Polk Audio LSi 15 - are these the REAL DEAL ???

Rumadian, you are right on the money here. After all is said, it is up to the dealer. How many are truly listening to clients out there ? A few I'm sure, but for the most part, they are elitist and look at you the wrong way if you do not speak ''their'' language. I have been around, and owned obscenely expensive gear myself, but it's all personal. I would never judge on ones knowledge - or lack of- the audio scene. Again, most of them would never carry Polk Audio. And this is pretty stupid as this should be a business decision, as these babies should sell well, especially if you can A-B them with other, more expensive speakers that the store carries. - I would surely carry this line if I was a dealer - if only to make it more affordable to get a whole new group of potential audiophiles, in this great hobby. Then, if they liked it, they would be back for cables, cd players, you know, the works. And with the Polk LSi series, many would stop right there and be done with it for speakers and just enjoy the music. Not a bad scenario if you asked me, because there are so many other opportunities to spend in audio it's not even funny. Sure there are good dealers. The one close to my place ? Never a smile, and they follow you around as if you were about to steal something...so much pressure.Sooo unpleasant. On the other hand, this very situation makes Audiogon a welcomed and justified place in audiophilia. It's not all bad after all.

Man it is so old hearing people bash speakers like Polk, some guys that need to feel good about their purchase wont allow themselves to admit a speaker can be good and not break the bank, this is such a snobs hobby...if a guy owns an ultra elite product...just laugh it off, or laugh at them, guys who own a bragging rights speaker like a Wilson, or some 40K Dali wont give anyone props that didnt by the hype.........it takes all kinds. This ofcourse will piss those type of folks off, but they never worry about bashing others for less expensive gear, plus if they have that much money to blow then who can actually feel sorry for them in the first place?

The Polk Audio LSi 15 is equipped with a Vifa ring radiator tweeter, and I can attest to a giant killer value with this speaker. Not because it sounds riveting with this tweeter, but because the whole package is a bona-fida work of art. I own some expensive Totem Mani2 speakers in my ''high end''system . I purchased a pair LSi 15 as the first building blocks of an upcoming Home Theater system to be used with an (also upcoming) ARCAM AVR 300 HT receiver. The other day, just for the fun of it, I installed the LSi 15's in my ''serious'' rig. The sound is HUGE maybe a side effect of the high position of the drivers. Better yet, it was FUN and I could crank it up and get extremely good bass to complement the refined high frequencies and midrange. Let me tell you. I'm done with monitors. Once you get them on proper stands, they take up as much space, if not more than many speakers. Their imaging is legendary, but now that ''full range'' speakers are slim and deep, that advantage is no longer obvious. And I couldn't care less about the ''prestige'' branding anymore. I mean, there are so many ''High end'' manufacturers having their gear made in China right now, that a name no longer means the same as before. And I'm not knocking chinese products, some of them are well made and are incredible values. I'll take a beautifull, well made, and nice sounding speaker like the LSi 15 any day over the flavor of the month speaker. AS nice as those Totems are,(and they ARE exquisite) I just cannot justify keeping them after hearing what a huge sounding and near full-range gem like the LSi speaker can do for the equivalent of the price of some speaker cables. And there are many other speakers that are just as good just waiting to be discovered. To make a long story short, yes, the LSi 15 are a major real deal,(so is the rest of the line, but not by such a wide margin) at least for me.

I have auditioned the Polk Audio Lsi-15 speaker and agree that it is a great speaker. I have not always understood the bashing of Polk. I bought the Polk Monitor 10B in 1980 and it still sounds very good today. Robert Reina of Stereophile rated the Polk RT 25i the best small speaker below $1,000 about 3 years ago. And their car speakers sound very good. They have brought good sound to inexpensive systems much like PSB has done. I guess the bashing has something to do with using large merchandisers like Circuit City.
John Dean

Thanks Lush! I was inspired by your comment that ''Every single upgrade you do from now on, you'll hear with those speakers'' Well, I followed the word from the wise and upgraded my speaker cables to Nordost Red Dawn (from an entry-level Kimber cable, not bad in itself). All I can say is that the sound improved in every way. This LSi 15 speaker is indeed stunning, and not just for the price. Main improvements are: Bass is just as tight and low, but know I can actually hear the actual vibration of the strings, and the vocals are just eerie and grab you with emotion. I am set with my speakers for a long time now ''hopefully'' as I can now just relax and enjoy the music. One last thing, I tried this little gizmo called the ''Quiet Line'' that I have been wondering about it's merit for quite some time. It DEFINITELY WORKS in the right direction ! I would like to hear about others who have tried this also...and would appreciated input from other LSi 15 owners and how they got the best of this amazing speaker...thanks!