Polk Audio TSi200 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (PICS!)
Grimster74
Posts: 2,573
*NEW* Polk Audio TSi Loudspeakers
Introduction:
Let me began by saying “Thanks” to Polk Audio as well as Mark for recommending me and giving me the opportunity to do a demo of the brand new Tsi200 bookshelf speakers. I’m hoping Polk Audio will give me another opportunity to demo another set of Polk speakers again in the future (I’d love to demo a set of Lsi’s guys, lol). Keep in mind guys that 98% of my listening is dedicated to H/T use only, not really a 2 channel music kind of guy so what little I do listen to music, it’s basically when I’m picking up or doing something around the house but for what it’s worth, I did try and spend sometime listening to music through my ipod as well as through DirecTV’s XM stations but more on that later.
Equipment:
Keeping in line with Polk’s idea of the design of the Tsi Series speakers which is to be easily driven by modestly-powered receivers that’s what I did. The receiver I used was a Denon AVR-3805, which has a power rating of 120x7. I also used a Sony BDP-S1 blu-ray player for my movie watching that way I could take advantage of the 5.1 analog outs for TrueHD decoding as well as DD+. My speaker configuration is a 5.1 setup which consist of a set of Polk Audio, RM6005 satellites and center channel and an SVS, PB12, Plus subwoofer. Of course the Tsi200’s replaced the front left and right channel. I had to build a set of stands for the Tsi’s, which are 24” tall. The top plate and the bottom plat are made of ¾” birch plywood and stained to match the Tsi’s and the center was built out of a pressure treated 4x4 and spray painted flat black. The stands have ¾” rubber feet on the bottom to cut down on the vibration against the hardwood floors as well as I placed the rubber feet that came with the Tsi’s on the bottom of the speakers. Long story short, they are rock solid. Speaker wire is 10 gauge Monster XP wire I had laying around and both pieces were cut to 10 foot in length with AR screw down bananas at both ends.
Build quality:
The build quality of the Tsi speakers is just as you would expect from Polk Audio, nothing short of amazing. When I received the Tsi’s I’d almost swore they just came off the assembly line. When I removed them from the box they were shipped inn, which by the way would definitely hold up to quite a drop, I noticed I had the cherry stain on my hands. Apparently were the veneer comes together at the corners, the stain was still damp, I wiped off the access and was good to go. The Tsi200’s are roughly 11 ¾” deep from the back to the front of the grill, 15 ¼” tall, 8” wide and roughly weigh 15lbs. each. The one thing I did notice is were with the older Rti bookshelves, they came with the option to mount them to the wall that was incorporated into the power port were as with the Tsi’s, you are going to have to get stands or shelves to place them on which is completely understandable with the port the way it is.
Movie viewing experience:
Now, onto what everyone is waiting for. Once I got the Tsi’s hooked up, I roughly gave them a week to break in a bit. After a week I set all of my crossover points to 80Hz, all speakers to small then ran the 3805’s auto setup and calibration to get everything fine tuned. Once all distances and settings were checked and verified it was off to the races.
The first movie the kids and I watched was ‘Cars’. Man, what a difference of night and day that was compared to the RM speakers I had running in the fronts. I was really concerned about how the Tsi’s were going to blend with the RM center but everything just flowed flawlessly across the whole front stage. It literally sounded like we were sitting right at the races. The dialog of the voices are crisp and clear were as with the RM speakers, I felt like I keep having to cut it up another notch or so to hear anything clearly. Instead of the rumbling of the cars as they pass by sounding as if the sub was doing all the work, you literally feel it now as they go from one side of the screen to the other, more of that in your face feel. Every time the crowd cheers, you feel like cheering also.
The next viewing experience was with the movie ‘Enchanted’. Enchanted is one of those movies that has it all, sounds are always moving across the front stage with all the dancing, singing, and lets not forget about the dragon battle at the end of the movie. The dynamic range with the lush feel to the highs along with the warm midrange is excellent sounding on the Tsi’s. After watching this movie for some reason you just feel more cheerful and as my wife said, “I feel like dancing”.
Music:
Update: Okay, took Marks advice this morning and ran through some of the settings on the 3805 and made a few adjustments (I'm sure my neighbors appreciate it as well, especially at 8 am on a Saturday). I turned the sub off in the speaker settings, changed the fronts to large, set the crossover at 60Hz and turned off all EQ settings. I have to say, very pleased with what I heard out of these bookshelves. At first listen I ran over to the sub just to make sure it wasn't on. I almost felt like I was listening to my RTi70's downstairs. Listening to "Citizen Cope", the bass was very tight and fast, the highs were in your face but not overly bright and the mids sounded very punchy. I tried setting the x-over at 40, 60, 80 and 120Hz but the TSi's performed there best at the 60-80Hz setting. If I were to purchase a set of bookshelves today, I would have no problem snagging a pair of the TSi200's.
Conclusion:
For a mid-entry level speaker, I think Polk hit the nail on the head. I think if your in the market for strictly just a 2 channel bookshelf speakers, I would have no problems recommeding the TSi bookshelves. If you’re looking to run either a 2.1, 5.1 or even a 7.1 channel setup and are on a tight budget, you won’t be disappointed with the Tsi line of Polk speakers. Now all I have to do is wait for Best Buy to get the TSi line and I will be replacing all the RM series speakers I have upstairs. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, my wife, who has about as much interest in H/T as I have in going to the dentist and having a root canal done with no meds said she will sure hate to see the speakers go.
Introduction:
Let me began by saying “Thanks” to Polk Audio as well as Mark for recommending me and giving me the opportunity to do a demo of the brand new Tsi200 bookshelf speakers. I’m hoping Polk Audio will give me another opportunity to demo another set of Polk speakers again in the future (I’d love to demo a set of Lsi’s guys, lol). Keep in mind guys that 98% of my listening is dedicated to H/T use only, not really a 2 channel music kind of guy so what little I do listen to music, it’s basically when I’m picking up or doing something around the house but for what it’s worth, I did try and spend sometime listening to music through my ipod as well as through DirecTV’s XM stations but more on that later.
Equipment:
Keeping in line with Polk’s idea of the design of the Tsi Series speakers which is to be easily driven by modestly-powered receivers that’s what I did. The receiver I used was a Denon AVR-3805, which has a power rating of 120x7. I also used a Sony BDP-S1 blu-ray player for my movie watching that way I could take advantage of the 5.1 analog outs for TrueHD decoding as well as DD+. My speaker configuration is a 5.1 setup which consist of a set of Polk Audio, RM6005 satellites and center channel and an SVS, PB12, Plus subwoofer. Of course the Tsi200’s replaced the front left and right channel. I had to build a set of stands for the Tsi’s, which are 24” tall. The top plate and the bottom plat are made of ¾” birch plywood and stained to match the Tsi’s and the center was built out of a pressure treated 4x4 and spray painted flat black. The stands have ¾” rubber feet on the bottom to cut down on the vibration against the hardwood floors as well as I placed the rubber feet that came with the Tsi’s on the bottom of the speakers. Long story short, they are rock solid. Speaker wire is 10 gauge Monster XP wire I had laying around and both pieces were cut to 10 foot in length with AR screw down bananas at both ends.
Build quality:
The build quality of the Tsi speakers is just as you would expect from Polk Audio, nothing short of amazing. When I received the Tsi’s I’d almost swore they just came off the assembly line. When I removed them from the box they were shipped inn, which by the way would definitely hold up to quite a drop, I noticed I had the cherry stain on my hands. Apparently were the veneer comes together at the corners, the stain was still damp, I wiped off the access and was good to go. The Tsi200’s are roughly 11 ¾” deep from the back to the front of the grill, 15 ¼” tall, 8” wide and roughly weigh 15lbs. each. The one thing I did notice is were with the older Rti bookshelves, they came with the option to mount them to the wall that was incorporated into the power port were as with the Tsi’s, you are going to have to get stands or shelves to place them on which is completely understandable with the port the way it is.
Movie viewing experience:
Now, onto what everyone is waiting for. Once I got the Tsi’s hooked up, I roughly gave them a week to break in a bit. After a week I set all of my crossover points to 80Hz, all speakers to small then ran the 3805’s auto setup and calibration to get everything fine tuned. Once all distances and settings were checked and verified it was off to the races.
The first movie the kids and I watched was ‘Cars’. Man, what a difference of night and day that was compared to the RM speakers I had running in the fronts. I was really concerned about how the Tsi’s were going to blend with the RM center but everything just flowed flawlessly across the whole front stage. It literally sounded like we were sitting right at the races. The dialog of the voices are crisp and clear were as with the RM speakers, I felt like I keep having to cut it up another notch or so to hear anything clearly. Instead of the rumbling of the cars as they pass by sounding as if the sub was doing all the work, you literally feel it now as they go from one side of the screen to the other, more of that in your face feel. Every time the crowd cheers, you feel like cheering also.
The next viewing experience was with the movie ‘Enchanted’. Enchanted is one of those movies that has it all, sounds are always moving across the front stage with all the dancing, singing, and lets not forget about the dragon battle at the end of the movie. The dynamic range with the lush feel to the highs along with the warm midrange is excellent sounding on the Tsi’s. After watching this movie for some reason you just feel more cheerful and as my wife said, “I feel like dancing”.
Music:
Update: Okay, took Marks advice this morning and ran through some of the settings on the 3805 and made a few adjustments (I'm sure my neighbors appreciate it as well, especially at 8 am on a Saturday). I turned the sub off in the speaker settings, changed the fronts to large, set the crossover at 60Hz and turned off all EQ settings. I have to say, very pleased with what I heard out of these bookshelves. At first listen I ran over to the sub just to make sure it wasn't on. I almost felt like I was listening to my RTi70's downstairs. Listening to "Citizen Cope", the bass was very tight and fast, the highs were in your face but not overly bright and the mids sounded very punchy. I tried setting the x-over at 40, 60, 80 and 120Hz but the TSi's performed there best at the 60-80Hz setting. If I were to purchase a set of bookshelves today, I would have no problem snagging a pair of the TSi200's.
Conclusion:
For a mid-entry level speaker, I think Polk hit the nail on the head. I think if your in the market for strictly just a 2 channel bookshelf speakers, I would have no problems recommeding the TSi bookshelves. If you’re looking to run either a 2.1, 5.1 or even a 7.1 channel setup and are on a tight budget, you won’t be disappointed with the Tsi line of Polk speakers. Now all I have to do is wait for Best Buy to get the TSi line and I will be replacing all the RM series speakers I have upstairs. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, my wife, who has about as much interest in H/T as I have in going to the dentist and having a root canal done with no meds said she will sure hate to see the speakers go.
Money Talks, Mine says Goodbye Rob!!!!
Post edited by Grimster74 on
Comments
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That really is a snazzy speaker. Can't wait for the review.I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore
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definitly look more refined than the monitor line. they look pretty damn goodLiving Room 2 Channel -
Schiit SYS Passive Pre. Jolida CD player. Songbird streamer. California Audio Labs Sigma II DAC, DIY 300as1/a1 Ice modules Class D amp. LSi15 with MM842 woofer upgrade, Nordost Blue Heaven and Unity interconnects.
Upstairs 2 Channel Rig -
Prometheus Ref. TVC passive pre, SAE A-205 Amp, Wiim pro streamer and Topping E50 DAC, California Audio Labs DX1 CD player, Von Schweikert VR3.5 speakers.
Studio Rig - Scarlett 18i20(Gen3) DAW, Mac Mini, Aiyma A07 Max (BridgedX2), Totem Mites -
i should get a pair of those to go with my panasonic home theater in a box. do they sound as good as they look?Audio:
Onkyo :tx-sr805
Polk: rti8's
Polk: rti4's
Polk: fxi3's
Polk: csi'3
Velodyne: VRP 1200
Epik: Caliber
Video:
Panasonic:TH-42PX60U 42"Plasma
Power Conditioner:
Monster Power: HTS 3600 MKII Home Theater
Dvd:
Sony: BDP-350
Game Systems
WII
PS3 -
Return of the RT55i?Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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If you guys have any questions, please feel free to ask.Money Talks, Mine says Goodbye Rob!!!!
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Those are gorgeous speakers! I didnt know Polk was coming out with a new line. When are they due out?polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st
polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D -
Great review Rob! Thanks for taking the time to do it and the stands worked out pretty well huh?
CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint. -
Nice looking speakers.Great review !!!!!
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Those look pretty slick. Thanks for posting your impressions. One question: when you listened to them in 2-channel, did you reset them to "large" or drop the crossover lower? I'm surprised they wouldn't have a reasonably satisfying low-end for music.Currently listening to:
Marantz SR5004
Sony BDP-S370
Apple TV V2
Audio Technica AT-LP120
Mirage CMD-5 x 5
Bic H-100 -
How many hours do you have on them overall Rob? Did you ensure that it was in 2CH mode and not being cutover @ 80hz? I'm sure they have better bass then the RTi28.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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I hope to see them in the future. I think polk has been hitting home runs lately with all there speakers. there In walls are fantastic and there new rtia series are the best I have ever heard from them in that series. Excellent stuff.
Glad you got to hear em go firstDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Nice review & sharp looking speaker!Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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How many hours do you have on them overall Rob? Did you ensure that it was in 2CH mode and not being cutover @ 80hz? I'm sure they have better bass then the RTi28.
I'll give it another shot tomorrow Mark. Like I said, not really a musical kind of guy but if I can get better bass performance out of them I'll give anything a shot. I'll repost tomorrow my findings.
RobMoney Talks, Mine says Goodbye Rob!!!! -
Can i assume this model is to relace the monitor 40's?
if so are there other models like floorstanders in the pipeline?2 Channel
Amp - Jas Audio Bravo 3.2 set
Power Cord - Tunami GPX
CDP - Marantz cd6002 - Audio gd Ref 5 Dac
Speakers - Tekton Lore,Polk Audio RTA11tl completely refreshed. -
It's not a replacement for the Monitor series.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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So where does it fit into the current line up of models as far as quality? between monitor and rti?2 Channel
Amp - Jas Audio Bravo 3.2 set
Power Cord - Tunami GPX
CDP - Marantz cd6002 - Audio gd Ref 5 Dac
Speakers - Tekton Lore,Polk Audio RTA11tl completely refreshed. -
Correct.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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JCaut and Shawn474 are also on the demo team. Jason has the TSi400 and Shawn has the TSi500, both are floorstanders.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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Do we have any pics of these?2 Channel
Amp - Jas Audio Bravo 3.2 set
Power Cord - Tunami GPX
CDP - Marantz cd6002 - Audio gd Ref 5 Dac
Speakers - Tekton Lore,Polk Audio RTA11tl completely refreshed. -
Check out the link at the top of Grimster's first post.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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Cheers2 Channel
Amp - Jas Audio Bravo 3.2 set
Power Cord - Tunami GPX
CDP - Marantz cd6002 - Audio gd Ref 5 Dac
Speakers - Tekton Lore,Polk Audio RTA11tl completely refreshed. -
It's not a replacement for the Monitor series.
Looks just like the monitor series to me with just a few modifications. -
Very good write-up,thanks Grim...I wish Polk would come back with a dual driver bookshelf model in the RT series.
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Much better music listening experience today, see my updated review.Money Talks, Mine says Goodbye Rob!!!!
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I hope the other guys chime in soon...maybe with some direct comparisons to the Monitors
.
Combo rig:
Onkyo NR1007 pre-pro, Carver TFM 45(fronts), Carver TFM 35 (surrounds)
SDA 1C, CS400i, SDA 2B
PB13Ultra RO
BW Silvers
Oppo BDP-83SE -
Shawn....you out there?CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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how about people who actually have monitor series?Video: LG 55LN5100/Samsung LNT4065F
Receiver: HK AVR445
Source: OPPO BDP-93
HT: POLK SPEAKERS RTi6, FXi3, CSi5, VTF-3 MK2
2Ch system: MC2105, AR-XA, AR-2A, AR9, BX-300, OPPO BDP-83 -
Why not just run them large to see what they're really capable of?Currently listening to:
Marantz SR5004
Sony BDP-S370
Apple TV V2
Audio Technica AT-LP120
Mirage CMD-5 x 5
Bic H-100 -
This series is the line that Best Buy will carry? If so,anybody can get a taste of them one day soon?
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Grimster,
How would you compare the sound of the TSi200s with the RTI series for 'brightness'.
The RTI bookshelfs have gotten a reputation for being 'bright' and that the RTIA series is supposed to have 'tamed' that.
Would you rate the TSi200 as 'warmer' or just as 'bright' as the RTI series bookshelfs?
Those TSi200s look really nice and the specs are tempting as well.
Cheers,
Erik
H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
