New club member but long time polk enthusiast

rsxman
rsxman Posts: 46
edited December 2012 in Vintage Speakers
Hi guys

first post obviously but wanted to get on the boards and learn from everyone and share my old and new system


I had some cherry ls-90s for a long time and i recently sold those when i found some MINT 15TL's

Ive read up on the tweeter and xover mod for the 15tls but so far with my hybrid amp they sound very relaxed and the bass is fairly well controlled.

The ls90s had a bit tighter bass but the mids and treble on the 15tls is much smoother than before

Just wanted to drop in and say hi!

comments and advice is always more than welcome

btw: Im 27 so most of these speakers are as old as I am and ive sold off vandersteens, b&w etc because of how great vintage polk sounds
Post edited by rsxman on
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  • soundfreak1
    soundfreak1 Posts: 3,414
    edited December 2012
    Welcome to the rabbit hole err club.
    Main Rig:
    Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
    Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
    Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
    MIT exp 1 ic's
    Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
    AQ kingcobra ic's
    OPPO 83 CDP
    Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
    Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
    Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
    ADS L1590/2 Biamped
    MIT exps2 speaker cable
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  • drumminman
    drumminman Posts: 3,396
    edited December 2012
    Welcome to CP!
    "Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
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  • drselect
    drselect Posts: 664
    edited December 2012
    Glad you have enjoyed your Polks and welcome to CP.
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  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,603
    edited December 2012
    Welcome to CP! I got to ask....trading off the LS90's for the 15TL's. Are you happy with that? I have never heard the 90's. But I would think they would wipe the floor with the 15TL's from what I have read.
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    To be honest the 90's and 15tl's have a different way of getting you to the same place

    LS-90's: Very controlled bass section. It was nice having it that way...it was fast and very natural with most music. The treble from the SL6000 TL tweeter sounded a bit mellow and laid back. Which is what Im used to with tubes anyway. The midrange was good but not great. It was soft and had some muddiness to it.

    15TL's: Bass is not as tight but it really makes you rethink the positioning of the speakers. Treble is much more clear with the SL3000 tweeter and I honestly didnt expect it. I thought it would be the other way around. Midrange is more smooth and the veil of mudiness isnt there like it was with the LS90's.

    Overall its very hard to decide which one is better than the other. So far Im enjoying the 15tl's better with the midrange and treble.
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  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,603
    edited December 2012
    Your thoughts there are pretty interesting to me. Because I have heard many say the LS90 and LS50 are among Polk's best offerings in the non SDA realm.
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    I have read and heard a lot of people say that too. I suspect the 15TL's work a bit better with my amp and phono amp than the 90's did.

    Don't get me wrong, they were great speakers and I couldn't find another set that could outperform them for under $2500 and I auditioned A LOT of different speakers. I had to return back to polk to find something that I thought could out pace them.
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  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,603
    edited December 2012
    Pretty cool! SDA/RTA's etc don't come up to often near me for sale. Much less any LS models. I would love to get my ears on some 50/90's someday.
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    i just saw some fairly mint 3.1tls on CL for sale in my area...not saying where i am....lol i dont want someone else to snipe them from me
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  • chandler9a
    chandler9a Posts: 878
    edited December 2012
    Welcome the Club!

    I am an SDA owner but the 15TL's are one line that I would also like to own some day. Upgrades are well worth it so hold on for the ride, its great.:mrgreen:

    Now 3.1TL's, thats something you really want to look into, SDA's properly set up will make you smile, and smile, and smile.....
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  • nikonik
    nikonik Posts: 120
    edited December 2012
    Welcome aboard! The all black ones look awesome.
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    thanks guys I was able to pick up the 3.1TL's for $360 with the cable...the drive was 2 hours each way but wow these SDAs were worth it

    Huge sonic improvement over the 15tls
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited December 2012
    congrats! now... PICS!!!:biggrin:
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • chandler9a
    chandler9a Posts: 878
    edited December 2012
    Not a bad price at all! Congrats and start reading up, plenty of knowledge around here on those speakers.

    Pics!
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    Here are the 3.1TL's next to the 15TL's

    you can see the dust caps on two midrange drivers were pushed in but I was able to fix that after taking these pictures

    awesome setup
    photo (17).JPG
    photo (18).JPG
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    Better pic all fixed up
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited December 2012
    Sexy in black. You stole them for that price, really.
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    yeah i thought it was too good of a deal to pass up


    how about some 1.2TLs for $1000? sound like a steal too? lol
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited December 2012
    rsxman wrote: »

    how about some 1.2TLs for $1000? sound like a steal too? lol

    Depends on condition. But that's within average pricing.
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    yeah he is sending me some better pictures...there are some "blemishes" on the wood
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  • PolkieMan
    PolkieMan Posts: 2,446
    edited December 2012
    Welcome! Very nice buy (stolen) on the 3.1tls, nothing like a nice drive to get something you really want. Almost got a ticket on the way back home I bet. :biggrin:
    POLK SDA 2.3 TLS BOUGHT NEW IN 1990, Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-198
    POLK CSI-A6 POLK MONITOR 70'S ONKYO TX NR-808 SONY CDP-333ES
    PIONEER PL-510A SONY BDP S5100
    POLK SDA 1C BOUGHT USED 2011,Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-194
    ONKYO HT RC-360 SONY BDP S590 TECHNICS SL BD-1
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    DSkip wrote: »
    They're nice, but the more I got my ears on other speakers, the less engaging the LS series became. Its like they are constantly holding something back, not forward enough I guess. I could name off many Polk's I'd rather have over that series now. I read somewhere that someone likened listening to the LS series to listening to music with cotton in your ears. That's all I hear now when I listen to them.

    Congrats on the 3.1tl's rx! Those are nice speakers and have great potential with some time/money to waste.

    compared to the sda line yes the LS90s were very held back in a lot of ways...these sdas are amazing and put to shame the vandersteens that i had ...they were just heavy and hard to transport

    but back to the 1.2TL's....guy wanted 1000obo but one midrange driver is missing on the wood has some "issues"

    what would be a fair offer? Im concerned he abused them a bit and blew one of them out...maybe more
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  • teekay0007
    teekay0007 Posts: 2,289
    edited December 2012
    rsxman wrote: »
    but back to the 1.2TL's....guy wanted 1000obo but one midrange driver is missing on the wood has some "issues"

    what would be a fair offer? Im concerned he abused them a bit and blew one of them out...maybe more

    Lots of variables to consider for pricing, one of the most important being how often does a similar pair become available at a reasonable distance. Also, how lucky are you? Dabutcher got a pair of the same models in super minty condition, without any issues, for less. He had just happened to check CL one day and they were available just a few miles from his house and the guy had literally just cut his price in half in his updated listing that day! I haven't heard any other stories of that kind of luck/theft going on out there, but they do exist! Good luck!
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    teekay0007 wrote: »
    Lots of variables to consider for pricing, one of the most important being how often does a similar pair become available at a reasonable distance. Also, how lucky are you? Dabutcher got a pair of the same models in super minty condition, without any issues, for less. He had just happened to check CL one day and they were available just a few miles from his house and the guy had literally just cut his price in half in his updated listing that day! I haven't heard any other stories of that kind of luck/theft going on out there, but they do exist! Good luck!

    hehe yes ive been very lucky these last few days...going from ls90's to rta-15tls to sda-3.1tls all for under $500
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  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,243
    edited December 2012
    15tl's = spare SDA parts
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    lol nah ill just end up selling the 15tls to someone who loves polk in my area
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  • chandler9a
    chandler9a Posts: 878
    edited December 2012
    And what area is that? you seem to be surrounded by nice polks!

    Great looking SDA's you got there.
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    chandler9a wrote: »
    And what area is that? you seem to be surrounded by nice polks!

    Great looking SDA's you got there.

    Im in the Seattle Area ...a bit more south
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  • chandler9a
    chandler9a Posts: 878
    edited December 2012
    Nice area, apparently a Polk friendly place too.

    Enjoy those SDA's!
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  • rsxman
    rsxman Posts: 46
    edited December 2012
    thank you!
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