Polk audio lsi7 deal at Fry's... so I got em

David Strand · 06-03-2004, 02:30 AM

I've been hearing about the $199 deal for a pair of (refurbished) Polk LSI7 speakers at Fry's. I've been debating upgrading my setup with the LSI series all the way around, so I ended up buying a pair (their last pair besides display models). My first impression of them out of the box is very positive, the finish on them is perfect. I would not have known they were refurbished if it was not printed on the Fry's pricing sticker on the box (beware if you think you are buying brand new ones off ebay).

Upon bringing them home I compared them to my current JBL HLS-810 bookshelves (2 way, 8", horn tweeter) in 2 channel stereo mode with no sub using a few CDs such as the IASCA test cd, Nora Jones, the Eagles, Brian Seltzer orchestra, Blues Travelers. At the moment I am running an Onkyo 676 HT receiver.

To be honest, I've had the JBLs for a number of years and am still pleasantly impressed by them. The Polk's do sound a little better, vocals a bit more natural, imaging and separation of instruments a bit better. The JBLs do have smoother and a bit more bass, the Polk's are a little punchy which was surprising for their size, but overly punchy in my opinion. These LSI7s will end up being my surround speakers; I'm not sure I would use them as mains even with a sub. Maybe that opinion will change as they get broken in. I will use them as mains for a few weeks to see.

For $200 I think they are a great buy. I actually use this mostly for home theater, not much 2ch music. I hope that once I get the rest of the set it will be no comparison to my current setup. I plan on lsi-15s in the front and lsi-center in the center. Currently I have 6 of the HLS-810s, same speaker all the way around.

ScottCHI · 06-03-2004, 07:09 AM

you realized those are 4 ohm impedence speakers, right?

Dean Arizona · 06-03-2004, 11:42 AM

I also took advantage of the Fry's lsi7 sale. No doubt, this is the best $200 pair of bookshelf speakers currently available(I recommend the cherry finish). Also, the 4 ohm demand of the speakers may be a little overstated. I'm using them in a two channel bedroom set up being driven by an older Kenwood (albeit high quality) receiver rated at 120 watts at 8 ohms RMS. The Kenwood isn't even breaking a sweat. The detail and clarity of these speakers is superb (although you may want to add a sub to enjoy the full range of your music). In addition, I'm not so sure these speakers are refurbished. At the store, I opened the box and examined the drivers and the speaker enclosures and they were absolutely flawless - I'm not convinced that they were actually returned for refurbishing. In fact, the Fry's "refurbished" label was pasted over the same store's original sale sticker of the same type. This may suggest that the speakers were never sold and that being labeled as "refurbished" enabled Fry's (through Polk I assume) to offer such a large discount off of the MSRP. I wonder if any one else believes that this may be the case?

John Garcia · 06-03-2004, 04:08 PM

The refurbishment is most likely internal (x-over) or actual driver replacements, which is why you wouldn't be able to tell. For all intents and purposes, they are new, they just can't sell them as such. Great value, and definitely cherry rather than ebony.

Edward J M · 06-03-2004, 05:26 PM

A Texas based friend at Club Polk snagged a pair for me; they should land here Monday.

I'll drive them with either Outlaw M200 monoblocks, or an h/k 870 high current (60,000 uF capacitance) 2 channel amp. Either can easily drive a sub-4 ohm load. The impedance of the LSi is rather reactive and dips below 3 ohms in a few spots. Best results are obtained with a gutsy external amp.

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David Strand · 06-03-2004, 08:38 PM

I realize they are a bit of a load to drive. They do actually perform quite well with just my Onkyo that I have at the moment. I plan to get a nice 5 or 7 channel amp in the not too distant future, but probably a month or two after I complete the speaker set.

I also got the cherry wood ones, and they also look flawless. I might open them up and see how the x-overs look just out of curiosity. I noticed on the tag on the speakers itself the number is followed with a -B so I am pretty sure they are valid Polk shipped B stock, but nobody would know it without seeing the tag or ser# sticker.

John Garcia · 06-03-2004, 09:48 PM

I've been driving a few pairs for almost a week now, with moderate receivers, and neither seems to have a problem. I ran a pair with a Marantz SR4200 for almost 2 days straight, at normal listening levels during the day, and it got no warmer than I would have expected. The other pair has been in frequent use with an SR5000 and it gets only mildly warm after 4+ hours of use.