New Home Theater System (1 Viewer)

[spphoenix]

I am looking to piece together a home theater system using the Polk LSi series and wanted to get your opinions if I could: Receiver: Denon AVR 1911 Fronts: LSi 15s or 25s (not sure which to go with) Rears: 2 LSi7s or 9s (again, not sure which) Center: LSiC Ceiling: 2 LC80is or 60is Sub: Haven't a clue what to go with here Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

 

[Robert_J]

What's your budget for the sub? What sized room? Open floor plan? What kind of movies do you watch? What are your goals (accurate reproduction of explosions in action movies)?

 

[gene c]

The Polk LSi series are 4 ohm and really need a lot of good clean power to drive them.. You need a receiver (or seperate amplifier) that can safely drive 4 ohm speakers. Most receivers can't. The 1911 might not be up to the task. I'd go with the LSi 15's (or even the 9's in front) and use the money saved to increase the subwoofer budget. Robert knows more about subs than just about anyone here so answer his questions and follow his advice .

 

[spphoenix]

I was thinking around $400 or less. Is that too low a budget for the sub? The room is very large and open, about 27' by 13'. ----------------- | TV | | | | | | | | | | Couch | ----------------- The whole left side and rear is open. The top half opens into the kitchen and the bottom half into the dinning room. The back has a 13' half wall with an opening into the hallway. The space between the couch and tv is completely open. Action movies typically, but I would like to get a pretty good music sound as well. So something that will do both fairly well. I doubt my untrained ear is going to notice subtle differences. Is there a better receiver I could use or do you think the 1911 would work? And how would I find out? Thanks

 

[gene c]

Under $400 look at the Lava and Elemental Designs subwoofers. BIC in a pinch. You need to read the manual (generally the speaker connection section) to see if a receiver is capable of driving 4 ohm speakers, or take a look at the picture of the back of the receiver. Sometimes near the speaker terminals it will say something like "6-8 Ohms" or just "8 Ohms". From what I gather, most entry level to mid-priced receivers (say $500-$600 and less) just don't have the amp section to properly drive a serious 4 ohm speaker like the LSi's. Higher priced receivers usually have stronger amp sections and can probably be uded with 4 ohm speakers but often times the manufacturer doesn't want to go to the trouble of getting the UL approval. Just not worth the effort. However, Onkyo receivers, like the 709, are listed as being able to drive 4 ohm speakers and even have a switch or setting for "less then 6 ohms". But this often times just cuts the power output of the receiver to prevent damage. Many people have used a regular receiver with 4 ohm speakers but you never know what might happen until you try it. It might just shut off and go into "self protect mode". If you plan on buying the LSi's then maybe you need to re-think the receiver.