Absolut's Full Review: Polk Audio LSi15 Main / Stereo Speaker
The Specs
The speakers comes complete with an 8" Subwoofer that uses Polymer composites with a rubber surround
For the midrange, the speaker uses 2 - 5-1/4" Polypropelyne cone with a rubber surround and a cast aluminum basket.
And for the tweeter it uses 1 - 1" Balanced Ring Radiator tweeter.
How it Sounds
To start off, I have never really been a huge fan of Polk Audio until they introduced the LSi line and I was able to listen to them. I felt that these LSi speakers did they very best job on recreating the sound. I almost felt as if I was thrust up on stage with the artist playing. Polk has introduced what they coined a Power Port (more on this later). What I noticed first off about the speakers was how much brighter and cleaner they sounded from the lower Polk RTi line. This is mainly due to the tweeter. The tweeter is called a Ring Radiator tweeter, developed by Vifa, this particular tweeter was pulled from a set of $35,000 pair of professional loudspeakers. The reason why it sounds so good is because of its shape. The tweeter points out (about an inch or so), almost like a nipple. It also has a wave effect in the pattern of the surround. In turn this levels the sound out more evenly. In contrast, with just the convex shape of most other tweeter, this ring radiator tweeter makes the others sound just plain flat.
The Subwoofer
Thought I would throw this quick tidbit in about the subwoofer. It is an 8" subwoofer that is not powered, or passive as most others call it. However it is used as part of the power port to help it create more bass that it should put out for a tower speaker with a passive subwoofer.
So, What is this Power Port?
Ok.. So I promised I would talk about the Power port. So here it goes. The Power Port is simply just a Port built into the speaker. So, now I'm sure you're thinking I've wasted your time by just telling you that, but wait!
This Power Port is not like any other Power Port that a lot of other speakers companies use. Most will put this power port in back of the speaker or sometimes in front.
But, not everyone puts their speakers in the same place around their house. Most will place them right in front of a wall, others might place them a few inches to a few feet away from a wall. This means that placement with a front or rear power port matters because your sound will change!
So Polk took it a step further and did their homework. They introduced a power port that they are putting on all of their RTi and LSi speakers. In tower speakers this Power Port can be seen that the very bottom of th speaker. Why, you might be asking, is because while they wouldn't want to tell their consumers that the speakers should be 5" from a wall for the best sound they put the power port on the bottom. This means that Polk now knows the distance from the speaker and the power port at all times. Therefore, this speaker will sound great in any room, against any wall you put it in!
The only drawback
There's only one drawback, that really has nothing to do with the speaker itself but plays a part. If you're looking at doing 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 with the LSi line of speakers, it will get expensive. The LSi rears will run you about $800/pr. However they are a good size and have a switch to go from BiPole to DiPole. As far as the speakers themselves, they are just fantastic!!
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