My thoughts on the LSi 7

[Kevinvb11]

Well I've just logged about 20 hours of music onto my newly aquired 7's. I'll start by saying that when I first opened the box and pulled them out the finish was great for the money. They felt solid and the piano black was near mirror like to my eyes. When I first heard the reviews of how good these speakers might be, I was skeptical of the build quality. But since receiving them I am very pleased.

Now for the good part. The speakers sound better than any I have had in my home. I was really impressed with the bass accuracy from such a small driver. I don't think Polk could have done a better job porting, sizing and doing whatever else they did to get this right. Every recording I've played sounds more accurate than alot of speakers I have listend to in stores and at friends homes, and some friends have some very nice speakers. I had Citation 7.2 LCR up front and they were really good for HT but for music everything sounded sub-par for a speaker that retailed for nearly 700 (THX/80hz built-in), just not a very musical speaker in MHO. Vocals on the Citations were always harsh and at high volume earpiercing at times. On the contrary the LSi's are very musical. So musical that I don't even use my sub for now, when I do the mids and lows just get garbled and vocals sound like crap. With all that said thus far, my good recordings sound awsome and the poorer recordings make me hit eject and put something else in. Just a peev of mine; love great recordings and great music but when I heard Californication by RHCP I wanted to toss it at the producer.

Vocals are great and the lower end of that is well handled by a good driver with much thought into cabinet design. Still a sub is still required at high db's as the 5 inchers just weaken in this area as the you reach peak levels; I just haven't found the right one yet and haven't given it much thought in the past. That will change in the near future though. : )

So finally, the tweeter is super smooth. Cymbals are spot on and exactly where they are supposed to be. On good recordings the vocal transition form tweeter to woofer is near seamless and very, very smooth. With that said, poor vocals on poorer disks will just sound bad, and it's not the speakers' fualt... it's just what was produced, I honestly can't think of another way to put it.

Lastly, this Polk will give you accurate sound reproduction and accuracy as a good speaker should and won't steal you wallet. It won't correct poor recordings when the lower frequencies aren't there, it won't make hiss in a recording go away and it won't make that scratchy vocal sound smooth. It will reproduce a recording really well and give you an idea of what you are trully listening to and you can't ask much more from a speaker of this size and price tag.

Kevin




--don't harrass for spelling or gramar
-----I will review for HT in a couple of weeks, Citations involved

[okiepolkie]

Thank you for your detailed and informative review. I've really enjoyed mine for the past few months.

They will probably stay in my system for quite some time.

Enjoy them.


BTW, what are you using to drive them?

Zach

[Zero]

Great to see you enjoy the speakers! The Lsi-7's are definately a formidable product. Welcome to the Polk family.

[beardog03]

Great write up..!
Thanx..

I am thinking of replacing my rt38i`s with LSI 7`s
and my RT55i`s with 9`s....

They sound great, but I have the dreaded up grade bug...which has turned into a fever..!!

I`m wondering if the step up to the 7`s & 9`s is going to make a lot of music sit on the shelf because of bad recordings..

Right now it`s a money thing , but in the near future....

First I want my SVS...that`s next !

[Kevinvb11]

Originally posted by beardog03

I`m wondering if the step up to the 7`s & 9`s is going to make a lot of music sit on the shelf because of bad recordings..

I hear ya, no pun intended. I'm a music guy and listen to everything, I mean everything, except for country and some rap styles. I have played acoustic guitar for the last 12 years and love the sound of a nice performance as weill as a nice clean recording. I can't stand what has been put on disk lately, it's like they don't care what you llisten too. It may have some to do with my speaker choice, but it made it much more obvious with the LSi's. Even on entire CD's I can hear a difference in the recording/mixing that is not consistent over the entire length of a CD. Also, the last 25 hours on my pair of LSi's has been with flat settings, direct input with no adjustment to bass and treble. I've been consistent with volume levels too, as to not onlly subject myself to LOUD good music but as well as loud BAD music (recording wise).

[Joey_V]

Originally posted by beardog03
Great write up..!
Thanx..

I am thinking of replacing my rt38i`s with LSI 7`s
and my RT55i`s with 9`s....

They sound great, but I have the dreaded up grade bug...which has turned into a fever..!!

I`m wondering if the step up to the 7`s & 9`s is going to make a lot of music sit on the shelf because of bad recordings..

Right now it`s a money thing , but in the near future....

First I want my SVS...that`s next !

Let me tell you, LSi9 and LSi7 paired with an SVS PC+ will WOW you! I have one, I know! =)

I used to have the 7s and have since upgraded to the 9s. I prefer the 9s over the 7s but the 7s are very nice in their own right.

Good quickie review, too!

[madmax]

I personally like the 7's more than the rest of the LSi lineup. There is something special about their simplicity. I've also found that the more power you throw at them the bigger they sound. Don't forget to try bi-wiring and good stands with them. Oh, and if you only have 20 some hours on them you have not heard them at their best. Put on another 50 or so hours and they should really open up.
madmax

[fireshoes]

Originally posted by madmax
Oh, and if you only have 20 some hours on them you have not heard them at their best. Put on another 50 or so hours and they should really open up.
madmax

That is no joke!

[Tour2ma]

Kevin,

Agree with the above kudos for your write up...

I ended up wondering about your sub though, and its problems fitting into the picture. It could be a "simple" phasing issue and/or calibration...

What sub are you running?

[Kevinvb11]

Originally posted by Tour2ma
Kevin,

Agree with the above kudos for your write up...

I ended up wondering about your sub though, and its problems fitting into the picture. It could be a "simple" phasing issue and/or calibration...

What sub are you running?

My sub is a passive JBL control SB 5. It sounded ok with my DA's and Citations but it doesn't seem to match well with the Polks. For HT it's pretty good, but a no go for music. It's powered by a bridged Sony Ta 330ES 2ch amp. Unfortunatley because it is passive and there is no crossx on the 330, I'm stuck with the 80 hz point built into a Denon 4800 which may not be bad but this sub is not very good overall.

I got some potential buyers for the JBL and the 2 PSW10's I got free with my order so I will prabably take that 400$ towards a very good musical sub within the 800-1300 range. Possibly a DIY Titanic if I can ever audition one or a DD12 or Sunfire.

[Early B.]

FWIW -- a good musical sub for less than $400 is a Hsu STF-2.

[Tour2ma]

Kevin,

Sounds like about all you can do with your sub is move it around. Might produce a listenable blend while you are pondering your next move.

In addition to the HSU, look into SVS's PB-10... right at $400 as well, if memory serves (and often it does not), and a strong performer. Couple owners around here, as is the case with the HSU.

Of course the final selection is depenent upon the volume of your HT room and any adjacent open areas...

Happy hunting...

[Kevinvb11]

Originally posted by Tour2ma
Kevin,

Sounds like about all you can do with your sub is move it around. Might produce a listenable blend while you are pondering your next move.

In addition to the HSU, look into SVS's PB-10... right at $400 as well, if memory serves (and often it does not), and a strong performer. Couple owners around here, as is the case with the HSU.

Of course the final selection is depenent upon the volume of your HT room and any adjacent open areas...

Happy hunting...

I will move it around and see what helps but my overall impression with this current sub is sub-par and I know there are many out there that will perform better. With that said, I want a sub with a small foot print. My room is about 18 x 13 and size is a factor, I just can't toss a huge box into my room with out it conjesting things and I love the fact that the Sunfire is so small with great output and the DD isn't to far behind with the perk of correction. I'll wait and see what fits the bill, I'm in no hurry to order anything and am very pleased with how the LSi front stage sounds as is.

[Tour2ma]

With an 8' ceiling you're approaching 2000 cu ft for your room... approaching the upper limit of "mid-size". Of course a lot depends on your listening habits, but you're at the limits of a PB-10 doing the job...

FrankZ is the #1 Sunfire sub enthusiast 'round here... swears by his. Smaller you can't get, but small is relative. The PB-10 ISD dimensions are 15 ½" wide x 19" high x 21 ½" deep... not terribly big. If they fit your eye, SVS cylinders have a very small footprint.

Not trying to push SVS on you, but if you've done much reading 'round here, you know there are an awful lot of satisfied SVS owners.

Whatever candidates you settle upon, I suggest that you spend some time with their Customer Service discussing your room...

[Kevinvb11]

Originally posted by Tour2ma
With an 8' ceiling you're approaching 2000 cu ft for your room... approaching the upper limit of "mid-size". Of course a lot depends on your listening habits, but you're at the limits of a PB-10 doing the job...

FrankZ is the #1 Sunfire sub enthusiast 'round here... swears by his. Smaller you can't get, but small is relative. The PB-10 ISD dimensions are 15 ½" wide x 19" high x 21 ½" deep... not terribly big. If they fit your eye, SVS cylinders have a very small footprint.

Not trying to push SVS on you, but if you've done much reading 'round here, you know there are an awful lot of satisfied SVS owners.

Whatever candidates you settle upon, I suggest that you spend some time with their Customer Service discussing your room...

Well I listen to moderate levels 85% of the time with both music and HT. I'm not sure it means anything but volume is ussually between -14 to -18. If I get into a song or two or a really good movie I won't hesitate to turn up a few more notches. I guess it's all relative to whatever -00 is on ones setup vs. another.

I have read many oppinions on the subs you mentionedm particularly the HSU and SVS, many positives and lots of good reading on behalf of this forum as well as the AVS folk and have checked out all the specs. Still, and I misworded this a liitle initially, when I meant foot print I should have said actual size. So I'm looking at killer subs that are the same size, or very close to the Sunfire. I know there won't be any places to listen to a good sub pairs with the LSi anywhere here in England so I'm basing most everything off of reviews and the great words in all in the forums.

Like I said before, these speakers sound very good just on there own and I don't miss my sub at the moment at all. And maybe if the ever re-introduce the LSiW I might jsut jump on that as it should match very well with the rest of the series.

Regards,
Kevin

[Tour2ma]

Originally posted by Kevinvb11
.... here in England ...

Ah... missed that little tidbit. Does change things a bit.

Whereabouts in the UK are you?

[Kevinvb11]

I'm in Suffolk. Love it here but the exchange rate kills any good deal I see out there at the local stores. So mail order and chance is the better way for me to go for now. ;)

[brody05]

I just cant imagine anyone changing the RT55is for some LSis. I have heard the LSi9s and they are very detailed ect but I just found they lacked the mid range punch that the 55is have and at the louder volumes not quite as good. Maybe it was an amp thing as it was a demo in store.

Can someone tell me how they go in the lower end of the scale, ie what would you need to cross a sub at with them to have a smooth transition without a gap?

Am planning a second play with them in the not too distant future but really love them 55is........

Brody

[Tour2ma]

Were I to cross them with a sub, I'd look in the 60 - 80 Hz range...

Kinda the same here brody. LSi's in general seem a little too laid back for my taste.