Anybody auditioned both polk lsi15/25 and Paradigm Studio 60/100s... (1 Viewer)

[shivesh_k]

In that case what was your preference and what did you ended up buying? Any comments welcome. I'm looking to buy for speakers for mostly music and some HT use.

 

[Mort Corey]

Listened to the Polk RT and Li series while shopping for new speakers last weekend. The 25's were the best of the lot but were not to my taste. Hard to describe, but they sounded narrow....as if the sound stage was focused too tightly. Have not found a local Paradigm dealer to audition their wares. I preferred the Klipsch RF7 mains to anything in the Polk line..better highs, mids and lows..JMHO.

Mort

 

[Jake S]

have the LSI15's now (for a coupla weeks)- hooking up the center surrounds and rear surrounds (7's) today off of B&K 507, I am going to work for a Paradigm dealer soon , so should be able to get a good feel for differances, but it might be a few weeks...sorry

 

[Evan M.]

I have heard them both but bought neith one. I would give the nod to Digm'. I am not a huge Polk fan, they make great speakers, don't get me wrong, they just don't have the "punch" that I like. I agree wholeheatedly with the "narrow" statement. The Paradigm 60's and 100"s were great. They do need some decent amplification to run them they way the "should" be run. The Lsi's are 4 ohm so you WILL need good amplification. I really like the high end on the Paradigm studios.....nice detail without being harsh.
FWIW I wound up with Boston Vr3's. They had the oomph I like with great detail and tight bass.....and did not need a ton of amplification to shine.

 

[shivesh_k]

Jake,
Please keep us posted when your hookup is complete and get to know more about Paradigms.
Thanks.

 

[Jake S]

well ,it is a "to each his own" world because while the bostons are easier to drive than the LSI's I think the LSI's are a whole class above the bostons...as for the 'Digms , we'll see (actually hear)....Out of all the brands I have cold over the years, Boston Acoustics is the one I never owned personally....sold them, liked them, they just never had quite what I was looking for. Even had a coupla sets of Klipsch over the years, and was never a huge fan of theirs. I often see the point of efficiancy, just rarely wind up using efficiant speakers....

 

[Alex F.]

I own the Polk LSi25s. Also have owned Paradigms in the past. The Paradigm Studio 100s were a bit of a letdown. I had high expectations based on what I had read here on HTF and elsewhere. They're OK, but to my ears not as refined as the LSi25s or a few other brands. (A search on HTF should pull up my previous, detailed comments about the LSis and other models.)

During an audition using my own reference CDs, the Paradigm's bass sounded very good, but the midrange was not as full-bodied or fleshed-out on vocals as I prefer. The treble was my biggest disappointment, sounding hifi-ish--the fundamentals were there but the overtones were lacking (speakers such as the Polk LSis, Sonus Faber, and Vienna Acoustics, among others, were much better in this regard, and the treble area in general). The soundstaging and imaging of the Studio 100s were good, but not great.

On the other hand, the LSi25s practically disappear in my listening room. Using my McIntosh MA6500 integrated amplifier and Melos CD player, the LSi's soundstaging is very wide, deep, and tall, and they provide superb, focused imaging. I had the same result in my theater room, using a Denon AVP-8000 pre-pro and Adcom GFA-5503 power amp. (In my music room, where the Polks reside now, each speaker is aimed directly at my head in an approximate 8' equilateral triangle. The right unit's front panel is 3'-6" from the sidewall, and the left speaker is 2'-8" away. The drivers are 3'-2" out from the front wall.)

When properly set up and calibrated (i.e., adjustment of the rear-panel bass controls), orchestras sound enormous, chamber-music performers seem intimately close when they're recorded that way, and vocalists float in front of you with realistic, holographic imaging. And they sound wonderfully smooth and natural. Plus, they can really rock when asked to do so.

But, as always, let your own ears be the judge.

Happy listening!

 

[Evan M.]

"the L.S.I.'s are a whole class above the Bostons."

LOL....I sure hope so...they cost about twice as much!!!!

Vr Bostons compared to Lsi should not even be compared. I did compare them though and yes the Lsi's are great but damn......that was a lot of money for something that was not that much "better". A more fair compasison would be the vr-m line of boston. Which to my ears was not even close when i compared them.
I do apologize for going off track though......my bad

I will say though the Lsi's are very attractive though......huge.....but attractive.
Not to throw in another speaker though....but if the place you are looking at has Martin Logan speakers, give them a listen. They can be had for around the same price but to me are FAR better than anything I have heard. I would put those ML Mosaics against anything that Polk or Digm' can offer....and they are 1995$ MSRP.

 

[Jake S]

What was the cost of the VR3's compared to the Lsi15's?

AS for the Martin-Logans , I agree they are a phenomenal speaker..I have sold them before and my new job is also a dealer, and I had the wonderful priveledge of spending a few days with Gayle and others from ML in Kansas last year...
The Statements in Gayle's home were phenomenal.....
Got to use many models with many, many differant front ends, but my room, my electronics and my budget keep me from them for now....maybe an addition to my home will change that.....

 

[Evan M.]

The Vr3's retail for 1250$ The Lsi15's for 1750$. My bad on the twice as much comment LOL! Although 500$ is still quite a bit more to me which is still enough to put it in a different league. Especially considering the 15 is the cheepest lsi floorstander and the vr3 is the morst expensive vr series speaker boston makes. I was probably thinking about the Lsi25's that reatil for 3000$.
I just re-read my last response to you Jake and I must admit that I must have come across as an A--hole!! Believe me, that was not my intent, it is hard to type voice inflection LOL!!
Man, that must have been excellent to talk to Gayle from ML. I really think that ML's are some of the best speakers made. I am suprised that people often overlook them when buying the 2000$ to 4000$ range speakers. People tend to go to Digm' studio and Signatures or B&W or other cone speakers. I think elecrostats almost scare people but the truth is is that electrostats have been around for a LONG time and as the years go by they just keep getting better and more affordable.

 

[Jake S]

Crutchfield was selling the 15's for $1350, most retailers for $1500....the VR's are polks only "line" of floorstanders, and the LSI15'S trounce them ....the fact that the 3's are the top of where boston goes means little, but if you want , I would still say you'd be surprised at how the lower-end polks (RTI's) do against the VR3's......ymmv

there are many companies that have some product that I love and other products that I don't...But I do like almost everything ML has.....

 

[Evan M.]

LOL! ease up Jake....now I think it you getting intense. I am speaking MSRP not what people sell them for. lsi is obviously a lot more expensive than the vr Boston line so thus it should be a class above. You are right the rti line does compare to the vr line of boston price wise but i did hear them and no offence.....i thought they were not good at all. I never said that the vr line is the top that Boston goes. I said the vr3's are the top in the vr line. Boston has another line called the Vr-m line that I think price wise is more in the leagueof the lsi. Again....I am comparing msrp....not what stores sell them for. Surely you understand that being in the business.
Also not sure why you are saying that the vr's get "trounced" by the lsi15. I never insulted anything by Polk....I said that i do not care for the sound and agreed with someone that they sound "narrow". But also said they are great. Now I read your posts and suddenly you went from being objective to saying that my speakers would get trounced.

"The Vr's are Polks only line of floorstanders"

???????? What are you talking about????????
Vr is Bostons line. If you think that the vr are series is BOSTONS only line of floorstanders than you are wrong. There is a florrstander in the Cr series and 2 more floorstanders in the vr-m line. I figured you would know that having sold them and all. I assume you have Polks, enjoy them, they ARE great speakers....just not my cup of tea. I am just glad I was able to find a speaker that sounded just as good (better to me and a lot of others) for a lot less $$$$.

At any rate....I apologize to the other viewers of this thread that this got soooooooo off track. I tried to say my piece earlier and pointed out that I may have come accross as an a--hole but now for some unknown reason I am left defending my speaker choice. Oh well......it could be worse........

 

[Jake S]

sorry for the typo/misspeak, yes I meant Boston......

The VRM's are the higher end of the VR line-up
One CR95 does not a "line" of floorstanders make...
I am not discussing MSRP in referance to the polk because sooooo many AUTHORIZED dealers sell them for less (authorized "street" if you will)
You are right that from a quality point of view the VRM'S WOULD be a closer comparison, but the vrm's still have the characteristics of the vr3's, and not my cup of tea,,,,

Yes your right "TROUNCE" was just a personal opinion , to each his own...as I said before : I have sold countless VR'S......
Sorry I got my gander up

 

[Evan M.]

"sorry I got my gander up"

LOL! No problem Jake....like I said, I did the same thing. That is the tough thing when it comes to speakers I think. We know the sound we like and find it hard to believe that someone could possibly think something is better . The reason why I compare msrp is because it is the only "hard number" to compare when comparing speaker lines and price........the rest of the things become purely opinion and can fluctuate.
When I think "line of floorstanders" I am thinking of all of the floorstanders that particular brand makes. Most speaker companies have 3 or 4 lines of speakers. Each line usually starts with a few bookshelves and ends with 1,2 or 3 floorstanders. So when I think about Polks line of floorstanders I am lumping the Rti's and the Lsi's together......because like you said (and I agree) the Boston Cr95 is not a line but I also wouldn't call the Lsi15 and 25 a line either. I guess it really boils down to what each individual thinks is easier on how to categorize speakers. I am sure my way is not the way for everyone but hey......it works for me .

 

[Evan M.]

"The VRM's are the higher end of the VR lineup."

I have to disagree with that. I actually thought the same thing when the new Vr's came out and spoke to Boston about it. They said that it is a completely different line. They explained the difference in the tweeter, the woofers material composition the speaker baskets, the crossovers and the overal construction of the speaker. They did say however that then did borrow a few "small" ideas from the VRM line (appearence wise) because they are in the works for releasing a new line of VRM speakers sometime in the next year. Supposedly starting with the Vrm-c and then continuing with the rest.

 

[Jake S]

O.k., I'm REALLY diggin' the Lsi's for my music, but I don't work for a Polk dealer any more so soon it will be time to demo them against some of the new lines I sell....
High's are clean and detailed
Mids are full and lush
BOTTOM END IS overkill...BUT I haven't adjusted everything else yet...ie: x-over, notch filter, sub level, etc
Imaging is surprisingly good with no tweaking as of yet, but heard 801's well set-up today and wept at the soundstage...we'll see....
more to come