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Submitted by
Nissanjim
a Audio Enthusiast
from Date Reviewed: May 26, 2009
Bottom Line: After having these speakers for almost three months I can give my review. they are a great speaker. Many may prefer the lsi15 or lsi9 with sub over these. well for half the price of the lsi25 you can have an awesome speaker system. I bought my lsi25 from polk direct for less than 1000.00 in new condition. At that price these are the speaker buys of the century. I already have the lsi9 and the lsi15 so I can compare them all and boy do I . the lsi15 is the most neutral sounding but i find the bass a little on the light side. If placement is an issue the lsi9 with a sub may be easier to set up but if room permits the lsi25 is the way to go. They have the top end the lsi is famous for and have a nice bottom end which is adjusted properly sounds nice and full. the lsi25 dont require as much power to drive them as do the 9's or the 15's also. I think many people like to overemphasize the bass on powered subs so they have that earth shaking bass. That is great for movies but not for music. The powered subs should be felt and should not overpower the music. They give plenty of bass if adjusted properly and don't sound boomy. Although all three pairs are awesome each their own, I listen to the lsi25 the most, they just have the fullest sound in my opinion. I power them with an aragon amplifier and acurus preamp. I also have a pair of Magnepan 1.6 speakers which are also great speakers. They are a little more revealing and detailed than the polks but not as versatile as the polks as types of music you can play on them. The lsi25 work the best for me and that is what it all boils down to.
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Submitted by
Michael080
a Audio Enthusiast
from Date Reviewed: August 15, 2006
Strengths: Amazing tweeters
Great looking cabinet and connectors
Power hungry use good equipment and cabling and you'll be rewarded!Weaknesses: Bass frequency cut off adjustment needs to be wide open or lower midrange levels are lost.Bottom Line: I bought these new from a local shop and set them up side by side for a comparison with my vinatge Polk SDA1C's. It didn't take long to hear how amazing the tweeter is on the LSi 25. This tweeter design has so much detail that it makes the older Polks sound veiled and narrow, and I know they didn't sound like that before the LSi25 came through the doors. The LSi 25 does require some tweaking to get the bass to fit in with this incredible tweeter. Female voices played from SACD sources leave one's ears looking for more.
One specific difference is the speed and dynamics of the music played through the LSi 25 take you on an emotional ride where in comparison to the older polks, just never got off the ground. These babies are power hungry, I'm using 400w a side at 4ohms!
Price Paid:
$1500.00
Similar Products Used: Polk SDA1C's NHT 2.9's B&W matrix JBL's Infinity's
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
a Audio Enthusiast
from Salt LakeDate Reviewed: November 3, 2003
Strengths: Excellent value
Detailed & Accurate
Great "layering" of Sound StageWeaknesses: Placement can be an issue do to room loading, size, and the need for a power outlet.
Width of the soundstage slightly restricted but I am nit-picking hereBottom Line: I too, must admit that I was a little reluctant to give these a try due to Polk's "mid-fi" status. I have been looking to upgrade my HT speakers for some time and haven't been able to find a suitable replacement that works with my room both acoustically and physically. To make things a little more difficult I also decided to combine both my music and movies into the same system and room. I built our HT room from scratch to function as a dedicated HT and selected equipment to complimented the demands of movie soundtracks. With the addition of two small children I have been wanting to consolidate to free up some space and better "protect" the equipment.
I set my ceiling at $6k not including a sub since I currently own several, and began looking at both used and new. Over the past year I have listened to - and auditioned in my home - many fine speakers that all have had their strengths and weakness's. If it weren't for the high impact blockbuster action soundtracks I would opt for a nice set of floor standing 2-ways that play down to 35hz or so with a very refined and "airy" sound. Unfortunately most of those aren't very dynamic and sound very congested on action movie soundtracks at anything more than very moderate volume. My favorites included the Thiel 1.5&1.6, Meadowlark Hot Rod Shearwater, and the Vienna Acoustics Bach.
And then "a funny thing happened to me on the way to the boutique audio store" thing happened and I had a chance to listen to a pair of Polk LSI 15's at the local "Hi Fi's and Appliances 'R' Us" hooked up to some seriously mid-fi electronics and was quite impressed. I promptly purchased the demo pair since they aren't supposed to carry the LSI line and didn't have any others, listened to them for a week, and made use of their generous return policy.
Enthused about the 15's I tried to find a dealer for the LSI line in my area and found out that we have none. So I like many others turned to the Internet and found a dealer that was willing to quickly fill my need.
I ended up with a trio of 25's across the front and 3 LSI F/X in a side surround and single rear channel configuration. Very detailed with high dynamic capability and WAY under my budget with current discounting. I also purchased a pair of the LSI 9's for casual listening in the living room and am even more impressed with their performance. With the sub in the 25's turned off they sound a little thinner than the 9's running full range but if crossed over at 60hz they sound almost identical. The difference most likely has more to do with cabinet diffraction more than anything.
I have had some problem getting the bass right with the three up front and ultimately ending up turning the center LSI 25 sub way down. If I could do it all over again I would purchase the 15's for the front three crossed over at 40hz and pair the system with a good sub for the last octave. That would give a little better flexibility in placement and provide a better value as well.
All in all an amazing line of speakers that certainly deserve an audition.
Associated Equipment
Bryston SP 1.7
Bryston 9B ST
Bryston 3B SST
Homegrown Audio Silver Lace balanced Interconnects
Kimber 8PR
NEC MT1000 Projector
Greyhawk Perfed screen
Polk LSI 25's for LCR
M&K MX 5000 (definitely not needed with the 25's)
Camelot Roundtable DVD Player
Similar Products Used: PSB
Vandersteen
Thiel
Legacy Audio
Vienna Accoustics
Onix Rocket
Michael Green Design
Definitive Technology
Martin Logan
Magnepan
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Sthrndream
a Audio Enthusiast
from Oklahoma CityDate Reviewed: June 21, 2003
Strengths: Sonic clarity, worth every pennyWeaknesses: NoneBottom Line: Mike Embers was great. I ordered these speakers on a Friday and arrived at my door on Thursday. I replaced my JBL L112s with these babies. I must say they sound fan dam tastic!!!! You have to tweak the crossover though!
Price Paid:
$1749.00
Purchased At: Acoustic Sound Desig
Similar Products Used: JBL L 112, Carver eqipment
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
georgek
a AudioPhile
from WashingtonDate Reviewed: March 16, 2003
Strengths: Clear, detailed, well-projected sound.Weaknesses: Very few dealers; no bass below 30 hZ.Bottom Line: An excellent value. I was shopping for new speakers that are full-range, but of the tall-narrow variety, since this is the only kind that can successfully fit into my living room. I replaced Definitive Technology BP2000 speakers with the Polks and feel this made a major improvement. Most untypically, I bought them without listening, because Polk dealers that carry them are ludicrously far apart. But I felt that Anthony H. Cordesman is the most reliable audio reviewer I know of, and he raved about them. I have not been disappointed. They are also fully magnetically-shielded, which a surprising number of well-reviewed speakers that might otherwise be suitable for AV installations are not.
The only drawbacks are: (1) lack of dealers; (2) okay, but not special, cabinetry [they won't exactly give the Sonus Faber folks restless nights...], and (3) no output below 30 hz. My old BP2000s went down to 27 hz, but I was very happy to give up the 3 hz for a major improvement in clarity and focus of sound.
Even apart from improving the rest of the spectrum, down to the 30 hz limit, the subwoofers of the Polks are much tighter than those in the Def. Techs. Also, the power handling is excellent and I never feel that the speakers harden up at any listening level that is safe for my ears (I have not tested them at crazy levels).
Another plus: the speaker terminals are true audiophile-grade heavy, metal posts, not the plain-plastic units found on many other speakers in this price range.
But somebody really needs to tell Polk that having Circuit City as your main dealers is a disaster, if you are trying to sell products to audiophiles. To boot, CC stores don't even carry this model, because it's relatively pricey.
Note that the MSRP that is advertised by Polk refers to per-each, not per-pair. At an actual selling price of $1800 per pair, they simply can't be beat.
Price Paid:
$1800.00
Purchased At: BrandNamez
Similar Products Used: Definitive Technology BP2000.
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