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Polk Audio CS1 review (black)

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CNET Editors' Rating

3.5 stars Very good
Review Date:

Average User Rating

4.5 stars 8 user reviews

The good: Full-size center speaker; two 5.25-inch woofers flanking a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter.

The bad: It might be too large for some tastes.

The bottom line: This full-size center-channel speaker sounds good with both movies and music and blends well with Polk's other Monitor Series speakers.

Polk Audio's CS1 center-channel speaker, which retails for $199 and is part of the company's updated Monitor line, doesn't stray too far from the classic box-speaker form. From the side, however, the CS1's wedge-shaped profile is distinctive, and its bright titanium front baffle and curved grille add a 21st-century flair to the design.

With a pair of larger than average 5.25-inch composite woofers matched with a 1-inch silk/polymer-composite dome tweeter, the CS1 definitely counts as a full-size center speaker. It measures an ample 7 inches high, 18 inches wide, and 9.6 inches deep; it weighs 13 pounds. The nonresonant 0.75-inch-thick MDF (medium-density fiberboard) cabinet construction is nice and solid, and the internal crossover uses high-quality parts. The heavy-duty, five-way binding posts cheerfully accept banana jacks, bare wire, or spade connectors.

Like the rest of the Monitor Series, the CS1 is available in faux-cherry or black veneers. Flat-panel TV owners should be aware that the CS1 isn't designed for wall mounting; it can either sit on top of your TV or on a shelf under the set.

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Quick Specifications

  • Release date10/7/04
  • Speaker type Center channel speaker
  • Connectivity Technology Wired
  • Amplification Type 2-way - Passive
  • Input Impedance 8 Ohm
  • Sensitivity 89 dB

Ex-movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has also worked as a high-end audio salesman, and as a record producer. Steve currently reviews audio products for CNET and works as a freelance writer for Home Theater, Inner Fidelity, Tone Audio, and Stereophile. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Full Bio

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