Lsi 9's finally arrived

heiney9

Well if you've followed my other thread (s) you'll know my brother ended up w/ 2 pairs of Lsi 9's. A used (mint cond.) pair from e-bay and new in a box set we picked up from a family friend who owns a marketing firm that reps audio/video equipment. We checked the accomodation price from the family friend and he misquoted the price by about $100 so my brother used BIN on ebay to purchase a used cherry colored pair. The next day the family friend called and said he misquoted the price, the new quote was the exact same price as the ones he just purchased on e-bay. SO he wanted new in a box w/warranty and prefered the black anyway. That's how he ended up with 2 pairs. This is good because I get to demo and have first shot at the slightly used cherry 9's.

So the cherry 9's are in my system right now. Spent about 2 hours with them so far and all I can say is WOW. What an incredible speaker in every respect. I'll post more later when I have a chance to compose my thoughts into a coherent review.

H9

cmy330go

They are an amazing speaker. I still love seeing the look on my friend's faces when they walk in the room and see the relatively small speakers that are putting out that huge sound. Even I can't get over how deep those little drivers will reach.

schwarcw

Congrats H9! Enjoy your new LSi9's!

Lsi9

Enjoy that Lsi9 goodness!

heiney9

schwarcw wrote:

Congrats H9! Enjoy your new LSi9's!

They aren't paid for yet, but they aren't going anywhere that's for sure. Sorry Noel, I said you could have first shot if I declined. Well I'm not declining .

There are still some issues, the bass they put out is exceptional, but right now they sound a tad bloated and boomy. I really shouldn't comment until I've really spent some time with them and decided on the proper placement. They are very different sounding than my RTA-11's. I'm not used to the laid back sound but I'm getting accustomed to the new sound

Joey_V

Yup... they're good!

F1nut

My favorite out of that line. Enjoy!

janmike

Congrats H9. They are nice speakers.

cfrizz

Congrats!

heiney9

Just checking in. Vocals are absolutely stellar on the 9's.

Joni Mitchell
Jewel
Sarah McLachlan
Etta James
Neil Diamond
Otis Rush
Peter Gabriel
Diana Krall
Robert Plant

just to name a few.

Joey_V

Pics would be great H9!

heiney9

I'm also very impressed with the dynamics of these speakers. I have to admit these go well beyond my expectations for imagaing, soundstage, openess, dynamics and the bass; where the hell is all that bass coming from?

I keep looking at the speakers.......and it just doesn't equate . How that sound could be coming from these small, pretty ordinary looking speakers. I knew they would be good, but they really are a superb sounding speaker. I'm very impressed :cool: .

Might post some pics this weekend. I have some gear to move and I'll need to shoot all that stuff so I'll snap some pics of the 9's and the rig as well.

H9

steveinaz

The Lsi9 projects an incredible soundstage for it's size, and I like the punchy polk sound in the midbass. Congrats.

doug lang

A fine choice you will be quite happy with the 9's

GATOR3000

Congrats on your new 9's...........they must be sweet for sure.

Joey_V

heiney9 wrote:

I keep looking at the speakers.......and it just doesn't equate . How that sound could be coming from these small, pretty ordinary looking speakers.
H9

Pretty ordinary looking? I know you aint talkin' about the LSi9!!!

JK!

Joey

heiney9

Joey_V wrote:

Pretty ordinary looking? I know you aint talkin' about the LSi9!!!

JK!

Joey

I know your just kidding, but seriously other than measuring 14" deep they are rather ordinary and look like most other bookshelf speakers. I love the look of the cherry, but size and shape wise nothing that says "hey I'm special".

The vocal clarity is amazing. Listening to The Who-Live at Leeds last night the dialoge between the members was as clear as I've ever heard it. In the past I had trouble hearing what Mooney says way in the background, not on the 9's.

There are many things to like about this speaker. Until I get them properly placed and on proper stands I won't go into the issue I'm having with them. I'm 99% certain it's because of not having them set up properly. It also maybe something I need to get used too as a characteristic of the speaker.

H9

cfrizz

As long as they SOUND special that is all I would care about!

This is half the reason why I am never impressed by B&W's & the like. Half of the money you put out is for the exotic looks. (which I think are fugly) Then to top it off, they give me a headache after an extended time of listening to them!:eek:

Give me the quiet elegeance of the LSI's any day of the week which I can listen to all day long with a happy smile on my face!:)

heiney9 wrote:

I know your just kidding, but seriously other than measuring 14" deep they are rather ordinary and look like most other bookshelf speakers. I love the look of the cherry, but size and shape wise nothing that says "hey I'm special".H9

heiney9

Damn these things are spoiling me . I can hardly stand to listen to the computer rig anymore, so much detail and slam is missing. It's not very enjoyable to listen to the 9's and then retire to the office and try to listen to the Athena's; they just can't come close to mustering the magic the 9's do. May have to move the computer rig down the road.

I am also having no issues driving the 9's with my Adcom. It's hard to believe these are power hungry speakers. My pre really isn't to far off the mark (vol position) it was for the RTA-11's. There are even some "hot" recordings that I can only turn up three notches on the pre otherwise they are too loud for normal listening.

They are deceptively smooth, until you play a track not so well recorded then they can become a little nasty, better than other "brighter" (for lack of a better word) speakers. They can be a little more forgiving, but garbage in is still garbage out.

H9

F1nut

Nice speaker, aren't they!?!

heiney9

F1nut wrote:

Nice speaker, aren't they!?!

I won't say I'm suprised. All the reviews and testimonials gave me high expectations, but they really are better than I expected. I still don't have them on proper stands and set up optimally, but they really do sound so much more than their apperance gives away.

I consider myself to be pretty technically savy and I can't figure out how the hell they get all that bass out of such a relatively small enclosure. It's like magic. Sure it's not the deepest bass, but much more than you would ever think possible from 2-5 1/4" drivers. Scale and dynamics are right up there too. A perfectly enjoyable speaker; I only wish I had taken the plunge sooner. These are working out quite nicely.

H9

cfrizz

That's great H9, I'm glad you are enjoying them!

Joey_V

Congrats fellow Chicagoan!

Joey

cmy330go

heiney9 wrote:

....I consider myself to be pretty technically savy and I can't figure out how the hell they get all that bass out of such a relatively small enclosure. It's like magic. Sure it's not the deepest bass, but much more than you would ever think possible from 2-5 1/4" drivers. Scale and dynamics are right up there too. A perfectly enjoyable speaker; I only wish I had taken the plunge sooner. These are working out quite nicely.

H9

This reminded me of another speaker that you might enjoy, and may be an excellent option for your office.

Energy RC-10. I auditioned a pair for a about a month in my two channel rig and was just blown away by them. I spent quite a bit of time switching between them and my LSi9s and honestly found myself favoring the Energy's a number of times. They are quite a bit smaller than the LSi9s but pack an almost identical punch on the bottom end. I too have always been amazed how a speaker the size of the 9's could put out so much bass, but I must say that these amazed me even more so. Considering the significantly smaller cabinet and the single 5-1/2 inch woofer, they just left me with my jaw on the floor. What I really enjoyed too was that they lacked that sometimes chesty sound of the 9's. Which to me sometimes takes the life our of some recordings. The RC-10's in comparison were more lively. It made the LSI's seem as though there was a cloth draped over them. They just didn't have the sparkle on the top end that the Energy's had. Probably the most pleasant surprise to these speakers is that they were not the least bit harsh. Most metallic tweeters I've heard just flat out disagree with my ears. There always seems to be at least two or three points in the frequency range that really bothers me. But that was not the case with the RC-10's. On multiple occasions I sat and listened for hours on end without the slightest bit of fatigue. I really just can't say enough good about these speakers.

If you have anyway of auditioning them risk free I would HEAVILY recommend doing so. I'm really anxious to hear what another forum member thinks of them. At half the price of the LSi9s these Energy's are a LOT of bang for the buck.

Cheers

heiney9

Thanks for the info cmy330go. It just so happens that the friend who owns the marketing company also reps Energy . So I may have to check into those sometime. We don't like to take to much advantage of his great accomodation prices so I might wait until next year to hit him up for a pair.

Well I wasn't going to talk about the shortcomings I'm hearing with the 9's until I got them set-up properly but I'll throw this out there for discussion's sake. They have a very heavy mid-bass coloration (tendancy). I understand many have said they have a slight mid bass/range warmth, but this, IMO goes way beyond that. It is definetly something I'm not used to and I'm not sure if it's detrimental or not.

Disc's that I feel have always been a bit bass shy certainly have an advantage now as there is more percieved bass and a bit more warmth to bass anemic recordings. On the other hand disc's that have proper, ample bass sound over bloated on the 9's. I'm used to tight accurate deep bass and the 9's have more mid-bass punch that seems over the top.

Now I sort of expected this to be a problem because going from a floor standing PR design the 9's just can't dig that deep and I'm fine with that. I'm not sure how I feel about this mid-bass peak I'm hearing. Hands down the soundstage, imaging, airiness and accuracy of the Vifa is to die for. And oddly male vocals and other "normal" mid range frequencies don't seen to have this mid bass peak. It's just the lower register of mid-bass that seems so bloated and pronounced. To me it sounds like there is a sloppy sub hooked up in the room somewhere (best way to describe it, I guess).

Ok, now here comes what I think the problem is. Currently I have them sitting on top of my RTA11's. I think sympathetic vibrations coupled by the cabinets could be causing this mid-bass exaggeration. Actually, I know that's the case but I'm not sure of the extent. I'm building stands next week and I HOPE this will tame the mid-bass boominess once they are on proper stands at a correct height.

Joey_V

H9,

Just to let you know... that midbass peak plagues the LSi9. I've heard it and almost everyone else has, too. I had my inperfect position and they still had some of the midbass abberation. However, if you pull them out into the room some more, you may be able to get rid of some of that... that's what I noticed.

Joey

Drumingman

I'm not surprised to hear that a Polk smaller speaker has a mid bass hump.
A lot of designers do that to make the perception taht it has deeper bass than it actually has. Even with my entry level towers, I like to boost the mid bass a little too.

heiney9

Joey_V wrote:

H9,

Just to let you know... that midbass peak plagues the LSi9. I've heard it and almost everyone else has, too. I had my inperfect position and they still had some of the midbass abberation. However, if you pull them out into the room some more, you may be able to get rid of some of that... that's what I noticed.

Joey

I know that's been to concesus and I can live with a little bit of warmth, but this is really apparent to the point of distraction. My 11's sound so analytical compared to the LSI's and that touch of warmth really adds some body compared to what I'm used to with my other speakers. If dialing them in correctly will get rid of SOME of the mid-bass problem then I can live with it, because the rest of the speaker is so great. But if it doesn't go away I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Obviously, much more listening in order because jazz and acoustic pieces just blow me away. And I'm not going to make any judgements until I have them set-up properly.

H9

Joey_V

heiney9 wrote:

I know that's been to concesus and I can live with a little bit of warmth, but this is really apparent to the point of distraction. My 11's sound so analytical compared to the LSI's and that touch of warmth really adds some body compared to what I'm used to with my other speakers. If dialing them in correctly will get rid of SOME of the mid-bass problem then I can live with it, because the rest of the speaker is so great. But if it doesn't go away I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Obviously, much more listening in order because jazz and acoustic pieces just blow me away. And I'm not going to make any judgements until I have them set-up properly.

H9

H9,

All your impressions and all your likes about the 9s (along with dislikes) is pointing to the same direction I was looking at when I had the 9s.

You ready?

The LSi15.

It gives you all that the 9s offer, but MORE. It gets rid of that midbass hump and if you are able to power it right and position it well, you should have a taut bass line down low. And... it's only $500 more in retail... BUT you wont have to spend anything on a sub or stands.

I know this isnt what you were looking for in a response, but I sincerely think you are the prime candidate for the 15s. If you want to meet up and audition the 9s and 15s, I'd be up for it.

Joey

heiney9

Joey_V wrote:

H9,

All your impressions and all your likes about the 9s (along with dislikes) is pointing to the same direction I was looking at when I had the 9s.

You ready?

The LSi15.

It gives you all that the 9s offer, but MORE. It gets rid of that midbass hump and if you are able to power it right and position it well, you should have a taut bass line down low. And... it's only $500 more in retail... BUT you wont have to spend anything on a sub or stands.

I know this isnt what you were looking for in a response, but I sincerely think you are the prime candidate for the 15s. If you want to meet up and audition the 9s and 15s, I'd be up for it.

Joey

I'm heading out the door right now to meet a couple of Polkies, but when I get back we'll revisit this.

H9

Jim Shearer

heiney9 wrote:

Thanks for the info cmy330go.

Now I sort of expected this to be a problem because going from a floor standing PR design the 9's just can't dig that deep and I'm fine with that. I'm not sure how I feel about this mid-bass peak I'm hearing. Hands down the soundstage, imaging, airiness and accuracy of the Vifa is to die for. And oddly male vocals and other "normal" mid range frequencies don't seen to have this mid bass peak. It's just the lower register of mid-bass that seems so bloated and pronounced. To me it sounds like there is a sloppy sub hooked up in the room somewhere (best way to describe it, I guess).

Ok, now here comes what I think the problem is. Currently I have them sitting on top of my RTA11's. I think sympathetic vibrations coupled by the cabinets could be causing this mid-bass exaggeration. Actually, I know that's the case but I'm not sure of the extent. I'm building stands next week and I HOPE this will tame the mid-bass boominess once they are on proper stands at a correct height.

If your RTA11's are anything like my brother's RTA12c's, then I would be surprised if you liked the LSi9's. What you're hearing is why I bought RTi6's when I went to get another pair of bookshelf speakers. The LSi7's sounded good, but very similar to the RTi6's (but of course cost more money than the 6's.) The LSi9's were a real disappointment AFAIK. Naturally, YMMV.

Cheers, Jim