Looking for mini-summary of overall sound of: RTiA9~15, LSi15, LSi25, LSi M705

Heya,

So I'm thinking of expanding in the upper polks, they're all beautiful. I love looking at lots of drivers moving. So I'm sort of drawn to the RTiA9, RTi12, RTi150 quite a bit. But I'm curious, what are the overall sound differences of these polks? Many of them are in the same price range, so it must be a matter of preference I presume. It would be nice to see a little mini-summary of the differences, or comparisons of them, to get an idea of why they exist in similar price ranges.

RTiA9 - How does this compare to the LSi25? And how does it expand beyond the M70?
RTi12 & RTi150 - How do they compare to the RTi9?
LSi15 - How different is this from the LSi25? Any difference really beyond the built in sub and low frequency response?
LSi M705 - Are these basically the top shelf option? How do they sound compared to the RTiA9 and LSi25?

Any basic summaries of their overall sound, refinement?

Thanks :)

Very best,

The RTiA9 are better than the M70 by a good margin, they're more detailed and have a better bottom end. They are more forward than the LSi25, maybe a tad more dynamic, maybe better for movies but LSi has a more musical sound to it
R\The RTi12 and 150, neither sound as good as the RTiA9. The RTiA has a sweeter and smoother top end and sounds more musical than either
I can't compare the two LSi models with each other
The LSiM705 is in a whole other league altogether. In my opinion it's the most refine speaker Polk has ever built

The upper Polks as you put it, also need better electronics, as in a seperate amplifier to drive them adequately. Keep that in mind so you don't blow your whole budget just on speakers. A 400 buck avr is not going to work with the upper level Polks. Just a FYI my friend.

IMO, if you are looking for music over HT, then LSi9's with a sub is a better choice...easier placement to get better quality in the different room types

Heya,

(For reference, will have an Emotiva XPA-3 for the mains/center, so power is not an issue)

I did some digging to try and educate myself a little better on these speakers and found how many are discontinued anyways.

So I guess I'm more interested in how the RTi A9 and RTi A5 compare with the LSi15 and LSi9. Especially considering I would use subwoofers.

I suppose a lot of the woofers in the M70 and RTi A9 are really for producing bass frequencies, leaving only two woofers for mids. That sound about right? I suppose that means something like the LSi9 for example would be just as good as teh LSi15 if you ignore bass response and use subwoofers. I've read that the LSi15 sub has nicer mid-bass than what a subwoofer would perform, so it becomes worth while to have the LSi15 over just LSi9's for mains at least perhaps. But it makes me wonder, Monitor 70's versus Monitor 40's, if bass is being handled by the subwoofer, is there truly a difference there? Or does the mid-bass and overall mids of the Monitor 70 best the Monitor 40, and make it worth while? Ideally I like full range speakers because I don't want the subs to do more work than sub-bass, like 60hz and under. I would prefer the speakers handle the rest so that it's not as boomy. I find subs in mid-bass are more boomy and I would rather just hear them pounding out big sub-bass and spend their energy on that.

I'm thinking the LSi15 might be on my horizon with some LSi9's or LSi5's as surrounds. I'm not sure what I would match for a center though. Either a 3rd LSi15, or perhaps try something interesting like two LSi9's together as a center. I know the LSi15 is supposed to be more difficult to drive due to the woofer being passive, and I prefer that over the powered LSi25 so I can control the power it receives. I don't think driving it will be a problem with the Emotiva XPA-3 as it has a good steady output of 300wpc into 4ohms, and 200wpc into 8ohms. Should handle the LSi15 no problem I assume. They're sensitive after all.

I'm still curious though what would be a good center channel option to match to the LSi15's. Any thoughts?

I'm really interested in the LSi15's at this point because of the reviewed musicality of them and overall room filling sound and essentially full range. They seem like they would be wonderful for home theater and music duty. I'm able to get them in the $350~400 range too, as I don't mind going used so long as they're not damaged or scratched up. Even at full price, they're basically $500 new.

Maybe two LSi15's for the front/left main.
Maybe four LSi7's for side surrounds and rear surrounds.
The question becomes... what for the center? Another LSi15? Or a LSi9? Or two LSi9's together? I'm thinking a 3rd LSi15 (movies).

Found the LSiC as a center, but it's hard to find.

Even at potentially $1500 for three LSi15's, and $800 for four LSi7's, it seems like a ridiculously good bargain if the reviews are honest.

So far the reviews I've read put the LSi over the RTi by a margin. So it's looking like my future step up would probably be to the LSi at this point. I'm not really interested in really bright speakers (RTi). I think I'd rather have some warm speakers. Even though I love looking at all the drivers of the RTi9, it's more about the sound of course.

Very best,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MalVeauX

Maybe two LSi9's for the front/left main.
Maybe four LSi7's for side surrounds and rear surrounds.
The question becomes... what for the center? LSi9

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This is what I'd do and I've owned all of them. If you get that setup and you're not happy, I don't know what to tell you:razz: Don't forget to budget for stands.

Disclaimer: I sold my 9's and kept the 15's, but only because I've done both the driver and crossover upgrade on my 15's.

And yes, the Emo will drive the front three fine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PSOVLSK

This is what I'd do and I've owned all of them. If you get that setup and you're not happy, I don't know what to tell you:razz: Don't forget to budget for stands.

Disclaimer: I sold my 9's and kept the 15's, but only because I've done both the driver and crossover upgrade on my 15's.

And yes, the Emo will drive the front three fine.

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Heya,

Cool glad to know the Emotiva will deliver.

So what did you replace the LSi9's with? I ask because I'm curious what matches the LSi series from other lines.

Very best,

My HT is LSi15, LSiC, and LSi7.
2 Channel is LSiM703

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PSOVLSK

My HT is LSi15, LSiC, and LSi7.
2 Channel is LSiM703

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Heya,

How does the M703 sound with the LSi 15/7/C? Any real tonal difference? They match?

Very best,

I've never had the 703's in my HT. I've thought about switching them out with the 15's just to see how it sounds, but I've never found the time to do it.

Listening to them seperately, I would say they are not a match. Closer to a match than say mixing LSi with Rti, but still not a match. The LSiM are just a more refined speaker if I may be total generic. I think it would be fine to mix LSi/LSiM until you were able to complete at least the front stage, but I wouldn't mix them with plans of that being my finished system.

Quote:

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So far the reviews I've read put the LSi over the RTi by a margin. So it's looking like my future step up would probably be to the LSi at this point. I'm not really interested in really bright speakers (RTi). I think I'd rather have some warm speakers. Even though I love looking at all the drivers of the RTi9, it's more about the sound of course.

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If you don't like bright and it's more about the sound, then why did you buy an emo?