RT to LSi Trasformation opinions needed!!

yoeddy

Ok everyone, the opinions and facts are desperately needed! I have no way to audition the LSi's, but I am wanting to upgrade my RT series speakers. So here goes...for those that have owned the mid/late 90's RT Series and have upgraded to the LSi series, I need to know if this would be a worthwhile upgrade. I love what I currently have (CS350LS, RT16 mains, RT12 surrounds with tweeter upgrade like 16's and 350), but I have noticed that the mids can get kind of harsh at high levels. The upgrade would be LSi15's, LSiC, and either LSi9's or LSiFX's as surrounds. I have heard that the LSi's like seperate pre/pro + an amp vs receivers, so my Parasound AVC2500u and AT2205 (220 x 5) should be fine. It is mostly for HT vs music, but would like to listen to more music more often. Monster M1000 series interconnects all the way around, and only Monster XP speaker wire for now...(eventually this will be M Series as well). DVD/CD is a Sony 9000ES. Fire away with the help and opinions. I really want to stay with Polk, but am being tempted by B&W.

Thanks everyone!:)

brettw22

Eddy,

Do you like your RT12's as surrounds? I was using an older pair of Boston Acoustics VRS surrounds and to test the difference between bipole firing vs. direct, I purchased a pair of the 12's to fill in and I didn't like it. It was a HUGE difference between a direct firing surround as opposed to a bi/dipole designed speaker. Personally, if you're going with the LSi's, I'd get the LSiFX's as your surrounds. If you like the direct sound like your 12's then you could just use either the LSi9's or even the LSi7's.

As far as the LSi15's, if you've gotten accustomed to the punch from your RT16's, you're not gonna get anything like that from the LSi's. I'd skip the 15's and instead get the LSi9, and maybe look at getting a bigger/better sub. Many posts on the 15's have indicated that the bass was lacking.

Lemme know what you're gonna do with your 16's. I just picked up my second pair and am gonna be running dual fronts. I could always use more.......:)

phuz

Two words: cost effectiveness

B&W makes some awesome stuff, but does a pair of $1500 B&W speakers sound as good or provide everything that a pair of LSi15 speakers do? From my experience, no.

I think that 15/C/F/X combo sounds sweet. Not that I have a biased opinion or anything.

Frank Z

yoeddy,
I was in the same boat as you when I made the jump up to the Lsi's. I read as much as I could find regarding the Lsi series before buying, but it was still a blind purchase. I was not dissappointed at all, in fact I was overwhelmed by the performance. Not only did the Lsi's out perform the Rt speakers that they replaced, they also spanked a lot of other speakers that I listened to also. I was (still am-sort of) looking at upgrading my electronics to compliment the new speakers. Some of the speakers that I listened to while auditioning amps/pre-amps included Vienna Accoustics, Martin Logan, Infinity, B&W, and Mcintosh. I felt that the Lsi series sounded better than all of them. Sure, thats my opinion and others may feel differently.

jrausch

Hey Ed,


I have the same Parasound setup. Man if you’re getting harsh sounds from that pre-pro something is definitely going wrong. I have used a few different interconnects on that pre/pro/amp combo and everything just comes out smooth. I have Monster Z, Audioquest and wal-mart specials and though they all sound different and some were more revealing than others. None of them produced anything harsh. Please tell me you are using the digital out on your CD player and having the pre/pro do the DAC conversion. The channel separation is not as clean as their 2/ch separates but the liquid 3 dimensional soundstage more than makes up for it. Make sure your 2/ch settings are set different from the surround mode. I thought the stereo mode would have a default setting, but it uses the same delay and separate volume settings as the cinema mode. I think the RT series has a warmer mid-range than the Lsi’s simply because the drivers in the Lsi’s have more of an accurate snap to them. The ring tweeters cut a crisp edge around the image. The sound is so flat, lean and clean that it would give Blues Clues a run for its money. The sound is definitely different from anything Polk has ever done. I blindly jumped into a pair myself and don’t regret a thing. Just be prepared for unique experience. I would not worry too much, I'm sure you have'nt heard anyone complaining about how they sound. Everything in this price range adds it's own flavor and color to the music, this one seems to have a new style of it's own.

STUFFMD

I'm an RT owner all around the room.I must say in Ht, anywhere in the price rance I would put it up against anything, Musically very disappointed though. I had the C245 as a center channel...thought it sounded great in Ht but very weak musically. So in an effort to see if I would like the Lsi line before I dropped a load of dough on the thing. I bought the LSiC. In the setup I think musically it is very strong ...has woke up the whole system.....As far as HT though I have found dialogue to be very thin from the LSI.
I always say sound is very subjective...but in my experience I am I am buying more DVD's than music these days....and I prefer the sound of the RT's over the LSI in my situation........
Just my 2 cents.

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"Your system is only as good as your weakest component."

shack

Stuff - have you considered the CS400i for a center. I too have the CS245i and wish the 400 would fit on top of my TV. It is a definite improvement!