Where to go after Polk LSI15's

I've heard the Polks in a store once, so I can't really comment on them one way or the other. Having said that, The price range you're talking about is exactly what a pair of Focal 836v floorstanding speakers cost. I've owned mine for about a little over 6 months and love them more than the day I brought them home. I've heard speakers that sounded both "different" and "better", but the "better" was always either a much more expensive speaker or much better supporting equipment than I have. Try to find a place to listen to a pair and see if you don't like them.

I too owned and loved the LSi15s for quite some time. I now own the Boston Acoustics E-100 and love them but if I were looking for something that would take all of the strengths of the 15s and improve upon them now I would get the Goldenear Triton 2s.

http://hometheaterreview.com/goldenear-technology-triton-two-loudspeaker-reviewed/

Polk's new LSi's will be out soon and will be a substantial step up from their current LSi series.

Magnepan 1.7 if you got the room. You will get a larger sound display than the Lsi 15s.

In my case the Lsi 15s are hard to beat without spending lots of money. I got my Lsi 15s as demos at about 1/3 of the retail price.

Like you, I enjoyed my LSi 15s for about 5 years and didn't feel any real need to upgrade until recently. What I liked most about the polks was their smooth tweeter, precise imaging, and musical midrange. What I ultimately found a bit lacking was their lower end, which always seemed a bit muddy and unnatural to my ears. I also found myself looking for a pair of speakers that were a bit more resolving of low-level detail.

I auditioned a lot of speakers and wasn't able to find any that struck me as a huge improvement over the polks in the $3-4K range. There were several brands that I enjoyed in the $8K+ range but that wasn't an option for me. What I ended up with was a bit of a compromise, the Usher Be-718. The Usher's highs and midrange are really special to my ears, definitely more resolving than the LSi 15s. Even though the Ushers are two-way monitors, their lower end sounds very natural to me and they play deep enough for much of the music I enjoy. I plan to supplement them with a sub as budget allows.

Your experience may differ, of course, but since you're not in a hurry to upgrade right now i'd suggest making a list of the qualities that you most and least like about your polks and then auditioning as many candidates as you can. That's part of the fun afterall.

e