Polk Lsi15 worth upgrading

angelopet · October 17

Hello have a few questions. I have a pair of Polk Lsi15 paired with Klipsch R-12SW with Yamaha p2700 and Marantz SR5009. So far no issues for me. Been thinking about upgrading. Crossovers are stock. Do those go bad? (20 years old) but Crossover is $800 plus. Is it worth it? For $1000 I can pick up a pair of Polk Reserve R700. But heard the tweeters (highs) are laking. So contact a reputable Crossover builder they said and I quote

"I would argue the lsi series modified performs extremely well against speakers far higher than their original msrp."

Ok. Not 100% convinced because he's selling the product. Next i contract another tester and builder to get pricing. He said kinda the opposite. But his testing is a different speaker. The Lsi9. But said they use the same MTM section. Don't know what that is. And he sent me charts to prove it. Suggest I buy his DIY kit for less and will outperform. Here is his quote

"I measured and tested the Polk LSi9's twice. They have some significant break up issues in the woofers range that I cannot fix. See attached measurements.

Your model uses the same MTM section.

The impedance was really low on those too.

If it were me, I would start over. We have some really high quality DIY designs that will outclass them significantly and for less money than you would spend trying to upgrade those."

He is also trying to sell me something. Two reputable businesses. Conflicting information.

So now I'm here at Polk asking. Is it worth replacing the crossovers? Or am I better off getting something newer? Like the r700 but heard mixed reviews on. Also is the Yamaha p2700 ok for the lsi15. It has the power, but does it have the finesse, if you get what I mean. Am I losing audio sounds, clarity, ect... with the Yamaha? Was looking into 2 channel Parasound or Adcom 300w per channel, but they are pricey also $800+. I mean Polk audio is hear things I don't hear in any other speakers. But is there more that I'm missing because amp or old crossover? And is know it's all subjective to your ear. But I kinda feel that Polk users have somewhat baseline sync to sounds. That's why we chose them.

Thanks
Angelo

Attached is the image of tests. (For different model lsi9) he's claiming the same.

F1nut · October 17

First, dump the pro amp. Second, buy the R700. I can only imagine those that think the tweeter is lacking like the glare of Klipsch horns.

Gardenstater · October 17

Was that Danny Richie who tested the LSi9? Looks like his plots. Can't find any youtube video on that speaker done by him.

Who said the R700 tweeter trails off? You can see from the following measurements that is false:

https://www.audioholics.com/tower-speaker-reviews/polk-reserve-r700/#toc-h2-3

mantis · October 19

Interesting,
The LSI15's by themselves before 20 plus years of use and a wearing crossover which I'm suspicious of it being bad. Crossovers IMO and my experience don't really go bad unless they do. When they do you know either the speaker doesn't work anymore or sounds completely off.

Anyway spending $1000 on a new crossover is madness UNLESS you absolutely love your LSI15's. Another option is finding a gently used excellent condition pair and calling it a day. I would buy the LSI 15's again as they were an excellent speaker. The only weakness I remember them having is the side woofer and guys in here replaced them with a different Polk woofer with excellent results. You would have to search the forum for that.

The LSI9's I know were flawed. I had them, I tried to get them to sound awesome, they didn't , they were IMO the worse speaker in the LSI line back then. Never did they sound good full range , they always had to be crossed over between 60-100hz. The LSI 15's and LSI7's where a much better sounding all around speaker especially mated with a good subwoofer speakers crossed over at 80 hz. That always worked well in every room I put them in.

The Reserve series gets high praise. Getting the R700's or even 500 or 600's depending on room size is a good way to go. I have no personal experience with any of them but everyone I talked to who either owns them or reviewed them all said the same thing.

I have no idea of your upgrade needs but speakers are the most important thing in your system and then you build the rest around them.

ohskigod · October 21

want to get the best out of the LSi line? I know this isn't going to be popular, but get some Icepower amps on them. My LSi15's are being powered by Icepower 1200AS (monoblocks) and while it is a cartoonish level pf power, I have never heard my LSi's sound like this.

While the crossovers arent upgraded, I do have MM840 woofers on them which makes them even more power hungry than usual.

I DO have LSi9's with upgraded crossovers that also sound amazeballs on the 1200 AS2 running in 2 channel (I havent tried the monoblock set up on them yet)

The biggest issue with the LSi series is that they need an absurd amount of power to get the best out of them. The LSi9's impedance curve is also a nightmare so I so not run any amp on them that isnt stable down into the 2 ohm range. I toasted a Rotel RB980 and a Carver m4.0T before I learned that lesson

That said I will have my LSi's until my last breath, Many moons ago I stated I liked them more than Polk SDA's and almost got thrown out of here...lol

HzTweaker · October 21

ohskigod wrote: »

want to get the best out of the LSi line? I know this isn't going to be popular, but get some Icepower amps on them. My LSi15's are being powered by Icepower 1200AS (monoblocks) and while it is a cartoonish level pf power, I have never heard my LSi's sound like this.

While the crossovers arent upgraded, I do have MM840 woofers on them which makes them even more power hungry than usual.

I DO have LSi9's with upgraded crossovers that also sound amazeballs on the 1200 AS2 running in 2 channel (I havent tried the monoblock set up on them yet)

The biggest issue with the LSi series is that they need an absurd amount of power to get the best out of them. The LSi9's impedance curve is also a nightmare so I so not run any amp on them that isnt stable down into the 2 ohm range. I toasted a Rotel RB980 and a Carver m4.0T before I learned that lesson

That said I will have my LSi's until my last breath, Many moons ago I stated I liked them more than Polk SDA's and almost got thrown out of here...lol

Have you considered putting the crossovers from your 9s into the 15s?

I also agree my 9s take a fair bit of power to get them going.

VR3 · October 21

Lsi9 crossover doesn't have a hipass on the mids and there are other differences but it would be I'll advised to try it given how much smaller the mtm enclosure is for the 15s

ohskigod · October 22

not something I would do, especially as the guy that modded my 9's also said no...lol

that said maybe I'll upgrade the 15's but they are sounding so fantastic now since running the 1200AS modules as monoblocks I am in no rush

Emlyn · October 22

The LSi15s I had sounded way better once I moved them to a room with a cement slab floor. Got rid of the bloated bass from when they were in an upstairs room. I agree they needed a high current amp in either location but the room was the main problem.

skrol · October 22

Three significant upgrades to my LSi15s were:

1) got an amp that can drive high current. Even at that, my Parasound HCA-1000A is modest. I almost ditched the speaker when I was driving them with a some-what beefy receiver (Denon DRA-835R). The Parasound controlls the bass much better and overall much cleaner ... they just absolutely sound better.

2) got them away from the walls. They need room to breath otherwise the bass is bloaty.

3) Speaker cables. My 14 awg AudioQuest cables are nothing special but the speakers sound more cohesive when compared to the 16 awg Monster cables from Best Buy that I started with. I do have long runs ~15 feet. Previously, there seemed to be a disconnect between the bass and the mids and higher.

I was going to upgrade the XOs but then we had to get rid of the carpet in the room (cats... grrr!) and now the room is too lively to enjoy. So, 4) will be room treatments.

Polk Lsi15 worth upgrading

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