Customer Reviews

Polk Audio CSi3 Center Channel Speaker (Single, Black)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Go ahead, find a center channel for the same price that even comes close to the sound of the CSi3. I dare you.

When paired with a good mid-line or better receiver (my own is paired with a Yamaha RX-V557), this speaker will not let you down. During movies and video games, voices are incredibly natural. Between the silk-dome tweeter and the two drivers, this speaker can hit every frequency that human vocal chords are capable of producing; that's important for a center-channel.

Although I generally stick to stereo for most music, unless it's encoded properly for surround, this speaker will also impress during your favourite tunes. Don't expect much in the lower frequencies, but mid and highs-will be as accurate as you can imagine.

Finally, though to me, this is one of those superficial qualities, the case design allows the user to place the center below his or her television, pointed up at the user. This adds another measure of flexibility, although the fact that polk doesn't use this design in their top-line LSiC might point toward how the company really feels about such a speaker arrangement.

All-in-all, you can't go wrong with the CSi3. The average listener will be blown away, and audiophiles will be impressed with such performance at this price point. I know that I certainly am.

This center speaker for the price is fantastic. The voices are very crisp and it sounds great with a dts/dolby digital receiver. I love this center speaker makes my surround sound system intense! POLK AUDIO did a great job. I even got the cheap r30 front speakers and it eally added what I was looking for. My neighbors hate them but it is worth it! Ha!

PROs: Brilliant sound. Fills out the front sound stage exceptionally well. Vocal clarity is top notch. I have found in my ownership of this speaker (since 2008!) that it is very versatile and pairs with most mid to high end speakers surprisingly well. Construction feels solid and the speaker has a good heft to it without being overly heavy. In addition, the speaker is built with a slope on one side that allows the speaker to be placed below eye level and 'aimed' upwards to compensate. Screw type binding posts give the option to terminate your speaker wiring any way you please, be it with a banana plug, pin, or just bare wire.

CONs: Cat fur sticks to the grill. To be fair, there's no accounting for cats.

This is my first venture into Polk Audio territory, and I must say I am very impressed. This center channel was bought to fill out the front stage of my surround system, which had been sorely missing a front center speaker for a long time. Amazingly, the Polk Audio CSi3 blended seamlessly with my Yamaha shelf speakers, something I wholly did not expect. I would imagine this speaker would make a great addition to any sound system with mid to high quality speakers without sticking out in the sound stage.

For the price, I give this speaker my highest recommendation.

I had it for a week set up and it is awesome, the clarity is nice and brings the voices to the forefront and makes the surround sound that much realistic. I have the Klipsch senergy satellites (4) and the SW 10" 320watt powered sub-woofer and (2) Vandersteens C2for the side, I know some people like to match their setup, but I find what devices work the best for my setup. Polk Audio is excellent!!!

MJ

This speaker is HUGE !!!

It is louder then all my other speakers had to turn down the center channel. I think the impedence of this speaker is really 6 ohm and not 8ohm. I didnt measure but I guess it to be about 25% louder then other speakers being fed the same power.

Im still toying with crossover settings on my reciever but this unit sounds good as low as 60hz.

I had this speaker before and loved it. I ordered this for a friend and he loves it as well. Polk Audio builds some excellent quality speakers for a fair price. I recommend these for any low to mid range theater setup.

This unit was a little larger in size than I expected. But it does sound really good. I'm not an audiophile, and it was my brother in law who helped me pick this unit out. Now I can hear the voices very clearly on certain TV Shows and movies. I'm very satisfied.

Bought this speaker recently to finally piece together a decent home theater for my place, and I was amazed with the value it offers. For less than a CS10 (Polk's budget offering) locally, you can pick up this speaker that was once Polk's second best home theater center. The deal is that this is a 2005-2007 model, and amazingly there is still some around at clearance prices even in late 2010. I received mine new in box, and it works and looks perfectly. Speaker technology doesn't change that much (the newer model basically is a more shiny black) and so this is worth picking up while you can.

I am not an audiophile, but this speaker was a big step up from center from my $500 Home Theater in a box I previously had. Voices sound clear and dialogue pops out at, while action and music sounds natural and full. The speaker is fairly large, but blends well with other polk speakers. I have it pared with RTI4 fronts and backs (also bought new in box) and a PSW110 subwoofer. For my place and my budget, this is as good as I could every imagine.

Get these while you can...

Got this baby for a great price and am very happy with it. I got it to voice match a set of rti4's that I picked up which I also love. Polk makes some great speakers, and Amazon has some great prices on them if you can be patient and wait for the right deal.