jslicke

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Radio Shack

Summary:
When I got this it was a gift from my wife. She did nt even know what it was! She just went into radio shack & asked a salesman what would be a good christmas gift for a guy who like music/audio equipment. Well anyway I open it up and was impressed with it right away( the Size Weight, Quality). I got mine when Optimus was still them ( B4 they Became Pioneer for a while & now in their recent incarnation of RCA). This speaker is just GREAT All around. It has gold binding post,sturdy build,Great Clear focused sound. It can take Great amounts of power 80 Rms 150 max it states but i,ve driven it with an SAE A1200 power amp for years with my prosseser set to "large" & I,ve only once heard it bottom out when I was watching Black Hawk Down cranked one day & even then I just turned down the level on it 2 db & she tooted along just fine. I now have her hooked up to my pioneer VSX-49 TX & she still sounds great! Funny thing I,ve always used her on the large setting & just to see if I was correct on that the pioneer has a sound calibation system that checks your room & speaker acoustics with a mic & EQ,s the Amp/speakers accordingly. When I let the reciever do its thing it set my center to large also(its test tones determined the speaker can handle low bass fine) & it ommited my sub altogether(most of the speakers in my system can reach pretty low by themselves.)To summerize this I say I havent heard A better center speaker & I ,ve gone to different stores & whatnot to audition some. I,ve also had some on hand to compare( I,m an Audio tech by trade & repair alot of different manufacturers equipment)This speaker has no faults I can hear It sounds great off center, fills the room with clear dialog, & can keep up with the effects of the main speakers as it pans across the soundstage.Its big and thats the only problem it may present to people with shallow depth TV,s(mines is a old Mitsubishi Oak cabinet some 21/2 feet deep)I know it goes for $49 dollars now but its a great speaker at any price!

Strengths:
Power Handling,Clarity,soundstage

Weaknesses:
BIG!

Similar Products Used:
Bose center,Polk

Price Paid:  $49.00 from Radio Shack

Summary:
Don't let the RCA name fool you, this is a good quality center-channel speaker. At 14 1/2 pounds, this thing is pretty heavy which is sometimes an indication of the quality (only sometimes though). When I got it home I hooked it up to my system (running a pioneer vsx-d912k receiver, and some sony bookshelfs and surrounds left over from a stereo system) I popped in Gladiator and was simply amazed at the sound. I have never owned a center before this one and was kind of hesitant at buying an RCA speaker from Radio Shack but my concerns were put to rest after listening to it at home. I would definitely recommend this to someone who wants a nice budget center channel and doesn't feel like spending $200-$300 just for a center channel speaker.

Strengths:
At $49 it is an excellent value for someone on a budget.

Weaknesses:
It is pretty deep and mine never came with the rubber feet.

Price Paid:  $49.00 from Radio Shack

Summary:
Bought RCA PRO-CS550 for $49 at Radio Shack. Beefy looking center channel got my attention. Sound is very good, equal to audophile center channel speaker of around $300. Great value for $49!! Surround sound now can hear movie dialogue clearly and sound is not dominated by main speakers. Able to have put together a smorgasborg of speakers: KLH Mains, Pinnacle PN-6 rears, and JBL subwoofer and get great surround sound on a budget.

Strengths:
Incredible value. Only way to beat sound is to pay > $350. Budget savings and invest in other surround sound components instead of center channel.

Weaknesses:
None for this price.

Price Paid:  $50.00 from E-bay

Summary:
I purchased Optimus X88's for my fronts, and wanted the CS-5 to round out the Monopole tweeter sound in the front. This speaker definitely does the trick. If you can find one, get it! The soundstage that these Optimus speakers provide is fabulous, depth, shimmer, and so much more. If you want value, this is it. I paid $50 for this, and would have paid twice that for a new one at the Shack. Good Luck, and remember, the name doesn't guarantee quality, and vice versa!

Strengths:
Voices are smooth, tweeter is wonderful in this speaker

Weaknesses:
Very large speaker, may not fit on some T.V's

Price Paid:  $75.00 from Radio Shack

Summary:
Ok ok. I am not really 'into' home theatre. I have not invested in high end equipment as I have with my stereo, but I figured it was time to enjoy some dolby digital sound tracks while watching my Hollywood video rentals. I looked at various speakers and I found the RCA Pro CS5II to be the best speaker for the buck out their. Oddly enough, I found that it sounds comparable to $300-350 center channels. Enough said. It was on sale for $75 so I purchased it and it performs just fine. I've noticed that it sounds even much better than it already does simply by adding alot more dampening material to reduce the internal standing waves. This makes voices sound much more natural, and also presents a little bit better soundstage. I would have considered additional bracing but it is suprisingly braced very well already. Also, the 1st order crossover is suitable for this Lineaum tweeters, but the fact that they used an eloctrolytic capapcitor for it is not. Spend the $7 and buy a nice polyproplyene unit and highs are very much improved. I also used some closed cell vinyl foam weatherstripping on the speaker terminal plate to reduce air leakage. The gasket they use is not a good seal at all. Now for one gripe that isn't related to performance.....I am very tired of seeing this vinyl covering on everything. The amount of wood veneer needed to cover a small speaker like this would cost me no more than $25, but that's because I have to buy a sheet that could cover 2-3 of them. Actual bulk cost as a manufacturer would buy it is probably around 3 bucks per speaker this size. I would like to put some veneer on myself but it turns out that they have this stuff on the CS5II very securely, normally you can pull this stuff off with your fingers but it looks like this is actually a type of thick vinyl veneer that is very securely attached. Oh well. If you want a good center channel and are not willing to pay $400, get the CS5II and save that money for other things. Paying $300 for a speaker that sounds no better seems a waste unless you simply can not timber match well with the CS5II.

Strengths:
Great value.

Weaknesses:
Crossover. Vinyl covering.