Polk LSiM speakers 58% - 67% off..

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by riverrat, Jan 6, 2019.

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  1. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    BINGO!!!
     
  2. 62caddy

    62caddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    What's "bingo" all about? That was never in dispute.
     
  3. Hymie the Robot

    Hymie the Robot Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Seemed like it from reading your posts.
     
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  4. displayname

    displayname Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas
    This is a fair assessment. The reviewer did a good job of acknowledging the LSiM strengths vs his personal preferences. No shame in that. He could have added a sub (some people do), but obviously that brings the cost up and requires a lot more space. All in all I think this is pretty accurate and fair the way it's written.
     
  5. 62caddy

    62caddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    Running out of steam was never the issue.
     
  6. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    We're talking about having enough grunt to make the speakers sound good at lower volume levels.
     
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  7. 62caddy

    62caddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    Oh that. Well that yet to be determined in the absolute since nobody really can say now what was going on.

    The user review I posted above substantially coincides with my experience, who was using what I would think is an amplifier that meets your approval for use with the 705s.
     
  8. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    He also liked the Klipsch until the fatigue set in, so I'd have to say he prefers a brighter sound verses a more natural sound.
     
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  9. Socalguy

    Socalguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    CA
    So confused.

    What does “laid back” actually sound like?
     
  10. aroney

    aroney Who really gives a...?

    So all those excellent speakers out there that demand more than his 50 Watt Amp to power them effectively are not of high quality? o_O

    Pretty sure we could come up with a long list of acclaimed and incredible sounding speakers that his amp would struggle with too...but I'm not the expert others on this thread seem to be.

    Maybe we should talk to all those amp manufacturers too? Stop with the power - it's just poor speaker design!

    So, they didn't work for 62caddy, oh, well. :( To each his own.

    I'm glad I have the 707's, they get along with my amplification just fine, and the quality of sound is exceptional. :D
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2019
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  11. aroney

    aroney Who really gives a...?

    I've played my 707's at low level (the usual for me) and high and they sound excellent (to me) regardless of volume levels.

    It's possible that you got a bad batch, it's possible that your amp is not a good match no matter the pedigree, and/or it's possible that you just don't like the way they sound...

    Ultimately though, your experience appears to be the exception, not the rule. ;)
     
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  12. aroney

    aroney Who really gives a...?

    Man, I put on some early AC/DC and then threw on Leonard Cohen's last LP.

    Both were engaging as hell and ZERO fatigue. :D Sounded fantastic. :love:

    I wish him luck in his quest - of course he's gonna get tripped up when you throw the "source material" equation into the mix...:p
     
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  13. aroney

    aroney Who really gives a...?

    Not really - sounds more like he likes a brighter sound until the fatigue kicks in...:)
     
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  14. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    I would say that this is a very accurate assessment of the LSiM from Matthew. I would like to add my observations to.

    Back in late 2011 I bought a pair of Polk Monitor 60's and Monitor 70's, both were the Series II, from NewEgg. The 70's were $200/pr. and the 60's were $120/pr. which are what they are selling for today, from NewEgg.

    The Klipsch RF-82 II's, are a more expensive speaker, today they sell for $395/ea. from Amazon Prime.

    I think that Matthew's assessment of both of these speaker's is entirely accurate and spot on. The Polk 's were all around nice sounding non-fatiguing speakers. This is why even on an audiophile forum, I stand by and recommend Polk Audio's most entry level speaker's They are an excellent value for the money, easily driven and a good starter speaker.

    Here is what Matthew say's about his Klipsch speaker's, as compared to the Polk's.

    I also bought a pair of Klipsch now discontinued WF-35's back in 2013, from NewEgg and I came to the same conclusion. Not to get too far of target, but I want to show you what my solution to this dilemma was. Here is a very early photo of the audio room taken back in early 2013. On the bottom shelf, below the TV stand, was my Emotiva XPA-2 (generation one) 250-Watts, into 8-Ohms, power amplifier, that can deliver 400-Watts of power, into a 4-Ohm load. To each side of the TV, are the Polk Monitor 70's (outside pair) and the Klipsch WF-35's (inside pair). I had decided that they complimented each other perfectly, so I ran them both together in parallel, because the Emotiva Amplifier can deliver 400-Watts into a 4-Ohm load.

    [​IMG]

    I wanted to show just how much I agree with Matthew, on his Polk/Klipsch assessment.

    In early 2014, I brought in these Klipsch legacy custom La Scala's. You want to hear "bright" speakers, listen to a pair of these sometimes.

    They displaced the Monitor 70's and the WF-35's.

    [​IMG]

    Then I brought in the Polk RTiA9's, here is one of the boxes upon the day of arrival. While the speaker is still in the shipping box, you can tell there are really big speaker's!

    [​IMG]

    Matthew goes on to say about the LSiM705's...

    Matthew, where ever you are... SandAndGlass say's that you are going to positively fall head over heels in love with a pair of RTiA7 tower's! You can buy them directly from Polk at the 40% off or they are available on Amazon prime for the same $600/pr.

    Now catch what Matthew says here, with reference to to his 705's.

    "The Halo A 23 amplifier is reasonably priced ($995 USD), and has enough power to meet the needs of most audiophiles: 125Wpc into 8 ohms, 225Wpc into 4 ohms,"

    Matthew concludes his review by saying...

    I think think this this was one of the best objectively written reviews that I have ever read. My thanks to @62caddy for finding it and bringing it to our attention.

    I do think the f1nut has an excellent observation about the preferences of the reviewer.

    F1nut posted:

    "Having a lot of reserve power, does not mean that you are intending to listen at high SPL's.

    Having a lot of power means bass and dynamics at low SPL's."

    F1nut has said this same exact thing on many, many occasions, the above quotes however happened to be mine... :)

    Not this...

    [​IMG]

    In the end it all comes down to this. You simply can not just take any amp, regardless of how many "Watts" it has and pair it with any speaker, regardless if the amp has enough Watts to drive the speaker, according to the speaker manufacturer's specifications.

    And, this is why we are a real audiophile forum! :wave:
     
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  15. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    I did, not one pair but two different pairs, the 707 and the 703 in Cherry, but this deal won't be any good in very short order, I would bet one or two more days, I had to talk the talk to get the deal, and what a deal it is. Polk is finished with this particular line, they are changing, but who knows what they will go with. One thing is for sure, the LSiM is a fantastic series of speakers for Polk and as one of their people said, it served them very well. I have never been one that needs the greatest new thing, I'm very happy with a long track record, and I find it difficult to find anything negative on Polk's LSiM line, it just appears to be the cream of the Polk line! My two different pairs of Polks should be here in a week or so. :righton:

    It has been many years since I owned Polk products, and honestly I wish I had my really cool Ice Box speakers back again, SRS on the front channels and CRS on the rear.

    [​IMG]



    [​IMG]




    So, I'm taking a chance with their old top shelf speaker, hope it's a great change.


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2019
  16. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Let me address the comment referenced to myself. Polk is not the company it used to be. Their once excellent customer service is dismissal today. Yes, they can still make a decent speaker, although not as good as the speakers when Matt owned the company. Other products such as sound bars and gaming headphones have very high failure rates. Of course, they still can't make a good sub.

    So, combine bad customer service with the high failure rate of products and their future is questionable.
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2019
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  17. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Oregon
    Would love to order some 703s, just not in the budget right now...
     
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  18. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Oregon
    Sad to hear.
     
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  19. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Interesting...

    I had thought this might have been a possibility!

    I kind of find that it was a bit interesting that people were discounting the quality of the LSiM product line, simply because they were being sold at such inexpensive prices.

    Somewhere in this or another thread, I raised the possibility of them discontinuing the LSiM line. They have also been discounting the RTi line quite a bit at 40% off for some time now, which is a bit on the unusual side for a manufacturer to do.

    Both of these lines are a bit of the older Hi-Fi and HT styles that might not fit in that well with what Polk is going to concentrate on selling.

    Without inside information, we don't know exactly if the RTi line will continue to be with us much longer either.

    Those that scoff at the "deals" that Polk is offering now, may have a different take on these same products, when and if there are gone for good.

    A big shock to all of us, was last year, after Oppo having just introduced their new 4k player's, the 203's and the 205's, only a few short month's later, they announce that they will be shortly ceasing production for good.

    Boston Acoustic has been shuttered. I seem to recall that they are also owned by the same parent company that now owns Polk.

    Our latest news is that the ChromeCast audio device has been discontinued.

    The resale prices of these products has skyrocketed.

    I will be willing to bet, it the RTi line and the LSiM line goes bye-bye, the resale market will be very strong for these "vintage" Polk speaker's.

    It was a shame that Matthew Polk had left the company. He had such good direction for the company that he co-founded.

    Matthew was all about quality and value at the same time and he had a complete commitment to excellent customer service.

    I fear that F1nut is correct about their other products such as sound bars and gaming headphones, having very high failure rates.

    Sounds like more consumer grade crap from China...

    Now don't be so fast to go picking on the Polk subs!

    Back when I had my early HT/stereo set up with my Monitor 60's and 70's, I bought a PSW505 sub from NewEgg, to use primarily with HT. I think I paid about $229 for it back in 2012. It is still around and going for the stupid price of $589.95 on Amazon.

    It is a 12", 250-Watt, ported sub, that has it's -3 dB point at 35-Hz. and can play down to 25-Hz.

    At the $229 price that I paid for it, back in 2012, it was a hell of a HT sub for that price. It would rattle the fixed window behind the TV. I can't say anything bad about that. It has since been gifted to a friend along with the rest of a 5.1 Polk HT surround sound system and is now up in NC.

    I will tell you that I did buy one of their DSW PRO 660 sub's a few years back, so I had a 2nd sub in the rear. I really only bought it because it was on one of Polk's 50% off sales. I never really paid that much attention to it, but just a few months ago, I was using it with my vintage Altec's and a nice little Decware 3.9-Watt power amplifier and it was a really sweet combination. I was really surprised at this finding myself.

    It was being offered on sale over the Christmas holiday's and I posted some info about it to a couple of sub threads on the forum. I bought the wireless adapter for mine, and the later production models seem to have eliminated that option for some reason.

    Just like some over the other Polk products, Polk subs, when they are on sale are hard to beat price and value wise. I was very happy with the sub's performance for only $325. It is a 12", 400-Watt sub, with a wireless remote control. It's -3dB point is at 25-Hz, so I am sure that it will play down to our lower hearing limit.
     
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  20. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    Larry, I lose money on "everything" I ship, even when I check destinations and weight, and insurance, I always loose, I'm so tired of it! I just can't estimate enough from Tennessee to California, miss it every time! :cry:
     
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  21. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    I have read review after review of the 707 and cannot find any bad amplifier results, and I will know soon as my 707's will come in within the next week and I can let everyone know how they sound with a Parasound 2 BP pre and an A-21 amp. I do think that Agitater's assumption that Polk has a badly designed speaker in the 707 is not correct, no one else is complaining. Well, we will see! :righton:
     
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  22. 62caddy

    62caddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    BINGO!!! :D
     
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  23. 62caddy

    62caddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    Never had fatigue with Boston T1000, nor do B/A products have a reputation for being bright either - at least not to my knowledge.

    Sometimes I will experience fatigue with the Altec 14 due to the more prominent midrange. In this regard, the 705s mimicked the character of the Altecs in midrange presentation.

    While great with certain types of material, it is not the type of speaker I could ever live with exclusively.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2019
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  24. 62caddy

    62caddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    I hope they work out for you. Looking forward to hearing your impressions. Best of luck with them.
     
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  25. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    I can't make any comparison with nay of my Polk or Boston Acoustics speakers with the midrange, or any other characteristics of the legacy Klipsch or Altec speakers.

    High sensitivity horn speakers and direct radiator's are two entirely different animals.
     
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