Changing out center channels

Early B. · September 2003

I currently have the 38's up front and just bought the 28's for the rear. (I'm becoming a Polkaholic!) The sound is amazing.

Anyway, I have a BIC America DV62CLRS center channel speaker that I paid $100 bucks for. This company is not well known, but this particular center channel was rated by Home Theater magazine as one of the best center channels on the market. It has two 6.5" drivers.

Nevertheless, I was wondering if it would be worthwhile to change my current center channel out with a Csi40. How much of a difference does timbre-matching really make? Can I achieve a timbre-matched sound by tweaking my system? If so, how?

Current System:
Front: 38's
Rear: 28's
Back: JBL N24s
Center: Bic DV62CLRS
Receiver: Denon 1803

Tour2ma · September 2003

EB,

First, welcome to the Club.

Second, I've heard of BIC. They make pens and razors, right? (Sorry 'bout that.)

Seriously, B.I.C. is an old firm that made a line of turntables back in the 70's. I believe they were British. B.I.C. Americas was their US company. While I cannot comment on their center channel, I can offer you a couple thoughts.

Timber matching-wise, if you are not noticing a mismatch, there probably is not one. Especially so if you have calibrated your system.

If you wish to compare your BIC to the PA 40, you might consider carrying your BIC into CC for a side by side, and/ or taking advantage of their guarantee for an in-home.

fgr41 · September 2003

I would say if you can find a CSi40 you should buy it now, while prices are so good and take it home for a listen. If you like it then you are set and if you don't you can take it back no questions asked. There aren't very many of them left so if you are going to move on it do it now.

DynamiteD · September 2003

I second getting the CSi40. Long ago I had the CS250 and I thought it sounded great. After two years of using it I got a deal on the CS400 and the difference was huge! Now I have the CSi40. My advice to you and to anyone is to always get the best center channel you can. It makes a world of difference with movies and multi-channel audio.

Early B. · September 2003

Thanks for the advice.

Yes, my system is calibrated and sounds exceptional to me right now. (check out the great reviews on audioreview.com for the BIC DV62CLR). I compared the sound of my system to a friend's home theater room (literally) that cost him about $15K in equipment, and my entry level Polks and Denon 1803 receiver were equally impressive. However, I'm beginning to see the value of sticking with a single line of speakers and a highly reputable company that makes them.

It would be nice to compare my current center channel with the Csi40 and see if there's a significant improvement. Just gotta wait for a better deal on it. Right now at the local CCs they're $299. Over the past 6 months, I've changed out all of my audio gear. If I bring home another speaker, my wife will choke me.

Thought about lugging my current center channel to CC to compare it to the Csi40, but most of the teenagers that staff the place rarely know how to operate the audio components.

Changing out center channels

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