Upgrade from Lsi9

cdn5003

Looking for some advice on upgrading from Lsi9's. The 9's sound fantastic and I'm in no rush to upgrade but was wondering what brands I should get my ears on when I get the chance. Probably interested in floorstanding or larger bookshelf. Budget is flexible, looking in the 1,500 range new or used.

Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, Dynaudio, what else?

I really like the Lsi tweeter and would want something similar, detailed but not fatiguing, maybe a touch more forward. Music being more important than movie performance. What have some of you moved on to?

cfrizz

Take a serious listen to Dynaudio. If I decide to upgrade, those will be my next speakers.

honestaquarian

Bowers & Wilkins (B & W)
Paradigm
KEF
Sunfire
Legacy
Thiel
Wilson
Mordaunt Short
Vienna Acoustics
PSB
Focal

mikeyb128

cdn5003 wrote: »

Looking for some advice on upgrading from Lsi9's. The 9's sound fantastic and I'm in no rush to upgrade but was wondering what brands I should get my ears on when I get the chance. Probably interested in floorstanding or larger bookshelf. Budget is flexible, looking in the 1,500 range new or used.

Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, Dynaudio, what else?

I really like the Lsi tweeter and would want something similar, detailed but not fatiguing, maybe a touch more forward. Music being more important than movie performance. What have some of you moved on to?

Seriously consider the focal Aria series. A ton of detail, nice tight bass, their new tweeter uses trickle down technology from their berillium series. I find the Aria laid back but definitely more forward than lsi. You will love them, you c an listen for hours without fatigue. I went from modded lsi 15 to Aria 926, there is a ton of value for the money In the Aria line. They are blowing out the walnut finishes right now for a steal.

stangman67

I'm tuned in for this. I am looking for speakers in the same price arena. Thinking Lsi m703's just because I'm a poll loyalist and the speakers seem to do just fine.

Upstatemax

Look seriously at Focal. Even the lower end Focal stuff blows the LSi's out of the water.

IMO.

I have the V series that I moved to after the LSi's and they are awesome. The Aria series mentioned above are even better.

mikeyb128

stangman67 wrote: »

I'm tuned in for this. I am looking for speakers in the same price arena. Thinking Lsi m703's just because I'm a poll loyalist and the speakers seem to do just fine.

I Have Owned only Polk for the last 12 years. Just recently I've branched out to other brands and I regret not doing it earlier. I still own Polk speakers by the way. But for the price of lsim there is way better out there in the same price bracket.

PolkieMan

mikeyb128 wrote: »

stangman67 wrote: »

I'm tuned in for this. I am looking for speakers in the same price arena. Thinking Lsi m703's just because I'm a poll loyalist and the speakers seem to do just fine.

I Have Owned only Polk for the last 12 years. Just recently I've branched out to other brands and I regret not doing it earlier. I still own Polk speakers by the way. But for the price of lsim there is way better out there in the same price bracket.

I am sure Matt P. would be saddened to hear such opinions but is he even around anymore?

nhhiep

I replaced my lsim 703 with jbl 530 and very happy with it.

mikeyb128

PolkieMan wrote: »

mikeyb128 wrote: »

stangman67 wrote: »

I'm tuned in for this. I am looking for speakers in the same price arena. Thinking Lsi m703's just because I'm a poll loyalist and the speakers seem to do just fine.

I Have Owned only Polk for the last 12 years. Just recently I've branched out to other brands and I regret not doing it earlier. I still own Polk speakers by the way. But for the price of lsim there is way better out there in the same price bracket.

I am sure Matt P. would be saddened to hear such opinions but is he even around anymore?

He shouldn't worry. I'm on the lookout for some SDAs, I've got to see what all the fuss is about plus I thoroughly enjoyed building my vr3 crossovers. I am in continual need of something to tinker with.

Polkie2009

How do the Focal Aria 906's compare to the Polk's 703's?

dromunds

Opinions of 703's still the same at half price with F&F? Is there still way better out there at that price?

mikeyb128

Polkie2009 wrote: »

How do the Focal Aria 906's compare to the Polk's 703's?

Haven't heard the 703's to compare. I listened to the 906 when I bought my 926. They imaged as good as focal is know for. I found them to lack bass, I did listen to them in a large room, the dealer admitted they weren't optimal for that room, They normally demo towers there.

stangman67

I just picked up the 703's at 750 shipped for the pair from adorama. I highly doubt any better could be had at the price. No brainier for me

cdn5003

What about GoldenEar? I can demo some Triton's locally, 7 or 5 might be nice.

Folded ribbon tweeters on them

steveinaz

Ready to step out of the box? http://www.fritzspeakers.com/

Upstatemax

PolkieMan wrote: »

I am sure Matt P. would be saddened to hear such opinions but is he even around anymore?

This happens when you sell your company...

Fact is, the cat is out of the bag, people want GOOD audio at reasonable prices. Manufacturers have figured out the Polk method, make good audio accessible and people will buy it and most likely grow their passion.

A lot of us here dipped their toes into the audio world with Polk. Some enjoy staying in the Polk audio home, and thats fine. Some want to branch out and hear what else is out there, and that's also fine.

K_M

mikeyb128 wrote: »

cdn5003 wrote: »

Looking for some advice on upgrading from Lsi9's. The 9's sound fantastic and I'm in no rush to upgrade but was wondering what brands I should get my ears on when I get the chance. Probably interested in floorstanding or larger bookshelf. Budget is flexible, looking in the 1,500 range new or used.

Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, Dynaudio, what else?

I really like the Lsi tweeter and would want something similar, detailed but not fatiguing, maybe a touch more forward. Music being more important than movie performance. What have some of you moved on to?

Seriously consider the focal Aria series. A ton of detail, nice tight bass, their new tweeter uses trickle down technology from their berillium series. I find the Aria laid back but definitely more forward than lsi. You will love them, you c an listen for hours without fatigue. I went from modded lsi 15 to Aria 926, there is a ton of value for the money In the Aria line. They are blowing out the walnut finishes right now for a steal.

Compared to the Lsi15, what exactly did you find Better/different?

mikeyb128

Huge soundstage, great midrange, tight bass,the tweeter uses same tech as the berillium but magnesium/aluminum instead of berillium. Very efficient, at 92dbs. Easy to drive, they sound better to my ears in every aspect. I do regret selling my lsi15 though, I loved them that much.

I was listening to the arias yesterday, didn't realize I had both pb ultras off, the bass was that nice in my room. The flax drivers add a nice earthy color to them. Love them with the grills off. Focals are seriously good speakers for the money.

K_M

mikeyb128 wrote: »

Huge soundstage, great midrange, tight bass,the tweeter uses same tech as the berillium but magnesium/aluminum instead of berillium. Very efficient, at 92dbs. Easy to drive, they sound better to my ears in every aspect. I do regret selling my lsi15 though, I loved them that much.

I was listening to the arias yesterday, didn't realize I had both pb ultras off, the bass was that nice in my room. The flax drivers add a nice earthy color to them. Love them with the grills off. Focals are seriously good speakers for the money.

Cool! Well, may have to look at checking them out or just buying some and seeing what we think!
We have too many speakers now, need to thin the herd some, but it is in some ways a fun hobby to try more and more!

With that endorsement, will seek them out for sure!
I seriously like the Lsi15, although I have heard "Better/different", but there is something alluring about their sound, that makes them stay. Not sure exactly what, but sometimes "Better", is not always as "Loveable" if that makes sense.

SugarmillMan

It seems to me like you can reach a point of diminishing returns with more expensive speakers.
You can spend two to thee times what your Polk LSi9 system cost but do you expect to receive "two to three times" better sound quality? Probably more like a small increase in quality but certainly not to justify twice the expense.
If you're just going for the name or some other reason it might be worth it but not for everyone.

SugarmillMan

One more thought....Personally, I think you're money would be put to better use in upgrading your receiver/ amplifiers. More bang for the buck.

tonyb

SugarmillMan wrote: »

It seems to me like you can reach a point of diminishing returns with more expensive speakers.
You can spend two to thee times what your Polk LSi9 system cost but do you expect to receive "two to three times" better sound quality? Probably more like a small increase in quality but certainly not to justify twice the expense.
If you're just going for the name or some other reason it might be worth it but not for everyone.

I might disagree with that respectfully. Speakers are probably the biggest contribution to sound quality, certainly not the only though either.

K_M

SugarmillMan wrote: »

One more thought....Personally, I think you're money would be put to better use in upgrading your receiver/ amplifiers. More bang for the buck.

I have to disagree here also.

Speakers and Room acoustics together have a Bigger Bang, than anything else.

Amps do not literally "Sound the same" but once to a certain power point and quality, there is not nearly the room for improvement as with the room and the speaker itself.

Upstatemax

I'll also agree with speakers being the largest influence.

Also, a lot of people make amp/receiver choices based on what speakers they are running.

Just ask Joey, he is single handedly supporting the freight/shipping market recently!

cdn5003

SugarmillMan- I agree that I am starting to reach the diminishing returns of speakers.

I disagree that my money would be better spent on electronics. Music Hall DAC, Dared SL-2000/Parasound2100 pre, Parasound 2125 amp, Audioquest cables. Which of those should be replaced? Any significant upgrade here would be very costly.

For now I am going to get some room treatments in place. I am sure that these will help with my system. It will be fun to play around positioning them.

DSkip- Any reason in particuar to not consider GoldenEar for music? I listened to the Triton 5's last week and liked the ribbon HVFR tweeter. A bit brighter than Lsi but not like Rti which I find a little too bright with music. I'll try to get a home demo with them to see how they perform in a normal room. Store setups are always far from ideal

Any advice is appreciated

adb3da

You might be able to find some Dynaudio Focus 160s for that price. Keep an eye out on Audiogon. I'll echo the Focal recommendations too. Electra 907 Be if you can find them but they don't hit the used market too often.