I bought this unit in the Netherlands (the price I paid for it would be about $350) and think it is way overpriced for the quality it delivers. I use AR 310 HO speakers for the left and right and compared to these I think the CS 25 sounds far too 'light' and hollow (almost complete lack of bass). Although it contains the same speaker units as my AR 310 HO speakers, which should ensure tonal matching, the sound is completeley different, which I think is caused by the simple, plastic cabinet of the speaker. Can't say I'm very satisfied with it. I think even a center speaker should be able to produduce a considerable amount of bass to match with the other speakers of the system.

Great price. Good sound.

Bass.. but centers mostly have that problem.

I think that the product is pretty good considering the price paid. The sound is clear on my unit. I'm running a Yamaha RXV995.

Not as powerful as I thought, but for home theater it will do.

Similar Products Used:

Aiwa

I have also noticed the high pitched sound that comes with some inputs. Unlike the previous reviewer, it comes through on mine when I use my system to listen to Sony Playstation games in surround sound. For the price, this speaker is a big disappointment. I have it in a system with AR 308 HOs for fronts, powered by a HK AVR 75, and I almost prefer to listen to movies in phantom dolby surround, since the CS 25 lacks detail in the mids and high. Voices and effects sound flat, and the sound stage extends to about a foot in front of the speaker. Does anyone have any experience with the new AR Center channels, or can anyone recommend a center channel that may match a pair of 308 HOs? I'm on a budget, but I'd be happy to relieve myself of this disappointment.

Got this speaker a short while after getting the AR 312 HO mains. I'm not sure I like it as at times I get a ringing at higher volume levels in the mid to highs. Not sure if it's caused by the source or what. I hear it mostly in a DTS audio disk. Sounded OK though with DVD movie. I created this review in hopes others will give theirs. Anybody else noticed this? # stars for now.

Nice center speaker good for voices mines is matched with 310's and 308 rears on a Sony 925. It has no real bass responce but ive got plenty of bass from a velodye CT120. system works awesomely. IF my mains were bigger or I didnt have the sub i think it hurt the system but the center is for voice and dialoge so overall Nice center speaker, also great for rears!

Inexpensive, very durable construction, sounds great and looks good.

May not fit some tighter spaces and they could use a bit more low end.

I replaced my Pioneer el-cheapo centers with this gem. They are clean, bright with good mids, direction and separation. Very efficient for such a high power rating.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer and Aiwa.

Sweet tweet, great mids.

Boxy sound with grill on.

This speaker really blends well with my 312 fronts and 308 rears. I have one CS25 for a center and one for a center surround in a 6.1 setup. It really images well, but not as well as the 308's. This speaker is the weakest link in my system.
When I removed the grill things improved dramatically. The tweeter really came to life and the soundstage widened. Grill removal is a must. AR really has one hell of a system with all of the HO series and for the money they cannot be beaten.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity

Good sound on dialogue in 'Small' mode - well matched with AR line

None at this price

Overall I have to retract my last review... see below. Yours truly screwed up the setup on it!!

Once I got a decent subwoofer in my HT environment, (FYI I chose the Velodyne CT-120) and ran the CS 25 in small mode I noticed a marked difference in the results...

My HT "Theater Two" is like an AR showroom right now
310 HO mains
308 HO surrounds
CS25HO center

Have to calibrate the system but so far with the test tone the timbre matches the drivers used on the other speakers and that's very important for smooth 5.1 mix.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Center II, Paradigm CC-170

I've had this center channel speaker for six months. Big disappointment. I'm using it in a home theater with the AR 310's up front and the AR 206's in the rear. I really notice the flatness when watching DVD's. The voices seem distant and shallow. I've had to turn up the output to the center channel using my HK AVR75 to compensate for the lack of fullness. I will look for a replacement speaker but don't want to replace the 310's which I am very pleased with. Anyone have any ideas?

Great match for AR's HO line

Dosn't really kick ass

I bought this center channel at Egghead for $ 79 a little over a month ago. I was imediately impressed with how extremely well it blended in with my AR312HO front towers. The match is absolutely perfect and it blends in seamlessly.

For those of you who have commented on music not sounding good in 5 channel stereo,...... STEREO..that means two channels. The music was recorded in two channels so how would you make it bette by playing it in over twice that?

Anyway, the earlier reviewers are right in that this speaker has little bass output. However this is not a problem when I send the bass to my large frot speakers.

Overall a great speaker at an even greater value, and a great match for the rest of my HO line system.