LS90's - My first experience

vc69

Ron Temple wrote: »

I was kind of hoping vc69 would give us a review...hopefully, tomorrow:D

Well Ron, I am pleased to say the very least. Cosmetically excellent, drivers excellent, all clean and well cared for with perfect grills . I am one happy camper. No pics yet, sorry.:(

First let me say that I am truly grateful for your advice and recommendations. Have a virtual beverage on my tab anytime.

My equipment for this test:
LS90's (of course)
Onkyo TX-SR606
OPPO BDP-83
Good heavy gauge commercial speaker wire
Some older AQ (I think) interconnects.

My first experience with the LS90's was music only. That is their primary purpose in my setup. They will do double duty, but musicality is my primary concern. These speakers did not disappoint. The image they present has depth and width and placement. Something I had sorely missed with the Monitor 50's/sub setup I had been listening to.
So you'll know what my tastes are, I listened to a variety of material from within my favorite genre (Alt/rock) including Dire Straits (Communique'), DSoTM sacd (2 ch), NIN TDS sacd (2ch), Tool (Lateralus), and my old standby for listening tests Steely Dan (in this case Showbiz Kids).

It has been quite some time since I have enjoyed a listening session as much as I did with these speakers last night. Granted the amp section of the Onkyo is limited but in fact, I can't listen at very high db levels as I am in an apt. building. It's an old building, and is much better than apt. complex type limitations where I would have bothered a neighbor, but still a factor. I like my neighbors, so I curb my enthusiasm for rocking out as much as possible.:D
I sit in the "sweet spot" and listen rather near-field so I am about 6 ft. from each speaker. My preference for listening to 2 channel music is to listen to the CD as unmolested as possible. So for most stuff, I used the stereo analog outs with the Onk in direct mode. It's as clean as I can get my signal path at the moment. and I was truly impressed by both the -83 and the onks ability. I am intimately familiar with Steely Dan and Dire Straits material and it was so nice to hear it again.
Since this was a first listen, I am still a bit reserved. The "wow" factor is in play because I haven't had a "big" speaker in years.(My old 4412's went south long ago and my NS10's... well, they are what they are. Then it was the Monitor 50's/ JBL sub combo) The LS90's are definitely the best speakers I have had in years. (Those 4412's were some rockers!). I can't wait to feed them some real power. I could certainly hear the Onk's limitations which is truly a good sign. A good speaker reveals all.
Overall I am really, really happy with my purchase. The 90's were smooth, musical, excellent mids and punch with a much more musical tweeter than I was used to with the 50's. I am confident that I will be able to build a satisfactory, musical system with these speakers. That is a confidence I had lacked before. Like I stated, the 50's just did not cut it. They will pick up duty as rears in my 5.1 until I can upgrade. As you said, these LS90's are in a different class altogether. I am happy with the upgrade and looking forward to building a system around these speakers. For now, that is all I can really say.

My ultimate goal is to pair these with a clean 2 channel pre-amp and amplifier. I would actually prefer to just run the analog outs of the BDP-83 into an amp and let 'em rip but alas, that isn't realistic in my current living arrangement. So I am going to need a clean pre. Something simple. No tone/eq. Just a nice gain stage. And some clean power.
So there it is. Sorry for the long winded nature of this post but since I am new to this board and AVS, I thought some background info would be useful.

Questions/comments welcome.

Ricardo

Great review vc69; it seems your'e pretty much on your way to a nice setup. You know which are your system's limitations and that's a good thing. I'm just sorry for your wallet

Welcome!

xj4094dg

I bought a pair of these new for about 1600.00 new when they first came out. They were my first Polks! They are great speakers. Enjoy.

Ron Temple

vc69 asked for some vintage advice in the Polk thread at AVS. I gave him a couple of suggestions, but he found these on his own and it sounds like a great deal. While the going price varies around the country, the value per $ is off the charts. Great review, Kevin, welcome to Club Polk. There are far more guys here that know what you have and can give you great advice on your journey.

Jeff Beaird

I too have LS-90's, currently retired to doing duty, as fronts my HT setup. They are very impressive sound quality wise and can dig deep when required.

Very nice testimony too..

Conradicles

Good job vc69 and welcome to the forum! Very nice review.

jacob.simpson

Nice write up, and enjoy them.

vc69

Thanks guys.
Pics are coming soon I promise.

danz1906

Congrats on the speakers!

wallstreet

These speakers will really come alive when driven with a nice amp.

lakedmb

Thanks for the review! I am now on the search to find some LS-90's to compare with the LS-70's that I currently have.

Hope the speakers bring you enjoyment for a long time.

vc69

I'm loving these speakers more and more. They are in great shape.
I do have a little project to do though. The frames around the outside of the front panel are loose and need to be re-fastened. I am not sure how to go about this as I don't think just gluing them in place is the right approach. I'll probably solicit feedback in the DIY or here before I make any bold decisions.

madmax

On music the LS90's will show off any level of equipment. In other words, the more you upgrade the better they will sound so aim high. One of my favorite speakers.
madmax

Ron Temple

Yeah, if I hadn't met and been infected by SDAs, I could be more than satisfied with a set of LS90, 50s, 350LS and maybe a couple of LSFxs for a combo rig.

madmax

Some might even say the LS90's are a more audiophile class speaker since they don't have the SDA circuitry. I'd have to punch them out but they still might say it.
madmax

Ron Temple

madmax wrote: »

Some might even say the LS90's are a more audiophile class speaker since they don't have the SDA circuitry. I'd have to punch them out but they still might say it.
madmax

Some might...

cfrizz

Great review, congratulations!