(5) Cs400i's?

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juice21
juice21 Posts: 1,866
edited February 27 in Clubhouse Archives
ok, this crossed my mind the other nite while watching a movie in my HT set-up. now, i'm not thinking about doing this, as i just got new fronts and rears, but i just thought i'd post this and get some other's thoughts:

ok, in my mind, the cs400i is probably the most incredible center channel out there for it's price (and beats alot of centers priced much more as well). the cs400i is why i chose polk rather than another manufacturer. ok, so here it goes. use a cs400i for each channel? the center-it's already an amazing center. the fronts- put this speaker on it's side(and this is what i'm wondering-will it really perform oriented like this?) and oppose them in the fronts, and basically you have mirror imaged pairs and a cascade tapered driver array, right? basically 2 of the LSi lines biggest features. do the same in the rears. the same 5 speakers all the way around. just a thought i wanted to bounce off of some of you. i think this would provide more focused imaging and tighter detail than some of the RTi's provide now (not that i'm complaining, cause i'm totally content with my system now).

so let's hear your thoughts...
Post edited by RyanC_Masimo on
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited November 2001
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    I just thinking, in my mind, the 400i has the same drivers as the RT55i. IMO, you would essentially get the same results, and cheaper, using two pairs of RT55i's along with the CS400i.

    Just my uneducated thoughts.

    Troy
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • gidrah
    gidrah Posts: 3,049
    edited November 2001
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    I've wondered this also. I know most manufactures are putting alot of effort into their center speaker, and it stands to reason that a speaker designed to handle about 60% of the material in DD/DTS would be able to handle music. Especially vocals. I don't have the cs4001, but wish I did. I have thought about this with center speakers in general. I've been thinking about asking this for some time. Great post.
    Make it Funky! :)
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  • juice21
    juice21 Posts: 1,866
    edited November 2001
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    yes, the 55i's would be cheaper, but the speaker arrangement in the cs400i mimicks the arrangement in the new LSi series which boasts 'tightly focused highs and true three-dimensional imaging with minimized room reflections' and the 'cascade tapered driver array improves image focus and detail'. so, you are getting (in my thoughts) some of the biggest benefits of the LSi series (other than the ring radiator tweeter)for much less of the cost. with that speaker arragement, i was thinking that the 400i's used as front's could out perform the 55's and maybe even the 800's for that matter. of course it does cost more than either one of those as well. but my concern here is not so much the price, but the sound quality, would it be better? can the cs400i's perform oriented in a different position???
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited November 2001
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    hmmm...I would like to see how that works in practice. I'm surely not saying that it is a bad idea for HT purposes.

    Troy
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • Aaron
    Aaron Posts: 1,853
    edited November 2001
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    I guess it would work, but not very well. One thing you're losing with the CS400i is bass response. The cabinet on that speaker is much smaller than that of the RT55i. That cascaded array business is one of the features of the LSi line, but there's a whole lot more to the line than that. I'd wager that the cascaded driver array isn't nearly as significant as the other improvements. One other thing you'd want to keep in mind is that the CS400i's would have to be elevated higher on stands than the RT55i's so that the tweeters are at ear level. I would be an interesting experiment, I guess.....

    Aaron
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited November 2001
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    It sort of reminds me of the SDA CRS's.....if you used a sub, the bass isn't such an issue. Then you have some pretty expensive satellites.......I dunno, I see pros and cons...

    Troy
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • Aaron
    Aaron Posts: 1,853
    edited November 2001
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    True, true. Like I said, it would be an interesting experiment. On a side note, does anyone know why the CS400i's costs $400?

    Aaron
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited November 2001
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    ...because we are willing to pay it??

    Troy

    who's willing to pony up the 2K to test this??
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • juice21
    juice21 Posts: 1,866
    edited November 2001
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    i did leave that out, that you would need a hell of a sub for the LFE. and it would require a little extra effort(possibly custom stands) to get every speaker at the right level. i do think the LSi line would out perform this set-up, it was just something that crossed my mind that i thought would be interesting...

    c'mon, there's got to be someone out there with and extra 2k in their pockets to put this theory to test...:D
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  • Aaron
    Aaron Posts: 1,853
    edited November 2001
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    c'mon, there's got to be someone out there with and extra 2k in their pockets to put this theory to test...:D
    or someone will big enough pants to fit 5 speakers in....

    Aaron
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  • weavercr
    weavercr Posts: 289
    edited November 2001
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    I can tell you that 4 rt55is, 1 cs400i and 2 psw350 powered by a B&K 307 make an excellent HT rig. I dont think that 5 cs400i will be as good.
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