Polk LSI15 compared to Paradigm Studio 100 V4

telescope, i'm not sure i fully grasp your thread, but i think you're questioning my critique and faithfully defending your polks. no offense taken, of course--i defend my speakers more zealously than i defend my wife or kids. i did a/b the polks against some very revealing floorstanders (focal, vienna) and honestly didn't think the polks were competitive; however this passion is inherently subjective and your opinion is just as valid as mine. i'm not a polkbasher--i've owned and enjoyed the rt25 (great cheap monitor), rt 35 (wooly bass--not as good as the rt25), rt1000p (surprisingly nice treble and midrange, if a bit unengaging); i've also heard alot of the excellent sda and lsi7. however, in the $1000-$2000 sweet spot, there's lots of other speakers i'd rather own.

I have the LSi15 & absolutely love them. What I found
was that the bass suffers if you use the spikes, I found
this when trying to get them in the right position. I took
the spikes off & everything changed for the better. I now
have them on some maple boards, I was going to have stands
made by Sound Design but they sound so great I hate to
change anything.

I don't see how a Denon receiver would do them justice. I had a Rotel RA-1062 & they sounded ok. I now use a Plinius 9100 & they sound amazing.

I also don't think you would go wrong with either. I had
some Energy Veritas speakers which are basically the same
speaker as the Paradigm & I liked them alot also.

That's my point. A receiver is the first & last thing
wrong. I (by the way I don't own Polks any more)used a
Wyred 4 Sound amp and the sound was amazing from the bottom
up. I have also used other high quality amps & pre's with them.
I'm just saying I have heard the speakers at their best
and they are better than a lot of high end speakers, so if you hear muddy & veiled sound from them, something else
is probably the culprit. (Like a receiver) That's all I saying!

Oh and BTW...Loomisjohnson, Of coarse I don't doubt
what you heard, and to be clear, I know you did not
mention anything about a receiver. Others did. Again my only point here
is, the IMO the last thing the LSi's are...is veiled & muddy.
Not perfect of coarse, but with the right electronics, they
are crystal clear & clean.

Happy Holiday's

telescope et al:
in fairness, i didn't hear the lsi15s coupled with top-flight electronics--my recollection is they were auditioned with a yamaha avr; i've also heard them with a low-to-middlin nad integrated. it could very well be that (unlike focal, paradigm, rega and other personal faves) the polks are particularly sensitive to the front end and that they could sound completely different with a high quality amp. now, coincidentally, i was shopping at fry's electronics last week and i briefly heard the polk lsi7s and lsi9s, which were powered by a generic avr playing a dvda. the lsi7s were quite good--open, detailed--while the larger, more expensive lsi9s sounded awful. front end synergy is undoubtedly important. ergo, the only reliable indicator of what would sound "better" in the op's system would, of course be, to pair the speaker to the op's system.