Summary:
This is a tough one. I love it because it suits my style, but you will have to weigh the pros and cons yourself. I have two 5.1 DefTech systems (I love those speakers to pieces). The first one is the "movie" one: a Yamaha 992 with Dolby Digital and 80 Watts RMS per channel powering a set of BP8B's, one C1B, and a pair of BP-2X, with a PowerField PF15TL subwoofer. The other one is my "personal space" one, which is my favorite: a Yamaha 995 with Dolby Digital and DTS, 100 Watts RMS per channel, a pair of BP6B's, a C1Jr, a pair of ProMonitor 100's and a pair of ProSub 100s.

The Yamaha 992 has the bigger speakers and sub, and it's completely bipolar, so it is untouchable for home theater. But the Yamaha 995 is set-up in a more intimate space, with direct radiators in the rear, so it lends itself more to music.

Here is where the problem lies. Both the C1B and the C1Jr exhibit the same strengths and weaknesses: I find the C1Jr a bit more musical, but the horizontal design combined with a port on the extreme left and a tweeter in the extreme right causes the radiation pattern to be not very coherent. Which is to say, lows go to the left, highs to the right. Don't even think of putting it standing up, because the tweeter's dome has a radiation grille that affects dispersion a lot. My solution? Move it a bit to the left, in order to have woofer and tweeter semi-aligned. Since it's my own system, I don't have any problems and love it to bits.

Now, on to the C1B. A symmetrical design? No way! A woofer to the left, a port, a tweeter and a woofer! Who designed this thing, anyway??? Listen to it on-axis, and it's a tremendous match for the BP8Bs... soundstage and timbre match are perfect. But move, say, 30 degrees off axis and get ready for more peaks and dips in the frequency range than a roller coaster ride. Since the woofers are so far apart they cancel at some frequencies and reinforce themselves at other. Definitely NOT GOOD. DefTech should try and correct it's center speaker designs.

So here is my problem. Since I always get the sweet spot in my room, the C1Jr is perfect. And I try to grab it when I can in my home theater, so I enjoy excellent sound, too. But DefTech has missed the mark with the C1B. Let's hope next model will be better. Overall, 4 stars in value (they are very well built and braced, 4 stars in performance (just be sure to get the sweet spot for yourself).

Strengths:
Nice design; complements the bipolar series nicely; creates a great front soundstage; perfect match for DefTech speakers. Great bass & treble response.

Weaknesses:
Distance between woofers is too big; creates problems in the midrange when seating off-axis.

Similar Products Used:
DefTech C1Jr; Harman-Kardon center speakers

Summary:
I have found this speaker to be an excellent match as a center channel for use with other Definitive Technology speakers. I use one in each of two home theater systems. The sound stage produced by the 1B center and Def. Tech. 8B or Celsius as L+R speakers is virtually seamless.

Summary:
I have 3 C1's across the front, and like any other speaker, you have tobreak them in for about 40 hrs of moderate listening. I have a medium sized listeninig area approx. 10 x 16, and good sound absorption; these sound great in this space. I have listened to these in other listening rooms both small and large, and the highs are extremely tinny, but bass extention and midrange are great for this design. If you are going to get a pair of these, try to remember, with any metal tweeter they take some time to break in, and dependant on your listening environment some fine tuning may need to be done. Remember, listen with your own ears, NOT the "experts'". Build quality and sound great for this price.

Summary:
I bought a C1B along with my 2004s.. The 2004s rocked but the C1B wasn't as good. After a couple months I must say the C1B is broken in and has great sound. Definitely a good buy for a $300 center..

Summary:
Piece by piece, i'm building my home theater. i have deftech bp8's (w/ soft dome tweeter) and i love them. so next, i wanted to add a center channel. i though i would spend a moderate amount of money, so i got the c1b. although i love everything i've heard from definitive so far, i couldn't find anything i liked about this center channel. there was no bass response, and the new aluminum tweeter had a harsh sound that didn't really complement my bp8's. i know those tweeters have a certain break in period, but i'm just not a big fan of metal tweeters. so anyway, i saw what everybody else said about deftech's clr1000. what's great is that even though all models in deftech's lineup now come with aluminum tweeters, i called the company and they are sending my dealer one with the old soft dome. great customer service company. i hope i like the 1000!