CS245i or CS10

dom

Hello fellow polksters. I have a questions about a center speaker I am thinking about purchasing. I currently have the Polk CS245i and am looking to replace it with a more updated model with a higher efficiency. The only model within my budget is the Polk CS10 which I can get for about $80. Are the improvements below worth the "upgrade", if it is an upgrade at all? My current setup is in my sig.

Specs are almost identical except the following:

Efficiency
CS10 - 91db
CS245i - 90db

Tweeter Material
CS10 - Silk Dome Dynamic Balance
CS245i - Dynamic Balance® Tri-laminate

Power Handling
CS10 - 20-125 w/channel
CS245i - 10 -180 w/channel


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Airplay355

Stick with your cs245i. It would be a pretty parallel "upgrade". Save your $80.

dom

Airplay355 wrote: »

Stick with your cs245i. It would be a pretty parallel "upgrade". Save your $80.

Thanks. I just needed some reassurance. I took that saved $80 and bought some new Ray Bans! :cool:

Kex

Airplay355 wrote: »

Stick with your cs245i. It would be a pretty parallel "upgrade". Save your $80.

Yup! the CS245i is a pretty serious center IMO, and the CS10 doesn't really have anything to suggest it might yield any noteworthy improvement IMO.

A good gauge of this might be the lower -3dB limit on both: 55Hz for the CS245i, and 63Hz for the CS10! I'm not even convinced that the CS20 would be worth it in comparison. Now, depending on what other speakers you are using (TSi, RTi A, or something from the R/T/M range), then a nice hefty CSi A6 would be a lovely addition IMO. I don't think I've ever heard anyone own one of the bigger RT series center speakers that ever wanted to go back to something "more compact" (yuck!): they're just a great addition to any system, especially if you have a nice hefty receiver (or external amplifier) to drive them. That would take more than $80, buy I would get a lot more pleasure from it than from a pair of Ray-Bans.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/rtia/specs.php#center

dom

Kex wrote: »

Yup! the CS245i is a pretty serious center IMO, and the CS10 doesn't really have anything to suggest it might yield any noteworthy improvement IMO.

A good gauge of this might be the lower -3dB limit on both: 55Hz for the CS245i, and 63Hz for the CS10! I'm not even convinced that the CS20 would be worth it in comparison. Now, depending on what other speakers you are using (TSi, RTi A, or something from the R/T/M range), then a nice hefty CSi A6 would be a lovely addition IMO. I don't think I've ever heard anyone own one of the bigger RT series center speakers that ever wanted to go back to something "more compact" (yuck!): they're just a great addition to any system, especially if you have a nice hefty receiver (or external amplifier) to drive them. That would take more than $80, buy I would get a lot more pleasure from it than from a pair of Ray-Bans.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/rtia/specs.php#center

Woah! :eek: That CSiA6 center is no joke. That is one nice center, but also a very high price. I'm running only R50 fronts and RTi28 rears so the CS245i cuts it jsut right for having the sounds match up. Plus i live in an apartment, so you can imagine my current speaker setup is much more than enough for my listening space (appx 300sq/ft living room space). But I will definitely keep the CSiA6 in mind for a future setup.

As for the Ray Bans, I needed them desperately since I sat on my previous pair last weekend haha!