I want to upgrade to LSi15's ???

PRC

I am thinking about upgrading from my RTi10's to LSi15's. The 10's are to bright for me. I am trying to find a more musical, balanced, three dimensional speaker without spending a lot of money. Does anyone have the 15's that can offer some impute on how they sound?

okiepolkie

Take a look at this thread to get a little more info: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34196&highlight=lsi+rti

Some of the things you are faced with will be:

What will you be driving them with?
Do you have a separate amplifier? Get a separate amplifier.
Yes the LSi's sound more musical to most listeners.
If you have a receiver without pre-outs, then you probably won't want to make the change, unless you want to spend a lot of money


There are more, but that is the jist of it.

I like the lsi's more than the rti's, but that is my opinion.

Hope this helps.


Zach

wingnut4772

The
LSIs are great but when you consider the costs of amplfication etc. they get very pricey.

audiobliss

PRC wrote:

I am trying to find a more musical, balanced, three dimensional speaker without spending a lot of money.

Though the LSi15's are rather expensive, at least from my point of view, they're not unreasonably priced for what they offer. However, their price goes deeper than the purchase price of the speakers themselves. Since they're nominally 4ohm speakers, they're much more demanding and require stout amplification. Better speakers and better amplification will probably make the differences in sources and cables more appearant, also.

McLoki

PRC - if you want to come over and listen to the 15's sometime, you are always welcome. If you want to, give Opus a call we can try out his rotel pre or you can bring your tube pre.

Just wanted to offer. I love the sound of the 15's, but have not heard any of the RTi line in a home environment. I know the LSi's would never be described as brite though...

Michael

Edit - removal of confusing pronouns.

audiobliss

McLoki wrote:

I know they would never be described as brite though...

It seems I've heard them described as bright more than a few times on here before.

Ricardo

Michael,

So you've got your 15's......can you give us a couple of sentences on how they compare with your 7's AND your 1B's????

McLoki

audiobliss wrote:

It seems I've heard them described as bright more than a few times on here before.

really.... well I guess we all hear/describe things differently. I would certainly never call them brite, but I guess that is just me. I am pretty sensitive to brite speakers (I think) and the LSi's do not bother me in the least on any setup I have heard them on.

So you've got your 15's......can you give us a couple of sentences on how they compare with your 7's AND your 1B's????

I just got them hooked up. (not alot of critical listening yet)

Compared to the 7's.

they are about 5-6' apart where the 7's were only about 3 feet apart. Both set to small with an 80hz crossover (fixed crossover point in my AVR) also my center channel is currently not hooked up. I expect to get a shelf for it to go on my new TV this week, but for now I am running with a phantom center. Even with all the changes, I can definately say that the 15's are much more full sounding than the 7's were. I really was not expecting much of a change with them both set to small and being used mainly for movies - but there really is a quite noticable difference between them. The 15's have much more presence than the 7's did in my large room. It was a definate good upgrade for me.

Compared to the 1b's.

My 1'bs do not have the upgraded tweeters in them. Due to that, I prefer the sound of the LSi series to the 1b's by a long shot. The 1b's are brite and not nearly as detailed when directly comparing them. The sound stage of course goes to the SDA's because they tolerate being close to a wall and close together very well and still project a HUGE soundstage. Due to well documented WAF issues, they will not be replacing the LSi15's anytime in the very near future. (for what it is worth - I have heard that the replacement tweeters are a very close match for the vifa in the LSi line and it transforms the 1b's in a true contender against most modern speakers under $2500 or so. On the down side, they don't do a damn thing for the WAF issues.) If I had a dedicated room for a theater, I would get the 1'bs and upgrade the tweeters in a heart beat. Since I don't and they have to go in my living room, the LSi's are MUCH more WAF friendly.

Anyway -

better than the 7's for low-mid bass (above 80hz) in my room. Soundstage I cannot compare since my 7's were so close together. (will try and do a better test later though)

better than the 1b's in treble and highs. Soundstage has not been compared yet, but for HT uses, I bet the 1b's would be really hard to beat especially with my placement issues.

A better description/comparison with be forthcoming in another thread when I have had more time to compare them get my theater back up and rolling.

Michael

wingnut4772

The last thing I would descibe my 15s as is bright.

audiobliss

I was referring to the Rti series, and then only to comments I've heard other people say. I personally can't say one way or the other.

McLoki

audiobliss wrote:

I was referring to the Rti series, and then only to comments I've heard other people say. I personally can't say one way or the other.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I have heard the RTi's described as bright as well. I was referring to the LSi's not being described that way...

Michael

audiobliss

Wups, I see now; my misunderstanding. My bad.

heiney9

audiobliss wrote:

It seems I've heard them described as bright more than a few times on here before.

I'm with McLoki on this....not sure I've ever heard them refered to as Bright. I'm sure somewhere someone has.....but for a great majority of what I've read always refered to as smooth, non-fatiguing, just right.

H9

Joey_V

LSi15 are very musical but you will have to dig deep into your music and go separates if you want to unleash them. The LSi series, being 4 ohms, tend to cost more than the pure face value of the speakers alone.

audiobliss

heiney9 wrote:

I'm with McLoki on this....not sure I've ever heard them refered to as Bright. I'm sure somewhere someone has.....but for a great majority of what I've read always refered to as smooth, non-fatiguing, just right.

H9

I'm not sure I've ever heard the Rti series referred to as being 'musical' speakers.

heiney9

audiobliss wrote:

I'm not sure I've ever heard the Rti series referred to as being 'musical' speakers.

Bliss...I was speaking of the LSI's not Rti's. Also I posted before I realized you had corrected your post. Oh well.......on with the confusion

H9

dorokusai

I've heard a couple LSi15's that were highly educated in my travels.

PRC

This is great stuff. Apparently I am not the first person to ask this question. My Jolida (1501) is a hybrid. Tube front with SS amp. I am comfortable saying it is accurately rated at 100 wpc, or pretty close. I does not have a pre-out, so that is all the power for now. Do you feel this is not enough power to drive the LSi's?

okiepolkie wrote:

Take a look at this thread to get a little more info: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34196&highlight=lsi+rti

Some of the things you are faced with will be:

What will you be driving them with?
Do you have a separate amplifier? Get a separate amplifier.
Yes the LSi's sound more musical to most listeners.
If you have a receiver without pre-outs, then you probably won't want to make the change, unless you want to spend a lot of money

There are more, but that is the jist of it.

I like the lsi's more than the rti's, but that is my opinion.

Hope this helps.

Zach