LSi with LSiM?

nomar116

I was excited to expand my Polk collection. I started with 2xLSiM703 bookshelf + 1xLSiM704 center. Its running off an Onkyo TXNR 6050. The room is pretty big, multi-purpose family room, I have some speaker wire pre-installed to the rears powering some not-impressive Yamahas that came with the house.

I recently purchased 2xLSI-15 towers and 1xLSI-C center. This was an impulse used buy. These are 4 ohm legacy speakers.

Are these speakers fairly timbre matched? Could the LSi and LSiM match well? I could put the 703 bookshelf as side, height or surround. I'm fine with upgrading wherever. If this is an awkward pairing then I could split them up and possibly use them in two rooms.

msg

The LSi and LSiM series do present differently. There's not really a way to say how much you'd notice any differences, though, without trying it for yourself.

It's recommended that at least your front stage be timbre matched. I've run different series Polk L and R with a LSiM706c. Specifically LSi7s, vintage and Legend series speakers. No obviously noticeable negatives toy ears. This also goes for other brands I've tried, currently Wharfedale, as an example.

You may notice it more with surround music, if that's a thing. Otherwise, adequate amplification and level matching will be of primary priority. The LSi series with some equipment can seem lifeless, requiring some volume to wake them up. With other gear, I found LSi7s to sound good even at low to modest volume.

LSiM703s are easier to drive and get sounding good than LSi series are in my limited experience.

Best experience I ever had with LSi7s was with Musical Fidelity integrated amps.

Emlyn

I agree the LSiM is going to be easier to drive with a receiver. The Onkyo model is listed as 4 ohm stable by the manufacturer but it won't produce a lot of power. Recommend giving it plenty of breathing room above and to the sides to limit heat build up and avoid running it too loud. If you don't have a subwoofer already, I'd recommend getting one and running the speakers as "small' in the setup menu.

I consider the LSiM line to be considerably better speakers all around than the LSi line. I would likely keep the LSiM speakers matched for the front soundstage and use the LSi15s somewhere else in a different system. The speakers are not too dissimilar in sound quality to be used together but appearance is important too.