Should I upgrade my CSi3 to a CSi5?

jrosser1221
jrosser1221 Posts: 4
in Speakers
Home Theater Setup

Fronts: Rti6
Center: CSi3
Sub: PSW505 12 inch
Rears: Little **** T1 Satellites

So I got this on a budget a year ago, and I love the system. I do notice that the dialogue can be a little quiet compared to the roaring action sequences. Not highly noticeable, never thought much of it.

A major audiophile came over the other day and mentioned offhand that the drivers in my Rti6s were larger than the one in my CSi3, which surprised me, but cnet specs confirmed. The matching driver would be in a CSi5. I reached out to the guy who sold me the set, and he happens to have a mismatched CSi5 (no grill, ebay has one for $30). He's offered it to me for $100, throwing in a very nice set of M-Audio Studiophile AV-40 monitors that I'd put in the master for my wife, they're $150 at best buy right now.

Asking my audio nerd friends, I'm getting mixed results regarding whether this is worth it. A lot of people are saying to just boost my CSi3 and leave it alone. Any personal experience with these centers who have any thoughts?
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Comments

  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,196
    Firstly-Welcome to the Rabbit 🐇 Hol.................. I mean FORUM.
    Secondly-It is true they have the same drivers. It can’t hurt at all. Just make sure the digital delay is set properly (the speaker distance from the main listening seat) and the levels are correct.
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    YES!

    It's a MUCH better center and will blend perfectly with your mains.

    The center and the SUB are the most important speakers in a surround sound system.
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • jrosser1221
    jrosser1221 Posts: 4
    I guess as an additional question; how much difference should I expect to notice? I just went and watched a game of thrones battle scene, I have the fronts set to no boost with the center at +3.5db, and it really does seem to struggle keeping up with dialogue audio. Should I expect the Csi5 to fix that or will it be a negligible difference?
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    It does depend to some extent on your receiver. What model is it? If if can't send enough power to the CSi5 then you might not see a stark improvement, but its definitely worth the money especially with the little powered monitors thrown in...
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • jrosser1221
    jrosser1221 Posts: 4
    @rooftop59 I have a Yamaha RX-V573
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    jrosser1221 wrote: »
    @rooftop59 I have a Yamaha RX-V573

    Yea u might not see a huge improvement because even with that series that is fairly easy to drive, you need some good clean power to make that puppy sing...
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,196
    Yeah
    What he👆🏽Said!
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  • jrosser1221
    jrosser1221 Posts: 4
    What would you recommend?
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    jrosser1221 wrote: »
    What would you recommend?

    Well, usually to get adequate power you need a receiver with preouts. If it comes with preouts it usually has more cajones to begin with. And then you can add an external amp down the road.

    I have bought ALL mu receivers used, more than 10 over the years, and never had a single problem. So I would look on eBay.
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,530
    Part of the issue may also be speaker placement. A center speaker should still be angled up towards the main listening position if it is mounted low. The CSi5 is quite big, so placement of it may be an issue for some racks. It is a better speaker than its smaller brother but the smaller one should also not need to have its signal boosted. Has an SPL meter been used on the system yet to see what the actual output levels are at the listening area for each speaker?
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  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,465
    Csi-3 or CSi5, no question CSi5. I've had them both and the CSi5 is way better.

    Yes you will need more power to get the most out of any speaker.

    Here are a couple AVR's that will do you good

    https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx3400h/denon-avr-x3400h-7.2-ch-x-105-watts-a/v-receiver-w/heos/1.html

    https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/marsr6011/marantz-sr6011-9.2-ch-x-110-watts-a/v-receiver/1.html

    https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrxa1060bl/yamaha-rx-a1060-7.2-ch-x-110-watts-a/v-receiver/1.html

    Never had a problem with A4L products

    Other upgrade to think about is your sub. The 505 is not bad but an SVS or HSU will be night and day over it.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
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