why is the csi5 so big?

[slowpolky]

I have been tinkering around for about 2 hours with my new lover the csi5. My wife gave me a ride home and i was friekin out because i never told her i bought it.She came in and sat down for a cup of tea before she went back to work and what do you know, 3 loud knocks on the door and the ups guy standing there holding this huge huge box, i dont even think its a polk box. My wife started shouting and swearing at me while i laughed at her , I pulled the speaker out the box and its a f**king monster , she kept saying how ugly it was and stuff then stormed out.When i cranked it up with music and movies i couldent belive my ears. The clarity is the best i have yet to hear , when a guy talks theres this huge bass ive never experienced with my csi3 but with a female its not so pronounced

all i can say that its night and day compaired to the csi3 , but whys it so huge? the cones are like only a little bit bigger

my brand new replacement ps3 comes back tomorrow and it will be the first time i will get to hear the diff with blueray movies using my first ever avr , the 607 ......cant wait

[Retro152]

I have been tinkering around for about 2 hours with my new lover the csi5. My wife gave me a ride home and i was friekin out because i never told her i bought it.She came in and sat down for a cup of tea before she went back to work and what do you know, 3 loud knocks on the door and the ups guy standing there holding this huge huge box, i dont even think its a polk box. My wife started shouting and swearing at me while i laughed at her , I pulled the speaker out the box and its a f**king monster , she kept saying how ugly it was and stuff then stormed out.When i cranked it up with music and movies i couldent belive my ears. The clarity is the best i have yet to hear , when a guy talks theres this huge bass ive never experienced with my csi3 but with a female its not so pronounced

all i can say that its night and day compaired to the csi3 , but whys it so huge? the cones are like only a little bit bigger

my brand new replacement ps3 comes back tomorrow and it will be the first time i will get to hear the diff with blueray movies using my first ever avr , the 607 ......cant wait

Is the UPS guy ok?

[leroyjr1]

My girlfriend loves my huge center channel:)

[devani]

congrats, my wife does appreciate what i like so I am happy...but she's not happy with number of speakers tho

[leroyjr1]

Sounds like she needs a time out

[slowpolky]

hey retro, the ups guy is fine lol , the wife hates huge speakers leroy because it fills her space up too much . I guess you could say that she is an anti-audiophile ,but when she came home she was fine .I still cant get over how much the csi5 beats its dwarfed lil brother the csi3. The sound effects on movies come through the center channel way better than i could have hoped for .This center channel seems to hump my rti6 and screams out for a new partner like the rti8 to keep up with .Music is most awsome but the clarity of vocals for movies and tv is where it shines . Theres a nice bounce in every sound it puts out .... i love it and thank all that recommended i replace the csi3

[cfrizz]

"Why is the csi5 so big?"

Why do you think you are getting such clear sound now?

It's not rocket science. Bigger is better!

[slowpolky]

Dont you think polk could have made the cabinet a little bit smaller .
true power comes from girth , not length

[Retro152]

hey retro, the ups guy is fine lol , the wife hates huge speakers leroy because it fills her space up too much . I guess you could say that she is an anti-audiophile ,but when she came home she was fine .I still cant get over how much the csi5 beats its dwarfed lil brother the csi3. The sound effects on movies come through the center channel way better than i could have hoped for .This center channel seems to hump my rti6 and screams out for a new partner like the rti8 to keep up with .Music is most awsome but the clarity of vocals for movies and tv is where it shines . Theres a nice bounce in every sound it puts out .... i love it and thank all that recommended i replace the csi3

I also had the Csi3 for a short time, before replacing it with the Csi-a6, this the revamp of the Csi5. Essentially the same Center, save for the cosmetic change's. But your right, huge difference for dialogue and vocal's with this speaker. Upgrading to a nice floorstander, Rti, or Rti-a serie's would really do this exceptional center justice!:D


Pat.

[renowilliams]

I know what your saying about big. I bought my csi40 a month ago and was surprised how big it was and how much better the surround experience is with it. My wife wasn't thrilled with the size of it either......lol

[slowpolky]

What made my case worse for me though was the fact that the box was like 2 times the size of the actual speaker . When i unpacked it she saw the side profile of it and went crazy . When she came home though it was on my wood tech speaker stand and the profile was less intrusive because the face of it isnt crazy huge with the grill on .I realy want to crank it up with a blue ray tomorrow .I always thought the bigger speakers was just for loudness until people on here pointed out the benefits of bigger speakers .My rti6 seem so tiny now and i look at them like lil bookshelf's

[JohnLocke88]

My girlfriend loves my huge center channel:)

You know what they say about guys with big center channel speakers....



:D

[bklynNupe]

I have been tinkering around for about 2 hours with my new lover the csi5. My wife gave me a ride home and i was friekin out because i never told her i bought it.She came in and sat down for a cup of tea before she went back to work and what do you know, 3 loud knocks on the door and the ups guy standing there holding this huge huge box, i dont even think its a polk box. My wife started shouting and swearing at me while i laughed at her , I pulled the speaker out the box and its a f**king monster , she kept saying how ugly it was and stuff then stormed out.When i cranked it up with music and movies i couldent belive my ears. The clarity is the best i have yet to hear , when a guy talks theres this huge bass ive never experienced with my csi3 but with a female its not so pronounced

all i can say that its night and day compaired to the csi3 , but whys it so huge? the cones are like only a little bit bigger

my brand new replacement ps3 comes back tomorrow and it will be the first time i will get to hear the diff with blueray movies using my first ever avr , the 607 ......cant wait

In about 6 months, I went from a5's & csi3 (which was great) to a9's & a6 for a little " say hello to my little friend, KaaaBOOM!!!" The wife freaked, but guess what her corny Latin American evening soap sounds a lot better. :D

[camel_89si]

nice, enjoy the new speaker! i actually just recently upgraded my CSi-A4 to a CSi-A6 myself and i can vouch for the difference in SQ, especially in deeper male voices, it has so much more of a gut so to speak than the CSi-A4 or the CSi5. i'm dying to upgrade my fronts now, looking into some Rti-A5's to eventually purchase. my RTi-A1's look like little babies now lol!! but they still sound great!

[thsmith]

If you want to wake up that CSi5 put an amp in the mix. I am using a TFM-55X on my CSiA6 and the dialog was much better and strong.

[comfortablycurt]

Why is it so big? Because the parameters of different drivers dictate how large the enclosure needs to be. In this case, it ended up being 7 11/16" high, 24" wide and 14 1/2" deep.;)

Congrats on the CSi5. I still need to pick one of those up to round out my HT setup. I've just been so focused on the 2 channel gear lately...

[slowpolky]

thsmith i cant put an amp in the mix because i bought a 607, But its fine for my small app main room. although after hearing this csi5 it makes me curious as to what a pair of rti12's would sound like. But right now i am on my quest to find a good deal on a pair of rt i cant w8's . To sweeten up my wife tonight i had to endure the movie , confessions of a shopaholic. But even she noticed a vast improvement in the sound . I never even had to crank the volume up as high as before with the csi3 , it gave me less anxiety that i would get the thumpin on the wall from next door . I feel like i dont have to strain my ears to listening late at night and realy relaxes my exeriance, I am going to punish this thing though at 2pm after i finish work . The reason i bought my onkyo 607 was because i thought that it would be the best for reselling as theres alot of dedicated onkyo fans but for now its the jizz

[slowpolky]

oops i for got my main question to curt, are all center channels with the same size drivers as the csi5 at least 14 1/2 inch deep?

[nguyendot]

I don't think it's that big, but I suppose I'm used to the larger centers:
Polk Csi5
7-11/16" H x 24" W x 14-1/2" D
( 19.53cm H x 60.96cm W x 36.83cm D )

Polk CS250-S (the smallest one, matched with my RT-8s)
6" H x 18" W x 8" D
( 15.24cm H x 45.72cm W x 20.32cm D )

CS1000p (dads center, he also has a 350)
8-5/8" H x 34" W x 14" D
( 21.91cm H x 86.36cm W x 35.56cm D )

Boston Acoustics VR-12 (my bedroom center)
8.75" H x 25" W x 14" D

CC-300 (my HT center)
8" h x 22" W x 15" D

[cfrizz]

Agreed Nguyendot. Compared to my Boston Accoustics VR920 it looks pretty small.

[Sherardp]

If you want to wake up that CSi5 put an amp in the mix. I am using a TFM-55X on my CSiA6 and the dialog was much better and strong.

Definitely agree, once I put the CSi5 on my Sunfire amp, it performs and sounds even better. I can crank my setup until my ears give out. I got amp power for days.

Congrats on the new center Slow. The CSi5 is very good.

[slowpolky]

I dont care for an amp of just yet. In the future i will never buy another receiver with pre's because they are not very good for an amp. When i do buy an amp then i will for sure buy individual components to go with it, till then i'm more than happy with my humble 607

[nadams]

You know what they say about guys with big center channel speakers....



:D

They've got big mains?

[comfortablycurt]

oops i for got my main question to curt, are all center channels with the same size drivers as the csi5 at least 14 1/2 inch deep?

No, all center channels are going to be different sizes. The enclosure size is reliant on the parameters of the drivers and XO components used. You can't just take any old driver, throw it in a cabinet, and make it sound good.

I'm not to up on my center channel dimensions...lol...but I'm sure there are a lot of them with similar sized drivers, in a smaller cabinet. With the CSi5 though, that's just the size that it ended up being.

[blueboxer]

I get my Paradigm CC690 on Friday, now that thing is going to be HUGE. The delivery company called to make sure I will be in at the delivery time, guess they don't want to lug it around more than once.

[cfrizz]

The dimensions of my VR920 are:

6 3/4 H x 27 1/8 W x 10 1/4 D

Weighs in at 32lbs.

[BlueFox]

My new PSB Synchrony One C seems to be 2-3 times the overall size of the LSiC it replaced.

Size (W x H x D)
Millimeters 614 x 221 x 325 mm
Inches 24¼ x 8¾ x 12¾″

Net Weight
Kilograms 17 kg/each
Pounds 37 lb/each

[Sherardp]

I dont care for an amp of just yet. In the future i will never buy another receiver with pre's because they are not very good for an amp. When i do buy an amp then i will for sure buy individual components to go with it, till then i'm more than happy with my humble 607

Surely this is your personal opinion. Allot of members here use AVRs as pre/pro's with excellent results. I use my SC-07 with external amps with excellent results in my dedicated room. Something you need to think over.

[slowpolky]

ive been told that you should use separates for best results because there is less noise ? Can a receiver do as good?

[comfortablycurt]

I'd just go with an AVR that has pre-outs for now. That way you can upgrade more slowly, instead of having to buy a pre-pro and an amp all at once.

Get an AVR that has pre-outs, then get an external amp for it. Eventually you can upgrade to a pre-pro. An AVR with an external amp will walk all over that 607(no offense intended).

That's the upgrade path I'm planning for my HT. I'm running an Onk' 606 right now, which I wish I wouldn't have bought in hindsight. They're great for HT...but kind of suck as far as musicality goes IMO. The lack of pre-outs is the biggest problem though.

I'm planning on upgrading to a Pioneer Elite SC-07 eventually. Once my bank account recovers, I'll be throwing some amps into the mix. I may or may not even upgrade to a pre-pro. I've looked around at all of the different pre-pro's on the market, and none of them can equal the features that the SC-07 has. Not without spending 3k+ anyway.

The Onkyo PR-SC886p comes pretty close as far as features go...but I don't think I'll be sticking with Onkyo for my next AVR purchase. Their lack of musicality just doesn't work for me. If you're more of an HT person though, they're great.

[slowpolky]

I know now what bright means ,I hope a pair of rti8 will tame the 607 . The rti works for movies +10 ,tonight I watched friday 13 on blu-ray. I havent heard movies sound so good before and it realy showed me what the 607 is capable of. The csi5 had me and my wife jumping out of our chairs and added an extra dimension to the fear .The parts where jason surprises with violent knife attacks was amazing, I dont think it would have been as good had i used the csi3

[Crown7]

Whats going on buddy! Im only 1 week away from csi5;s of my own...I am a little concerned with the size of the center speaker myself on my console, how does one get around that? Is the center mounted on L-brackets, or on the media stand?

[slowpolky]

i have mine perched on a wood technology center stand that i picked up from racksandstands.com . But i did buy a marantz equipment rack from amazon and it fits realy good on that too . I think youl be fine and more than happy with the performance with yours . Dont worry when you hear this thing then youl take a seat out from under your wife s legs to put it on and make her sit on the floor