Polk LSi vs Triangle Titus (1 Viewer)

[Allen Longcor]

I've revised in my head my next set of speakers about 1,000 times so far. I wavered from Diva to Axiom to Polk etc.... I think I have narrowed my choices down to the Polk LSi 9 + LSi Center or Triangle Titus 202 + Triangle Center. I was wondering if those who have them could help me out though. By all accounts they both sound great, so the tie breaker is going to have to be my current components, planned upgrades, and current room.

Current setup:

Onkyo 595
Sony SCD775

So I will be using this when I get my new speakers.

Planned upgrades:

Amp with plenty of watts
Outlaw 950 or Rotel
Replacing whichever speaker I choose with a floorstander in the corresponding line. So I guess comparisons of the Zerius or Antal vs LSi 15 or LSi25 might be taken into account.

Current room:

About 10' x 11'
Rather small so that should be taken into account.


Any recommendations based on any of the above points or personal listening experience with either speakers would be great. Thanks. PS I have searched both here on the forum before posting.

 

[Brian Kleinke]

Allen,
As I'm sure you know from your searching, I have a pair of LSi/15s and a LSi/C along with a pair of LSi/FXs hooked up to a Sony E9000ES pre-amp and N9000ES amp.
I don't believe I've ever heard or heard of the Triangle brand of speakers :frowning:
I've also had the LSi/9s hooked up in my system. The 15s will give you a little more bass, but its been noted the 9s will likely have tighterbass around the 60-150hz due to the smaller woofer.
Quite frankly I love my Polks, and won't feel like upgrading for a long time, please note they are rated at 4-ohms so having an amp that can handle them will improve how they sound. Having gobs of power isn't as important IMO, the N9000ES is only rated at ~125 watts / channel I think, but it provides WAY more power then I need in my room. Of course some people are even more insane then me.
Do you have a subwoofer, or are you planning on getting one?
I don't have any S-CDs yet, but the DVD-Audios have have some truely awsome on these speakers.
That's my 3 cents, YMMV.
Brian

 

[Miklsan K]

Allen,
I am currently the LSi9s and LSiC with my Onkyo 575X. It sounds very good, but I have definitely heard the 9s sound better. I too am in a small room (9x12) for now, but I plan on upgrading my power in the fall when I buy a new home.
The 595 should be an adequate start, but I would recommend an amp with more guts down the line. I have not yet heard LSis on an Outlaw or Rotel rig, but I suspect the more good high-current juice you feed them, the better they will sound. Let us know what you decide. Good listening!

 

[Allen Longcor]

I don't believe the 4 ohm rating will be an issue with the Polks. I emailed Polk awhile back and they told me that the line actually averages around 6 ohms in real world use. No idea why they would rate them at 4 ohms.
My room is much smaller than I would like so I have to deal with that. It's my hope that bookshelves will be better than my current towers in the small space.
I do have a subwoofer. It's custom built by acoustic-visions.com with a Shiva driver. Takes care of all the bass for me. Ask Martice about acoustic-visions
I have heard some good reviews of the Triangle Titus 202 from people and to get a speaker of that supposed caliber for only $500 sounds like a steal. I wouldn't base my opinion solely on the Stereophile speaker rating list, but there is a reason the Titus is a Class B component.

 

[Joe Wilmore]

Don't forget to remember that Triangle speakers are made more for tube based amps. I would definitely say to go with the Polk for any home theater use.

 

[Joe Wilmore]

By the way Alan, I just noticed you are in Fresno. If you are interested, I have some custom made speakers from EFE Technologies that are absolutely amazing. If you want to hear them, I am in Santa Barbara.

 

[Allen Longcor]

Santa Barbara is a bit of a drive no? Well I'll probably go with my first choice of Polk. Sadly Fresno is confined to BB, CC, and GG. There are a couple of other audio stores, but they aren't easily found. So online is my main outlet to the world of HT.

 

[stephen_z]

Allen,
I currently have the Triangle Titus 202's, but haven't had a chance to match them up with the Rotel RSP-1066/RMB-1075 combo I just got (hopefully I'll get to them this week). I love the Titus's for jazz, classical, and vocals, but they lean toward brightness on rock/top40. I'm hoping the warmer Rotel electronics help tame the brightness. You should be aware that the Outlaw 950/Rotel 1066 comparison re-enforces the general leanings of both units.

Rotel: warm; laid back
Outlaw: detailed; bright

 

[Sihan Goi]

The Triangle Titus line of speakers are very well regarded although they aren't very popular or well-known. Link Removed had a review of their Titus XS speaker and it was extremely favorable. They also compared the Titus to the Link Removed, which is quite an unfair comparison given the big price gap between the 2.

 

[Eujin]

Don't forget to remember that Triangle speakers are made more for tube based amps.

I don't think it's entirely accurate to say this. I've had Triangle Titus 202s in my set-up for almost 6 months now and they are absolutely wonderful--and I'm running them off a Harman/Kardon AVR320 receiver. Usage is 50% music, 50% HT/Satellite TV. For music, I'm using a modified Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player which DOES produce a warmer, smoother sound than the stock player, but other than that, there's nothing in my system that can come close to a "tube-like" component.
The key characteristic of the Triangles is that they are extremely clean and clear sounding, with very little colorization of any kind. For some listeners, they will come across as "bright", as stephen_z has noted above. Obviously, having tube equipment will somewhat alter this sound, as will warmer sounding solid state stuff. With your current receiver, I'd have no worries powering the Titus--it's extremely sensitive and will blow you away in the size of your room. The other key issue with the Titus is the lack of bass reproduction under 60Hz--if you're not planning to add a subwoofer, this should definitely be taken into consideration. While there is little to no bass under 60Hz, the Titus does produce very good midbass: tight, articulate and superfast.
I've never heard the Polks, so I really can't say whether or not they'll be better than the Triangles. The Triangles are not for everyone (my wife would beg to differ--she's standing behind me yelling about why anyone would consider anything else under $1000 ) Bottom line is, you really should hear it for yourself before deciding.

 

[Brian Kleinke]

Allen, well it looks like either speaker would be a good choice. You'll just have to listen to them both and see what you like better.
Just one more plug for Polk, they have quite excellent Customer Service, and a whole clubpolk (with a wacky forum ) It's just one of the other things I like about Polk.
Brian

 

[Allen Longcor]

I have the bass covered Eujin as I stated earlier I dont' know where I would hear a Titus around here so that is out of the question. I think I am going to stick with the Polk for now and save my money for it. Until something else comes along that is hehehe. I better not read any Rocket Loudspeaker reviews.

 

[Brian Kleinke]

Allen,
You won't be dissapointed with the Polks, they sound great and look great too. I'll be interested to see how the rocket turns out, but IMHO I think the LSi's look better. (I think it has something to do with the choice of woods)
Brian