October 31, 2002
Wes,
Thanks for such an informative Polk LSi review. You
have me sold on the full LSi system, as I will be using for both music and movies.
I love the idea of flat, uncolored reproduction!
I do, however, have a few questions I was hoping you could
help me with.
(1) Can my Onkyo TX-SR700 receiver do the Polk speakers
justice?
(2) Can you explain for me how I can tell which speakers
would best match my A/V receiver? I want this class of speaker, but I just want to make
sure I don't underpower them.
Thank you,
Ken Lemieux
Yes, I think 100Wpc should be able to drive the LSi15s
just fine -- assuming you don't listen at tremendous volumes in a huge room. If you
do, then maybe you will need more juice.
The real trick in determining whether or not your amp will
drive your speakers comes down to whether or not the speakers have any tricky response
quirks -- and the Polks don't, by the way. To judge this, try to see a
frequency-response chart and see if the speakers develop any real drops or kinks in their
impedance. Failing that, check the manufacturer's specifications for impedance -- if they
drop below 4 ohms, most receivers won't be too happy driving them.
The LSi15s are fairly big speakers, but they aren't
really difficult to drive at 4 ohms and 88dB sensitivity. Unless your room is immense, you
shouldn't have any problems.
But you're right to be concerned about underpowering your
loudspeakers. It is possible that most blown tweeters are the result of people trying to
fill their rooms with sound by turning the music up too loud -- the result is an amp that
clips and a speaker that commits suicide trying to reproduce a clipped signal. Most
speaker companies know this and replace the tweeters under warranty anyway -- at least for
a time or two. Eventually, they figure you should have learned your lesson....Wes Phillips
October 22, 2002
Wes,
Wow, what a blast it has been to shop for surround-sound
speakers, albeit very confusing. I have absolutely fallen in love with two sets of systems
in two different price ranges, and I would like to know what your thoughts were. The
top-end Bose surround system runs about $1000 for the speakers and sounds incredible. I'm
impressed with the movie sound, but I asked several times for the sales people to play
some music through them and they kept finding excuses, so I never heard what they could
do. I need speakers that can give me great movie sound as well as music.
Recently I walked into a Tweeter and fell in love with the
Mirage OMNISATs ($1700). I've read a couple of reviews that reassured my feelings about
these speakers. The set includes the five OMNISATs and a subwoofer. I actually only got to
hear two of the speakers and the subwoofer and couldn't believe the sound.
I am an enthusiast for great sound, but I don't want to go
crazy with my wallet if I don't have to. Do I have to? Is the extra $700 justified or not?
Please help.
Phil Aiken
I personally am not a big fan of Bose loudspeakers, which
doesn't make them any less valid a choice for you than for any of the people who have
purchased them because they like they way they sound. Personal choice is precisely that --
personal.
It is odd that you are actually asking me about a Bose
system that costs less than the Mirage system because my chief complaint against
them is they seem to be expensive for what you get. I assume you're referring to the AM10
system, which has five speakers with two 2.5" pulped-paper cone drivers and a
"subwoofer" with two pulped-paper cone 5.25" woofers. Bose doesn't publish
specifications, but given the two 5.25" drivers, it's doubtful the sub delivers much
below 50Hz. It's hard to guess how powerful the sub's amp is, but let's assume it has a
standard amp card delivering 100W.
By contrast, each of the five OMNISATs has a
4.5" titanium-deposit polypropylene woofer and a 1" titanium-dome tweeter, while
the subwoofer has a heavy-duty 8" titanium-deposit polypropylene hybrid driver which
goes down to 28Hz, powered by a 100W amplifier (400W peak). You get a lot more speaker
with the Mirage.
Now that doesn't mean you'll prefer it to the Bose, and
that's what counts. But you will answer that question for yourself -- the question you
asked me was, Do I think the Mirage's additional $700 is justified? And to that, my
answer is Definitely! Hope that helps....Wes Phillips
October 18, 2002
Hi Wes,
I wanted to say that I really enjoy the valuable insight
that you provide for visitors to this site and look forward to visiting your site
frequently.
My question? I currently own a Bryston 9B-ST five-channel
amp, and I am looking for a surround pre/pro to match. Is the Bryston SP1.7 the natural
choice here? What's your take on the combo? I'm currently using a Marantz SR18 as the
preamp, and imagine a dedicated processor would make a dramatic difference in both stereo
and surround sound.
Hanif Khaki
I haven't heard the Bryston processor, so I can't say. I am
currently listening to the Anthem AVM 20, which I think is first-rate (and I'm supposed to
be receiving a software upgrade for it so I can review the current version). A
high-quality preamp/processor shouldn't really need to be matched to a multichannel
amplifier from the same manufacturer, but there's certainly no reason not to
purchase a one-brand system, assuming both parts have all the features you're looking for.
As for Bryston, as I've said before, the mere existence of the company's 20-year warranty
is a powerful argument for buying from them -- the fact that Bryston products tend to be
well built, well engineered, and good sounding certainly doesn't hurt either....Wes
Phillips
October 16, 2002
Wes,
I have been researching a new music/HT system and recently
read your excellent review of the Axiom Epic Grand Master home-theater system. You
recommend it highly; my only concern remains with the EP175 sub. You seem to like it, and
it sounds like it will suit my needs (my system will be 60% music and 40% HT). The only
other sub in the running is the Hsu VTF-2. Have you heard it? Any thoughts?
Thanks. Your review has been a big help!
Tony
I've never actually lived with any of the Hsu subs (say that
five times fast), although I've heard them in quite a few other audio reviewers' systems,
where I was impressed. They have a reputation for surprising impact and slam for the
money, while the Axiom EP175 was more tuneful than it was overwhelming, if that's a clear
distinction.
I suspect the EP175 will strike many HT listeners as a
little lightweight, although I felt it was more than adequate -- people vary so broadly
when it comes to bass preferences, I hesitate to make any hard-and-fast qualitative
rankings. However, that said, I suspect that, if you think the Axiom sub won't produce
enough bass to satisfy you, it probably won't. The Hsu would certainly be a top contender
to take its place....Wes Phillips
October 10, 2002
Dear Wes,
I have recently purchased Dynaudio Audience 122 speakers
for the mains, a 42C for the center, and a 42W for the rear channels of my HT system.
Normally, how many hours are required for a speaker to break in properly ? Secondly, if I
am going to play a regular audio CD to break in my speakers, then only the main speakers
would break in since the CDs are two-channel stereo. How would I be able to break in my
center and rear speakers ? Lastly what is your opinion on the use of XLO Test &
Burn In CD for quick break-in of speakers?
Regards,
Dipesh Nandu
You ask a question that has started an awful lot of
arguments. Some folks contend that speaker break-in is a myth, but John Atkinson was
actually able to measure a change in output between a new pair of speakers and a broken-in
pair.
Different speakers seem to require different
amounts of break-in and, I hate to report, Dynaudio loudspeakers generally tend to require
quite a bit of break-in to sound their best -- some listeners say upwards of about 200
hours.
I've used the XLO disc -- and others like it -- and
, as with all attempts to do break-in quickly, you need to play the speakers really loud
to hasten the process -- otherwise you're not exercising the woofer suspensions all that
much. The reason the XLO and other purpose-built "burn-in" discs are supposed to
work is that they have signal from all the musical frequencies evenly represented -- other
than that, there's nothing mystical about their signal, insofar as I can determine. BTW.
There's a term for a signal with that sort of information on it -- it's called
"noise" and the funniest example of it, in my opinion, is the
"burn-in" track on Stereophile
Test Disc 3, where John Atkinson recorded the Stereophile editorial staff
banging on trashcan lids and tooting whistles and kazoos. (He added some low-frequency
synthesizer sweeps to give it deep information.) I've used that to loosen up many a
speaker surround!
Tom Norton invented the best speaker break-in
protocol I know. Connect the two speakers out of phase to one another and place them face
to face under a blanket. Put the CD player on repeat and turn the volume up as high as the
amp will allow. Most of the noise will be cancelled by the two speakers operating out of
phase with one another -- the blanket will help muffle the rest. Leave the room and come
back a few days later to find most of the work completed. Repeat as necessary....Wes
Phillips
October 5, 2002
First of all, I want to congratulate you and thank you for
having such a nice forum here on onhometheater.com.
Second, I'm in the process of buying a new receiver, and
I'm down to two options:
(1) The Onkyo TX-DS898, which is the exact same receiver as
the Integra DTR-8.2 that you reviewed a couple of months ago (Onkyo builds Integra) only
that it doesn't have the A-Bus capabilities, but it costs less; and
(2) The Harman/Kardon AVR8000, which is Harman/Kardon's top
of the line A/V receiver.
Now my problem is, I have found numerous reviews on the
Onkyo (and the Integra, for that matter) but not a single one on the Harman/Kardon, and
I've surfed all of the SoundStage
Network websites including Home
Theater & Sound and AudioVideoReviews.
I was wondering if you've ever used or reviewed a
Harman/Kardon receiver and what your opinion is on them and the Harman/Kardon brand in
general.
Again, I will appreciate your time and your help.
Felix M. Fontan
I haven't done a direct comparison between the
models, but both brands are equally respectable. You won't tend to find H/K in specialty
stores because the company seems to always end up authorizing big chains as dealers and
they have a tendency to discount heavily, which makes it hard for the specialty store to
compete.
You might ask, so what? Actually, there's no
reason at all you should feel obliged to subsidize a store that can't compete with the
deep-discount chains. On the other hand, those big chain stores aren't always able to
adequately demonstrate complex components or repair defective equipment in-house -- both
being services which are actually worth paying a small surcharge for.
But marketing strategies to the side, the two
companies are pretty competitive in terms of build-quality and engineering.
As to why, there are more reviews of the Integra
and Onkyo components, that's because Integra and Onkyo are both represented by an active
PR firm that bombards audio journalists with a constant stream of information about new
products and review-sample availability, whereas H/K keeps its products a deep, dark
secret and doesn't even make an effort to get them reviewed. Again, this is not a detail
the average consumer probably cares about, but it makes a big difference when it comes to
determining which company gets review space. I reviewed the Integra because it looked like
a cool product to me and because the company made it easy for me to procure a sample. I've
never reviewed an H/K product simply because getting information about their products is
like pulling teeth, and because, when I have tried to get review samples, my phone
calls have gone unanswered.
As a system, it works pretty well. Obviously,
Harman/Kardon gets along just fine with no coverage from me and, so far, I've survived OK
without reviewing anything they make....Wes Phillips
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