Matching CS350LS with Monitor 5s

[Paden501]

I just picked up a CS350LS center speaker to use in my HT system. Right now I've got Monitor 5B's as left and right channel (Amplified by a Pioneer SA 7700) and some cheap onkyo bookshelves for the surround (that'll change soon).

I've only had the CS350 hooked up for a day now and I've only had time to watch 2 movies, but what I've noticed is this:
1.) The CS350 keeps up with the Monitors pretty well as far as volume goes. (of course I can change the gain on the amp for the L/R independantly).
2.) The CS350 highs sound 'Brighter' than the monitors do, though the rest of the sound is a little flatter than the monitors 5s.
3.) The CS350 doesn't have nearly the dynamic range that the monitors do, nor nearly any bass response.

What I'm wondering (and why I'm posting this up for debate) is how much it would help the CS350 if it was amplified seperately from the HT reciever (right now it's being driven by my Onkyo TX-DS777).

So if anyone can share any expertise in the area of amplifying HT systems w/ different generations of vintage Polk speakers, I'm all ears.


Thanks,

Matt P

[bluecomet]

What kind of tweeters are in the Monitor 5B's. Are they the peerless ones. They are not going to match up sonically, no matter what amplification you use. I have a cs350 and you should be hearing base output on that speaker. There is something else wrong. Are your settings right on the HT receiver for your center channel?

[DaveMuell]

dnt know about it...many b others will help you.

I see a for sale posting in your near future...just 17 more posts. You can get there in no time at all at this rate.

[Paden501]

Thanks for the help all. The tweeters are SL2000s.

It's not that the center channel gets 'no' bass... just that it's very flat. I'm thinking that it's got to be the reciever's amp just not pushing the speaker enough, but I was hoping that someone else has a story to share about amplifying this speaker that can help me out.

[Paden501]

Ok, it's definately the reciever. I did a little experiment tonight where I set the center pre-amp channel through my pioneer amp and listened to the center through my left monitor speaker. Then I rewired the left amp channel to the CS350 and the sound was quite good, in fact other than a small difference in bass response and the brightness of the CS350, you couldn't really tell any difference. But, as soon as I rewired it back thru the reciever, the CS350 was very flat once again.

Basically this proves to me that the center will match stereo L/R channels very nicely if I power it with a similar amplifier. So now I just need to find another Pioneer SA7700 from the 1978 timeframe (or similar).

~Matt