Polk, please build a LSi11

ivansfo

I recently went through with a speaker upgrade and in the process, I often thought how great it would be if Polk offered a slim LSi floor stander. Such as a LSi11 with dual or triple 5.25" woofers and the same Vifa tweeter. Simiar to the LSi15 but without the subwoofer since most people now are turning to external subs anyway.

I'm aware some may argue that such a speaker is almost the same as a LSi9 on stands but I prefer the bigger (fuller) sounds of a floor stander.

Anyone else besides me think this product would be successful?

MillerLiteScott

I'm in.

szhleppy

ivansfo wrote:

I recently went through with a speaker upgrade and in the process, I often thought how great it would be if Polk offered a slim LSi floor stander. Such as a LSi11 with dual or triple 5.25" woofers and the same Vifa tweeter. Simiar to the LSi15 but without the subwoofer since most people now are turning to external enclosures anyway.

I'm aware some may argue that such a speaker is almost the same as a LSi9 on stands but I prefer the bigger sounds of a floor stander.

Anyone else besides me think this product would be successful?

If you just want bigger sound, you might want to peruse the 2 Channel Audio section...there is a new guy going by turbubusa65 posting over there with some great ideas that you could integrate into your system.:D

tonyb

szhleppy wrote:

If you just want bigger sound, you might want to peruse the 2 Channel Audio section...there is a new guy going by turbubusa65 posting over there with some great ideas that you could integrate into your system.:D

Hey,don't pick on my best bud!!:p
Please explain "bigger sound"

beardog03

Foorstanders generally have a fuller sound....

ivansfo

Hope I'm using the right terminology, but bigger meaning "fuller" or not "boxy"? My experience with bookshelf speakers is that you can hear the sound originating from the speakers whereas floorstanders do a better job of filling a room with sound. Though my experience with bookshelves has been only with lower end speakers such as Pinnacle, RTi4, R15, and R20s. Perhaps this is not the case with higher end offerings such as LSi7 or LSi9.

McLoki

Triple (or quad) 5-1/4" drivers in a slim floorstander for front stage HT use (with a sub) - I would be all over these.... Build them and I will come....

Michael

heiney9

ivansfo wrote:

Hope I'm using the right terminology, but bigger meaning "fuller" or not "boxy"? My experience with bookshelf speakers is that you can hear the sound originating from the speakers whereas floorstanders do a better job of filling a room with sound. Though my experience with bookshelves has been only with lower end speakers such as Pinnacle, RTi4, R15, and R20s. Perhaps this is not the case with higher end offerings such as LSi7 or LSi9.

This is definetly NOT the case with the 9's also goes for the 7's but to a lesser degree. The 9's still amaze me. Such a big full scale sound from a small box. Get your ears on them.

dorokusai

Floorstanders, in a convential speaker design, are overrated.

PolkWannabie

McLoki wrote:

Triple (or quad) 5-1/4" drivers in a slim floorstander for front stage HT use (with a sub) - I would be all over these.... Build them and I will come....

Michael

Ummm ... I think they're called SRT's ... http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/srtsystem/

Holydoc

dorokusai wrote:

Floorstanders, in a convential speaker design, are overrated.

Please expand.

McLoki

PolkWannabie wrote:

Ummm ... I think they're called SRT's ... http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/srtsystem/

Three or four per side, not 17....

Michael

I have never heard the SRT's but I bet they are awesome. Reguardless of the sound though - the WAF on them is amazingly low. I would stand a better chance putting SRS's in my living room than a complete set of SRT's.

cfrizz

I have long been telling Polk that if they would build a LSI 9 in a tower speaker that weighs in at around 40lbs that I would be first in line to buy a pair!

I prefer towers to bookshelves, but I can't manage the weight of the 15's or 25's. I would also have serious placement issues due to the side woofers. since my speakers are confined to only one area with no clear room to go sideways so the woofers would be wasted.

I truly want to upgrade my Vintage Polks up to the higher level of the LSI's.

So please Matt, if you build it we will buy!!!

heiney9

cfrizz wrote:

I have long been telling Polk that if they would build a LSI 9 in a tower speaker that weighs in at around 40lbs that I would be first in line to buy a pair!

I prefer towers to bookshelves, but I can't manage the weight of the 15's or 25's. I would also have serious placement issues due to the side woofers. since my speakers are confined to only one area with no clear room to go sideways so the woofers would be wasted.

I truly want to upgrade my Vintage Polks up to the higher level of the LSI's.

So please Matt, if you build it we will buy!!!

Sorry Cathy but a 40lb floorstander (LSi) isn't going to happen. I understand your issue with floor vs. bookshelf and I was the same way perhaps even more stubborn than you and the LSi 9's are still continuing to blow me away. Throw out everything you know about bookies. If you were blind you would never in a million years guess they are these smallish bookies. I strongly recommend them as an excellent solution for both upgrading and being completely manageble which is perfect for you situation.

To have the proper cabinet characteristics there is no way to make a dense, colorless cabinet that only weighs in at around 40lbs.

Rock on Cathy

Emlyn

Got to agree a lightweight floorstander is impractical and would be counter to the way Polk speakers are designed. The LSi9's weigh 33 lbs a piece. Some manufacturers have been able to pull off a lightweight design, Spendor comes to mind, but they do so by using two drivers and thin walled cabinet construction. Polk has a tendency to go the other direction--more drivers, heavier construction for less cabinet resonance.

Ditching the side-firing woofer does seem to be a good idea to me though.

PolkWannabie

McLoki wrote:

Three or four per side, not 17....

Michael

I have never heard the SRT's but I bet they are awesome. Reguardless of the sound though - the WAF on them is amazingly low. I would stand a better chance putting SRS's in my living room than a complete set of SRT's.

You'd be surprised ... WAF is usually related to the profile that is seen straight on and the SRT's while relatively tall and deep and heavy are also pretty narrow i.e. less then a foot wide ...

See a typical ( Mine ) front sound stage and how semi invisible they become with a wide screen in between ...

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/closeup.php?userid=54809&pic=137_2_big.jpg

Refefer

...and hows it sound?

AndyGwis

Those speakers scare me (SRTs). . .

I would be down for an Lsi11. Really like idea of the 9's, but that's another 100+ you'll have to spend on decent stands, and I don't think Bookshelfs on stands ever looks as good as towers. Something without the woofer in a tower shape would be great. Easier to drive than the Lsi15s, too, which would be another good thing.

Refefer

What about those RM8000T speakers that I've seen in the product finder on this here website? Those things are pretty darn narrow and would seem to fit the bill, though I couldn't testify to their sound since I've never heard them. Heck, I can't even find any reviews on them.

It's F3 is at 55hz and they weigh 42 lbs a piece, which means it was clearly designed for use with a subwoofer, but sounds EXACTLY like what would fit the bill.

But at 7.5" wide, it should be pretty high on the WAF.

PolkWannabie

Refefer wrote:

...and hows it sound?

When properly driven the SRT's are effortlessly powerful. The subs are not quite at the level of the better SVS's but they do an admirable job, reach down into the teens, blend very well with the satellites and are infinitely adjustable by remote.

One of the challenges with them is that there are several different ways they can be wired which result in either 4 or 8 ohm loads all of which have somewhat different sonic characteristics.

To my ears it would be difficult to do much better especially for HT. One could argue that there are better speakers for 2 Channel but they do a great job with music as well.

AndyGwis

Just read up on the SRTs. They may look a bit intimidating to a noob like myself, but reading the overview is just about chubbing me up. Why don't more people have these? I'm guessing the size, $10K is a lot to spend to say you have "Polks", and oh yeah, the size.

Nice specs, though, and anything with SDA can't be dismissed.

PolkWannabie

At $10k I would agree, but these can be had for about a third of their original price when you can find them. You'll see nothing for a couple of months then 2 or 3 sets will come and go on Audiogon or eBay ... I don't know what the production numbers were but I suspect there weren't a zillion of them made. In a room with a good size screen, size becomes pretty much a non issue. They're taller then everything else that Polk made except the SRS's but they're no where near as wide.

cfrizz

Well then if you & Emlyn are correct, then I will need recommendations for other speaker brands that are a very close match to the LSI sound that meets my criteria. As well as the weight requirement, it cannot have a metal tweeter!

I'm a very loyal person, until the brand doesn't have what I require, then I'm forced to find someone else.

heiney9 wrote:

Sorry Cathy but a 40lb floorstander (LSi) isn't going to happen. I understand your issue with floor vs. bookshelf and I was the same way perhaps even more stubborn than you and the LSi 9's are still continuing to blow me away. Throw out everything you know about bookies. If you were blind you would never in a million years guess they are these smallish bookies. I strongly recommend them as an excellent solution for both upgrading and being completely manageble which is perfect for you situation.

To have the proper cabinet characteristics there is no way to make a dense, colorless cabinet that only weighs in at around 40lbs.

Rock on Cathy

heiney9

cfrizz wrote:

Well then if you & Emlyn are correct, then I will need recommendations for other speaker brands that are a very close match to the LSI sound that meets my criteria. As well as the weight requirement, it cannot have a metal tweeter!

I'm a very loyal person, until the brand doesn't have what I require, then I'm forced to find someone else.

So i take you are NOT even willing to demo the 9's? If you are so loyal i'd say you owe it to Polk and yourself to give them a try . Cathy, I know exactly where you are coming from on prefering a floorstander that is why it took me soooo long to pull the trigger on the 9's. I figured i wouldn't be happy unless I got the 15's. I was so so wrong!

Emlyn

PolkWannabie wrote:

At $10k I would agree, but these can be had for about a third of their original price when you can find them. You'll see nothing for a couple of months then 2 or 3 sets will come and go on Audiogon or eBay ... I don't know what the production numbers were but I suspect there weren't a zillion of them made. In a room with a good size screen, size becomes pretty much a non issue. They're taller then everything else that Polk made except the SRS's but they're no where near as wide.

The trouble with the SRT's was they were too expensive and too far ahead of their time, before enough of those people with enough space and money really got into devoting big money to big home theater systems. Production and dealership numbers were aimed at low volume, but service was great. By the time the market caught up with Polk, the speakers were gone. I've been seeing the number of these on the used market decrease to the point there's hardly anything out there now. Nowadays some people are dropping as much cash on a single pair of speakers as what a full SRT system cost.

Cathy, most floorstanders worth auditioning weigh around 55 lbs or more. I can't think of a current production floorstander I'd recommend at 40 lbs that would be better than what you already have.

PolkWannabie

Emlyn wrote:

I've been seeing the number of these on the used market decrease to the point there's hardly anything out there now. Nowadays some people are dropping as much cash on a single pair of speakers as what a full SRT system cost.

That's because they've been picked up by Polkie's like me and some others here and we won't be getting rid of them any time soon ...

I think the original stereo pair was about $7k ... I don't know what the cost of the original center was but I think it's the best center Polk ever made as it is essentially the same set up as the sterro array in the satellites and weighs in at about 40 pounds. It's a real monster even when compared to the CS1000P. I don't have the SRT F/X's but I've heard them and would classify them as ok but nothing special. I do however have a pair of the SRT SDA Surrounds which are quite good which I'm using for rears along with F/X 1000's for the sides.