Buying LSiM 705 sight unseen?

phoneisbusy

Hello Polk Forums,

Haven't posted in a long time but I'm been thinking of replacing my RT16's from long ago.
I've listened to a B&W 683 and a Sonus Faber Venere 2.5. The Venere is a reach for my budget but possible if I stretch the budget somewhat. I thought both speakers sounded good but favoured the Venere. I thought the Venere was a bit warmer sounding to my ears.
Also found a place with Monitor Audio speakers that I need to visit soon.

There's a good price for the LSiM's (for Canada at least) but I have to order sight unseen. Could I prevail upon the knowledge of the forum for their opinions of the three systems? The speakers will be driven by an entry level Pioneer Elite. I do have separate amps in storage if the Elite cannot handle it. I've heard the LSiM is less demanding then the original LSi speakers.

I know it comes down to my ears in the end but I would appreciate hearing other peoples opinions. I enjoyed my RT16s and it and the company are one of the reasons I am considering buying blind.

Thank you in advance

Dave

tonyb

Go for it, you won't be disappointed. I bought most all my speakers sight unseen, never had a rotten apple. Polk did good on this new series, you'll dig it.

tonyb

If he likes the Polk sound, he'll dig what the LSIM's do for that. Don't see any disappointments buying sight unseen. Listening first though is always the preferred method.

pyrocyborg

Well... If you have a Future Shop near you and if they don't have them in stock, buy them online. Test them at home, and if you're not happy, return them within 30 days to the nearest shop (they'll take it and put in on demo).

Hard to beat the current price in Canada... I should have waited a month: I cannot price match anymore. Guess I just "lost" 300 bucks + sales taxes ...

Anyways, your Pioneer Elite should do just fine as long as you're only using 2 channels and not cranking it up over 85 dB. They're easier to drive than LSi due to the fact that they're 8 ohm, but they're not sensitive at all, so they need a lot of power to fill a moderate or large room at 90-95 dB.

LSiM > B&W 600 series, hands down. The old LSi are a closer match to the 600 series. LSiM might be on par with the B&W CM series price-wise.

phoneisbusy

Well, I managed to sneak off to Futureshop to listen to the 705's and 703's. It wasn't the most idea listening room (One long shelf with a selector for the 703), but I finally got to listen to them! Best way I could describe them I would be they sounded like my present rt16 but clearer and more refined. I was very impressed by how they could fill the sound room. I toyed with the idea of 703's on stands and a SVS sub which would cost about the same as the 705's.

I eventually decided to go with the 705's though they sound a bit fuller and more coherent to my ears. It took a while for me to appreciate them though. Initially, the music was muddled and sound distorted. I then realized that the salesperson left the receiver in surround mode and the martin logan center was playing... doh!! Turned to direct stereo mode and much better!!! No more muddiness!!

I had to order the speakers as they did not have any in stock. To be honest, I think I like the Sonus Faber better but not $1000 more better. Looking forward to listen to a new set of speakers. I really hope they sound good in my room and with my equipment because I'm not sure I want to try and pack these up and return them...

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Dave

F1nut

Hi Dave.

WLDock

phoneisbusy wrote: »

... To be honest, I think I like the Sonus Faber better but not $1000 more better.

I really want to listen the the Venere 2.5 & 3.0 myself. I absolutely LOVE the cabinet design. If I ever build the Mini Statements kit I might have to build something inspired by that enclosure design.

Anyway, some Sonus Faber faithfuls give the Venere line a bad rap because they are made in China....Well, if we all could afford $25k-$120K speaker from Italy I think we would all have a set in one of our many homes. Lol! Anyway, seems like a nice set to listen to in that price class.....seems they did some cool research on the drivers. Interesting that you liked them best over the LSiM.

tophatjohnny

Looking forward to hearing your take on them. again, congrats!

pyrocyborg

phoneisbusy wrote: »

I had to order the speakers as they did not have any in stock. To be honest, I think I like the Sonus Faber better but not $1000 more better. Looking forward to listen to a new set of speakers. I really hope they sound good in my room and with my equipment because I'm not sure I want to try and pack these up and return them...

Dave

Well, I had to return one because I had a blown or defective tweeter. It wasn't as bad as I thought to pack it up and return it.

I'm sure these big boys will sound great with your equipment. I know nothing about your room, but it couldn't be worse than mine and they still sound better than anything I've heard in the $500-1000 price range per unit.

At Futureshop, the Polk LSiM are set in a strange way. Along a big shelf for the LSiM703, and in a big open area for the LSiM705 (with a couple of Martin Logan). There is no way you can get good sound... but most people will demo them at home anyways.

That being said, I was able to get the current sale price ($1000 each) by going to the store and having the salesman talk with the manager. I can tell you one thing: maybe these guys at FS don't know as much as those in specialised audio shops, but hell, their customer service is way better than anything else around here. I mean, I bought my LSiM705 two months ago and they price matched it, no question asked (well, I had to do those puppy eyes).

I'm happy today and I'm sure you'll be when you'll be unpacking these. What finish did you take?

phoneisbusy

WLDock wrote: »

I really want to listen the the Venere 2.5 & 3.0 myself. I absolutely LOVE the cabinet design. If I ever build the Mini Statements kit I might have to build something inspired by that enclosure design.

...
Interesting that you liked them best over the LSiM.

I think the environment for Venere had something to do with it a bit. The audio shop took the time to try to place and set up the Veneres for me. Smaller closed room with Naim components and fed with 24bit/96kz tracks from their media server.
Contrast that with big room with no discernable room treatments and constant 'GGOOOOAAALLL' commercials from outside TV's blaring..

Ended up with the black/mahogany finish as it would go best the rest of the furniture.

Dave

Hi Jesse!!

F1nut

I prefer the Veneres over the higher end SF, mostly due to their voicing.

That proves you and I prefer a different sound. I love me some top end SF's, smooth as silk with the voice of an angel.

phoneisbusy

DSkip wrote: »

It wasn't just the setting. The Venere are the most exciting sounding speakers I've heard from SF, and do so without being fatiguing. The 2.5 and 3.0 are excellent, but I think the 2.5 is the sweet spot. I wasn't as impressed with the 1.5 and 2.0... Their sound did not seem as balanced as the towers. I prefer the Veneres over the higher end SF, mostly due to their voicing. Build quality is not as great as the bigger boys (or older models) due to them being produced in China, but they are still solidly built for their price.

I'd take the Venere towers over the 705/707 all day, but the 703 bests the 1.5 and 2.0.

I did like the Venere better but the LSiMs on sale fit my budget better. The Polks at regular price were the same as the Veneres and I would have leaned towards them. I doubt Venere's go on sale unless I'm lucky to get a demo price which didn't sound likely when I talked to the audio store.

Excited about new speakers after almost 2 decades... Speakers shipped, waiting for them to arrive.

Dave

Mikey081057

appeals to every sense

Sound great look great they probably even taste, feel and smell great

WLDock

Those Aida are quite the spectacle in person. They are just overwhelming... even if one had the means to afford such speakers room setup would be critical! Not just placement and treatments but...DECOR! The room would of course need to be large but would need to have some style and flair as those sculpted behemoths demand it.

I almost feel the same about the look of the Venere...they would be the focal point of my room. We have possibly a few things that can match the style....well...maybe?



Man would both of those finishes look out of place in many of the casual country decors that are common in some parts. They would look right at home in a modern room lik this one here:


The sound would need to be lively to keep up with the looks.

xsmi

I'm sorry to derail this thread but I've heard the Aida's i both small and large room and although from a visual stand point I would prefer the large room. But I'm here to tell you, they sounded FANTASTIC even in the small room. If money was no object, these are MINE!

WLDock

Hard to believe that...but there are no absolutes sometimes. Still, that is a lot of speaker for a small room. I would bet the Aida could throw out as much sound and presence as a jazz quartet. No problem overwhelming a small room in a home. Hell, I've heard that size group overwhelm a small jazz club! At $120K...give them all that they need. Toys for the heavy hitten' movers and shakers!

xsmi

Don't get me wrong, the volume in the smaller room wasn't near the volume in the larger room. But the level of detail, clarity, no mid-bass artifacts, soundstage and involvement did not go away in the smaller room with the lesser volume. Their sound in both rooms were EXACTLY what is want in a loudspeaker.

RamZet

The B&W 683 is more of a HT in my book. I bet you could get a nice used pair of CM8s online or from a dealer.
I have not had the chance to listen to the Polks yet but based on this forum and every review they should be great for 2ch music and HT.
You can always mail them back if you hate them ( pay for shipping and restocking).