Tyler Demo????

polkyphil38

Well people finally got to hear some of Tyler Acoustics speakers today. For the first time, I got to actually hear a Vifa ring dome tweeter. I must say I was very impressed. It is easy to understand why Polk uses this same tweeter in the Lsi series. It was extremely smooth, very detailed and accurate, w/o any kind hint of harshness. Listening fatigue never set in on me. The Freedom F-2's uses the same Vifa tweeter. IMHO, the F-2's are better over all than the Paradigm Studio 20's. Ty uses 1" thick MDF cabinets and I can tell you they are rock solid as well as being quite heavy. The Vifa tweeter has better high frequency extension than the Studio 20's tweeter and was a little smoother as well. However, I DID NOT do an A/B test. This observation with respect to the Studio 20's is based strictly from memory. Keep in mind though, that I do know the Paradigm product quite well especially the Studio 20's. I am sure the Lsi9's sound great too. Too bad I have no way to demo them. Have a great evening.
Phil

PS You can read more about my experience today over at audioreview.com under "speakers".

Early B.

Nice review. Could you determine whether or not the speakers had a small sweet spot?

polkyphil38

Well did not really look for a sweet spot. But, what i heard was unbelievable. The Linbrook Sigs just blew me away. The F-2's were nice but not near the level of the Linbrooks. Like I said, I understand why Polk uses the Vifa tweeter in the Lsi line. So natural and smooth sounding. Never harsh or too bright just perfectly balanced sound. No listening fatigue either. But, I will say this the Seas Millenium tweeter is signifiacantly better than the Vifa. Trust me on that one. Well have a good day.
Phil

polkyphil38

Early B. I noticed you have an Ascend cmt-340c. How good is it? Is it really as good as everyone says? How does it compare to the Rti series.??? How does it compare to the Csi3 or the Csi5???? Please be as specific as you can. It would much be appreciated.
Phil

Early B.

Originally posted by polkyphil38
Early B. I noticed you have an Ascend cmt-340c. How good is it? Is it really as good as everyone says? How does it compare to the Rti series.??? How does it compare to the Csi3 or the Csi5???? Please be as specific as you can. It would much be appreciated.
Phil

My Ascend replaced the Csi40. Quite frankly, I felt the Ascend to be a better speaker. That's saying a lot because the Csi40 is an awesome speaker. I bought the Ascend because of the rave reviews of Ascend products. I wanted to know what all the buzz was about. The Ascend CMT-340C is a bit more detailed and not as bright as the Csi40. I prefer a somewhat laid back sound. It certainly wasn't a night and day difference, but enough of one to warrant the "upgrade," IMO (after selling the Csi40, the Ascend cost me about $100). Keep in mind that if you like a speaker on the "bright" side for HT, then the Polk Csi series will probably work for you. But both speakers do an exceptional job of reproducing voices and are great for music, especially the deepness of male voices in some DVDs. The Csi40 is larger, heavier and looks nicer, though.

Not sure if I want to upgrade the center channel again. I'm sure they're out there, but I haven't heard one yet that's good enough to replace it. I would like to try the Soliloquy center channel to see if timbre matching with my fronts would make a tremendous difference, but I'd probably have to shell out more dollars for the center channel than I paid for my fronts!! I ain't gonna do it.

Hope this helps.

polkyphil38

Originally posted by Zero
Thanks for sharing your impressions Polky Phil.

I just want to add something;

One thing many people do not know, is that there are about 40 different models of the ring radiator. I think this actually does more harm than good, to a company like Vifa - considering that from a cosmetic standpoint, there is virtually no difference between any of them and its nearly impossible to tell without prying the info from the manufactorer.

Sorry for the detour, I just felt this the right time to mention it.

Fair Enough. However, I know which one it is because I asked. XT25 Vifa Tweeter and have read on many occasions that it is the same driver Polk is using as well as the Rockets over at av123.com. My point is this, I can see why XT25 is used quite often in more expensive designs because it performed quite well. Lots of detail, yet never sounding too bright or harsh. Very non-fatiguing, open and spacious. One of my favs. But your point is well taken. Have a great evening.
Phil