Initial impressions of my LSi/M 703's

nooshinjohn

The LSi/M 703's have been in my rig now for just a few days now, so this is very preliminary, but I wanted to toss a few impressions out there so that I may compare them to how they evolve in my rig.

As most know already, Polk has, from a quality standpoint, built the best speaker in their history with the new LSi/m's. The are simply beautiful to look at, and possess a very solid, no expense spared feel to them. Their sound is lush and detailed, never harsh or unpleasant in any way, and thus I am somewhat confused by them. I never expected a speaker of their size to sound as good as they do, but at the same time I cannot help but feel as if something is missing.

The only speaker I have to compare them to is the big modded 1.2TL's, so it should not be even close to a fair fight, but in many respects the little 703's come damn close. Center imaging is spot on, and they present very pleasing soundstage. Everything is there as it should be, but then again.... what am I missing???

Bass is surprisingly good, deep and powerful, tight with little port "chuffing". Mide are liquid and lush, again, very nice and airy. I spent some time with Dire Straits "Communique" on vinyl when it hits me.

I guess on of the things I am hearing is that the m's don't "attack" the music in the way he SDA's do. They are very good at getting into the details and following along, but they don't try to go after a note and own it with authority.

Very pleasing ad relaxing, never harsh, and that is their strength. The weakness is that they never really grab you and pull you in deep enough to convince me that they are not really there and what I hear is alive.

I could be wrong on that, as weekend listening will be more involved, but I am interested in the impressions of others as to what I can do to wake up that little beast within. It has got to be in there somewhere.

Nightfall

Because you prefer a large engrossing and authoritative sound vs micro perfect detail?

This is only a thought and I am not saying that vintage Polks are sloppy and lack detail.

nooshinjohn

I am not certain that's it Nightfall. The modded SRS have incredible micro detail.

I do realize the comparison being made here is a stupid one, and being made more for fun than anything else. The 703's do so much right that I want to explore what can be done to squeeze out just a bit more "punch" from them.

BlueFox

Considering these are monitor speakers, it "sounds" like they are doing a good job. You can't get blood from a turnip (whatever that means).

tonyb

Glad you like them John, but really....comparing to 1.2's ?? C'mon bud, you know there is no replacement for displacement.

cfrizz

Absolutely idiotic comparison. Get your hands on either the LSI 7s or 9s and then do a comparison. This one cannot and should not be taken seriously, and totally disregarded by everyone!

heiney9

Tell us how you really feel Cathy! LOL <insert smiley>. But, I agree it's not a fair comparison at all. The fact that John thinks they keep up in some area's must demonstrate how good they truly are..............for a large bookshelf type speaker. Nothing more nothing less.

H9

MikeC78

Holy Crap! Lol Take it easy on the poor guy! He just made a comparison with what he had available. Actually, its a pretty good one, since those small monitors held their own against something much larger.

Thanks for the subjective review, John. I appreciate it...

nooshinjohn

cfrizz wrote: »

Absolutely idiotic comparison. Get your hands on either the LSI 7s or 9s and then do a comparison. This one cannot and should not be taken seriously, and totally disregarded by everyone!

I am beginning to wonder if you should e disregarded. I said in both of my posts that this is a stupid comparison. The fact that the 703's sound as good as they do compared to the big guns is a testament to how good they really are, at least to my ears. The very reason I made the comparison in the first place is BECAUSE these little speakers seem to want to try so hard to keep up with their much bigger siblings.

I do not expect the 703's to be as good as, sound like or replace my SRS's and think everyone here understands that.

any suggestions from you guys on how I could coax a little more of a "forward" presentation from them? It could be that I have way too much tubey goodness I the chain. If I am able to find that little extra, I will be able to move the SDA's from the living room, please my wife and live happily ever after.

EndersShadow

John, post a pic of how they are setup. I.E. do you have them toed in, is your room a weird size, etc.....

Dawgfish

The thing I am wandering is room size. I have my 703s in a bedroom setup and they are every bit as engaging, involving, and have an ability to get me wrapped up in the music as any speaker I own or have owned. This includes my modded SRS 2s and the Maggies. Try them in a smaller room and I think you'll hear something totally different.

Btw my 703s are in a all tube setup also, but I might add I'm running a REL sub with mine. Maybe the sub is adding to little something extra from an involvement standpoint.

nooshinjohn

Room size is 12x18' with the speakers on the long wall. They are 30 inches off the floor 9 feet apart ad 9 inches off the wall, which is made of stone. I will work on some pics soon.

heiney9

It could be room size and position. As a crude analogy my 5B's sound like a different speaker in my office rig which is in a smaller bedroom vs. out in the front room on the main rig. Main rig is far better electronics but they sound sublime in the office rig and associated smaller, more intimate room. This could be part of it.

H9

cnh

That is certainly a possibility. I know my Monitor 5As and LSi-7s both sound better in a small to mid-sized space (10' x 17' x 8.5'). And are more diffuse in a much larger room!

Although, to be honest, not being a tad "forward" is not what I heard when I had my ears on some LSi-Ms? I found that series more forward than the LSis, or in other words, forward enough as I am not a fan of too forward (like Rti-As). So I'm not quite following what is "missing".

cnh

F1nut

I've heard the 703's in a very, very large room at CAF, a smaller room, my office and my decent sized living room. I thought they sounded much better in the very, very large room where I didn't notice the disconnected transition between the mids and highs like I did in my home. When I mentioned this disconnected transition to another member here who heard them at CAF he stated he heard that at the show. Perhaps that is what you are hearing John.

Conradicles

Any chance you can get them further from the back wall? I liked them much further out in the room personally when I had the demo. They are some sweet bookies for sure.

mantis

Comparing speakers of any kind is fun and should be looked at as much here. I've done some VS that are well out of each others class and sometimes you get surprised how the out classed speaker does.

I ran the LSIM703's with both Rotel and Pioneer Elite SC07. I have found in both cases they performed very well. After my demo with the 703's I really wanted to hear the 705's and 707's. I never got the chance.

I also took them into the shop and ran them on Cambridge and Bryston.In both cases they sounded fantastic. For the sheer hell of it I compared them to Magnepan 3.7's which is even more outrageous then in this compare. Honestly they did kinda well for being so out classed.

tonyb

mantis wrote: »

..... For the sheer hell of it I compared them to Magnepan 3.7's which is even more outrageous then in this compare. Honestly they did kinda well for being so out classed.

This statement reminds me of how audio sometimes can get crazy. While no doubt some things can offer up big improvements in the sound like speaker changes, most of what we talk about are smaller increment improvements. But....those smaller improvements when added up can make a drastic change in the sound. Audio is more so a sum of the whole rather than an individual piece of gear. That's when synergy too comes into play.

Saying that the LSIM's are close to the 1.2's or Maggies dictates that while audible, those differences aren't as drastic as one would expect, hence it's the other kids in the sandbox that when added together make up the big changes we seek. Just an observation is all, carry on....

Dawgfish

Regarding setup, I have mine setup 6' apart, and like Conradicles I have them 2' of the backwall. They are toe'd in about 7 degrees. I don't hear the disconnect between the highs and mids at all. They are very seemless to my ears. Could be me, could be setup, etc. Ymmv.

pretzelfisch

Dawgfish wrote: »

Regarding setup, I have mine setup 6' apart, and like Conradicles I have them 2' of the backwall. They are toe'd in about 7 degrees. I don't hear the disconnect between the highs and mids at all. They are very seemless to my ears. Could be me, could be setup, etc. Ymmv.

I have mine 6' apart in the office about 2" from the wall as wall with a slight toe in, and I have not notice a disconnect.
I had a pair in my living room about 9' apart with an aggressive toe in, I didn't care as much for the imaging they offered.

Face

nooshinjohn wrote: »

any suggestions from you guys on how I could coax a little more of a "forward" presentation from them? It could be that I have way too much tubey goodness I the chain. If I am able to find that little extra, I will be able to move the SDA's from the living room, please my wife and live happily ever after.

I assume you have at least two pairs of 12AX7's in your rig, how about swapping out the Psvanes with Gold Lions. Or for even more forwardness, EH.

nooshinjohn

DSkip wrote: »

John, have you considered putting them on the short wall, or is that an impossibility?

The short wall is out unfortunately, but I did tuck them in a bit closer together and that helped some.

I assume you have at least two pairs of 12AX7's in your rig, how about swapping out the Psvanes with Gold Lions. Or for even more forwardness, EH.

I am happy with the tubes in play right now. I want to get others to play with, but for now there are a couple other areas I need to look at first, a phono stage being the most important.

Face

nooshinjohn wrote: »

I am happy with the tubes in play right now. I want to get others to play with, but for now there are a couple other areas I need to look at first, a phono stage being the most important.

Ok, what about when you play SACD's, etc..? What are you using for a phono stage now?

jephdood

Can I see a picture of my babies? I miss them dearly.

nooshinjohn

Face wrote: »

Ok, what about when you play SACD's, etc..? What are you using for a phono stage now?

I have no phono stage at the moment, so my turntable comes through my SC-37. My SACD is the Pioneer Elite Pd-dj 9mkII, which at it's price, one of the best I have heard. That goes through the Dodd, and feeds signal to the Statement monoblocks.

nooshinjohn

jephdood wrote: »

Can I see a picture of my babies? I miss them dearly.

No. You sent her packing and she has a new man in her life now. GET OVER IT or I will report you for stalking!


I will put some up tomorrow.

madmax

I keep getting the feeling with mine that percussive sounds such a a rim shot or hitting sticks together creates a much stronger impact than would be expected given the center stage smoothness. I'm still getting mine set up though.