Home > Consumer Reviews > Polk Audio CSi3 Center Channel Speaker (Single, Cherry)

After purchasing four Polk Audio RTi4s for my front and surround speakers, I replaced my Polk Audio CS245 center with the CSi3. The CS245 was a great speaker that was a good match to my old pair of AR15s. However, it didn't provide a perfect match to the RTi4s. The RTi4s and CSi3 now provide a seamless soundstage with clear highs for dialog as well as natural mids and good bass. Two friends have surround systems from Energy, which provide excellent sound quality for movies. However, I prefer my setup for music and am entirely satisfied with my Polks for movies.

One month ago I bought the Polk Rti4's from Onecall. To be blunt, I was more than impressed not only on the clarity, look, and reproduction of sound, but also with the price. After working some overtime I was able to buy this great center channel. This is what I liked:
- Greater clarity of dialogue when watching movies
- Beautiful cherry exterior that is real wood - fits right in with my Rti's
- Very mobile since you are able to put it on top of your TV or below the TV
- Delivered three days flat if bought through Amazon via Onecall - no extra charge
- Very well priced in comparison to other center channels out there

Cons:
- Even though it's a great looking center channel, it's rather wide sitting at 20" , and rather tall standing at 7.5".

Polk offers the CS1 and CS2. I looked at both products and couldn't understand why you would settle with either of them when the CSi3 was made from real wood, along with a front port. Perhaps I could understand if one is looking for bigger woofers - like that of the CS2. Yet, the price difference between the CS2 and i3 is only $20.00.

If you do end up buying this, or any other center, I recommend that you at least buy some quality speaker wires (14 gauge maybe). Countless friends of mine have been buying great components and speakers, yet they settle with slim 18 gauge wire from Radio Shack. Then again it could just be my friends.

I purchased this center speaker to go with a Polk Audio Monitor 50 system that I have. This speaker sounds clearly better in a warm vocals kind of way then the rest of the system. I think that I will later upgrade the monitor 50 speakers to match this speaker as the improvement is very easy to hear.

I had purchased a couple of Polk Audio R50 floor speakers from a major retailer...the speakers were fairly nice, but I wanted to boost the sound a little (especially for theatre options), so I added this center. I know it is not specifically matched to the R50's, but it sounds very good with them and actually makes them sound better....crisp highs, but still sounds rich. I also use a subwoofer with the system which makes a huge difference. I will say this is not a main application...I use this system in my master bedroom which is about 15 x 20 and it gives me all the sound I would want out of a secondary setup. I have it coupled with a 50" Vizio Plasma and the speakers are driven by an Onkyo 605...and the sound is really amazing for the money I have in the system. I have owned several Polk speakers over the years and I feel they offer one of the best values on the market in the speaker arena.

I've been building a budget home theater system for a small-ish room and the center channel was the last piece I needed to buy. I was trying to find a center for under 250 but couldn't seem to find anything that really satisfied my requirements or fit with the rest of my system. Well, I heard this speaker at a local retail chain and it blew my wife and I away and we knew this was the speaker that would compliment our build. The speaker was on clearance, but it had some minor damage so we passed on it hoping to find it for around the same price.

Thank God for [...]

We found the speaker for cheaper than the clearance price and we were right. It's not only a beautiful speaker but it sounds wonderful as well. Voices are crystal clear, but are also rich and full. When watching movies with this speaker really adds a depth that many other speakers in the price range I was looking in really didn't have. I guess that this proves (to an extent) that you get what you pay for. If i had spent full price on this speaker I would not have been disappointed.

I whole-heartedly recommend this speaker to anyone in need of a new center channel.

Our home theater is as follows:
Receiver: Harman Kardon AVR-146
Center Channel: Polk CSi3
Front L/R: Sony SSF-7000
Rear L/R: Speakers salvaged from our old Sony HT-6800DP system
Subwoofer: Velodyne VRP 1200