Bang & Olefson (B&O) vs. Polk vs. B&W vs. Bose vs. etc.

crazy

So we've had several discussion about what're great speakers and what's absolute crap (Bose). But I'm curious to know how folks rate them against each other. What if there was a world heavy weight title - who would win? How would Bose compare to say the Polk Monitors series etc.

So here goes ...

Round 1

Bose Lifestyle vs. Polk Audio Monitor Series

Round 2

B&W vs. B&O

Round 3

B&W 6 series vs. Polk Audio RTi

Round 4

Polk Audio LSi vs. B&W 804s

RuSsMaN

How stupid.

You can't have a champion based on personal preference. Get off the board and ask the general populous walking down the street and guess which answer you will get.

LuSh

what Russ said.

Joey_V

BO has some super speaker... never heard it before but I think it is the BeoLab 5 or something. I think it costs like around 10-15K, not sure. I heard that people said it was good, but I havent heard it personally so I cant comment rightfully.

BW has some awesome speakers, but I dont really enjoy their sub $4000 models and so do most people. This gives BW the stereotype that it is too expensive for what it offers. However, if you have the money to scale up to their new DIAMOND speakers (803D, 802D, 801D, 800D), you are definitely an elite in my eyes.

Polk LSi will always have a special place in my audio-experience. Love the sound, no matter how many other better speakers I've heard. There is something organic and comforting about the LSi sound. Love it.

Bose Lifestyle shouldnt even be in this conversation. Poorly made, poorly priced, and poorly voiced. These things dont sound great. My opinion of Bose is that they are a company of yesteryear... back before forums and educated consumers. Nowadays, you can get a similarly sounding product HTIB for much much less... and yet Bose continues to market their systems like they did when they were the only ones in the HTIB market. Do they sound good? Not really. Are they listenable? Sure, but very very colored - and I think intentionally too. Are they worth it? NO.

Polk RTi - solid solid speakers. Not as adept with music as they are with brute force HT applications. I find them a little too bright and the midrange isnt at the same level as the LSi. However, they are still solid and should be a proud part of a polkie's system if possible.

BW 6 series.... too expensive for what you get. That said, these are solid speakers as well. Compares well with the RTi.

Joey_V

I didnt know this was about a world champion.... I mustve read too fast.

For me, if I were to entertain your idea of a "world champion" from your list, I would choose the BW 800D. But that costs a lot of cash and I'm not taking that into account.

Holydoc

I have only listened to the Polk series and the Bose. I have no experience with the B&W.

Bose seems to be shallow, like they are missing something. That something is the mid and bass. It gives you the impression that you are listening to a pocket radio.

The monitor series sounded like my first original system. It sounded good and complete but just did not seem to get my blood going. To my ears, they were not precise and articulate. They sounded good but did not seem to have a definite edge to them.

The RTi series was very precise. Notes seemed to jump out the speakers like the artist was in the room with you. HT applications made you leap and cringe at all the right places. For unplugged performances, I felt like I was sitting beside Eric Clapton.

The LSi series sounded nearly identical to my ears as the RTi. With a switch box, I could not tell when the salesman clicked from one speaker to the next. The salesman would even go as far as clicking the same speaker on a couple times in a roll so that he could test my ears.

*** Note of interest *** This review of the LSi's was done using the same exact setup as the RTi series in a showroom. Since I knew little about speaker requirements when I listened to these speakers at that time, I did not question whether there was enough power going to those speakers, their spacing on the floor, or even if they had the same wiring. This test may be inadequate for judging purposes.

thehaens@cox.net

RuSsMaN wrote:

How stupid.

.

He is merely posting an opinion based thread. Geez give some of the members a break.

Crazy - I don't have any experience with all these different speakers, in other words really never got a chance to really sit down and listen to all of them with the same source, music, etc to really compare them. Hopefully someone on this forum can give you a better conclusion to your post.

Scott

Joey_V

Holydoc wrote:

The RTi series was very precise. Notes seemed to jump out the speakers like the artist was in the room with you. HT applications made you leap and cringe at all the right places. For unplugged performances, I felt like I was sitting beside Eric Clapton.

The LSi series sounded nearly identical to my ears as the RTi. With a switch box, I could not tell when the salesman clicked from one speaker to the next. The salesman would even go as far as clicking the same speaker on a couple times in a roll so that he could test my ears.

*** Note of interest *** This review of the LSi's was done using the same exact setup as the RTi series in a showroom. Since I knew little about speaker requirements when I listened to these speakers at that time, I did not question whether there was enough power going to those speakers, their spacing on the floor, or even if they had the same wiring. This test may be inadequate for judging purposes.

Contrast to HD's experience with the LSi/RTi, I can tell the difference between the 2 very easily. This is not to say that my ears are better than HD's, it may as well be the opposite. However, I just want to add my 2 cents in so as to allay a new Polkie's fears about the difference between the LSi and RTi.

*Seby*-Polk-

Bose Lifestyle vs Polk Monitor series...ok.

I listen Bose and Polk ... BOSE very high prices.....crazy prices...for nothing.

Polk sounds better ... don't joke. I prefeer Infinity and Klipsch to Bose. Bye.

crazy

thehaens@cox.ne wrote:

He is merely posting an opinion based thread. Geez give some of the members a break.

Crazy - I don't have any experience with all these different speakers, in other words really never got a chance to really sit down and listen to all of them with the same source, music, etc to really compare them. Hopefully someone on this forum can give you a better conclusion to your post.

Scott

Thanks for defending me ... I was merely trying to start a thread where we could talk about speakers that can be compared against one another.

Russ, if you want to participate - you can add your own combos as well, no one's stopping you - there's no need to give smart-**** comments if you have nothing to say. You can always chose not to paricipate.

I am trying to see what folks say if you compare speakers ... so if you have other speakers you want compare, just add them

crazy

*Seby*-Polk- wrote:

Bose Lifestyle vs Polk Monitor series...ok.

I listen Bose and Polk ... BOSE very high prices.....crazy prices...for nothing.

Polk sounds better ... don't joke. I prefeer Infinity and Klipsch to Bose. Bye.

So are you saying that the Polk Moniors sound better than the Bose Lifestyle even though the Bose costs twice as much?

Holydoc

Joey_V wrote:

Contrast to HD's experience with the LSi/RTi, I can tell the difference between the 2 very easily. This is not to say that my ears are better than HD's, it may as well be the opposite. However, I just want to add my 2 cents in so as to allay a new Polkie's fears about the difference between the LSi and RTi.

Joey,

I hope I am not misleading anyone into thinking that I am stating that the RTi series is equivalent to the LSi's. That is why I stated the "Points of Interest". I would love to do this same test now that I understand stereo dynamics and have a system that could feed the necessary power to make a fair test. Hmm...now that I think about it, I would NOT love to do this test again. I do not want to get upgraditis so soon after Christmas!

Probably should of removed that comparison from my discussion since I cannot even begin to claim that it was set-up adequately for the LSi's.

RuSsMaN

Smart **** or not, it's my opinion. The thread is stupid.

The only comparison that is even anywhere NEAR apples to apples is the B&W 600 series, vs Polk RTi. The rest? Different market segments, and vastly different pricepoints. To declare a 'champion' based on these simple comparisons is silly.

If you don't like what I have to say YOU sir, don't to have to read it.

Early B.

RuSsMaN wrote:

How stupid.

You can't have a champion based on personal preference. Get off the board and ask the general populous walking down the street and guess which answer you will get.

Russ is giving you some tough love. Don't take it personally. He's right, by the way.

Perhaps if you provide us with your particular musical tastes, listening preferences, associated components, room size, budget, etc., we could offer some speaker suggestions for you to consider. Otherwise, it's a pointless thread.

danger boy

not only stupid. but who cares?

amulford

WAY too deep for my feeble mind. Whew, I've gotta go sit down. Hey I AM sitting. I've gotta go lay down...

danger boy

to further make things tougher.... i bet not everyone in here would like the same speaker.. i'm sure Russ would like some speaker much different than what I might like.. price, brand, etc would make no difference.

For instance.. I like NAD CD players.. does that mean they are the world champion of CD players? Nope. Does Russ or anyone else with experience of a NAD cd player like em? Maybe, maybe not. High price doesn't mean better sounding anything. Speakers or CD players.

IF you were seriously considering the above mentioned speakers to purchase.. then maybe people would be more willing to help. But to just throw it out there for **** and giggles. it's stupid. What would it accomplish? Nada. -

heiney9

Whatever sounds good to you. Asking which is best based on nothing but each model is pointless. Sound is absolutely subjective and you'll get a different answer every time. Sure we can all generalize, but that's pointless as well. There is not such thing as the perfect speaker for the perfect room with the perfect equipment with perfect hearing. For the most part speakers are not quantifiable. They can't be passed on to the "next round" based on repeatable results in every situation. Just because 1 speaker has amazing accurate bass for you doesn't mean it will for the next person.

H9

*Seby*-Polk-

crazy wrote:

So are you saying that the Polk Moniors sound better than the Bose Lifestyle even though the Bose costs twice as much?

For the price...I choose Polk 100 times. The sound quality of Bose is superb...but NO superior to Polk. For that money i bought a pair of Monitor 70 wich sounds great.

Try yourself

aaharvel

The cubes sound the best. End thread. :rolleyes:

dkg999

If the $49 a pair speakers at Best Buy sound great to your ears, then those are the best speakers in the world. I agree with Russ, price, market segment, etc. don't matter, unless you want to let those influence what you hear. As my day job is to market products, I love it like all hell when I can influence your purchase decision with the fluff. Bose has made a lot of money selling you image, not sound quality. Maybe they are the best