recommendations for LSi15 home theatre

[makdownunder]

Hi, i am a total newbie, i have purchased Polk Audio home theatre system.

--LSi15 Towers
--LSiCenter
--LSI7
--PL200
I will be using YAMAHA AVENTAGE RX-A1010 as a receiver. However i have read that i need more power.
Will the emotiva XPA 5 be enough?
What setup or other emotiva amps do you recommend if XPA 5 is not enough?

[ngmitter]

You got that deal from Acoustic Design, didn't you? If so, sweeet deal!

The LSI15 is a 4 ohm speaker, and according to their specs require anywhere from 20 to 250W per channel. The XPA will be a perfect combo for this setup. It puts out 300W at 4 ohms, but your ears will likely bleed before you overpower the speakers.

If I recall, there are some members on the forum who pair the LSI series with the XPA series and are more than satisfied.

[makdownunder]

yes i did, however i live in Australia so the shipping may cost me another grande. Still cheaper than buying in Australia.
should i be getting the xpa 5 or should i start with expa 2 or xpa 3?

[ngmitter]

In that situation, I normally would say order the XPA-2 and audition it for 30 days. However, that is probably not an option considering shipping costs to Australia.

The rear channels of the 5.1 set up really don't get that much use. I would say that the an XPA-3 would suffice.

If you look at my setup, I have UPA-1s running my L, R, and C. However, I only have a UPA-2 running the rears, which is at 125W / channel. I watch a lot of 5.1 movies and listen to a fair amount of surround sound music. The rears simply don't require the power of the fronts.

[makdownunder]

so i just need XPA-2 for the front speakers and hook the rest up to yamaha receiver?
is that better than getting XPA-5?
sorry i am an absolute newbie to basic advice and instructions would be much appreciated.

Could i hook everything up to XPA 5 and then that to the preouts on yamaha?

[geebo]

Yes, the pre outs on the Yamaha can be connected to the XPA-5 and it should handle all your speakers just fine. You would definitely have enough power.
The other alternative would be an XPA-3 for your LCR and use the Yamaha amps to power the rears. The only advantage to this, IMHO, is less money.

[ngmitter]

If you want the XPA series, here are the three options you should consider:

A) XPA-2 for front left and right.
B) XPA-3 for front left, center, and right.
C) XPA-5 for front left, center, front right, surround left, and surround right

Given your speaker and receiver power ratings, I don't think there would be a huge benefit from amping the surround channels. As I said, they typically don't receive much content and don't need 200W per channel.

I would personally go with Option B. The center channel is used for anywhere from 60 to 90% of the action and dialog. The additional headroom supplied by the XPA-3 over the Yamaha will probably be fairly noticeable.

I experienced a large jump going from a Marantz SR8001 rated at 125W / channel to a UPA-1 for my center. I'm sure it would be comparable for the LSI series.

[makdownunder]

I emailed the specialists at EMOTIVA and they suggested:
Xpa-5
or
"to add a serious STEREO power amp (like the XPA-2) to the mix (or a pair of monoblocks like the XPA-1’s)"--maybe because it would cost much more and add A LOT of power?

But i think your advice on the XPA-3 is probably the best option for now as i can add to that in the future.

Personally still contemplating XPA 5 and XPA 3 as the price is not that much different. Will there be much difference in power?

[House]

i believe as "per channel" the XPA-3 and 5 are pretty much the same on the output stages....

[selkec]

The xpa5 is a no brainer plus when using it in stereo mode it puts out more power. Its not much more. Plus the lsi polks love power. The shipping will be about the same for all of them. PLus this way all your speakers will be amped and you wont wonder what if. You will be very happy with the xpa5. Its a beast!!!

[geebo]

Dec 8, 2011 18:13:10 GMT -5 makdownunder said:

I emailed the specialists at EMOTIVA and they suggested:
Xpa-5
or
"to add a serious STEREO power amp (like the XPA-2) to the mix (or a pair of monoblocks like the XPA-1’s)"--maybe because it would cost much more and add A LOT of power?

But i think your advice on the XPA-3 is probably the best option for now as i can add to that in the future.

Personally still contemplating XPA 5 and XPA 3 as the price is not that much different. Will there be much difference in power?

I believe they use the same amplifier boards. The XPA-5 uses five of them and the XPA-3 uses three. The XPA-5 uses a larger transformer to handle the requirements of the extra two channels. You won't notice a difference with the 5 vs the 3.

[burt]

I also bought lsi15, lsic, fxia4 from acoustic, i then bought the xpa5, you really want to get a xpa3 for 150 less and pay all that shipping? Thats just stupid! Im also in hawaii so i put shipping into major consideration.. Get the xpa5 no questions asked....

I run 9.1 with my yamaha a2000, xpa 5 for front, center , surrounds, avr for presence and rear surrounds...

[makdownunder]

Thanks burt, yeah i have decided to get XPA-5 and also USP-1.
Hopefully when everything arrives i know how and where to plug stuff in as it seems pretty confusing with an AV receiver, amp, stereo pre amp.

Burt if you able to upload pics of the back of your system or how you connected stuff--that would be a great help.

[burt]

I dont know anything about the usp 1 or what it does(wont your yamaha be a pre amp, signal processor?) avr to xpa 5 is very straight forward, do follow the channels on the back of the xpa5 it has left front on one side and right front on the other for heat issues..

Speaker placement is on google images etc.. Im in a small living room but i just squeezed 9.1 in here and couldnt be happier.. I recommend the presence speakers too

[ausman]

waste some cash buy 3 xpa-3''s, if it can do 11 chan1 xpa-5 and 2 xpa-3's,