Polk Audio Model CS10 (Center Speaker)

Evanguy2004

Hi everyone,

I just purchased an open boxed CS10 Black Center Speaker by Polk Audio to complete my set of Polk Audio Mains (Monitor 10) & Sub Woofer. I wanted to ask you all your opinion of the CS10 Black model? I got a pretty decent price of $124.99 because it was an out of the box deal and Best Buy was having a 25% additional price off the $161.99 price. The new ones in the box ran about $179.

Is this a pretty good Center Speaker? Should I be happy? I know there are better and higher priced models out there but I was looking for a good sounding/good value Center Speaker. Did I do good?

Mike21

Hi Evan,

If it sounds good, you did good.

Mike

Evanguy2004

Mike21 wrote: »

Hi Evan,

If it sounds good, you did good.

Mike

The problem I'm having now is that it doesn't sound good. The sound coming out of the CS10s is distorted!! So I brought up a Boston Acoustic Center that my buddy let me borrow for the weekend. It is a great center speaker but it is too long for my stand. However when I plugged that one in it rocked!! Sounded so, so clear...I think I might have bought a lemon in the Polk Audio CS10's. Again it was a Best Buy "Out of the Box" special. God only knows what it went through before I purchased it for a hot deal. I took the grill off last night and did not see any physical damage to the speakers. Why do you think it sounds distorted but when I plug the Boston Acoustic Center in (Same cord and all) it sounded super clear?

I'm not too worred though. I have a 30 day guarantee and 5 years with Polk Audio. Thank goodness I didn't buy this center speaker at Circuit City! I will play around with it some more but last night during the movie I was watching it sounded terrible...again very broken up and distorted.

Let me ask you guys if a speaker is "Blown" would you physically see the damage to it if you removed the grill? Could something be wrong with this speaker and you wouldn't physically see anything wrong just by looking at it? I'm thinking someone had this puppy cranked in the store before I bought it. The sales person thought it was a floor demo model...

Does anyone know about the Definitive speaker models? The guy at Best Buy told me that Definitive was developed and owned by the old owner/designer of Polk Auido? They had a Definitive Center Model for $150 open box in the store too. Are they any good?

apphd

Even, a few things could be defective with the speaker that you would not be able to see. Are you sure you have the polarity of the wires correct and have a good connection? Did you run a calibration set up routine after hooking it up? I think they will all do some type of phase check, (just may not always get it right) this may be a good starting point though.

cnh

As apphd,

Said could be a number of things. Also you have a POLK warranty and their Customer Service is #1. Buying at CC no problem for Polk.

Example, I picked up an open box pair of TSI-300s for about 180 a pair. I complained that one of the metal jumpers was MISSING to see if I could get a discount..no deal....no problem....sent an email with relevant info to Polk, got a response. Two, not one jumpers in the mail to my doorstep free of charge with a week!

And NO, the CS10 should not sound more distorted than your Boston. I have the CS2 (CS20) and it sounds great as a center.

cnh

Evanguy2004

Thanks everyone...I tried everything to make them sound good but I think they were trashed. Again they were a floor model open box. I took them back today to Best Buy and bought the Definitive ProCenter 1000 Center Channel. Wow is this a good sounding speaker!! It pains me to say this because I am a huge Polk Audio Fan. This too was a out of box take 25% additional off the price special. However this one had TLC and still came in a box with all of the papers. It was basically in mint condition. I would highly recommend this speaker if you are looking for a center channel that is affordable and compatable with Polk Audios!! They usually cost $220 but I paid $150 open box special at Best Buy!!

cnh

Definitive is a good product as well. No problem with that.

Glad you resolved your problem. Yeah, I've seen some open box stuff that's been blown because some customer abused the speakers.

cnh

Evanguy2004

Thanks guys for all of your support. Again it pained me to return the CS10 because I bought it at a hot price of about $125 as an open box item and with the BB take an additional 25% off! The cabinet was beat to heck with scratches and dents (How does that happen I wonder?), however the speakers looked good at least to the naked eye.

Again I was shocked when I plugged my ProCenter 1000 Center channel in last night! We put in High School Musical Blu Ray to watch with my 12 year old daughter and the sound just blew me away! I never knew what I was missing by having a half **** make shift center arrangement with my two bookshelf Infinitiy Speakers that were sitting side by side under my TV. I never thought about how at least 70% of the sound in movies is driven out of the center channel and how important it is to have a good center channel. I am sure a brand new in the box CS10 Polk Audio is a rocking speaker too. I just had a bad experience with the open box one that apparently was the store demo model. Having paid only $149.99 for the ProCenter 1000 was a steal!! This was an open box version that looked like someone bought a whole set of Definitives and returned them. It was in mint condition. I don't know how you wouldn't be happy with this center speaker. I know that make much more expensive models too. I couldn't even think about how great a Definitive $500 Center would be if their $220 model 1000 is super wonderful!

Evanguy2004

I can only say comparing the CS10 Vs ProCenter 1000 there is no comparison!! Even if my CS10s worked correct the PC 1000 would blow them away. The small compact size of the PC 1000 will just astound you!! I am replaying High School Musical now sitting here with my 12 year old daughter just amazed by the sound quality! Again Polk makes some good stuff too. I am not familar with their higher end center speakers like the RM302. It should be interesting if anyone has ever done a comparison