Natural and dynamic soundstage

That they were not free! (Ha Ha)

The first time I heard this center channel I was blown away. I had been very pleased with my infinity center speaker, but the difference in dialogue clarity was what made me buy them. With the Infinity center I often found myself rewinding movies (VHS and DVD format), just so I could understand what was being said. I currently have large Polk Towers as my main speakers, a Definitive Tech powered sub, and Bose surrounds. I plan to buy Polk FX300 for surrounds. The Bose surrounds sound flat. I find that Polk has such a smooth response, natural and not exagerated like some horn designs. I lot of reviewers have bashed Bose for there speakers and I agree that there are far superior speakers to them. Perhaps Bose speakers could be used in our prison systems as a means of detering crime. Just an idea.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Video-1

Affordable, Compact, Very Clean, Distinct Highs, Lows, and Bass is good for a centre

None Yet

For the price, this center speaker is hard to beat! It sounds great in both music, and movies. They say center is the heart of any surround system and thats definately right. If you're looking for great quality, but affordable then the Polk CS245i is the way to go. I'm sure theres way better quality with brands like NHT, but thats only if you're looking to pay for high-end stuff. I have this placed in a medium-sized room, hooked up to my Onkyo TXDS575x receiver. Movies that sound impressive on this speaker: (Dolby Digital)
Terminator 2
Gladiator
Star Wars I
Saving Private Ryan

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, Yamaha

Small and compact but with big sound.

Not the prettest speaker sittin' on the tube. Not alot of low range sound, but hey, this is a center channel speaker.

This speaker rocks. I took back my Infinity IL25C because it costs too much for the performance I was getting. It went with my IL10s as my mains and my Atlantic Technology rears. Back at CC I went thru every center channel they had and the Polk sounded as good as centers costing $250 more. I got it home and have been nothing but pleased. Glatiator and the Matrix sound as good as they did with the Infinity and I saved over $100. I did some tweaking on my HTR5280 to get the harmonics to match the mains, but now they all blend seamlessly. I don't think you could beat this speaker at this price.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity IL25C

Crisp clear sound, powerful base.

NONE

I was lucky enough to get a sales guy to walk me through every single center channel available in the store. He played a CD of a woman reciting poetry so that I could focus on the vocals. This speaker was the best by FAR even compared to speakers in the $350 range. The center channel is the most important for home theater and so I didn't want to skimp on this. I couldn't be happier.

I highly recommend this speaker.

This is a great little center channel. I use it with a pair of RT35s, RT25s, and a JBL sub. While it can't go quite as low as the RT35's, it goes low enough to provide excellent blending. It can play really loud, too! Vocals sound crisp and warm, no coloration. That's all I'm looking for in a center speaker. I used to have an Infinity center channel that was 20 bucks cheaper but couldn't even hope to come close to the CS245's performance.
Others have made comparisons to CS300 and CS400. These are a little brighter and a lot more money, but I don't like my speakers to be that bright. The Polk line that uses the "black dome tweeter" (like CS245, RT35s) suite my tastes perfectly, and I don't have to mess with that treble knob on my receiver.

It's also nice and compact (so as not to dwarf a modest television) unlike some behemoth center channels I've seen.

Five *'s.

I set this speaker along four RT35 speakers as suggested in the Polk audio web site. It fits perfectly! I mean sound fits in between front side speakers without sounding distanced or sticking out. as voice channel for movies, it doesn't sound narrow angled just to center area but fills up the whole listening area quite wide(up to where I can not tell where the voices are coming from). but then while I was listening boyz2men DTS cd. I definitely heard a man singing walking toward me from the front very precisely and narrow. sorry for not being to technically descriptive here. I grabbed it from circuit city without any research before the purchase but it's nice to know it's a nice speaker. almost got infinity speakers but I could tell the materials used for polk speakers were better by just taking off the grill. got it for 50bucks after 150off from polk audio promotional deal around early june.(along the four RT35 (around $165 each I believe)

I ordered the CS-245 from Crutchfield about 2-3 weeks ago and, I have to say, I haven't been happier. I hooked the 245 up to a pair of loud speakers that were about 10-12 years old, and Yamaha surrounds. However, because of this unique pairing, a little tweaking had to be done on my Sony STR-DE625 receiver before the sound was, as I would call it, perfect. That night, I rented "The Rock" and was, simply, astounded by the overwhelming change in quality that the 245 brought to my home theater. After this experience, I can do nothing but praise the people at Polk Audio for doing such an excellent job with this speaker.

Greetings to all Audio Enthusiasts!
After suffering from the shortcomings of an Infinity CC2 center channel for almost two years, I finally invested in the CS245. I immediately noticed the difference coming from the center position and boy was it substantial. The dialogue and action that the polk produced was hearty, yet subtle. I had been searching for a replacement for the Infinity for quite some time, but I didn't want to spend a fortune. After investing in a Denon AVR3200, Sony S-3000 DVD, all Infinity(CC2 and RS3's), and an Atlantic Technology PBM 162 sub and not getting that sound, I thought that I was doing something wrong. Thanks to the CS245 my home theater is now pumping out some serious cinema and music. I plan on getting rid of the rest of the Infinity's soon and replacing them with Polks. For the price this center is a high quality and welcomed addition to any system. Thanks to the people at Polk for the affordable innovations that allow common folk like me to enjoy HT and with the savings an occasional premium cigar:)

Have had this speaker for less then a month and couldn't be happier with it. I have just a thrown together pro logic system and the addition of the cs245 has made all the difference. Didn't believe everyone when they said that the center speaker was the most important, now I do. And belive that the cs245 is a great speaker.

Great Soundstage......

None....

"When I turned my Onkyo 575 to 72 (out of 88)"
WHY?

Turning my SONY DB930 past 6 (out of 10)...the speaker is fine only the Fish tank cracked and my Dempsy is dying....j/k


Anyway Great Center Channel for around $225....

POLK is also Offering..when u spend upwards of $349.u can get a Free CS175..or a $149 Ceedit toward another POLK SPEAKER..offer good until 1/20/2000.....I think.....

Similar Products Used:

Sony Center channel crap-o-matic...(base model 1 4" woofer)