Polk LSi15 vs LSiM705

Joey_V

Between the two - for some reason I think the 15 is prettier.... and obviously cheaper.

Is the sound between the two really that big of a difference?

I'm just looking to make sure I have some Polk in my house. Looking to put in the family room and this will be the work horse of the house. Would probably play either TV or music or the random movie about 10 hours a day.

I have had the LSi7/9 and heard the 15s many times in the past. Never had the experience with the newer LSiM.

hochpt21

705's sound fuller and are definitely better, but I will say that I wasn't "blown-away" when I upgraded from the 15's to the 705's.

They are a very similar sounding speaker IMO, but with a bit more top to bottom cohesion.

mikeyb128

hochpt21 wrote: »

705's sound fuller and are definitely better, but I will say that I wasn't "blown-away" when I upgraded from the 15's to the 705's.

They are a very similar sounding speaker IMO, but with a bit more top to bottom cohesion.

I agree, I wasn't blown away either. In my opinion the 705 is prettier. But the 15 is still gorgeous as well. The 15's have been in my house for over 4 years for a reason.

Joey_V

Gotcha... wouldn't expect to be blown away since the LSi15 were already very good. I wonder if I need to see the 705 in person and maybe they look better in person than in pictures.

mantis

Thats been the issue since the LSI's where released all those years ago. Hardly no where to go and listen. They don't make it into higher end shops and the lower end shops they are to high end go figure.
I've owned the LSI15's and yes they are a good quality speaker for the money. I truly believe the LSIM's in general are a better sounding more balanced speaker. They have more balance overall where as I always felt the LSI's where missing something and is why I got rid of them all those years ago.
I have read the Woofer upgrade is well worth it and really makes a huge improvement overall. I never got to hear this upgrade and maybe if I knew about it I might still own them as they did do some things very right.
I had the LSM703's here for a while and they are great speakers. I would love to hear the 705 and 707 models side by side next to my Definitive Technology Mythos ST's which I find to be my perfect speaker. I love them to death and find no flaws in them.
Which is odd for me as I like to get new speakers every few years. These have been here way past that point and I have yet to put my finger on a pair that made me desire them more then the ST's. Maybe the 705's or 707's could do that but without hearing them I can't say that especially since I liked my ST's over the 703's with what they where able to do.
Good luck with your adventure, I can't ever buy speakers based on looks or online unless I have already listened to them a few times.

F1nut

The 705 is the better speaker, nicely balanced sound. The 15's bass is slow and boomy, hence the need for the woofer upgrade.

mantis

I'd love to hear them with the woofer upgrade. I have heard a few members talk about how much of a better speaker it is afterwards, F1nut have you heard them with the upgrade?

hochpt21

I did the woofer upgrade on the 15's. Easy and cheap. Made a solid difference. 15's with the woofer mod are a really great bargain.

The 705's are a better speaker for sure. So it depends on the budget. If you are STRICTLY looking value.... I would take the 15's. If you can afford either.... I would say 705's.

EndersShadow

hochpt21 wrote: »

I did the woofer upgrade on the 15's. Easy and cheap. Made a solid difference. 15's with the woofer mod are a really great bargain.

The 705's are a better speaker for sure. So it depends on the budget. If you are STRICTLY looking value.... I would take the 15's. If you can afford either.... I would say 705's.

I also personally prefer the looks of the 15's. The ebony looks nice on the 705's but the cherry looks bad IMHO....

But thats me. My LSi system will never leave my house because dollar for dollar its really hard to beat em..

Nightfall

EndersShadow wrote: »

My LSi system will never leave my house because dollar for dollar its really hard to beat em..

You like them more than SDA's/RTA's?

[Deleted User]

Newer is not always better. The LSIM line, in this case, is superior in every way. The previous gen, I found to be too laid back and bloated everywhere else. Sure, it could be upgraded and pricing points had to be met. That is not my problem, it is what it is.

For the pricing point, I would still purchase the previous gen over almost anything. If you want refinement across the board, the LSIM is where it's at (pricing point is a little higher but a weekend of arcade games for you). Hehe. Joey, do yourself a favor and listen to Paul's 703s setup. If I still had a pair of 705s around, I would show you too.

You have access locally. Pair it up with an Ampino and you are set. If you don't like that setup... I have been wanting to get another pair back at my place and I will take it off your hands, guaranteed. It would be nice to have music access in every room of the house.

Cheers man.

Halen

F1nut

mantis wrote: »

F1nut have you heard them with the upgrade?

I have not, took Doro's word for it and since we hear things pretty much the same I knew his impression was solid.

Toolfan66

The LSi's never gave me wood, they just seemed lacking, I have never heard them with the woofer upgrade..

Now the 705's and 707's?? I love em!!!

Toolfan66

Toolfan66 wrote: »

The LSi's never gave me wood, they just seemed lacking, I have never heard them with the woofer upgrade.. I wouldn't trade my RTiA9's for the 15's..

Now the 705's and 707's?? I love em!!!

EndersShadow

Nightfall wrote: »

EndersShadow wrote: »

My LSi system will never leave my house because dollar for dollar its really hard to beat em..

You like them more than SDA's/RTA's?

Hard to quantify, but I will try.... I've heard Johns 2.3TL's with LSi 15's surounds and it sounded DAMN good...... I've NOT heard my RTA's against em because well I dont have a timbre matched center.....

I'd say the SDA's are better, but they are also picky about setup , are not that WAF friendly, so they wouldn't fly in my house. The LSi's aren't as picky about placement, look quite nice, and are much smaller. Both have upgrade paths to make them sound better and maybe my LSi's will end up with fully upgraded xovers just so I know what I have and since they wont ever go away I can not worry about losing my a$$ on the upgrades when I go to sell. However the SDA's will TROUNCE the LSi's for music if thats ALL your doing. The RTA's are going to sound a bit better than the LSI's but again, the WAF isnt as good, and they dont make surrounds so your not timber matched.....

For me my LSi's are in my HT. I either am watching regular TV, a movie or listening to music on them. When I'm listening to music its with my 2 year old and we are running around dancing and whatnot so I wouldn't say I'm worried about critical listening....

But I can listen to em all day without fatigue and while I'd love some more zing from them, I also appreciate the lack of fatigue from hours on end of listening and at loud volumes. I have also done the sub upgrade, and am using a AVR with room correction, so there is that as well.....

I know the RTi A's are the HT line, but without putting them direct against my LSi's I cant speculate there....

Toolfan66

It all comes down to setup, gear, preference, and of course budget.. I could get the 705's and not be impressed with them in my room with my gear as I was when I heard them...

PSOVLSK

I had the 15's with both the woofer and XO upgrade and the 705 is still the superior speaker in my opinion. That's no knock on the 15's because I loved mine, I just think the 705 is better...and I easier to drive if I'm not mistaken.

Joey_V

Great comments from the bunch, thank you.

Makes my decision easy then.

EndersShadow

PSOVLSK wrote: »

I had the 15's with both the woofer and XO upgrade and the 705 is still the superior speaker in my opinion. That's no knock on the 15's because I loved mine, I just think the 705 is better...and I easier to drive if I'm not mistaken.

Its listed as a 8 ohm load... but well.......

---

Impedance measurements (also performed with the Clio FW) indicate that these speakers may be a little tough to drive for inexpensive receivers. All have a fairly low measured nominal impedance of 5 ohms. The tower is the toughest load, hitting a minimum impedance of 2.8 ohms at a low frequency of 66 Hz with a fairly reactive phase angle of -32°. That’s enough to cause some inexpensive receivers to shut down if you crank up the volume, but I think a typical mid-to-high-end receiver (say, $1,500+) or any good stereo amp should handle it fine. The center and surround present a somewhat easier load. The center hits minimum impedance of 3.5 ohms at 9.5 kHz/+4° phase angle, while the surround’s minimum is 4.0 ohms at 7.2 kHz/+1° phase angle. Fortunately, all of the speakers deliver roughly average sensitivity, so they usually won’t be pulling more than a few watts from your receiver or amp.

http://www.soundandvision.com/content/test-report-polk-audio-lsim-speaker-system-page-3#VQA8FhLgKCB2AuDE.99

---

I estimated the LSiM703's B-weighted voltage sensitivity as 87dB/2.83V/m, 1dB lower than the specification. The electrical impedance (fig.1, solid trace) remained between 4 and 7 ohms over most of the audioband, but dropped to 3 ohms at 125Hz. There is also an awkward combination of 4 ohms and –47° phase angle at 90Hz, a frequency where music can have considerable energy. Polk specifies the LSiM703 as being "compatible with 8 ohm outputs," but I suggest that a good 4 ohm–rated amplifier or receiver would work best with this speaker.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/polk-lsiiim703-loudspeaker-measurements#jSuHTcSSjLQsGfrE.99

skrol

I don't have experience with the LSiM705 but I do with the LSi15. I love the mid through highs of the 15's. Even with the woofer upgrade, the bass can be tricky. They need lots of space from the walls to not sound boomy and need a good amp driving them. I'd say my HCA-1000A is just adequate.

Beside the woofer upgrade, I have read good experiences with XO upgrades for the 15's.

Upstatemax

I did really liked my LSi's, but after getting my ears on some different speakers they are a flawed speaker...

As others have said, balance is the biggest issue with the LSi series, and it's not just the towers, it's across the entire lineup (LSi 7's might be the only exception). top end is too laid back for the bloated bottom end, I found midrange could easily get drowned out as well.

If the LSiM offers better balance, it's certainly worth your attention. However, for a lot less money, the Focal 836/826 V's are worth a serious look. I find these to be excellent speakers. Great balance, detailed and a great sound stage. Plus they look really nice, IMO. There is a very good reason I went back and picked up a second set of the bookshelves...

http://www.musicdirect.com/m-853-focal.aspx

I know you said Polk, but I can't help but stir the pot...

mikeyb128

Upstatemax wrote: »

I did really liked my LSi's, but after getting my ears on some different speakers they are a flawed speaker...

As others have said, balance is the biggest issue with the LSi series, and it's not just the towers, it's across the entire lineup (LSi 7's might be the only exception). top end is too laid back for the bloated bottom end, I found midrange could easily get drowned out as well.

If the LSiM offers better balance, it's certainly worth your attention. However, for a lot less money, the Focal 836/826 V's are worth a serious look. I find these to be excellent speakers. Great balance, detailed and a great sound stage. Plus they look really nice, IMO. There is a very good reason I went back and picked up a second set of the bookshelves...

http://www.musicdirect.com/m-853-focal.aspx

I know you said Polk, but I can't help but stir the pot...

I've been wanting to listen to those speakers for quite some time. I love the way they look.

Joey_V

Basically the issues of the LSi seem to be the balance issue....

Emlyn

My favorite in the old LSi line was the LSi9, which did not have the same bloat problem as the 15 or 25 models. The cabinet construction on the new LSiM line is one of the reasons the balance is better. I hated the side firing woofers on the LSi speakers.

Regarding Focal speakers, to me those are significantly different in presentation. Clear, somewhat bright in comparison because of the different tweeter.

I would say the LSIM line now matches Focal in overall performance at their price point, but considerably below their Electra line. They are quite different sounding speakers.

Joey_V

Electras are nice man