What's the opinion on the Polk TSI400?

[Mike Up]

I found a price on these that's unbelievable. I have the TSI100s and out of a lot of speakers I've had, these are the best for neutrality and aren't bright. They are very realistic sounding and have great bass for a bookshelf. Not that the bass goes low but it's realistic and not thin sounding. The imaging and soundstaging is really good as the speakers just disappear. I don't know what I'm really looking to get that would be "more" than what I have. The TSI100s blend excellent with the SVS SB-2000 subwoofer and sound as one.

I have had Infinity Reference RS2000.4 towers previously and these Polk bookshelf speakers just blow them away. The Infinity 2000.4s always sounded thin and bright but back in the late 90s when I bought them, that seemed to be the characteristic that was pushed by many speakers. I did replace the RS2000.4s with Infinity Reference RS1 bookshelf speakers as my animals tipped one over and it died. The RS1s suffered with a 1/2" polycarbonate tweeter compared to the RS2000.4s 1" silk dome tweeter. The RS1 also had a 5-1/4" woofer while the RS2000.4 had a 6-1/2" woofer. Even so, I didn't really hear a big difference going from a tower to a bookshelf in soundstage, imaging, or presentation. While I did hear difference in tonality between the speakers, I didn't hear any thing that would make the tower speaker sound bigger. Even at loud volumes, the bookshelf did well.

So my question, other than getting more bass output and lower bass response, what else would I gain going to a TSI400 tower speaker over my TSI100 bookshelf speaker. The TSI100 is a 5-1/4" woofer above and a 1" soft dome tweeter below. The TSI400 is a MTM design with 5-1/4" woofer above, 1" soft dome tweeter in the middle, and another 5-1/4" woofer below. Then another 3rd 5-1/4" woofer below that other 5-1/4" woofer. Sensitivity is close so output shouldn't be a big difference.

Thanks

 

[isolar8001]

It really all comes down to whether you like them...I just saw the 400's for 100 bucks a piece. They are worth that and not much more.

Around 13 years ago, I bought a pair of Monitor 70's and a CS20 center because of a ridiculous low price...you do get what you pay for sometimes. I absolutely hated those Polks. I got rid of them real fast.
One day, I took the CS20 apart and was introduced to how Polk was selling this stuff so cheap.
Same drivers used on both models...I would bet the tweeters were worth 3 dollars and the woofers maybe 7 dollars. Crossover was laughable. Cabinet was a folded up long sheet of v grooved vinyl covered cheapo particle board.

Only reason I'm stating this is...save up for better quality bookshelves...you have a quality sub.
It's not much more expensive to get away from Polks bargain basement line.
Hard to say whether the 400's are any better than the 100's...I would bet not.

 

[j_garcia]

These are basically refreshed versions of their Monitor line. Really just a dressed up version of them, new skin, same drivers. I saw them in the store side by side and realized that when the TSIs came out.

 

[Mike Up]

Thanks for your comments but these aren't like the Monitors.

They have different cabinet internals, different crossovers, and the TSI series has wave guides for the woofer and tweeter built into their grills. While I haven't heard them personally, I did a lot of research before buying my TSI100s and most who have compared them, stated that the TSI didn't sound like the monitors and the TSI models sounded significantly better.

As for the difference between the TSI100 bookshelf and TSI400 tower speakers, I was wanting to know what I'd actually gain with the TSI400s, over the TSI100 other than lower bass extension and higher bass output.

I really like my TSI100s and they have reviewed very well by professional reviewers.

Thanks again.

 

[Mike Up]

Ok, I decided to try out the Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 and C6.2 speakers as prices really came down. If I don't like them, I'll send them back.