Center Channel for R50s (CS1, CS2, or CSi5)

kalrith

Here is my current setup:

Panasonic XR55s receiver
Front: R50s in cherry
Sub: PSW350
Rears: None at the moment, but I'm probably going to purchase some R15s whenever I find them in cherry.
My HT/music split is probably 70/30.

So, the center has to be in cherry to match the R50s. The only close timbre matches I know of that come in cherry are the CS1 and CS2. The lowest prices I've found on them are $160 and $270, respectively, with free shipping from onecall. I've been looking for a while on ebay, audiogon, craigslist, and several different for-sale forums (including Polk's, of course) and have only seen these centers in black. The CSi5 in cherry is on ebay almost all the time for $285 shipped brand new.

So, my choices for a center channel seem to be between these three speakers. As far as I understand, the CS1 and CS2 are a better timber-match for the R50s than the CSi5, but the CSi5 is a much better center. So, my question is two-fold:

If I spend close to $300 on a center channel, which is the better choice, CS2 or CSi5?
Is the more-expensive speaker worth almost double the price tag of the CS1?

Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for all the help!

Shizelbs

The CSi20 is the best match for the R50s. However, it is discontinued. If you can find it used or on ebay, thats the one for you.

kalrith

I have read that the csi20 and csi25 are both good matches, but for WAF reasons the center MUST be in cherry. I'm pretty sure that the CS1 and CS2 are the close timber matches to the R50 that come in cherry.

Thanks for the response though

Ron Temple

The CS1 will be a close match. I tried it with my 50s, but settled on a CSi3 I picked up on ebay for $90 shipped. Both are brighter than the Rs, better bass from the CS1, better dialog resolution from the CSi3. I'd think CSi5 or CS2 would be overkill for the R50s, but I've been wrong once before.

ubid has the CS1 available for $109+ and the CS2 for $189+. You might want to check them out. Don't know about warranty though.

skipsterut

kalrith wrote:

I have read that the csi20 and csi25 are both good matches, but for WAF reasons the center MUST be in cherry. I'm pretty sure that the CS1 and CS2 are the close timber matches to the R50 that come in cherry.

Thanks for the response though

I suppose it's not as good a timbre match as the CSi20 but how about the CSi3. It's available now from a variety of sources, it comes in Cherry, it's a more manageable size (I hear the CSi5 is hard to place due to its "hugeness") and it's quite reasonably priced. ($179 at Fry's Outpost - an authorized dealer, and $139 at atyourservice electronics - not an authorized dealer.) Many forum members have commented that it's a very good center -- not as great as the 5, but still quite good -- especially given the size/price tradeoffs.

BTW -- I don't have one myself -- just repeating what I have read in this forum and others. But I'm planning to buy one in the next week or 2. I also need a nice cherry finish to match my R50's (which I think are really great speakers for the price -- especially since I paid only $140 for the pair when Fry's had them on sale a few months ago.)

adam2434

The CSi25 (still available and often on sale at outpost.com) is a match for the R series and did come in cherry at one time - see the link.
http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-bin/outputpdf.php?file=WVTV/200306/106_WV_JUN03.pdf

TheReaper

I have tried the CSi5 with R50s, and it produces more bass than the R50s. I didn't think it was a good match. If you want to give the WAF a heart attack. Get another R50, remove the pedestal and lay it on it's side

skipsterut

I'm very interested in the CSi3. What is the opinion of forum members about this center channel?

Since the thread is related to centers that would work with R50 mains -- other than the CS1, 2,and i25 -- it would be great if we could get some "first hand" opinions about the CSi3 in this thread.............

halo

I've got a CSi20 I could part with. You could get some Cherry vinyl from Parts Express and then you have your matching center in Cherry.

Vanhool

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4966251?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
This one seems to be matched with the R series, i dont know if you can get it in cherry though.
Van

kalrith

Thanks for all the responses! It seems that the CSi5 and the CS2 might be a little too much for the R50s. That's good news, since they're the most expensive ones!

I haven't seen much in cherry on uBid, but I'll keep looking. I'm really surprised to see that the CSi25 once came in cherry. I haven't seen one for sale anywhere, so I'm not going to hold my breath for that one.

It seems that my choices have been narrowed down to the CS1 and the CSi3. Is one of these a closer timbre match to the R50s than the other? Is there any advantage of one over the other? Ron said the CSi3 had better dialogue and the CS1 better bass. Can anyone confirm or refute this? If it's a toss-up between the two, then I'll just shop around for the best deal on either one of them.

Thanks again

Willow

FWIW, I have the csi3 and for the time being I can't upgrade to the 5 due to size/location. I have found the 3 to be a great centre speaker. Dialogue is clean and clear, as for lack of bass...well it's not a sub and I have not found the "lack" of bass to be an issue.

I set my bro up this way as it was the only option at the time, he has r30 and r15s. I bought him a single r15 and he is using it as a centre lying on it's side. He has not complained and it does sound good with the rest of the speaks.

tommyboy

As you can see in my signature, I have the CSi3 with the monitor 50s. I personally think that they timbre match very well. Now I know surrounds usually don't have to timbre match, but I can hear a big difference in sound between the r15s and the front/center. So when I upgrade in a couple years, the r15s go first. My advise is, try to find the csi25, if you can't, go with the cs1,2. I wouldn't recommend the the csi-3,5 unless you plan to upgrade to the RTi series in the future.

skipsterut

Vanhool wrote:

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4966251?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
This one seems to be matched with the R series, i dont know if you can get it in cherry though.
Van

The CSR looks like a new center from Polk designed to match the R series. It's so new it doesn't have any customer reviews yet on the Polk web site. Too bad it only comes in black or I'd probably be ordering one and submitting the first review.;)

Ron Temple

skipsterut wrote:

The CSR looks like a new center from Polk designed to match the R series. It's so new it doesn't have any customer reviews yet on the Polk web site. Too bad it only comes in black or I'd probably be ordering one and submitting the first review.;)

I'm sure that's a re-branded CSi25.

Maestro

skipsterut wrote:

I'm very interested in the CSi3. What is the opinion of forum members about this center channel?

I have the CSi3 with my R50s; it works beautifully - with maticulous calibration!!

Enjoy!

NighthawkSE01

I also have a question regarding centre speakers, and I'm in a bit of a jam.

I have R30's for my mains and R15's for my surrounds. I needed a better centre speaker so I ended up buying a CSi3, it was $50 off at FutureShop. It seems that in Canada the CS1 isn't offered anywhere I have looked, the CSi3 is the cheapest centre from Polk that I can find. I'm not looking for cheap of course, I'm looking for good sound quality. The CSi3 sounds great, however as is evident, the tone doesn't match the rest of my soundstage.

Now, am I screwed? Is there anything I can do to match my soundstage? I know that some receivers have tone-matching for centre channels, however is there a sacrifice to sound quality when this is done?

I need a new receiver and am willing to buy one, and I like my CSi3, aside from the obvious problem. Any assistance on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

tommyboy

NighthawkSE01 wrote:

Is there anything I can do to match my soundstage?

Yes, buy the RTi8s;) . When speakers don't match up, its usually(at least I thought) not the reciever unless you are driving your speakers with two seperate amps...

adam2434

NighthawkSE01, you could also pick up a CSi25, which will match the rest of your R series speaks. The CSi25 has the same tweeter as R30s/R15s and same mid-woof as the R15s.

The R30s have pretty laid back highs in my experience, so is more high frequency output standing out with the CSi3?

While the CSi3 should be a "better" speaker than the CSi25, it is not a "better match" with the rest of your speakers.

NighthawkSE01

adam2434 wrote:

NighthawkSE01, you could also pick up a CSi25, which will match the rest of your R series speaks. The CSi25 has the same tweeter as R30s/R15s and same mid-woof as the R15s.

The R30s have pretty laid back highs in my experience, so is more high frequency output standing out with the CSi3?

Yes, high frequency is what is throwing my soundstage off. I'd like to get something that matches the rest of my soundstage, however then I'd have a CSi3 on my hands that I can't use. *sigh* What a dilema!

Ron Temple

Drop the center channel level a couple of dbs...it will blend better. I came to prefer this center after my ears broke in .

kalrith

Maestro wrote:

I have the CSi3 with my R50s; it works beautifully - with maticulous calibration!!

Enjoy!

What sorts of "meticulous calibration" did you have to do?

Maestro

Pretty much what the Polk Posse has already mentioned in other threads: use correct speaker placement, use the SPL meter, and then use those precious filters - EARS - and adjust accordingly. As Ron Temple mentioned just above, turning the dBs a couple of notches certainly can help.

Just for speaker placement and testing, it took me about 4 hours.

kalrith

Halo wrote:

I've got a CSi20 I could part with. You could get some Cherry vinyl from Parts Express and then you have your matching center in Cherry.

I wanted to let you guys know that I'm considering Halo's idea. Probably not with the CSi20, but with the CSi25, which Outpost.com has on sale for $59 plus shipping every couple months. I posted the idea in this thread, because it kept with the theme of the thread. However, since all of you were such a help to me before I wanted to give you a heads up to my post over there:

kalrith wrote:

I realize that this is a very old thread, but I have a question that fits with the general theme of this article. I have two cherry R50s, and I have had quite the time finding a cherry center and surrounds to match. From postings in this thread, the general consensus seems to be that the CS1 is the closest timbre match that I will find in cherry, but it's still not a perfect match. Outpost.com runs good deals on the CSi25 (which is a perfect match) and the R15s, which would make great (and inexpensive) surrounds. The problem is that they only have these in black. I have seen R15s in cherry go on eBay for almost twice the price of the black ones on outpost.com ($100 shipped compared to $57 shipped). I have never seen the CSi25 (or CSi20) on sale in cherry.

Sorry for the long introduction. Now let's get to my actual question. How well would the CSi25 and R15s match my R50s if I put a cherry vinyl laminate like this on them? If Outpost runs sales like they have in the past and I buy 1 sheet of that laminate from Parts Express, then it will cost about the same price as a cherry CS1 ($160), and the CSi25 will match my R50s better. So, price is definitely an issue, and timbre-matching is an issue as well. If anyone has experience with how speakers look after installing your own laminate, please chime in. Also, if this is a viable option, then how do I go about installing the laminate. Do I have to sand, strip, or remove the current laminate; or can I just stick it on there with no preparations?

Thanks in advance for the help!

halo

Very :cool: Glad I could be of assistance

oregoncalfroper

yeah i just missed out on the csi25

ivansfo

The current best center for the R50 is indeed the Csi25.

I've experimented with 3 center channels since I have had my R50s. Here's what I think of the each.


Csi30
Not available anymore but you can find it used on Ebay from time to time. Going price is about $100 for this center. About 2 years ago on Polk Audio's webpage for the R50, this was THE recommended matching center channel. Since then Polk has taken this recommendation chart off their web page. This center channel features two blue colored 5/14" drivers and one 1" soft dome tweeter. This is the current center channel I'm running and I'm very pleased with it.


Csi25
This center channel is available from Fry's when it is on sale for about $50. Six months ago I saw this speaker on sale at Fry's so I bought one home to try. This center channel speaker features two 5/14" drivers and one 3/4" soft dome tweeter. All the drivers look just like the ones used on the R series. Cabinet is black vinyl just like the R series. I spent one week comparing the Csi25 against my older Csi30. I'd say the sound is 99% identical to the Csi30. Movie dialog is pretty good with both speakers. Since there was no improvement, I returned the Csi25.


Csi20
This was the first center channel I tried. Bought it off Ebay for about $50. IMO, this speaker is just a R20 bookshelf put on its side. Dialog from movies is lacking on this speaker so I sold it on Ebay and bought a Csi30