csi3 vs. csi5

[rti8's]

Greetings,
I wanted to find out what center channel would be better for my ht setup. I went to CC and auditioned the csi 3/and 5 side by side. While the the csi 5 sounded fuller, it did not sound $200 dollars worth of difference. In my opinion it was only about $40 dollars worth of difference. They both sounded good as I am teaming them up with:
Rti 8 mains
Rti 4 rears
the the mighty SVC 20-39+ subwoofer.
I think I will just go with the Csi 3 because I didn't hear that much of a difference. Would anyone suggest otherwise?
And can anyone suggest a good av reciever for this current system. I am leaning towards the onkyo 601.
Thanks the rti 8 man

[AsSiMiLaTeD]

That Onkyo is a great receiver and should work find for what you're looking to do. You may also want to give the Denon a try, or maybe the Marantz 6400 just to compare sounds...

And about the center channel, the system builder on this website reccomends the CSi3 for your speakers, so you're in good shape there as well...

[dorokusai]

The CSi3/CSi30 are both solid performers. The others are also fine choices.

I would get the largest AVR that your pocketbook can handle, go big or don't go at all.

[JrVtecAccord]

Between the Csi3 & 5, I found that the Csi5 had better mid's, it sounded more natural/flat to me, which I liked. When you auditioned them both how was the reciever setup? I have my Csi5 set to large and I believe the full range makes the Csi5 shine. When I was picking my setup, I was geared towards the 3, mainly because of price, but when I compared the two with the actual reciever I was going to purchase (h/k avr430), I quickly changed my mind that I was getting the 5, Imo the extra money is well worth it, no regrets here.

Junior

[PolkThug]

The AK-47 in the opening scene of SWAT, sounds better on the Csi5. However, for the price of a Csi5, you could buy two Csi3's. You'll be fine going with the Csi3, then maybe in a year you could upgrade.

Regards,
PolkThug