Polk Audio Vs. Klipsch speakers, which is better?

[dromunds]

I agree with Gudnoyez: I have Klipsch KG4's with titanium tweeter upgrade and Polk SDA 2A's modded. Both very economical and different and I like them both. One thing I can say objectively is I prefer the Polk Forum!

[pitdogg2]

The correct way to purchase a speaker is out of a white van.

fixed it for you^^^^^^

[ddsski]

Typically if you look at frequency response and flatness of the sound etc, the klipsch speakers are "hot" while the LSi speakers are much more linear and "TRUE" That is not subjective. The accurate reproduction of sound is the ultimate goal of any component be it a speaker, amp, cartridge, wire etc. To let your ears believe this you must listen to some natual, non enhanced instruments like Pianos, classical orchestras acoustic guitars etc. Ideally you should close your eyes and think the instrument is playing in front of you. That is faithful reproduction of sound. The LSi15 do this as well as just about anything I've ever heard in their price segment. I'm not talking Golden Ear..... WOW that another level. I've heard plenty of Klipsch speakers over the years. They crank with the very best and in college they'd be a much better choice or for that outdoor picnic but you'll NEVER get anyone with decent hearing tell you they faithfully reproduce ideal natural sound as mentioned above. Maybe at 120db loudness they hang on longer than most other stuff but at those levels you'd already be deaf. A piccolo on a Klipsch is a painful shrill thing

[ZLTFUL]

*SOUND* is subjective.

The ability to reproduce a signal is not.

Someone who worked around diesel engines their entire life is going to hear differently than someone who works in a quiet lawyer's office.
It is the nature of our ears. If someone is forced, via their job to listen to say a 7,000hz hum for 8 hours a day every day even with ear protection, their hearing around that particular range will begin to attenuate. Not only that but their brain will begin to ignore the tone.
Try biofeedback sometime. Do it long enough, you begin to ignore the tone and the exercise's effectiveness begins to drop.
This is the nature of the interaction between the human ear and the human brain.

Decent hearing is also subjective. I bet you consider yourself to have decent hearing.
I also have decent hearing. So decent that when I joined the Army, the Navy doctor that did my hearing test at MEPS tried to convince me that I should join the Navy as a sonarman instead. You have to have better than clinically perfect hearing to qualify for that position.

The point is, you are arguing subjective semantics. How a speaker sounds is completely up to the listener. Do you argue that a comparable Klipsch Palladium can't reproduce the same frequency range that an LSi9 or LSi15 can? The truth is, they very much can produce nearly identical frequency ranges but to the ramp worker at the airport who also happens to be an audiophile is probably going to prefer the Palladiums over the LSis because their hearing has developed and adapted differently than yours.

So again, I argue that sound is indeed subjective. Period.

(Bear in mind that I am not a fan of any but most Legacy or very high end Klipsch speakers and I prefer the actual legacy products versus their renewed Heritage versions of the same. I agree that on MOST Klipschs, a piccolo does sound shrill.)

[Monster Jam]

fixed it for you^^^^^^

:) Made my day!

[B Run]

I know this is a really old thread but had to comment anyways. I've owned several sets of Klipsch speakers from the Synergy, Heritage, and Reference lines and have liked them all in different ways finally settling on the Rf82's because I can't afford the Rf7's at the moment. I've also owned and heard many different Polk speakers and absolutely love my Rti12's. They're both great and excel in differnt ways, it's really like having a coke vs pepsi or chevy vs ford argument and it all comes down to a matter of personal opinion.

[KLapinas]

The best speaker is the one that sounds best to you.

Oh, and you have to be able to afford them!

[scottyboy76]

Pretty amazing how the old, and i mean old klipsch hold their value.

Have never listened to klipsch, but always hated to see the delivery truck open up at stereo village, where i worked in the warehouse,and there were a bunch of la scalas or whatever those gigantic,heavy models klipsch put out in the 80s

[ZLTFUL]

La Scala, Cornwall, Klipschorn, Heresy...and you can still buy them new as part of Klipsch's "Heritage" series.
I put original Klipschorns and La Scalas up there with the JBL Paragon as pieces I want to own some day just for their presence and not their actual sound (Although the Paragon can hold its own if its drivers have been cared for properly).