Polk Audio LSi15 Floorstanding Speakers
Polk Audio LSi15 Floorstanding Speakers
[Oct 15, 2006]
radargeek622
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Excellent definition. Smooth tonal balance. Tight low end when used in combination with a subwoofer
Weakness:
given their price, none. I bought these unheard based on previous good experiences with other polk speakers as well as numerous favorable reviews. (Just google polk lsi, lsi15, lsi9 or lsi7 if you want to see the same reviews) Note price listed is per pair.
Customer Service Purchased from acoustic sound design and would do so again.(www.acousticsounddesign.com). No hassles, great price. They shipped the product in a few days. The shipper mach 1 air took a week to actually deliver to my house but they took care and it was worth the wait. |
[Jul 08, 2006]
goldear63
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Incredible detail and dynamics; huge soundstage, both vertically and horizontally. These give you everything the 9s have to offer plus an extended low end.
Weakness:
As with the 9s, these speakers love power...a reciever won't do them justice. Even low-powered amps may not give the control needed to properly integrate the woofer. Having owned and fallen in love with a pair of LSi9s I bought for my spare room, I decided that I wanted to build a complete 7.1 system around the LSi series.
Similar Products Used: Paradigm Reference, B&W, Citation, Focal, Totem, Infinity (classic), etc. |
[Jun 08, 2006]
Chris
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Attractive! One of the nicest top ends I've heard at any price range. Well defined bass with proper positioning and power. Top to bottom an overall great performer.
Weakness:
Needs lots of power and good positioning to get proper bass response. Having owned and auditioned numerous speakers over the last several years, it was a surprise that I found myself revisiting Polk having left them over a decade ago. By know means would I describe myself as an Audiophile, but I do know what makes a speaker sound good, and which ones offer good value.
Similar Products Used: Paradigm, Infinity Renassaince 90, Legacy Classic, B&W, Totem and Dynaudio |
[Apr 24, 2006]
mtr1015
Audio Enthusiast
I bought these speakers from www.acousticsounddesign.com
|
[Apr 24, 2006]
Matthew Richardson
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Excellant Sound Quality. Power is adequete
Weakness:
Subwooders lack bass, but this is corrected by actually having a subwoofer which is expected (so not really a weekness).
Love the product so far. Seller was great to work with Customer Service Excellant Seller www.acousticsounddesign.com
Similar Products Used: Lsi C |
[Feb 17, 2006]
Christopher
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Very good imaging. Deep and wide soundstage. Clean and neutral middle and high frequencies.
Weakness:
Boomy mid-bass I have had the LSi15's for a couple of months, and have been somewhat disappointed. They have a mid-bass emphasis that causes a boomy effect on many recordings. On the positive side. They have very good imaging, and create a wide and deep soundstage. Above the bass and lower mid-range, they sound clean and neutral. On good recordings, the sound seems to float all around the speakers, never sounding like it is being forced out of two boxes. Unfortunately, for me, the mid-bass thumping just about ruins the speakers overall tonal balance. |
[Jan 10, 2005]
Kevin
AudioPhile
Strength:
Highs and mids, price, build quality.
Weakness:
Bass- can be solved with a proper power amp, or a seperate sub.4 ohm load These speakers rock! I got these after reading many reviews and have not been disapponited at all. I think they are the cleanest sounding speakers I've ever heard. The bass is lacking a little, but that can be solved with a seperate sub. Similar Products Used: polk, bose |
[Oct 13, 2004]
20to20K
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Excellent sound across spectrum when properly driven. (Can't wait to get that amp!) Attractive appearance and build quality.
Weakness:
Need lots of clean power to perform well. Difficult to move around the room I purchased my LSi15's about 6 weeks ago and so far no real disappointments. I primarily auditioned these against B&W's, Def. Techs, and Paradigm and I felt these offered the fullest sound for the money paid. If money were no object I would have opted for the B&W 703's because of their more responsive low-end, cleaner mids, and stunning finish & appearance...but alas price WAS an object and the Polks were half the price. The low-end issue was rectified with a 12" Velodyne sub that only set me back $350. I also plan on getting a seperate power amp to drive them. The guy at Tweeter ran a B&K 200 RMS through them and made the speakers come alive at similiar sound levels. My Denon 2803 AVR does a decent job of driving them but really needs to be cranked up for these speakers to perform their best. For some reason these sound better than the top of the line LSi25's to me...maybe it's just subjective. I thought the 25's bass was a little too "in your face" and artificial. I thought the LSi15 plus sub combo offered a more realistic and laid back sound and was about $700 less money. For bass response I listened to Marcus Miller, for acoustic vocals Joni Mitchell, for drum solos Dennis Chambers, Joe Morello(Take 5) and Stewart Copeland. All sounded great. I don't listen to much classical so I don't know how they respond in that regard. Plan on getting Polk centers and surrounds in the near future to complete the home theatre...for now just listening to clean two channel is enough for me! Any truth to the sales pitch that you need timber matching centers and surrounds for best possible soundstaging? Similar Products Used: Yamaha NS-500 JBL Century 100's Only other speakers I've owned. |
[Jul 29, 2004]
ohlins
AudioPhile
Strength:
good bass despite the only 8 inch woofers. very detailed and extended highs, fortunately not bright at all. a good rendition of soundstage depth.
Weakness:
does not like the binding posts at all as they do not accept most spades except the largest. comtemplating to replace with aftermarket vampire binding posts. i started off as a fan of mini monitors and used to crave after spks like Pro-Ac Super Tablettes, Acoustic Energy AE-1..well you get the idea. along the way, i gradually discovered the joys of hearing good deep bass. however, having holographic sound staging is still as important. the solution? ahhhh...an active subwoofer system to partner my JM Lab Micron (traded up to a Micron Carat much later). this set up was inspired by a very popular choice many years ago, i.e. Spica TC-50 + Kinergeics subwoofer system. many years have gone (only recently), the subwoofer amp developed a problem and i had the opportunity to either, replace the subwoofer system or change to a full range speaker. i took the latter option and began to audition a chosen few. the RM22 blew me off at once, being dynamic, sweet, completely disappearing and convincing. but too bad......way too expensive for i wasnt prepared to spend THAT much. and then, i found the LSi15.....polk! reminded me of those commercialised mass market speakers of interest to non-audiophiles (the speakers had the last laugh!) re-reading WS's review from onhifi.com persuaded me to give them a listen, and i did. NOW I AM GLAD I DID! they are now sitting pretty in my listening room for 3 days now. once i have locked in their set up positions, i would install the spikes to securely couple them to the floor. in a few words........WOW, they sounded so much better than what i had experienced at my dealer's. way better bass that just surprises me (8 inch woofers?), unbelievable details, smooth mids where vocals soar... i will add more comments when the spks are run-in fully and the set up is complete. Similar Products Used: Paradigm Studio Ref 100v3. however, due to too short an audition, was unable to form a representative opinion. able to play very loud though and very good bass performance. PMC FB-1.....expensive yet nothing special. do not light any fire. like the Joseph Audio RM22...pity they are beyond my budget. moreover the local dealers are still selling the Mk 1! are they serious? |
[Feb 19, 2004]
Cameron F
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Midrange - vocal, full range speaker, finish.
Weakness:
Not as transparent when compared to expensive electrostats. Cost is pushing the envelope for a dynamic speaker design at $1500. Of the speakers auditioned under $1500 the Polk Audio LSi15 and NHT ST-4 were the best. The LSi25's bass was poorly integrated compared to the 15's. The 15's have a very forward vocal range, which grabs the listener. To some this may be to forward or it may be correctable once it's home with proper placement. The NHT for several hundred dollars less is a strong contender. The main difference between the two is in the midrange with Polk having a 2 to 1 advantage. Overall this speaker is a good choice, by far it's better than Infinity, Bose and Klipsh. Similar Products Used: Demoed Magnapan, Martin Logan, Infinity, Paradigm, KEF, NHT. |