Polk Audio CS10 Center Channel Speaker (Single, Black)

I've been using small satellite speakers with a subwoofer for my family room home theater system for years. Grabbed some satellites from an old Logitech Z-5500 5.1 system. They got the job done, but I knew better quality was available at a good price if I was willing to do some homework. When my Harman Kardon receiver bit the dust after 17 years of service, it was time to upgrade, which caused somewhat of a snowball effect.With the new receiver in hand, I wanted to replace my small satellites with nicer bookshelf speakers. And you can't have a decent home theater system without a center channel speaker to complement the l/r channels. Finally, my recent purchase of a new subwoofer a couple months ago (old one also bit the dust after 8 years) completed the system. I kept my small satellites in the rear channels, as they are wall-mounted and I do not want larger speakers in those locations. It's primarily for ambient noise and occasionally special effects in movies.I love the full sound of the CS10 center channel speaker. The cones are the same size as the bookshelf speakers, so they are a good match. They really bring out the dialog in movies, and they also shine when playing music using all the speakers in the 5.1 array.Here's my revised system:LG 47" 1080p flatscreen TV (looking at buying a 55" LG LED)Pioneer VSX-824K 5.2 receiverLG Bluray disc playerPolk Audio TSx110 bookshelf speakers (x2)Polk Audio CS10 center channel speakerPolk Audio PSW10 subwooferLogitech Z-5500 satellite speakers for rear surround channels (x2)Uverse HD DVR cable boxWhat did I pay in total to upgrade my receiver, L/R speakers, center channel speaker, and subwoofer? A miniscule $426. It helped greatly that I got the $229 TSx110 pair as an open box deal for only $39 (jaw drop), and the Pioneer VSX-824K as an open box at $199 (half the retail price). The CS10 center channel was $99. The PSW10 subwoofer was only $89 (price fluctuates up from there occasionally). I can even add a second subwoofer (the receiver is a 5.2 ), but that's highly unlikely in my family room, considering I can shake the walls with the one I have. I could have easily spent more than my eventual total on just a receiver if I didn't find a great deal.It took a few months to assemble all of the new components, but my patience paid of with some amazing deals.The system truly shines for movies, where the receiver, speakers, and subwoofer act in concert to deliver sounds like I have never heard before in my family room. It is also exceptional for music. There are many modes that tune the output for the type of music you are listening to, and how the system uses a 5.1 (or 5.2) speakers.I don't like it when electronics give up the ghost, but out of adversity, comes opportunity. If you can be patient, you will find exceptional deals and piece together an outstanding system for a great price.Now that the whole system is together, the upgrade is astonishing. The bookshelf and center channel speakers do much better across the entire spectrum that the 2.5" drivers of the satellite speakers I had up front.I have another Z-5500 5.1 system in my sunroom, and it sounds as good as any 5.1 satellite system I've seen. Some may argue the Bose Lifestyle system is better, but the $279 Z-5500 beats the tar out of the $1,100 Bose system in terms of value.I can't say enough about Polk Audio speakers. They offer consistently great sound at a bargain price. I would not hesitate selecting all Polk Audio speakers if I were building an entire system from scratch.See my reviews for the other components in my system.

A Common frustration among home theater owners is that the dialogues are just not that clear and immersive as they find it in the actual theater.Most of the sound that you listen in movies in a 5.1 setup comes from the center channel and therefore the center channel deserves your attention if you want to fix the dialogue problem.I have been through the same struggle that most people go though.I used to increase the volume of the speaker to get the clarity in dialogues only to find that surround sound going up as well and drowning the clarity.I have tried increasing the center channel volume up by fiddling with the receiver EQ but it generally ended up with a hollow sound. There was no weight, Depth and authority in the dialogues in previous speakers.CS10 surpassed all my expectations when i listened to it.During my research, I saw the long list of positive reviews for CS10 mentioning how excellent the sound was.When i ordered the speaker and paid $120 , i was expecting excellent sound for the price.I was completely wrong.The speaker is not excellent for the price i paid, its excellent for ANY price.It can excel center channels at ANY price range.I setup it up with my pioneer 1020-K and it shines like a star when watching movies or listening to music.The mid range is amazing. The mid range frequency is where most speakers struggle.The bass goes down all the way to 50hz and its very clean and with no distortion or boomy-ness.Everything that comes out of this speaker is natural. Don't expect it to produce very low bass because that would be asking too much from a center channel. It does all the right things that a center channel is supposed to do which is to cover the mid range.I can hear all the Dialogues crisp and clear.I hooked it up to my pioneer 1020K in 5.1 setup and put the setting in receiver to "neural" and the sound just blows me away every-time i listen to it.The Dynamics , clarity and authority in sound reproduction is excellent .Its hard to get all the three right in a center channel especially the Dynamics part.The Off axis dispersion is very good.make sure that you put rubber feats on this puppy if you put it on a entertainment center otherwise the vibrations produced by this speaker will interact with the cabinet below and can create resonance.I also suggest that you put your receiver in a setting where most of the sound is routed to this center channel.My favorite pastime is to watch Shawshank redemption in a home theater setup with this center channel. It feels almost like a theater.Most of the dialogue dominated or midrange frequencies dominated movies have become pleasurable to watch again. A big thank you to cs10 designers especially the cross-over designer.If you know anything about speaker design, you will quickly realize that its more like art and cooking than anything else.Just throwing expensive components while designing speaker is not enough.The cabinet and cross over design ( most difficult part) is where the magic lies and i think CS10 designers hit a home run on this one.Sometimes, the most expensive restaurant in the town cannot make the same amazing burger that a cheap neighborhood restaurant has luckily come up with. The same way, this particular speaker is hard to beat by other companies ( or polks own other models) irrespective of the money they throw at it because speaker design is more an art than pure science.+VE :* Clear ,Crisp sound with Excellent depth and range.* Extremely low distortion at low frequencies compared to other brands.* Solid Build.* Decent looking Finish.* Will bring out the same clarity and depth in dialogues that you hear in real theaters.-VE :* Size ( i don't know if this can be fixed by any speaker designer without compromising low freq quality)Note: I have been using this Center Channel speaker for more than a year. Center Channel used/listened before : Bose, KEF, definitive tech,Paradigm, B&W , Martin Logan.Update - 2014 :The speaker still amazes me !