Rti 12 VS LSI 15.....

falconcry72

naturallight wrote: »

But man give me a break.....you get a pair of LSI-M703 to try out....thats at the point i just shot myself in the foot.

I pretty much have no words for this......

Hey man, the 703's are actually making their way to Georgia. They should be there in a couple months. You should get up with the GA polkie, forget who it is, who will have them.

pyrocyborg

Uhm... My 2 cents: I moved in a new appartment and my living room is bigger than my last two were. The living room itself is 28x12, with a 15x9 opening to the dinning room. My LSi7 connected to my NAD326 had no trouble filling the entire room at an utterly ridiculous volume level without clipping.

That being said, every room is different but a good pair of bookshelf paired with a sub can play as well as most towers. As for filling a room or not, it depends on the dimensions, room treatment, speakers position, listening position and many other things. If your room is 24x24, maybe you'll be best with a pair of bookshelf and two subs, or the LSi15 and a sub (might almost cost the same, overall).

Sure thing, bookshelf aren't for everyone. Something's lacking when there is no sub, but even towers could have that drawback (to a lower extend, I must admit... )... Care to try with another pair of bookshelf speaker which you could return afterward (e.g. KEF Q series, if you have a dealer near)?

Thing is, I know it's hard to make a decision without listening to the speakers first. Some people prefered the RTi over the LSi series, but the majority prefer the LSi which are much more refined speakers IMO. If you're into accoustic, jazz, vocal and 70s/80s rock-prog, then yeah, LSi are better than RTi. Otherwise, they're the same but a tad less bright.

The real question is: Are you happy with your setup, right now? With an external amp with plenty of power, 12s are hard to beat for the price (at least, in the Polk lineup).

hertz9753

falconcry72 wrote: »

Hey man, the 703's are actually making their way to Georgia. They should be there in a couple months. You should get up with the GA polkie, forget who it is, who will have them.

Isn't Ben, that guy that does LSi mods from GA?

jbooker82

I had VR3 do my RTi's and I would do it all over again. It does role off the top end a little. It is one of those deals where if you hate the speakers it isn't going to make you fall in love with them. If your happy with the RTi's it makes them that much better.

BIG INJUN CHIEF

I tend to read a great deal more than post but found this thread intriguing as I recently went through the LSI vs RTI dilemma. I decided upon a set of LSI9's/2 subs in recently converted two channel room and RTIA9's with a CSIa6 for the HT. I find the LSI'9s much more pleasing relative to music. I have yet to drag the LSI's to the basement for fear it may result in an additional purchase.

naturallight

WOW....brand new website..plus the LSi 15/25 are gone from the product line???
Like what did i miss here. The RTi9's are there..were there some upgrades made to them or something?

The price jump from the 9's to the new LSi M towers....is pretty massive, and far out of my pocketbook range.

Anybody know why the LSi 15's are ..I guess now discontinued?

Now it's kind of a question..do i try and sell stuff fast, to get whats left of the 15's.....or just be happy with the 12's and do the mod's...

pyrocyborg

naturallight wrote: »

WOW....brand new website..plus the LSi 15/25 are gone from the product line???
Like what did i miss here. The RTi9's are there..were there some upgrades made to them or something?

The price jump from the 9's to the new LSi M towers....is pretty massive, and far out of my pocketbook range.

Anybody know why the LSi 15's are ..I guess now discontinued?

Now it's kind of a question..do i try and sell stuff fast, to get whats left of the 15's.....or just be happy with the 12's and do the mod's...

Yeah, the LSi got discontinued a few years back and are being replaced by LSiM line with a massive step up in price, built quality and sound quality. The RTiA line (1,3,5,7,9) was a cosmetical replacement for the RTi line (4,6,8,10,12), but until the LSiM, the LSi had no replacement for years.

There is no plans yet to replace the LSi with a new LSi line of the same price, at least, to my knowledge. Too bad, as as you said, many won't be able or willing to spend that much on speakers and the LSi line was at an interresting price point as far as price/quality ratio goes.

As for where to get a pair of LSi15... there is none left on acousticsounddesign.com or www.sounddistributors.com ... so it's all on Polk ebay store.

As for the difference between the RTi12 and the LSi15, it depends on your taste and unless you can test a pair of LSi15 at home, you're left in the dark :frown:

naturallight

Jbooker..I'd be interested to know what RTi speakers you have and did you find any better mids after the mod's?

jbooker82

I have the whole RTi A setup. A7's for mains, CSI A4 center, and FXI A4 surrounds. The front 3 are powered by a Carver A-760x 250 x3 channel amp. My AVR is a Onkyo TX-NR808.

I haven't ever really found the mids lacking. The stock setup / tweeter was a little over powering when I drove the whole system with my AVR. I had trey do some mods that he recommends. He replaced the capacitors with Clarity brand capacitors, and replaced the resistors with Mills brand resistors. It took some of the edge off the highs. Don't get me wrong my RTi's still sound like RTis just not as rough on the top end.

I then added a Carver amplifier wich are known to be warm sounding and that also helped out with the highs. It also gave the woofers way more umph.

My cables are AudioQuest Type 8's single biwire. (One set of bananas on the amp end, two sets on the speaker end.)

naturallight

Thanks Jbooker for the info. Just wanted to know what you felt you got out of the mod's. I don't really feel the mids are lacking either. I've done some really hard listening in the last few days, thinking i may have to sell the 12's. To be honest, they are really hard to fault. My Onkyo M-504 tends to the warm side. With 2 channel music, you just don't need a sub with the 12's. Really, if you looking for more bass....you have the wrong amp, or your looking for overkill. The only issue can be with the treble. That i have found is very source dependent.
All my classical cds, will play perfect...no issue with treble. They is just some stuff that can be over the top sort of speak.
But my guess is there just to much compression put on these. Not sure the mods can help these cd's..LOL But i'm sure doing them would not hurt.

falconcry72

naturallight wrote: »

...With 2 channel music, you just don't need a sub with the 12's. Really, if you looking for more bass....you have the wrong amp, or your looking for overkill.

This is completely subjective. Your 12's are only flat to 30hz. There is musical material lower than 30hz that you are missing. You may not mind the fact that you're missing it, but that is subjective. Some people don't mind missing material below 50 or 60hz in a 2-channel setup. You can't objectionably state that you don;t need a sub unless your speakers are flat to 10hz.

naturallight

No, you are right...it is MY subjective opinon, nothing more. You can take it for what it's worth.

In the few days, i have thought about the 15's..i have done a lot of hard listening to the 12's. Pretty much not just sit down and enjoy, but critical....is this good, is that good...type thing.

I have come to the conclusion, that i will not sell the 12's....which i may have a hard time doing in my location, and just sell off stuff i'm not useing..such as the QSC amp and other stuff...which again, may not sell well down here.
If I can unload this stuff, and Polk ebay still has the 15's....then i will buy them. If not, i'll do the upgrades and maybe look into a used tube preamp. Not that i think that will help with some of these cd's..you would pretty much have to re EQ them...LOL

falconcry72

naturallight wrote: »

...If I can unload this stuff, and Polk ebay still has the 15's....then i will buy them.

Sounds like a good plan, but keep a lookout on craigslist/ebay/audiogon for a used pair in your area... you'd be surprised the deals that come up, even in rural areas. That way, if you end up liking the 12's more, you can flip the 15's at no loss. And even if you like the 15's more, you could still sell the used pair and buy the refurb from Polk just to have a new pair with warranty etc.

...Not that i think that will help with some of these cd's..you would pretty much have to re EQ them...LOL

lol, I hear ya, man. There are some terrible recordings out there.. some of which I love the actual of music of, which can sometimes make life as an audiophile quite a conflicting experience.

naturallight

Yeah, i agree..the 12's/9's are really under rated speakers. They may have been sold as HT stuff...and the people may have been told..yeah you can run these with pretty much any AVR...but..to me thats bull. Yeah ok they work..but if you don't have a seperate amp..like a high current...high watt amp....your wasteing your money.

The problem with CD's....some are made well....some..are just crap...Your speakers have nothing to do with it.

Most of my Classical music is on Deutsche Grammephone stuff..the sound is perfect on the 12's..you could not ask for better. Some rock stuff....just not well EQ'd....something that you can't fix. So to play this stuff on whatever speaker....it's just not going to be that great..no matter what you do.
You can throw tubes at it till the cows come home...probably not going to help it.

falconcry72

naturallight wrote: »

Yeah, i agree..the 12's/9's are really under rated speakers.

They're not under-rated around here; that's for sure!:biggrin: Lots of folks love'em. I know what they're capable of, and I think they're great. When I had my pair, I ran them on my 2-channel only rig (see sig below) for a week or two to get to know them. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed them for music... I just like the LSi's better.