Should I upgrade from LSi9 front to LSi25?

garnier

Hi, all, I have been using LSi9s for my front pair for my 7.2 Home Theater Setup for the past 4 years, and noticed that the price of LSi25s have dropped from $3,000/pair to $1,300/pair. This makes me seriously consider getting or upgrading my front speakers to the 25s. Would I notice much difference if I upgrade?
I have two subwoofers now, and I know that the 25s have active/powered subwoofers built into them also. I am not really looking for more bass by the way.
Any inputs would be appreciated.
Again, I do not listen to Music much, about 20% of the time, and mostly use my setup for watching the movies.
Thanks.

polkfarmboy

You would for sure notice the diff even if you are using subs, if it was me though I would rather go for the lsi15's

eclypse

The sexiness of the LSI towers alone is with the upgrade over the 9s

One day i'll own a pair if I can find a spot for them in my future house.. maybe man cave for 2 channel music or something.

eclypse

Why bother with the 15s when one would need to upgrade the subs in them. he don't need the extra low bass anyways so go for the top of the line 25s.. there bigger meaner looking to boot.

Jetmaker737

For HT I would not upgrade from LSi-9 with subs to LSi-25.

garnier

Thanks for the feedbacks.
I know that the looks of the LSi25 is very nice, but thinking more of what difference they would make in an overall sound quality, should I stick with my current setup then? I hear varying opinions, some saying that it would make a difference and some saying that it won't......
Has anyone used both side by side to compare critically?
Thanks.

EndersShadow

I prefer the 15's over the 25's. The 15's with an upgraded sub are MUCH less than the 25's and still allow you to use subs down low and sound good. The woofer upgrade is very low cost. Figure you pay 75 bucks for both subs off Amazon, and sell your stock 8" subs for enough its a very cheap easy upgrade.

That said it isnt something you HAVE to do.

The 25's are simply to hard to incorporate with subs and the 15's go low but not super low and are not nearly as sloppy IMHO.

garnier

I am satisfied with the bass I have with my current two subwoofers and am not looking for more bass.
In that case, should I go for the LSi15s and would I still notice an overall sound improvement than the current LSi9s then?
Thanks.

EndersShadow

garnier wrote: »

I am satisfied with the bass I have with my current two subwoofers and am not looking for more bass.
In that case, should I go for the LSi15s and would I still notice an overall sound improvement than the current LSi9s then?
Thanks.

I like the 15's so much I sold my PSW125 and dont miss it honestly. They will have more bass than the 9's but also more mids IMHO and give you lots of tweaking options with your crossovers with your subs as well.

They also sound GREAT in direct mode so you can listen to music pretty good and dont feel like you need a sub.

But at the end of the day its all about how it sounds to you and your ears.

There might be some folks around here with some 15's they might be looking to sell that could be local and at a better price than Polks ebay site. Might be worth posting a wanted ad and seeing what turns up.

garnier

Lasareath wrote: »

I'd skip the LSi25's and move right on over to LSiM707's!

http://www.polkaudio.com/products/lsim707

LSiM707 is currently $4,000/pair. Maybe in 10-15 years, it will be $1,500, and I will consider it then.
So, I guess you are saying that Floorstanding "LSi25" would be better than the bookshelf LSi9?
Do you have the LSiM707? How do they sound?

Upstatemax

If you're looking for a positive change and will spend around $1,300. why not look at the LSiM 703's...

eBay store has those for under $1,300 IIRC.

eclypse

Yes if your fine with bookshelves for fronts then look to the 703s. Seriously. I got my 703s for $573.70 EA plus tax at Polk Direct. YMMV. If your happy with your subs then that's what you should be looking at.

Though If you would be wanting a 5.1 setup then that's something to link about as the end price would be a ton more matching those LSiMs over just grabbing a pair of 25s.

garnier

I have been thinking all over the night.
LSIM 703s looks nice, but cost even more than the Floorstanding LSi25s.
I am sure the 703s will sound better than my current LSi9s.
But I am not ready to upgrade to the LSiM level, especially if the rest of my setups are composed all of the LSis currently, I don't want to have the LSiMs just for my front speakers (4 ohms vs 8 ohms, ect.).
I think having more bass will not hurt, and I can sell my LSi9s for around $500-600 nowadays according to E-Bay.
The ideal situation without having to worry about the money would be switching to $8,000 LSiM 7-speaker system, but I live in a real world so, I will forget about that.
I have always wanted to get a pair of the LSi25s, it's just that it was so expensive 3-4 years ago, costing 2.5x more than what they have become.
I think it is time for me grab the pair, whether I notice the difference compared to my current LSi9s or not, just for the sake of having bought the LSi25s, as long as they won't sound worse than the LSi9s......
Will see if I change my mind again over this weekend, if no change of mind, then will order a pair of LSi 25s next week finally......

Loud & Clear

I wouldn't make that purchase if you have quality subwoofers, unless it was for aesthetics or some reason other than sound.

cfrizz

garnier wrote: »

I have been thinking all over the night.
LSIM 703s looks nice, but cost even more than the Floorstanding LSi25s.
I am sure the 703s will sound better than my current LSi9s.
But I am not ready to upgrade to the LSiM level, especially if the rest of my setups are composed all of the LSis currently, I don't want to have the LSiMs just for my front speakers (4 ohms vs 8 ohms, ect.).
I think having more bass will not hurt, and I can sell my LSi9s for around $500-600 nowadays according to E-Bay.
The ideal situation without having to worry about the money would be switching to $8,000 LSiM 7-speaker system, but I live in a real world so, I will forget about that.
I have always wanted to get a pair of the LSi25s, it's just that it was so expensive 3-4 years ago, costing 2.5x more than what they have become.
I think it is time for me grab the pair, whether I notice the difference compared to my current LSi9s or not, just for the sake of having bought the LSi25s, as long as they won't sound worse than the LSi9s......
Will see if I change my mind again over this weekend, if no change of mind, then will order a pair of LSi 25s next week finally......

Since this is something that you have always wanted I say go for it. What will you be driving them with? Make sure you are feeding them plenty of power so that they operate to their full potential.

garnier

cfrizz wrote: »

Since this is something that you have always wanted I say go for it. What will you be driving them with? Make sure you are feeding them plenty of power so that they operate to their full potential.

Would the LSi25 require more power than my LSi9s?
I am using McIntosh MC207 200 wpc @4ohms 7-Channel Amplifier right now.
Thanks.

PSOVLSK

To answer the title of the thread, I'd say "no."

I noticed very little difference between my 9's and 15's.

I don't think it's an upgrade that's worth the money.

I did sell my 9's for 703's and...that's where it's at. I understand not wanting to mix LSi and LSiM, but here's a link for you to consider anyway: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?147228-LSIM-703.-PERFECT-condition.

garnier

PSOVLSK wrote: »

To answer the title of the thread, I'd say "no."

I noticed very little difference between my 9's and 15's.

I don't think it's an upgrade that's worth the money.

I did sell my 9's for 703's and...that's where it's at. I understand not wanting to mix LSi and LSiM, but here's a link for you to consider anyway: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?147228-LSIM-703.-PERFECT-condition.

I could not go to the link that you provided, because it says that "my post number is less than 100".
Anyway, if you are speaking from an experiency with both bookshelf and floorstanding LSi series, then I will consider upgrading to the LSiM 703s, even though it is more expensive than the bigger floorstanding LSi25s with the subwoofers in them, not that they are the reasons that one speaker is better than another.
Thank you for your feedback, that would help me a lot in deciding in my situation.

PSOVLSK

Odd since you have 107 posts. Maybe pm a mod about that.

To clarify something in my post. When I say I noticed little difference between the 9's and 15's, that's in my HT with a sub. The difference between the 9's and 703's was in my 2-channel without a sub.

Some seem to think the 703 is the gem of the LSiM line when considering cost/performance.

garnier

As long as using the 8 ohms LSiM 703 is timbre-matched with the rest of my 4 ohms setup, i.d. LSi9s for the Rear Surround, LSiF/Xs for the Side Surround, and LSiC for the Center, I will go for the LSiM then, not that impedance is related to the timbre, but I wanted to maintain the same line up for all the speakers in my setup, if possible.

garnier

One quick Link emphasizing about matching up the Timbre in your system:
http://www.hometheater.com/content/matching-front-and-surround-speakers

eclypse

I'm sure the old LSi don't timbre match the new line so i'd say grab your LSi25s and be happy.. years from now when the newer line goes way down in price (usually 10 years from launch or when they release the next level of LSi) upgrade to the LSiM.

IF you think you can get by going back to standard stereo for awhile then sure go with the LSiM 705s or 703s for stereo and add on to them when you can.

garnier

eclypse wrote: »

I'm sure the old LSi don't timbre match the new line so i'd say grab your LSi25s and be happy.. years from now when the newer line goes way down in price (usually 10 years from launch or when they release the next level of LSi) upgrade to the LSiM.

IF you think you can get by going back to standard stereo for awhile then sure go with the LSiM 705s or 703s for stereo and add on to them when you can.

I think you have given me the straightest answer so far and I will go with your proposal.
I will get a pair of LSi25s indeed an be happy with it.
I will post a picture of my setup when I am done with the change then.
Thanks guys, for all of your ideas!

cfrizz

garnier wrote: »

Would the LSi25 require more power than my LSi9s?
I am using McIntosh MC207 200 wpc @4ohms 7-Channel Amplifier right now.
Thanks.

DROOL.....Very nice amp that will power the LSI 25s very nicely! Go for it and enjoy.

EndersShadow

Hope you enjoy your LSi's as much as I do.

I have been loving them for 2 years going strong and dont see that changing anytime soon.

leroyjr1

garnier wrote: »

Hi, all, I have been using LSi9s for my front pair for my 7.2 Home Theater Setup for the past 4 years, and noticed that the price of LSi25s have dropped from $3,000/pair to $1,300/pair. This makes me seriously consider getting or upgrading my front speakers to the 25s. Would I notice much difference if I upgrade?
I have two subwoofers now, and I know that the 25s have active/powered subwoofers built into them also. I am not really looking for more bass by the way.
Any inputs would be appreciated.
Again, I do not listen to Music much, about 20% of the time, and mostly use my setup for watching the movies.
Thanks.

Where are you located? Maybe someone close to you has a pair. I got all my lsim's at a third off from an authorized dealer. You could get the lsim703's and 704 center for around $1600.

I'd take a pair of lsi9's with a good sub over the lsi 25's

Upstatemax

I feel like you're just dropping $1,300 for no real upgrade...

If I'm going to spend that kind of coin, I better get something out of it. I don't think you really are at all.

I'm pretty sure there is a reason why even Matthew Polk ran LSi 9's and not the 15/25's...

PolkieMan

It would be very interesting to read your comparison review if you did have both pair.
I find pairs new on ebay for $2700 so they are not as expensive as the 1.2tls were back in 1990
and then again the reason I have what I do have is because no one makes SDA anymore.

Lasareath wrote: »

I do not own them. I own two pairs of 1.2TL's

I've never heard the LSi25's, I've heard the LSi15's and I wasn't impressed. I've heard the 707's twice and I was very Impressed.

If Polk came to my house tonight and said I'll give you a pair of LSi25's for a pair of your 1.2tl's I'd tell them to leave.

If they said they have a pair of 707's I'd help them load the 1.2tl's into their truck.

If I only owned one pair of 1.2tl's then I wouldn't make the trade. I had the 1.2TL's in a 5.1 surround system and they sounded amazing.

be83663

I wish that Polkaudio made much better subwoofers.
Maybe after they have more Research & Development Money from selling LSiMs in the near future. :mad::frown::surprised:

garnier

Finally, I just ordered a pair of Cherry LSi25s from Amazon.com fro $1,300.
I will post a picture when all are set and calibrated, and check if I notice any difference.
Thanks all for the feedbacks, again.
I will definitely upgrade to 7.2 LSiM System when the prices fall down in 5-10 years.

eclypse

Excited for ya! Please post pics when you can. Would love to see what I missed out on since I was going to order them before being talked into LSiMs.