QUICK! Money not an object...LSi25 or LSi15 [Archive]

hlalanne

08-14-2002, 06:18 PM

I just head them the other day, don’t waste your money.
They’re a place here in Las Vegas that sells these Polk speakers {the great indoors}.
I went in expecting the new line of Polk’s to make my RT2000i sound like crap. However, it didn’t happen. At first, I assumed it was bad equipment that they were using, but that was not the case. Then I listened to some Jamo speakers and they sounded great.

So all I can say is buyer beware.
:(

DAlba

08-14-2002, 06:38 PM

Well I'm impatient and went ahead and ordered a LSi15, LSiFX, and LSiC package.

Now to order the Servo-15. I found a guy on Ebay selling them new for $1000 + $45 shipping. He accepts AMEX which makes me feel better.

Is that a good price or can I find a better deal?

nascarmann

08-14-2002, 06:39 PM

hlalanne

You are the first person or publication that has had anything to say negative about the LSi line? Just makes me wonder:confused:

RuSsMaN

08-14-2002, 06:39 PM

Can't we get a dual svs package for that kind of coin?

joe logston

08-14-2002, 07:36 PM

i went over to the great in doors in vegas about two mos. ago and took a listen to the lsi-15 there sound room sucks there where running a psw-650 with the lsi-15 they had the sub inside a cabinet you talk about sounding like shit, i pulled the sub out on the floor the guy gave me a drity look but what the hell it sounded a lot better but still was not set up right. i told the sales guy that they should try to set up right if they want to sale them, but he didnt understand what i was talking about. it was one of those guys that know vary little about audio. but i could tell that the lsi-15 would be great speaker set up right. i tried to set them up but that guy got very nervous, so as i was leving he put the speakers back to the original spots. thats that.

Ron-P

08-14-2002, 07:45 PM

Like Russ said, go SVS, ditch the Servo-15.

Peace Out~:D

mantis

08-14-2002, 10:24 PM

sTORE DEMO'S ARE STORE DEMO'S,
its hard to buy in a piss poor enviroment.I know do you(haha).
Anyway not everyones going to like the Lsi 15's but as stated you are the very first except me who had anything negitive to say about them.
I'm gonna leave a real good honest review in Speakers soon,about the Lsi 15s.Keep your read on.

Zero

08-15-2002, 12:00 AM

Just recently, I had a somewhat limited demo with the LSi9's. The room was incredibly small and not particulary set up properly for a desired accousticly matched room. However, I favor that type of setting because lets face it, most of our homes dont have rooms built with materials and design thats specificly for audio.

In short, I was not incredibly impressed with the performance of the LSi9's. Perhaps it was the source that was disturbing me. A Harmon Kardon *forgot the model* reciever that seemed to have trouble getting any sound out of the LSi's. I attempted to ask the owner of the business if they plan on using seperates to drive them. He essentially all but told me I dont know what the hell Im doing, and it would be over-kill.

In comparison with the RT2000p's, they sound much cleaner, but do not have that same "energy" and dont punch you in the face like the 2000's.

I plan on bringing a whole collection of CDs to the store and get my first, serious, demo on. From what I can tell thus far, the LSi's will be good for music thats somewhat layed back, or rock. Im not sure how it will perform with modern music. We will see.

Zero

08-15-2002, 12:01 AM

DAlba,

Sounds like you will have a decent system coming together. Let us know what you think, be sure to attach a review as well :)

fireshoes

08-15-2002, 12:50 AM

The thing with the Lsi's is you just really really need a top notch receiver matched up with them to get the best sound.

DAlba

08-15-2002, 01:34 AM

Yes, I can't wait to get them. I actually have a RT5000p system now so I wonder if I will even like the new set-up instead of what I have. I was extreamly happy with the RT5000p for movies but it was lacking for music.

mantis

08-15-2002, 09:18 AM

Powered towers man,
there hard to get to go.The Lsi's are smooth and clean,you will loose some ooomph but with a great sub mated,you'll be right back in the drivers seat,this time with better clarity.

joe logston

08-15-2002, 09:58 AM

im going back to the great in doors to day and see if they have the lsi-9, they didnt have them last time, and im taking some cds,i got a lot of time so i will try to set up the speakers right and give them a good listen. i should take my amp & pre amp, but to much work to do that.
i think that the great in doors is the only place in las vegas to hear the lsi line of polks.

meestercleef

08-15-2002, 11:28 AM

So the guy thought it would be "overkill" to use seperates to drive 4 ohm spkrs with the power handling & sensitivity ratings that the LSi9 has? Oh boy, I would certainly feel like I was in good hands talking to that particular "professional" :supermad: However, you have enuff knowledge of your own to make an informed decision. But I feel sorry for the bright-eyed novice who depends on such a person for all their AV advice. Good listening w/whatever your final choice is!

joe logston

08-15-2002, 04:44 PM

just got back from the great in doors, they still dont have the lsi-9 but the sales guy said they have them on order they will be in a couple of weeks i took a another listen from the lsi-15 and the lsi-7, with the new norah jones cd. i like the lsi-7 for a small book self they sounded dam good in 2 channel stereo i like them better than the lsi-15 powered towers. i sill have not heard the lsi-9, i will be going back for that, i compaired the c-lsi with the cs-40i and the 40 was kind of in you face a little& louder, the c-lsi was more laid backand cleaner. went to the next room and gave a listen to the mks they had louder bass only no air at all to me they sounded like crap. the jamo they had a lose connection somwhere in the wires the speakers kept going off & on what i heard i didnt like i will give them another listen wend i go back.

hlalanne

08-15-2002, 06:15 PM

I’m sorry for putting down the new Polk line, but I just didn’t like what I heard .I do understand that most demo rooms suck and most sales people suck even more. However, I just expected more from the new line. Maybe I just expected too much. Now I will agree that the M&K speakers do sound like crap. The Jamo speakers I heard were the light colored ones with the $695 Price tag. The more expensive ones just weren’t that great. When I listened to the Jamo and the new Polks I had them pulled out two feet from the wall and in two-channel mode with no subs. Moreover, I really hate to say this, sense I have owned Polk speakers sense 1986 butt; I still liked the Jamo speakers more. Now this does not mean I going to sell my Polks and go buy Jamo. Since I believe when you join the Polk family, you join for life.

P.s. if you do find someone who carries the new line besides the great indoors please let me know.

P.S.S. this is the equipment I have now.

RT 2000i fronts
CS 350LS for center
LS/FX for the rears
2 PSW 150 subs
Sun fire’s signature two-piece system
Sony’s S360 DVD player
Sony vhs player
Proscan 36 TV
Sony CDP-CX400 400 disk changer
Whole system is wired with Ixos cable

joe logston

08-15-2002, 06:51 PM

hi hlalanne,
good to see some one in vegas that is in the forum, i thought that i was the only one here.
heres my list of stuff
speakers;
mains- 2 rt-7 polks on top of 2 psw-650 polk subs with pedestals
surounds- 2 rt-20p
front center- cs-400i
rear center- cs- 350ls
effects- 2 take 5 energy
placement sub- powered 15" audio source

tv- pro scan 36"
receiver- yamaha gold rx-v1
dvd players- pioneer dv-f07, sony s7000
da-converter- aragon d2a with ips
pre amp- aragon 24k sp with ips
amp- aragon 4004 mark 2
amp denon- poa-2400

RuSsMaN

08-15-2002, 06:55 PM

Joe, where the hell are you in Vegas? Email me man, I'm headed your way on Dec 16th......

Cheers,
Russ

joe logston

08-15-2002, 07:03 PM

yes russ, you should stop by if you come to vegas, your more than wecome to come over, are you going to the comdex convention.

RuSsMaN

08-15-2002, 07:05 PM

Comdex, Schmomdex, I'm throwin dice brotha.....

Aaron

08-15-2002, 07:43 PM

[Comdex, Schmomdex, I'm throwin dice brotha.....
Oh sure, keep trying to play it down like you're not some kind of dork!

Aaron

Aaron

08-15-2002, 07:45 PM

i like them better than the lsi-15 powered towers.
The LSi15's are passive; the LSi25's are the powered towers.

Aaron

brettw22

08-16-2002, 12:08 AM

I'm embarassed to ask.......but can someone explain passive vs. powered to me?

nascarmann

08-16-2002, 12:28 AM

can someone explain passive vs. powered to me?

"Passive" in this term means needing an external power amp to drive the subwoofer. Also you have what is called a passive radiator.....this is a subwoofer that work by air movement inside a sealed speaker. The "powered" in this case means a speaker that has its own power amp built into the speaker to drive the subwoofer. You also have "powered speakers" that has an internal amp that drives all the speakers (subwoofer, mid-driver and tweeter or just a combination of these) When people refer to "powered towers" usual they are saying the subwoofer has it's own internal amplifier.

Hell....your probably more confused now than before.....

mantis

08-16-2002, 01:13 AM

O boy

nascarmann

08-16-2002, 01:16 AM

O boy
If I'm wrong clear it up.....

brettw22

08-16-2002, 03:47 AM

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO................ I get it. :D

B

joe logston

08-16-2002, 01:39 PM

nascarmann, you are right there passive, not powerd

joe logston

08-16-2002, 01:40 PM

russ, my e-mail is joevicki2000@yahoo.com

Micah Cohen

08-16-2002, 03:00 PM

Hey, this is an interesting thread.

I'm not surprised, but I am saddened that you had a crappy demo in Vegas. That sucks. I wish there were a way to make every demo room as ideal as possible, but of course that's just not realistic. This is the first bad stuff I've heard about the LSi line, and I hope it's a fluke; I honestly think that for the money you probably can't get a better speaker. I hope people like Troy and madmax pop in here and talk about what they heard here. (And how I should have been able to do a powered/passive A/B and didn't know how.)

Powered speaker: includes built in powered subwoofer. Passive speaker: no powered subwoofer. Simple.

MC

madmax

08-16-2002, 03:40 PM

I listened to the LSi 25 powered towers, LSi center and surrounds driven with a Conrad Johnson 5 channel amplifier and a PSW650 sub at polk. Absolutely awesome! Could it be that using cheaper receivers cause problems with the sound? From what I heard, the powered towers called no attention to themselves because they were powered. I don't think that being powered is causing any problems with them.
I heard the LSi25's in comparison with the LSi7's at the great indoors in MD and thought that given their demo room the LSi7's sounded better. I don't think they know how to set up the LSi25's properly. The LSi7's were set up properly though.

The demo at polk really opened my eyes! Given the proper setup of these speakers they cannot be beat for twice the price, powered or not.
madmax

Aaron

08-16-2002, 04:43 PM

Given the proper setup of these speakers they cannot be beat for twice the price, powered or not.
I'll agree that the LSi9 (which I've heard) and LSi15 (which I haven't heard) are quite possibly the best speakers for the money, bar none. This is, of course, assuming that you like their sound. However, to make a broad and sweeping claim that "they cannot be beat for twice the price" is ludicrous. Reviewers like to use this line a lot, and they're full of it. Is it really so hard to believe that there could be a product, with the same value factor as the LSi's, but at a significantly higher price point (say, twice the price)? I'm sure there are products that cost twice the price of the LSi's but sound worse, but you also have to consider the opposite. Max, I'm not trying to pick on you here. This has been something that I've been thinking about for quite some time, and I just needed to get it off my chest. Ahhh....much better. I love forum therapy!

Aaron

Micah Cohen

08-16-2002, 04:47 PM

"Twice the price" is maybe overstating it, but I think I appreciate what madmax is saying. They did really sound great that day (which was the first time that I had really heard the 25s perform in demo), and were really impressive.

Troy got me thinking about the 25s vs the 15s, and now I want to A/B them. I am really sorry we didn't get a chance to do that.

MC

joe logston

08-16-2002, 07:09 PM

the receiver at the great indoors was a onkyo 989 so that was not bad. they had the mks running on a denon 5803 receiver. just the bookshelf (lsi-7) where in a bookself they where way to far apart, on the lsi-15 i should have pulled them out in the room a little, they where to far apart to. next time im just going to take the time and set them up the best i can.
i know that the lsi-15 will sing with a good amp and pre-amp