Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good for the $$$, April 25, 2008
I have Polk Audio speakers from the good old days, when they were very good if not exceptional. I needed a more prominent center channel, but I did not want to replace the other "parts" of the home theater arrangement. After contacting Polk tech support, they recommended the CSI A6 as complementary to the existing array. It is a good fit and provides clear dialog and the tone and range blend well. (the system is driven by a Denon 5308)
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Polk CSI A6, February 26, 2008
I chose the CSI A6 based on the reviews of others and professional sites. I have been extremely pleased with its performance. Dialog is crisp and clear. It covers a large sound range and enhances the other components well. I recommend this unit.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great centerpiece for any home theatre, December 12, 2008
I recently replaced all of my speakers, going with all Polk after having a haphazard combo of old Altec 3-way fronts, a Boston Acoustics center channel, and Bose satellite rears. I bought a pair of Polk Audio RTI A7 fronts, Polk Audio RTI A3s for rears, a Polk Audio PSW505 Subwoofer, and this unit for a center. I have to say that after a week I'm really pleased with the performance of the CSI A6. It delivers crisp dialogue for entertainment and sounds really great with music, especially when listening to multichannel audio. These speakers are rated at 55Hz -3dB lower limit, which is exceptional low-end response for a center unit. Like the rest of the RTi-A line the mid- and high-range response are excellent, getting all the way up to 26kHz -3dB upper limit. The unit projects a 3-dimensional sound field that's difficult to pinpoint. The result is a detailed, rich, seamless and enveloping sound stage when listening to 5.1 media.
In comparison to the Boston Acoustics center I used to have this unit has much better high-end and low-end response. Across the board things sound richer and fuller. It has unquestionably enhanced my HT setup. I also briefly tried out a Polk Monitor CS2, but again the CSI A6 wins handily.
It should be noted that this is a pretty big center: it's only 7.5" tall, but 24.25" wide and 14.5" deep. It also weighs ~30 lbs. Make sure you have the space for this.
Fit and finish are excellent. It has a curved cabinet like the rest of the RTi-A series, with a black oak finish and pewter-accented grilles. It also has a small adjustment rod that allows you to aim the speaker at the listening area. This is extremely handy.
If you want to talk output, it's powered by twin 6.5" polymer composite cones and a 1" silk polymer dome tweeter. It's rated at 200W max. This thing can take whatever I can dish. I'm running this on a Yamaha RX-V1800, and even near max volume the sound is unmuddied and well-defined, with very good low-end and exceptional mid- and high-range response.
Overall this is a good but not great buy. It's really nice if you're running exclusively RTi-A speakers due to the fact that everything is voice matched. Even if you have something like my old setup this is a great unit that's sure to enhance any HT. I can't however honestly say it's a great value unless you can find one going for below list, as $459.95 is a lot of money to spend for one speaker. The CS2, which is comparable in output (rated at 175W max), performance (60Hz-24kHz -3 dB lower/upper limit) and size (7.5"H x 21"W x 12"D, 21 lbs.), is going for substantially less on Amazon ($129.99 at last look). Nevertheless this is a high performance unit at an upper mid-range price, which for me ultimately made it worth it. Recommended.
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