CSi3 very bright

JerseyBiker

The tweeter on my 8 year old Paradigm CC 350 center speaker has died. I called Paradigm and was told that I could buy a replacement driver at what I believe is too expensive. Since the speaker is so old I decided to go with something else to work with my Paradigm Monitor 7s fronts. I just purchased a Polk Audio CSi3 center. It has very good reviews and I purchased one new for 100.00. I mostly only use sound surround for DVD/Blu-Ray movies and some TV. I rarely use surround for music. I know it's important to match your fronts but I decided to give the CSi3 a try. The Polk has a nice clear sound and do not sound bad with the Paradigms. But the Polk seems overly bright at times. There is often high pitch noise at the end of spoken words that sound almost like a whistle. I turned the volume down on the center channel and that helped some. Are the CSi3 naturally that bright or is there probably a defect with my speaker? Thanks. The following is my setup:

TV - Samsung FP-T5884 58" plasma
Receiver - Yamaha RX-V1400
Blu-Ray - Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-Ray
DVD - Samsung DVD-VR357 DVD/VHS recorder
HD Cable - Comcast Motorola DCT6200
CD Changer- Technics SL-PD9
Turntable- Technics SL-DD22
Speakers - Front: Paradigm Monitor 7
Center: Paradigm CC-350 (broken replaced with CSi3)
Subwoofer: HSU Research STF-2
Surround L/R: Tivoli Design TDM1
Surround back: Bose Model 100 (I know)

leroyjr1

The Csi 3 coupled with your Yamaha receiver will be much brighter than your Paradigm. IMO I would have stuck with the Paradigm. I have sampled a couple of their newer model speakers and was very impressed.

Welcome to the Forum

cfrizz

Welcome to Club Polk.

Would the cost of the Paradigm replacement tweeter cost as much or more than a new center channel?

wallstreet

The csi3 and cc350 aren't apples to apples. However, I have one for my bedroom HT and don't notice the problem you're describing. I would have fixed the Paradigm.

JerseyBiker

Thank you very much for the replies. I'm not that picky as far as matching speakers as most probably are as long as everything sounds good. The Polk does sound nice with the exception of that occasional high pitch sound at the end of some dialog. I am going to return it for that reason. I may replace the tweeter on my Paradigm which would cost about 75.00. The problem with that is that I'm not 100 percent sure if it is the driver. It could be the crossover. The other alternative would be to get a new Paradigm center. The CC-350 is no longer available new. I can get a used one on ebay or spend more than I would like to on the newer CC-370 model. Thanks again guys.

~eddie

thunders

If you can--- test connect the driver in another speaker. That's how I detected my bad crossover capacitors (and saved from spending $90.00 on a tweeter) Shipping the crossover plus parts and labor cost less than $50.

JerseyBiker

thunders wrote: »

If you can--- test connect the driver in another speaker. That's how I detected my bad crossover capacitors (and saved from spending $90.00 on a tweeter) Shipping the crossover plus parts and labor cost less than $50.

That's such a simple solution why didn't I think of that. I just did and yes it is the tweeter. The tweeter from one of my front speakers work fine in the center speaker.

~eddie