Polk Audio TSi100 & TSi200- Loudspeaker - Demo

wutadumsn23

Well, this is about due so I will go ahead and do a short review for now, with a more extensive review to com. As stated in a previous post, these are no longer available to demo due to a very generous drawing that made these mine at the Seattle mini meet. Overall I would have to say these speakers are amazing, asthetically they are beautiful, and that is the one area that they excel over my Monitor 70's. I have been wondering for a long time which was better, the Monitor 70's or the TSi 500's, and I am closer to conclusion now that I have had an oppertunity to hear them side by side with the 70's. When I first got them I was like a kid at Christmas. I quickly unpacked them and set them up next to my Monitors, noticing right away that they were slightly larger than the 70's. Not but much, but the difference was noticable. I hooked thme up and popped in Dark Knight, which is my standard "test" Blu Ray. The overall sound of these speakers is very pleasing, highs and mids are pretty much on par with the 70's and they are a very well rounded speaker. One thing I did notice (and others did too at the meet) was that the 500's seemed to dig a little lower than the 70's. I didn't get a chance to do any music listening with them at home, since I don't have much in the way of 2 ch. gear, but when I got to the meet the guys were very eager to give them a shot at it. We started with the Monitor 70's at 2 ch. and they seemed a bit harsh, but sounded pretty good hooked up to the DAC and amp that was being used. We swapped out the 70's for the 500's and hooked up a buffer and the 500's came to life. Very noticable difference from the 70's, but that was before we had the buffer in the mix, once added we swapped out the 500's for the 70's and they sounded great as well. Everyone listened very intently and seemed to be very impressed with their performance. Al (dangerboy) said right away that the 500's seemed to drop down a bit lower than the 70's and sounded better than them overall as well. We didn't do any HT at the meet, so they weren't able to hear thme in that capacity, but IMHO HT goes to the 70's. One thing I did notice was when I had them up front, they didn't seem to match up very well with my center channel (CS2) but I may have been a little overly critical in that area. They also made for a very good set of surround speakers, whch is where I have them for now while I piece together a 2 ch. rig, which is where I intend them to end up. I don't have an external amp at home, but noticed a big difference with them both at the meet with Jake's amp. I haven't been in this hobby for long, so my ear isn't as seasoned as some of the guys there, hopefully they will add their thoughts to this thread as well. Polk did a fine job with these speakers, both performance wise and in the looks department as well. Overall I was and still am very impressed by these 500's, but I would have to give the nod to the 70's overall as the better of the two. Thanks again Polk for letting me demo these, and end up owning them after the drawing. More to come once I get some more time with them.

-Jeff

cnh

Nice review Jeff..

Personally I've never heard M70s seund 'harsh' even on 'lesser' equipment so there must have been some weird synergy with the equipment used.

I should add that I've heard a number of tube pre-s that sounded a bit harsh and bright on bookshelves that cost much more than a set of M70s?

In fact CD sound is a REALLY difficult thing to get right! It almost always sounds HOT even on really 'good' equipment?? And especially on bookshelves that mostly run in the high and midrange area.
I'd say 3 out of 10 bookshelves I've heard that cost more than 2500 a pair sound OK playing a CD...the rest 'suck'!

The main difference I've found with the 500s vs. the M70s is that they have a narrower sound field and don't image quite as well due to the different crossover design?

You can toe in a set of M70s and move around the room and still hear pretty decent 2 channel...but with the 500s the sweet spot is a lot tighter.

If it were me. I'd put the TSIs in the HT and build the 2 channel around the M70s. But that's my subjective opinion.

And synergy is a 'factor'. It is 'possible' that with the gear you were running the 500s may have sounded a bit better...they 'do' have more lower end and that does tend to impress the ear. A good set of tube equipment would 'push' that full warm lower end and make them sound better, perhaps?

Enough of my nonsense...Enjoy those 'babies'...they're yours!

cnh

Enough of me....Enjoy those ba

dorokusai

Demo closed until further notice. Current shipping arrangements will be processed.

dorokusai

OK, give me a couple days to get caught up but we're moving forward again.

wutadumsn23

Hey Mark, if you can you may want to change the title of this one to reflect the new speaker being demo'd. It may cause some confusion since the 200's are now the speaker being demo'd.

-Jeff

dorokusai

OK, who's first for the new TSi200 demo?!?! The first one to speak up gets them regardless of your place in the roster.

Slinger182

I would like to be in.

Thanks

dorokusai

Slinger182 - Please read the first post closely and I'll make sure you're in ok?

jimbo1421

I would like to be back in this demo if possible.

Jim

Slinger182

dorokusai wrote: »

Slinger182 - Please read the first post closely and I'll make sure you're in ok?

Done.

Thanks

Knucklehead

I wouldnt mind being in on this Mark if thats possible.

comfortablycurt

Definitely in for the 200's!!


I don't think I'm the first to respond...but sweet either way! Can't wait to check these out.:)

dorokusai

I'm waiting to get a pair of these from the warehouse and will have them in rotation within a week or so.

dorokusai

The only spare pair of small TSi that can be dug up are TSi100. The demo has been changed yet again. Sorry but I have to work with what is available to us.

cnh

Doro,

You gotta do what you can do....and I've already demoed these speakers. I consider them a definite improvement over their predecessor the M30s...

They're a nice bookshelf guys! Try them you'll like them! I gave them a very long listen under less than ideal conditions at one of the Big Box (BB) stores, and they pretty much walked all over their competitors in almost every category for a 2 way 5" bookshelf!

cnh

Knucklehead

Id like to demo the 100's if possible Mark. David

Slinger182

I'm cool with the 100's. Probably more comparable to my owms and would love to see what the differences are.

dudeinaroom

Mark, take my name off the list. I was really looking to Demo the 500's and have no use for the 100's. Thank you Mark, and thank you POLKAUDIO.

later,
dude

rooftop59

I would love to demo these. I am in central texas and just sent you (dorokusai) an email.

Peace,
Paul

dorokusai

I updated the demo list and will be picking up two pairs of these for demos today. I'll have them shipped to.....hmmmm, Knucklehead and Mantis.

I'm jumping out of order since these are new for the rotation and I like to move demos geographically if at all possible. I'll split them here and then they should head west pretty quickly after that.

Knucklehead

Awesome! Cant wait to swap out my baby Advents with these for a listen.

jemrey81

Thanks for this opportunity... I just sent my info to you. I was just looking at these as an upgrade from my T15's (size wise they are the biggest I can fit), but wasn't sure how they would compare.

jemrey81

jemrey81 wrote: »

Thanks for this opportunity... I just sent my info to you. I was just looking at these as an upgrade from my T15's (size wise they are the biggest I can fit), but wasn't sure how they would compare.

You can take me off the list... I just did a very detailed demo at best buy. THANKS THOUGH!!!

dorokusai

It looks like I have a pair of TSi100 & TSi200...but you'll get what you get in regards to the demo. They are close enough that you'll get a feel for the sonic signature of them anyways.

Jemrey81 - Ok.

Serendipity

Hey Doro,

I would like to demo this too if possible... I am wondering how these sound compared to my Polk bookshelves.

Thanks!

dorokusai

I'm still waiting on these from Polk. Just hold out for now guys.

dorokusai

I'll be picking up the TSi loudspeakers when I get all the stuff for this event. They will ship next week.

Guys, I'm going to be wrapped up in the Capital Area Audiofest this week and weekend, so you'll have to hold off on labels until next weekend. Sorry for the inconvenience.

dorokusai

The speakers are going out today for David G. and Jim L.....David you're getting TSi200's.

I'll amend the thread to reflect a pair of TSi100 and TSi200 later.

jimbo1421

I am looking forward to it.

Jim

jimbo1421

dorokusai wrote: »

The speakers are going out today for David G. and Jim L.....David you're getting TSi200's.

I'll amend the thread to reflect a pair of TSi100 and TSi200 later.

The TSI100 pair arrived safely today and they are hooked up in my office system in place of the Monitor 7As. The TSI100s are not as bright as the M7s and of course the bass doesn't reach down as low. Still they are very nice. At some point I will borrow the PSW10 from my SurroundBar setup and see how that combo works.

Jim