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Comparison of LSIm703, LSI25, RTI8

RshellRshell Posts: 3
edited February 2014 in Speakers
I have a pair of RTI8 speakers and find their bass great w/subwoofer, highs bright, and soundstage good. I've compared with my old SDA-2s, and the midrange is not as good, not nearly as smooth or the same clarity. I'm considering upgrading to LSIM703 or LSI25 speakers. I can get the LSI25 for $1300/pair. First, would you all recommend the LSIM703 over the RTI8 and why? Would there be a significant boost in mid-range. I realize the bass response might suffer (bookshelf versus floorstanding)? What about the LSIM703 versus LSI25 (consder the LSI25 is cheaper, but is an older model. Not too keen either on the size/weight of the LSI25. I'm powering with a Yamaha RN-500, which seems to do pretty well on 4 ohms. Thanks all.
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  • F1nutF1nut Posts: 45,405
    edited February 2014
    The 703's (8 ohm, not 4) are far better than either the RTi 8 or LSi 25.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • RshellRshell Posts: 3
    edited February 2014
    Can someone please give me a bit more details RE the differences? I am surprised that the 703 has tighter, deeper base than either of the other floorstanding speakers. Also, most of the music i play is through a DAC connected to an ipad. Would I really notice a significant difference or would I really need to use and uncompressed format to detect the differences? Thanks.
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  • txcoastal1txcoastal1 Posts: 11,614
    edited February 2014
    What your room size?

    The LSi25 needs an amp, I have them in my HT. They are for HT duty only and work well for that purpose, I do not prefer them for music as I have no control of the bass.

    The 703's are built for music.
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
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  • RshellRshell Posts: 3
    edited February 2014
    my room is 20 x 17 with 9 foot ceilings. i assume the 703s will fill the space no problem. Interesting you say that the lsi25 is built for HT. i thought the RTIa series was for HT and the LSI series was built for music. By the way, what's the difference - i just assume that HT speakers would produce better bass, but speakers built for music would be more accurate. Is this right or are there other differences?
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  • txcoastal1txcoastal1 Posts: 11,614
    edited February 2014
    I'm picky and the subs are active. When producing stereo I prefer not to have the subs strapped to my speakers. It make placement difficult.
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
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  • ThirdWorldGuyThirdWorldGuy Posts: 39
    edited February 2014
    F1nut wrote: »
    The 703's (8 ohm, not 4) are far better than either the RTi 8 or LSi 25.

    Really? Far better? I was hoping I could replace(for music mainly) my A5s with a LSi 15 for real cheap but I guess it wouldn't make sense, I would rather go for the newer bookshelf.
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  • skrolskrol Posts: 2,965
    edited February 2014
    Musically I would have to say that the LSi15 is a big step up from the A5 if you have a good amplifier to drive them. Also, the LSi15 (and likely the LSi25) can be a little trick when it comes to placement. With the side firing sub they need room to breath otherwise, the bass tends to resonate. Once you get them set up right, the imaging is fantastic.

    If you are so inclined, the LSi can be further improved with a DB840 sub upgrade and XO component upgrades.

    Unfortunately, I have not had the privilege of auditioning the LSiM series (yet).
    Stan
    Stan

    Main 2ch:
    Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.

    HT:
    Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade), Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60

    Other stuff:
    Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7; Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
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  • Lan077Lan077 Posts: 31
    edited February 2014
    ThirdWorldGuy wrote: »
    Really? Far better? I was hoping I could replace(for music mainly) my A5s with a LSi 15 for real cheap but I guess it wouldn't make sense, I would rather go for the newer bookshelf.

    The LSI is just a very old speaker line, it was pretty good at one time. Polk put years of research into the LSIM line and it shows.
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  • Tungx2Tungx2 Posts: 58
    edited February 2014
    with LSI 15, there's a lot of components that you can upgrade. Perhaps that means that it's not built with top quality parts?
    TV.......................Samsung 46" LCD LN46A550
    A/V Receiver.........Yamaha RX-V3900
    Amplifier.............. Emotiva XPA-1 Gen 2 for fronts, XPA-3 Gen 2 for center and Surrounds.
    BluRay Player.........Sony PS3
    Fronts...................RTia9 (modded)
    Center.............. ...CSiA6 (modded)
    Surrounds.............Empty for now. But waiting for a Fxi A6 deal on polk ebay.
    Rear Surrounds.... Deciding if front presence is the way to go instead.
    Sub..................... SVS PB12-plus/2
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  • specd_outspecd_out Posts: 505
    In my journey in the audio world I have come to the conclusion that upgrading speakers should be the last thing you do. For example. on my a5's adding 1 carver tfm-15 amp in place of my Pioneer Elite avr made a noticeable difference, adding two tfm-15s bridged made a world of difference in movies and music. much more dynamic and precise sounding. Not to mention the benefits of proper placement.
    Same with my lsi9s modding my amp,and my pre made such a huge difference it was like new speaker, changing the cables to aq king cobras and aq rocket 88's was again a night and day difference.

    My point being there are plenty of weaker links in most peoples systems that can greatly improve sound then just getting new speakers. Getting better speakers but still powering them off a consumer level avr may sound different but rarely better
    HT Rig Samsung 64F8500 |Pioneer Elite BDP-52FD|Pioneer Elite VSX-32| Two Carver TFM-15cb Bridged for mains|Polk Audio RTiA5 Cherry|Polk Audio CsiA6 Cherry|Polk Audio T-15 Heights|Polk Audio FXia6 Surround|DIY 8cuft Dayton Ultimax 15" powered with a Crown XLS1000
    2Channel Rig Polk Audio LSi9 Cherry| Carver C-1BillD Mod|Carver M1.0t MkII Opt2|Pro-ject RM 1.3|SpeedBox S|AQ King Cobras|AQ Rocket88|
    ISF Level 2 Certified Calibrator
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  • tonybtonyb Posts: 32,565
    If your dead set on keeping that 80 watter, the LSIM's are way easier to drive with it than the LSI's.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • cfrizzcfrizz Posts: 13,420
    I have always said to make sure you are getting the optimal sound out of your current speakers first before you go upgrading them. Which means making sure they are properly powered, which most receivers are unable to do. Once you are hearing what your speakers are truly capable of, then you can start thinking about other upgrades that you might want to do.

    In the end, you just might save yourself a lot of money and be a lot happier with your current gear.

    However, if you are the type that just likes to constantly upgrade for the sake of doing so, you won't be interested in doing this.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 ch. 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony Bravia KDL-40R510C TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Boston VR-920 Center Channel, SVS NSD-12 SB12 Subwoofer, Polk DSW 400 Subwoofer, Polk FXi-3 Surround Speakers
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