Need advice on new Polk's

Bob1947

I want to upgrade my Monitor 60's which are my fronts. I am looking at either the LSIm 705's or RTi A9's. Can anyone comment on which gives the best performance. I listen to a lot of jazz, blues and classical. I am wondering which pair would compliment my rear LSI 9's. My system is in my basement (carpeted) which is about 15' by 25'. I wish I knew more regarding the technical aspects, but my audiophile learning curve is steep. For the amount money involved in either one of these speakers I want to make the best decision. I wish I could find somewhere I could have a demonstration, but I am unsure of where Polk's are sold in my area. Certainly want to avoid the box stores. Thanks in advance.

[Deleted User]

Bob,

I have approximately the same room size as you and have the LSIM 705's. given this room size, I would recommend powering them with am external amp. I found that using a receiver ( pioneer elite SC37 ) did not do the speakers any kind of justice.

The 705's are not as forward or bright sounding as the RTIA's. The 705s are very balanced in sound, from top to bottom and would recommend it over the other choice for music. I also feel that your LSI 9s are very laid back in sound whereas the 705s are more lively. They will still pair together much better than then RTIA.

If you could power the 705s with a tube amp, you will not regret it. It sounds very good.

Halen

Bob1947

Thanks for your comments. I was leaning toward the 705's, but since I already put out 1550 for the NAD it will be awhile before I look at tube amps, at least for now.

eclypse

705s!

Checkout Polks ebay store for cheaper prices.. could maybe get a better deal if you email them about it.

http://stores.ebay.com/polkaudiodirect

custopper30

+1 for the 705s!!!!

Bob1947

Thanks for everyone's input, The 705's it is. I can get them for around 2400 on polk ebay. Should be a major improvement over the 60's. Next questions is whether to bi-amp or leave them be. Also need ideas of what would be a good speaker cable and whether or not to use pin or banana's. Audioquest is a great company, but pricey.

zingo

Don't bi-amp when you can use a single good amp with the LSis. Good choice with those speakers, and used speaker cables are a good value.

eclypse

Yes totally forget about bi-amping. No point wont matter forgetaboutit.

Get a 200 watt+ amp for them and some decent speaker wire.

Lots of people like this option.. http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

Buy either them already made for you or just buy the bulk cable and make them yourself.

Bi-wire not needed either with the LSiM speakers.. but looks cool! haha.

WLDock

Sounds like a very nice upgrade in the works. Jazz combined with the 705's combined with some wine will complete the trilogy. Sounds like my type of fun.

sk88

Pin plugs has less contact area than banana, so I'd say use banana. If someone was to trip the speaker cable, banana would just get pulled loose. With pin, it would take down the speaker or the amp since it's screwed on tightly. If you have to place the speaker or your amp against the back wall, although not recommended, pin can save you space as it goes in vertically vs. banana goes in horizontally. It's much easier to plug/unplug banana.

custopper30

I like the banana a lot more. Just recently got them for my 70, and 50s and they make a big difference for plugging and playing

jbooker82

You could always get a pair of single biwire speaker cables. On the reciever / amp end there is 1 set of bananna plugs. Then on the speaker end there is two pair. That way you can remove the jumper straps and not need to make a speaker wire jumper.

jbooker82

I use AudioQuest Type 8 single biwire cables with my RTi's.

F1nut

Bob, why and how are you using rear speakers in a 2 channel rig?

That said, get the 705's and hook them up with MIT Shotgun series cables.

Dawgfish

You definitely made the right choice with the 705s. Your NAD integrated is a very good unit and should have no problems powering the 705s and sounding good in the process. As the others have stated, don't worry about bi-amping them right now. Run them on the NAD and get a good feel for what they can do. Speaker cable upgrades will also make a very good and noticable improvment (as will IC upgrades). There are a lot of good choices out there. Congrats and enjoy!

Bob1947

For no other reason than I already owned them so I thought just to connect them. I sometimes just run the fronts alone, sometimes both together, no specific reason. I am not into HT or surround sound. My NAD is a straight two channel amp and 95% of my listening is music. Hope that answers that question. Thanks for your comment. I already ordered terminated banana cables (5000ue) from Blue Jean. Perhaps someday I will research cables upgrades and find out more on whether it pays or not. Alot of opinion on this. For right now the 200 bucks for these speaker cables will work for me.