LSi's appliance store quality

gshisme

Thought all Polk owners would want to hear this:

Over the weekend I auditioned several different brands of receivers, preamps and power amps at various middle to high end A/V retailers and during my visit to the second retailer I expressed my interest in listening to the Polk LSi series with the rotel1075 I was interested in. His response was that the Polks were an "appliance store quality speaker" and that they didn't carry them. I asked this so called expert whether he had ever listened to the LSi's and his response was that he did not...Brief argument...Goodby. This happened a second time at a different retailer only this time I was directed toward Best Buy. OK..see ya!

That aside I did get to listen to the 9's up front and 7's and FX's in the rear with a Parasound Halo amp/preamp and Rotel amp/preamp at another location. This guy was great. I think he would have put together anything I requested because on the phone he told me I could audition the 15's with a discontinued B&K 6 channel amp. But it so happens they had sold before I had a chance to listen. Too me the Para and Rotel whichI listenedto with the LSi's both sounded OUTSTANDING with the nod going slightly to the Parasound because...well...I can't pinpoint it other than perhaps it was just a little bit more....solid? Don't ask me to explain. Still would like to hear the 15's with the 9's or FX's in the rear.

I almost did an impulse buy on the new B&K 125.7 but I think I will play with this upgrade thing for awhile. There is just too much out there to listen to. One thing is for sure..I love my Polks.

Getting back to the anti-Polk sales people.. I guess they get a pretty good commision from Paradigm, B&W and the like. No other way to explain their responses.

setzer808

Continued good reviews and advertisements of the LSi series should help change Polk's "standing" among a lot of these retailers.

I wish there was an alternate universe where Polk wasn't sold at CC (I'm fine with it personally) and was only sold at "Botiques." I bet they would be highly regarded. I mean, c'mon how many among you fellow RT owners out there have went into one of these botique stores and laughed at how badly some of the more highly regarded brands sounded in comparison. I know I have.

VR3

Originally posted by setzer808
Continued good reviews and advertisements of the LSi series should help change Polk's "standing" among a lot of these retailers.

I wish there was an alternate universe where Polk wasn't sold at CC (I'm fine with it personally) and was only sold at "Botiques." I bet they would be highly regarded. I mean, c'mon how many among you fellow RT owners out there have went into one of these botique stores and laughed at how badly some of the more highly regarded brands sounded in comparison. I know I have.

I listened to alot of speakers in tweeter, and the Manager said the Boston's were about the same as the LSI line, but better. Personally - I liked my RT speakers better. The place where I think all Polk speakers except the LSI's fail is the highs. Every speakers I heard in the same price range or higher has better highs. What is the deal? Other than that, I preferred my speakers over almost every speaker in Tweeter costing double sometimes triple. I was not highly impressed with what Tweeter considered High/Mid fi. When I went to sound systems, now thats when Polk started to burn. Def tech speakers, IMO totally murder Polk speaker in highs, and are WAY WAY more defined in the midrange, the soundstage on the Def Tech is an apple orange comparison, Def Tech all the way. I wasnt that impressed with B&W, more like a high end bose as ATC put it, not aweing about them. At Tweeter they had Martin Logans, and they sounded good, but I wasnt floored. When I heard the Def Tech's, I was literally stopped in my tracks, I just loved that sound! Polk makes a fine product, and too many retailers out rule them. I was talking to the manager of Tweeter about the Polk LSI and he plainly said, they were just not good enough. Well clearly the man hasnt heard them, because no speakers in their demo room crushed my speakers alone! Tweeter said they were hoping to pick up Yamaha though, that should be interesting......
I wish Polk would put the Lsi's in some store, I WANT TO HEAR THEM GOSH DARNIT! Anyways, Im just babbling.....goodbye

organ

Those "high end" salespeople piss me off. I can't believe he told you Polk sucks without hearing them first. The RT line blows away the competition. They're better built than any other "mass market" speakers. I bet he'd be surprised at their sound quality when hooked up to seperates. A few weeks ago, I moved my 800i to the front to see how they would sound with seperates and it was amazing. It was the first time I got any real depth in the soundstage with them and the tri lams sounded much better. The sound improved so much compared to the Oink I was using to power them before I upgraded.

Maurice

VR3

Originally posted by organ
Those "high end" salespeople piss me off. I can't believe he told you Polk sucks without hearing them first. The RT line blows away the competition. They're better built than any other "mass market" speakers. I bet he'd be surprised at their sound quality when hooked up to seperates. A few weeks ago, I moved my 800i to the front to see how they would sound with seperates and it was amazing. It was the first time I got any real depth in the soundstage with them and the tri lams sounded much better. The sound improved so much compared to the Oink I was using to power them before I upgraded.

Maurice

I agree 110%, I have my RT35i's hooked up to an Adcom GFA-545II, night and day really. More defined midrange, clearer/exstended highs, totally different speaker. It goes from in the box to out of the box literally. Its worth the purchase of an amp, the difference is just amazing. Then again alot of speakers would benefit from a seperate amp. Mantis has said the RT line is not worthy of a seperate amp, and I TOTALLY disagree, even the RT25i would improve with a small amp....

Steve@3dai

I personally think that the amp can make or break a system. Looks like I am getting some followers

HBombToo

Its amazing how different amps can effect a speaker. I really am happy with my 800i's! Damn good speaker!

HBomb

gshisme

Well I look at it this way. I'll be spending a good chunk of change on A/V equipement and know that those ignorant "high end" shops won't be getting any of it.

Judging by the replies on these A/V forums it seems I'm headed in the right direction with seperates over receivers.

Steve@3dai

Recievers can do just as good of job, and in some cases better, than seperates. Seperates are not the end all solution.

MichaelJ

With the state of AV gear today, you can get a THX certified receiver that will play accurately and louder than you can stand for extended listening, for a lot less than separates ... and you don't have to buy a bunch of extra cables.

F1nut

gshisme,

Don't be fooled, seperates will beat ANY receiver (THX....pfft) ANY day. You've got the right idea.

F1

mantis

Very common around here.All the higher end stores bash the hell out of polk speakers.You think Bose takes it???polk gets it worse.

People have there opnions about a given product and seem to stick with it no matter what,look at the Bose bashing that goes on,even in here..........

I will agree to an extent with the polk bashing only because if you go into the stores that sell them, they sound terrible and annoying.You go into one of the higher end stores and listen to a pair of speakers priced the same and they always sound much much better.Monitor Audio,PSB,Paridigm,Energy,Def Tech's all sound better because they are in higher end stores with higher end gear.Better sounding demo rooms and better gear.
I argued these very points for years,CC killed polk's name for respect around here.There rooms sound terrible and there nothing I can do about that.
So the bashing will continue untill polk starts getting product into higher end stores and getting some respect that they deserve back.Lsi could very well pull that off,but there is NO dealers close to me,I have to go into New Jersey and deep into New Jersey.Sucks................

gshisme

Hell I have listened to enough other manafactures speakers in the LSi price range that I would even be willing to put my RTi series up against some of them.

By the way anyone have any recommendations or preferences for a subwoofer to work with the 9's up front and 7's or FX's in the rear? There are other threads addressing this subjuct but I thought while I'm here........

Greg

P.S. All the info and arguments on this forum and others has been great. I'm indebted to all those who share their knowledge with me and other begginers of this great hobby.

gshisme

Mantis I agree. I live in the Lehigh Valley and also had to travel to Jersey. Initially, when I first started looking for the LSi series I was surprised that no higher end stores in this area carry the Polk line except for one store a little north of me and all they had were the 7's.

MichaelJ

I bought my first Polk speakers (RTA15T's) at a high-end shop about 12 years ago when I lived in California. I now live near Columbus, Ohio. This year I decided to move up to home theater and none of the high-end shops carried Polk. I ended up buying my center and surrounds at The Great Indoors, a Sears subsidiary. It does make them feel cheaper, kind of a letdown. I love the way my Polks sound, but the lack of high-end shop support (and the less than impressive cabinet finish) puts a question in the back of my mind, is the quality still there?

MichaelJ

gshisme

about the separates versus recever question. it's almost a lifestyle choice. I used to have separates, but now have a receiver. The receiver I have now sounds better than the separates it replaced. Unless you are going to spend over $5,000 on your electonics, you won't be able able to hear any difference in the sound (unless your one of those very rare people with a "golden ear").

You are better off putting most of your budget into your speakers, they are the real variable in a sound system.

When you have separates, you listen to music and watch movies differently, you are always evaluating the music or video to see what changes you should make to your system rather than simply enjoying the music or movie.

Get separates if you look at this as a hobby and you want to spend time changing out components, trying new cables, and continuously changing your configuration. Get a receiver if you want to come home after a hard day at work and just sit down and enjoy watching a movie or listening to music.

tryrrthg

MichaelJ,

I live in/near Columbus also!

The Great Indoors caries some pretty descent speakers! I was surprised when my girlfriend DRAGGED me in there at the stuff they had! not a bad place to buy them at all.

have you been to Progressive Audio? Now THAT is a COOL store!

gshisme

Mike, interesting thought.

My 2cents regarding your quality concerns..If it sounds good, don't sweat the small stuff. I nearly crapped in my pants the first time I watched Cast Away on DVD when the plane first experienced turbulance! This with the R and RTi series. Just curious, why don't you like the finish. Mine seem to be flawless.

organ

By the way anyone have any recommendations or preferences for a subwoofer to work with the 9's up front and 7's or FX's in the rear? There are other threads addressing this subjuct but I thought while I'm here........

I think they(LSi) blend in very nicely with the PSW650. I've had the 650 since it came out and haven't felt the need to upgrade to a better sub because I'm very happy with it's musical reproduction. The 650 sounds incredible with music. I run my LSi9's full range and have the sub's x-over set to about 60hz and the 9's sound like a set of full range speakers.
The only other sub I would consider getting for a replacement would be the upcoming PSW808.

Maurice

gshisme

I'm running a PSW 350 now with the R & RTi's but I'm sure it won't be able to blend with the LSi's. I will however give it a try hoping it proves me wrong.

Just curious Maurice, why would you consider a 808 over the 650?

Greg

setzer808

As a fellow PSW-350 owner I'm planning on using my 350 in addition to any new sub I add should my budget suddenly increase. In my apartment (listening room 14' x 21') the 350 is plenty of bass...and then some. One path I might take is adding another 350.

--Hate to hijack a thread, but do you think that 2 PSW-350's (I got mine for $200, assuming I could find a second for same or less) would run with a single ~$400 sub?

--Back to the thread, would such a PSW-350 setup do the LSI's (of any size) justice?

gshisme

setzer808, dunno. Let the veterans help you out with double sub thing. I'm looking forward to some of the responses. I really haven't done a comparison as far as subs go yet but my 350 seems to work quite well in my H/T room. For the most part I have the filter on the sub turned up and use the receiver sub filter for tweaking. Whether my neighbors are home or not dictates what settings I use for L/S speaker settings and sub filter settings. My favorite setting when they are gone is for all speakers set to large(front,center and rear)and the receiver sub filter set at 40 with the volume LOUD...-15 to -25 depending on the movie. Oh hell yeah!!!!

organ

Greg,
I really love the 650 right now but I just feel the 808 will outperform the 650, especially for music. The 808 has new long throw woofers, a much bigger amp and I believe they don't use the power port. According to Polk, they were made to match the sound quality of the LSi. So I'm assuming they will be a lot more musical than the 650.
I would like to demo the new 808 when I feel the need to upgrade the sub and will get one if it outperforms the 650. Oh yeah, they look very pretty too with the matching cherry side panels.

Maurice

MichaelJ

Originally posted by gshisme
Mike, interesting thought.

My 2cents regarding your quality concerns..If it sounds good, don't sweat the small stuff. I nearly crapped in my pants the first time I watched Cast Away on DVD when the plane first experienced turbulance! This with the R and RTi series. Just curious, why don't you like the finish. Mine seem to be flawless.

THe RTA15T's that I bought 12 years ago have an excellent finish, like fine furniture. I just bought a CSi40 and two FXi50's and they are finished with a black paint/stain that doesn't fill-in all the grain, not nearly the quality of my RTA15T's. The new speakers do sound good; no complaints there.

MichaelJ

Originally posted by tryrrthg
MichaelJ,

I live in/near Columbus also!

The Great Indoors caries some pretty descent speakers! I was surprised when my girlfriend DRAGGED me in there at the stuff they had! not a bad place to buy them at all.

have you been to Progressive Audio? Now THAT is a COOL store!

tryrrthg

no real complaints about The Great Indoors, a lot of decent audio/video equipment; I was just pointing out that it is a chain store, not a high-end store like Progressive Audio.

I have been to Progressive Audio (which doesn't carry Polk) because I am still looking for the right subwoofer. Velodyne has been recommended to me and Progressive carries that brand, but only the higher priced models at $1,000 and up. I was looking for a Velodyne CHT15, which should be available for about $600 if I can ever find one in this area. I think I could blow a whole years salary at Progressive, great stuff.

I tried Circuit City for the Velodyne, but they only carry up through the CHT12.

Have you been to other audio-video specialty stores that you can recommend?

tryrrthg

I've been to a few shops in Ohio.

Genesis Audio ( www.genesisaudio.com ) is in Gahanna (near Columbus). They carry paradigm, so they should have the Servo 15 and probably some of their lower priced models.

Audio Encounters is near Dublin. I've only been in there once very quickly. Didn't have much time to look around.

http://www.audioencounters.com/

There's a shop in Dayton ( www.audio-etc.net ) but the sales guy there was a jerk! He's just not very personable...

http://www.audibleelegance.com/ is in Cinci, but I haven't been there yet...

If you're looking for a sub for music I've read a LOT of good things about the ACI Titan and ACI Force subs. They often beat the pants off expensive REL subs (or so their owners claim) and are about half the cost. You should also check out SVS subs.

http://www.audioc.com/

http://www.svsubwoofers.com/

gshisme

organ,

Was hoping you had listened to the 808. Nice reply however. Guess I'll check out the subs forum for awhile.

MichaelJ

Originally posted by tryrrthg
I've been to a few shops in Ohio.

Genesis Audio ( www.genesisaudio.com ) is in Gahanna (near Columbus). They carry paradigm, so they should have the Servo 15 and probably some of their lower priced models.

Audio Encounters is near Dublin. I've only been in there once very quickly. Didn't have much time to look around.

http://www.audioencounters.com/

There's a shop in Dayton ( www.audio-etc.net ) but the sales guy there was a jerk! He's just not very personable...

http://www.audibleelegance.com/ is in Cinci, but I haven't been there yet...

If you're looking for a sub for music I've read a LOT of good things about the ACI Titan and ACI Force subs. They often beat the pants off expensive REL subs (or so their owners claim) and are about half the cost. You should also check out SVS subs.

http://www.audioc.com/

http://www.svsubwoofers.com/

Gads ... I certainly have research cut out for me. Thanks a bunch for all the leads.

mantis

gshisme,
sucks around here don't it??I mean there are alot of audio and Video stores but NONE that carry polk Lsi.Traveling across New Jersey to that killed store to hear Lsi..........well I think it sucks.

I live just northeast of Phila,In lower bucks county.I get up your way from time to time.

gshisme

Mantis, Yea it does. I certainly would like to hear more setups but at this point I'm becoming more dependant on what forum members prefer and there evaluations of different components and systems. Try finding Harman Kardon and Polk at the same A/V store let alone each by itself. Very curious about the 7200 even though I'm finding out through various forums that H/K has serious QC problems. Mine has treated me just fine however.

When you are up this way you are absolutely invited to stop by and chat a little bit over a few brews. Kind of interested in what a veteran thinks of my system.

My Wish List:

speakers: Polk LSi
electronics: Adcom, Rotel, B&K, Parasound, NAD, Arcam? I have a list of each(receivers and seperates)and their specs and everytime I look at it I drive myself freegan crazy!! God I love it!

Greg

organ

I have a list of each(receivers and seperates)and their specs and everytime I look at it I drive myself freegan crazy!! God I love it!

LOL And that's only the beginning. I wonder if it's music that keeps us sane. If we were only interested in gear, we'd be INSANE:supermad:

Maurice