Short Review: Polk TSi 100 Vs. T 15 in a 2 Channel System
Haven't seen much in the way of a 2 channel, music intensive type comparison of these...only HT related, so I thought this might be of use to someone...
I've now lived with both systems in a budget, 2 channel, setup (Sherwood RX-4105 receiver streaming iTunes over a wireless network) and, from my point of view, both are keepers unless one is into head banging metal or other music of a "seismic intensive" nature played loudly. Last week, I upgraded to the TSi 100s after having listened to the T 15s for approx. 3 months in a 14' x 24' combination art studio/frame shop environment. My verdict? The 100s are, predictably, better in most every way and substantially so. I got the 15s on sale over the holidays for $50 and would say that the $200 for the TSi 100s is well worth the extra expenditure. Two caveats: (1) The T 15s, IMO, while less pleasing sonically, exhibit a "perfect balance" that the TSi 100s don't seem to present to my 50something ears. They would be the hands down better choice for a setting such as, say, a restaurant where one wanted to create a "cozy conversation friendly" atmosphere but retain a sound system quality worthy of "Hey, what kind of speakers do you use and where can I buy some?" type inquiries. The TSi 100s sort of "reach out and grab you" too much for that application. (2) The TSI 100s don't come alive properly until their rear port is moved a foot or better out from the wall behind them. At first, I'd hung my new 100s on the same nails-in-the-wall that my T 15s had resided on and I was ready to return them for a refund before I experimented with a more conventional placement for a rear ported speaker. While not Wilson Watt Puppys or the like by any stretch of the imagination, both the T 15s and TSi 100s seem capable of providing much non-super-critical music listening enjoyment, especially in a fairly quiet shop environment such as where I'm using them. The T 15s did 75% of what my sonic expectations were for the shop's sound system...The TSi 100s wound up doing about 150%! They did, however, have to be moved around a bit to find their "magic placement" whereas the T 15s seemed to sound "very good" just about anywhere. I'll be moving the 15s to a small bedroom at the house where I'm sure they'll provide excellent sound.
I've now lived with both systems in a budget, 2 channel, setup (Sherwood RX-4105 receiver streaming iTunes over a wireless network) and, from my point of view, both are keepers unless one is into head banging metal or other music of a "seismic intensive" nature played loudly. Last week, I upgraded to the TSi 100s after having listened to the T 15s for approx. 3 months in a 14' x 24' combination art studio/frame shop environment. My verdict? The 100s are, predictably, better in most every way and substantially so. I got the 15s on sale over the holidays for $50 and would say that the $200 for the TSi 100s is well worth the extra expenditure. Two caveats: (1) The T 15s, IMO, while less pleasing sonically, exhibit a "perfect balance" that the TSi 100s don't seem to present to my 50something ears. They would be the hands down better choice for a setting such as, say, a restaurant where one wanted to create a "cozy conversation friendly" atmosphere but retain a sound system quality worthy of "Hey, what kind of speakers do you use and where can I buy some?" type inquiries. The TSi 100s sort of "reach out and grab you" too much for that application. (2) The TSI 100s don't come alive properly until their rear port is moved a foot or better out from the wall behind them. At first, I'd hung my new 100s on the same nails-in-the-wall that my T 15s had resided on and I was ready to return them for a refund before I experimented with a more conventional placement for a rear ported speaker. While not Wilson Watt Puppys or the like by any stretch of the imagination, both the T 15s and TSi 100s seem capable of providing much non-super-critical music listening enjoyment, especially in a fairly quiet shop environment such as where I'm using them. The T 15s did 75% of what my sonic expectations were for the shop's sound system...The TSi 100s wound up doing about 150%! They did, however, have to be moved around a bit to find their "magic placement" whereas the T 15s seemed to sound "very good" just about anywhere. I'll be moving the 15s to a small bedroom at the house where I'm sure they'll provide excellent sound.
Post edited by LG100 on
Comments
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Nice review. I am currently using t15`s for a 5.1 system. They do sound good but I was thinking of buying the t100`s.
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Placement is critical of the TSi line. I have the older monitors and the best results were the REAR of the speaker 18-24 inches from a boundry. six inches minimum. And no, you can't beat them at that price level!Things are more like they are now than they ever will be!
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Update: I've hooked up the T 15s to speaker B after reading some posts in other forums from people reporting good results stacking vintage speakers. To my ears, running both speaker systems at the same time is a noticeable improvement in sound over the TSi 100s running on speaker A alone but I've had to experiment with the placement of the T 15s to get the right balance in relation to the 100s.
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I had the TSi100's and they are excellent speakers at that pricepoint! You can't go wrong with those if that's your budget!Polk Audio RTi A3 (mains)
Polk Audio CSi A4 (center)
Polk Audio RC60i (rears)
BIC Acoustech PL-200 (sub)
Denon AVR-590 (receiver)
Samsung LN46B550 (LCD)
Sharp BD HP22U (Blu-ray player)
