polk name more often than not destroyed them because they tried to hook them up to a typical receiver and then proceed to try to drive them at elevated levels. That equaled fried tweeters and the vifa tweeters were probably the most expensive component in there.

 

[Jfsounds]

I meant in terms of ranking them now. Which ones do you like from an audition at this point? What other people like may not mean a thing to your ears....

I understand what your saying, im buying them used and most of them are a couple hour drive away so i would like to find a decent set then go look at them and ill be listening to them only to make sure they work as should, once i get them home and set up its going to be the true sound test.