R30's w/ Paradigm Center

sidespin

I just changed a pair of old Infinity sm 125 to a pair of R-30's for my fronts. My current 5.1 set-up is:

Polk R-30 (mains)
Polk R-15 (surrounds)
Paradigm cc-170 (center)
Polk PSW303 (sub)
powered by Denon AVR 1804 (90wpc)

I know my sub is a little more than the recommended, but how about the center? I am thinking of possibly switching the center to a CS1, CS2, or CSi25.

I still can't quite figure out which of these centers would be ideal. Right now, these are the prices I can get for the following (Brand New on Ebay).

CSi25 - $83
CS1 - $113
CS2 - $203

Value-wise CSi25 would seem the best, considering the MSRP. I'm leaning towards the cheaper option of the CSi25 or CS1. Also, my Paradigm center sounds pretty good now, so I'm not sure a change is necessary. But, I know that in most systems, the fronts should match the center for same front soundstage qualities and properties.

I would probably sell the Paradigm, which would offset the cost. I'm not an audiophile, but a casual enthusiast. It sounds fine now, but I'm wondering if the matching of the center, would even sweeten the sound more. My living room is ~375 sq. feet. I may upgrade later on a bigger scale, and move this setup into my bedroom, so i'm unsure whether i should splurge now on a small upgrade, versus waiting and using the money for a bigger and badder setup in the future for the living room. I'm not going to go nuts about my bedroom setup.

Any thoughts?

josh_parsons626

Yes, definately timbre match the center with the L/R. If you're not REAL big on the sound then you'd probably get away with the csi25 but if it was me i'd get the cs2 and upgrade all around to the monitor series (at least), because that's what i got right now and i think for entry level it sounds pretty good.

adam2434

The CSi25 is a better match sonically and aesthetically to your current R series speakers.

Maestro

All of those centers mentioned are good. Add the CSi3 to your list as well; I use it with my rig. It sounds great, but you should audition for your own taste.

Party on!

Mike682

Maestro wrote:

All of those centers mentioned are good. Add the CSi3 to your list as well; I use it with my rig. It sounds great, but you should audition for your own taste.

Party on!

I am running a Csi3 with my R30s and they match well. The center does run a little hotter than the R30s so I usually calibrate the center 1db less than the 30s. Other than that, they sound well.

organ

You shouldn't cheap out on center speakers. Buy the best you can. Even though different lines from Polk use different tweeters, I find that they sound quite similar and pretty difficult to tell apart when watching movies. I had the CSi40 and RT800i's at one time and it sounded fine.

sidespin

Thanks for replies. Now I'm deciding between the CS2 or CSi3. The CSi3 gives me slight upgrade capability for later, but I plan on using the same center for this setup with the R-30's & R-15's, as it would maybe move to my bedroom. The upgrade/perfection bug has bitten me. I'm thinking of getting a CS2 to complete this system. Then when the monster upgrade bug hits me, I could then deal with it then. But, changing the center to match my current setup would be good. What about a seperate amp for the mains? My Denon AVR-1804 runs @ 90 Watts per Channel. I've heard that those power specs could be a bit on the exaggerated side, so maybe i could use more power for these speakers. R-30 are supposed to run @ 20-150 watts per channel. Would amping these be useless, as it doesn't need that kind of power?

I think I am looking for a nice decent solution in perfecting and slightly upgrading what I have currently. I believe a new center will help. A seperate amp also, or unneccessary?