Best value Bookshelf speaker

Thanks for the info James. It's appreciated when the thread originator posts his results. Enjoy the Focals.

Welcome Timrhu. I know you like the Polks and I did talk to a seller. He also said great things about the lsi9's but said if I found a pair I already like for a good price just go for it which is what I did.

So far no regrets.

I have listened to both, and liked them. My recollection of the VA's is that they were tonally very elegant and well balanced, but that they were not particularly well focused. They played big, but without great spacial definition. It could have been the positioning. I really like the focus 140's, though they are more money. You could also listen to the Totem Rainmaker. I find them a little harsh on the high end, but for under $1000, they are a real value. With the right electronics they would probably be fine.

Marct- did listen to the Rainmakers at the same dealer and same set-up. He just changed over the wires and everything else was exactly the same including listening position.

Did appreciate the Rainmakers. Sounded very nice but both the dealer and I agreed the imaging and soundstage sounded quite a bit more pronounced with the Focals. He also gave them to me for $750 out the door NIB, so I couldn't decline.

I think the Polk LSi9 speakers have it all and then some. I do agree with the other posters regarding the midbass and to some extent the fine details in the higher freqs which I felt were being overshadowed by the larger amounts of bass the LSi9's were producing. So yeah, I thought they were just a little bass heavy. Otherwise, build quality, imaging, soundstage, slam, etc. pretty darn fantastic considering their size and price point.

So in the spirit of the hobby, I just started tweaking and tweaking these little monsters through trial and error to cater the sound to my ears. Long story short, they're keepers.