Polk Audio LSiM 707 Flagship Floorstanding Speakers First Look

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admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
You put two words together in the same sentence and you are guaranteed to get every Audioholic's attention. Those words - Flagship and Speaker. For almost ten years Polk Audio has had the LSi line as their flagship speakers. This year, at CES, they are introducing a new flagship, the LSiM, headed up by their 707 towers. While pricing hasn't yet been announced, they sport a proprietary 3.25" Extended Liner Motion (ELM) midrange mounted above a 1" Advance Isotropic ring radiator tweeter plus a 6.5" ELM midrange and two 6x9" ELM "subwoofers" (or what you and I would call "woofers"). They are a four way ported design that has 40 years of audio technology behind them. Plus, they are so much better looking than the old LSi speakers we don't know where to begin. Talk about hot. Now, if only we could get them on our test bench.


Discuss "Polk Audio LSiM 707 Flagship Floorstanding Speakers First Look" here. Read the article.
 
K

kevon27

Annoying Poster
I think Audioholics should put in for a review sample from Polk as soon as these speakers are released.:)
 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
LSiM 707 Tower Speaker ($1,999 each)
LSiM 705 Tower Speaker ($1,499 each)
LSiM 703 Bookshelf Speaker ($1,099 each)
LSiM 706c Center Channel Speaker ($1,099 each)
LSiM 704c Center Channel Speaker ($699 each)
LSiM 702f/x Bipolar Surround Speaker ($749 each)
 
B

bwilberg266

Audioholic Intern
These look eerily similar to Goldenear Technology's Triton Two Towers

Sandy Gross has left a legacy with Polk and Definitive, but seems to be creating a new one with Goldenear. For my money I'd say I'd go with the Triton's for $1,250 each vs the LSiM 707 price tag of $1,999 a piece.
 
O

ohskigod

Junior Audioholic
These look eerily similar to Goldenear Technology's Triton Two Towers

Sandy Gross has left a legacy with Polk and Definitive, but seems to be creating a new one with Goldenear. For my money I'd say I'd go with the Triton's for $1,250 each vs the LSiM 707 price tag of $1,999 a piece.

If by "Similar" you mean not even in the same ballpark, then sure. they are very similar (??)

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/goldenear-technology-triton-two-fl


Incidentally I heard the 707's at prototype of these at my house (cabinets finished but the crossover was not the final version), they sounded pretty frikkin good. Also, we all know MSRP does not equal what they will be priced at retail most times, so price comparos should be taken with a grain fo salt at this point.

Incidentally, I admit I never heard the Goldenear, it might sound brilliant for all I know, but I wont make a reccomendation if i havent heard both speakers. It's just how I roll I guess.
 
M

mardelgo

Junior Audioholic
The towers look that they have a very good desing. If you look the inside of the cabinet each driver has his own "cabinet" and the drivers look very high quality.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
B

bwilberg266

Audioholic Intern
If by "Similar" you mean not even in the same ballpark, then sure. they are very similar (??)

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/goldenear-technology-triton-two-fl
Ease up on the hair trigger there. The similarity of the look is what I was referencing when looking at the construct of the cabinet and drivers. I should have done a better job clarifying that. And the reason I brought it up is that the design engineering looks very similar and I find it interesting that Sandy is the father of Polk and is now making the Golden Ear speakers that seem (to me at least) to look similar in structure.

I happen to like the old Polk stuff a lot more than the new stuff, and seeing that he's the man that started it all, I have more loyalty to the man behind the sound than the name on the front of the cabinet.

 
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jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
Ease up on the hair trigger there. The similarity of the look is what I was referencing when looking at the construct of the cabinet and drivers. I should have done a better job clarifying that. And the reason I brought it up is that the design engineering looks very similar and I find it interesting that Sandy is the father of Polk and is now making the Golden Ear speakers that seem (to me at least) to look similar in structure.

I happen to like the old Polk stuff a lot more than the new stuff, and seeing that he's the man that started it all, I have more loyalty to the man behind the sound than the name on the front of the cabinet.

Definitely kissing cousins but the Polk is a lot better looking. Keep the grill on the Triton.
 
B

Bass Bum

Audioholic Intern
Can someone explain to me the oblong, oval shaped sub-drivers? Are they in this shape in order to get a larger woofer into a narrow cabinet? Any downside to them over the traditional round woofer?
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Can someone explain to me the oblong, oval shaped sub-drivers? Are they in this shape in order to get a larger woofer into a narrow cabinet? Any downside to them over the traditional round woofer?
6x9 and even 4x10 drivers have been around for MANY years in car audio. Yes, it is for space consideration.
 
R

rob.hughes

Audiophyte
These look eerily similar to Goldenear Technology's Triton Two Towers

Sandy Gross has left a legacy with Polk and Definitive, but seems to be creating a new one with Goldenear. For my money I'd say I'd go with the Triton's for $1,250 each vs the LSiM 707 price tag of $1,999 a piece.
Dunno.... The Goldenear killed it for me by using a built-in amp. That means I need power outlets near each speaker as well as running long signal cables. Guess I prefer the old-fashioned way of doing it.
 
emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
Polk looks much nicer, also looks to be pretty well built. No idea on the GoldenEar.

I've had some (admittedly low end) Polk speakers for quite a long time in a HT and they continue to do their job even if they aren't amazing. I've always wanted to like Polk but it has seemed to me like they've sort of lost their way in recent years. Don't know if that's really true or not, haven't auditioned anything from them in a while but they don't seem to get a lot of interest or respect these days.
 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
Polk looks much nicer, also looks to be pretty well built. No idea on the GoldenEar.

I've had some (admittedly low end) Polk speakers for quite a long time in a HT and they continue to do their job even if they aren't amazing. I've always wanted to like Polk but it has seemed to me like they've sort of lost their way in recent years. Don't know if that's really true or not, haven't auditioned anything from them in a while but they don't seem to get a lot of interest or respect these days.
I think that is a depends situation. I put in a handful of M70 II based HT systems when they have been blowing them out at Newegg. Really hard to beat for the price and they are a speaker that can sit in someones room for 15 years doing HT duty. They are that first tier of above average build quality that people with a budget can get into and know they made an investment. Not some shlock HTiB.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Dunno.... The Goldenear killed it for me by using a built-in amp. That means I need power outlets near each speaker as well as running long signal cables. Guess I prefer the old-fashioned way of doing it.
Who said the old fashioned way was better? Don't knock it if you haven't tried it.
 
emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
I think that is a depends situation. I put in a handful of M70 II based HT systems when they have been blowing them out at Newegg. Really hard to beat for the price and they are a speaker that can sit in someones room for 15 years doing HT duty. They are that first tier of above average build quality that people with a budget can get into and know they made an investment. Not some shlock HTiB.
I've always looked at that Monitor series with 'admiration' because it looked like a solid, affordable choice. That said, I think they still don't get much attention/interest which has made me suspicious if their performance or quality really isn't up to snuff for their price.

Who said the old fashioned way was better? Don't knock it if you haven't tried it.
I know I prefer the old fashioned way. Fewer wires to deal with and for those who worry about surge protection and so on it means fewer things you need one or more of those for.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Can someone explain to me the oblong, oval shaped sub-drivers? Are they in this shape in order to get a larger woofer into a narrow cabinet? Any downside to them over the traditional round woofer?
No downside.

I think someone at Polk has been reading the history books. Those drivers look almost identical to the KEF B139 bass driver



They are exactly the same size also. The B 139 appeared in 1959 and had a production run of about 30 years. It is one of my all time favorite drivers, and they justly fetch high prices on eBay.

I just hope this time KEF do not use a passive crossover too far down to those drivers. The KEF B 139 crosses over nicely at 400 Hz.



In this case the B 139s are crossed over active at 180 Hz.

It seems to me that producing a wide band mid range driver has eluded Polk again. They have split the mid range between two drivers. If they need high order crossovers between those mids, I doubt it will be a successful speaker. If however the large mid just extends the smaller mid with a simple half section crossover it might be successful. I hope so as its predecessor was a mess. I await details of this design with interest.
 
Matt34

Matt34

Moderator
Leaps and bounds better looking than the old LSI line. Would like to hear those towers one day.
 
AVRat

AVRat

Audioholic Ninja
I think that is a depends situation. I put in a handful of M70 II based HT systems when they have been blowing them out at Newegg. Really hard to beat for the price and they are a speaker that can sit in someones room for 15 years doing HT duty. They are that first tier of above average build quality that people with a budget can get into and know they made an investment. Not some shlock HTiB.
Are you saying that you've had alot of senior business?:p:eek:
 
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