Powerful, accurate sound production; build quality; its looks really, really cool, especially with the grill off.

It's a little big, and it almost doesn't fit on top of my televison. However, this isn't a very big deal and contributes to the postive asthetics of the speaker

I purchased this speaker along with two 1000is for my fronts. The 400i works wonderfully with the rest of my speaker setup. The sound is big and accurate. Good highs and extremely impressive lows. The price is very good for this quality of speaker, sounds better than other speakers that I have auditioned that are nearly twice the price. Great build quality..this sob is heavy. Just make sure that the top of your tv is big enough to handle it. If you want to impress people, leave the grills off to show off the new blue drivers.

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JBL HLS Center

Supports biamplification, great sound, cool looking blue drivers

The size of this beast

I've owned the CS400i for over a month now. Simply stated, it's great. Since the center channel does most of the work in HT, it's important to get one that can handle the load and this one does so beautifully. When i first opened the box I was awe struck at the size of this beast. It's one thing viewing it in the demo room, but an entirely different thing trying to place it your entertainment system. Luckily, my TV is big and sturdy enough to support this center channel. Overall, the cabinet is solid, and the drivers/tweeter pick up a lot of detail and provides good bass. Another plus is it's ability to support bi-amplification. I am pleased with my decision. The only beef I have with the speaker is its size, but who really cares anyway. I enjoy watching peoples reaction when they see it.

My system:

Marantz SR7000 A/V receiver
Toshiba SD-3108 DVD player
CD player to come
Polk RT1000i (fronts)
Polk CS400i (center)
Polk f/x 500i (surround)

My next purchase will be either a sub or a CD player.

Perfect match for Polk 2000i's. Powerfull yet blends in well.

Can overpower cheaper fronts, doesn't blend well with some non-Polk speakers. Butt-Ugly big.

I've become a big fan of Polk the last two years - while other speakers in their price range may do music or movies better individually, the Polks are excellent at both.

So far the only center channel I have auditioned that sounded and blended better than the C400i is the Martin Logan Cinema series, and that one is a grand at discount. Even Polk's own 1000 series center that retails for $900 didn't sound quite as good (which suprised me).

Polk's aren't known for being particularly "warm" sounding, but the C400i is. Dialog sounds very natural, almost like the actor's are in your room. When properly level-balanced and matched with good fronts, it's unbeatable.

I did notice the C400i didn't blend very well with the Definative Tech BP10's, which are very good for HT and very bad for music, IMHO. I mention this so potential buyers are sure to audition first, unless you have the Polk "i" series speakers (1000i, 2000i) in which case you shouldn't be looking at any other center at all. Also, and it has to be said - this is one ugly center channel. It looks like a giant brick sitting on top of my Pioneer Elite 610. However, if that's what you have to put up with in order to get a great sounding, reasonabley priced center, then I'll take it.

My system:

Denon 3801 driving the rears and pre-amping the rest
Odyessy Audio Stratus 3 channel amp for fronts and center (God I love this amp)
Polk RT2000i fronts
Polk C400i center channel
Polk fx/500i surrounds (side)
Polk fx/300i surrounds (rear)
HSU VTS-2 subwoofer

The speakers all together were a little over $3000, with the Denon and the Odyssey coming in at around $2000. $5,000 for some of the best sound around.

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Klipsch, DT.

Great sound quality, excellent value

Heavy

This speaker is an excellent value with wonderful sound quality. When matched with complementary Polk main's and surrounds, you can't go wrong.

My system includes the following:
Sony STR-DA777ES Reciever
Sony DVP-CX850D 200 DVD Changer
Polk RT2000i
Polk CS400i
Polk f/x 500i

The only thing better is the CS1000's, but they are significantly more expense (and HUGE).

I just had the opportunity to get a Polk CS400 on clearance for $199 at Circuit City. I have 30 days to return it, so I took it home to try it out. I love it, so far.

Is there a difference between the 400 and the 400i?

Sound, clarity, richness, bass, looks

I guess size. could be a little bit more crisp.

First of all, this thing weighs 30lbs. It's pretty large and unless you have a big tv...it's going to look out of place.

Secondly, the sound is very full. It sounds like it could adequetly be the only speaker in the system! It seems to make the sound come from many different directions. It also begs for more power to be pushed through it. I'm currently using an Onkyo 575 series receiver. This animal wants more power. I would highly recommend it IF you have a big enough room and TV to support this pig.

It's a little pricey but compared to center channels over $1000, I'm sure it's a bargain.

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Cs175i, some cheap sony center channels, demo'd many different units in stores.

Bi-Wireable, Suits large rooms,

HUGE! Luckily my TV can accomdate the bulkinest.

I upgraded to the 400i from the 245i, so that my mids match
my 1000i fronts. My fronts seem to be drowning my 245i, so I quickly upgraded. Now my system sound very balance. It's
very important to be using good thick speaker cables. I used a reel of Monsters for all my speakers for a while, then I decided to fork out some $$$ and upgraded to Monster's Z Reference Bi-Wire cables.....BOOM!!!!! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!...sounded like I added an AMP, our bought a new
reciever. My speakers especially my center had deeper, punchier bass and brighter cleaner highs. There are better
center channels out there, but for 399?...no way.

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PolkAudio CS245i

I like the deep blue drivers, it goes well with my Wharfedale(Sapphire Blue 89's) that I use as my front speakers. I also enjoy the high power this speaker can handle.

none

I decided to buy this speaker not only because of the reputable brand name (Polk), but because this was one of the few center channels I could find that could handle 200+ watts. I knew better than to skimp on my center speaker so I actually ended up spending more for my center speaker than I did on both of my front speakers combined! (This is only because I got a smokin' deal on my Sapphire 89's off ubid.)So far I think the Polk CS400i blends quite well with my speakers by Wharfedale. I really wanted to get matching speakers, but I was not impressed with the low power handling of the Wharfedale center speakers. So far the CS400i has been a great choice and I "must" give it high rating.

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Cerwin Vega

Powerful, precise, and amazingly clear without being too bulky. One of the only center channel speakers with a built in power port.

If there is any I haven't found it yet, unless something can be deemed too good.

I personally have this speaker hooked up to a harmon/kardon AVR 45. with less than 60 watts per channel this speaker out preforms all others of its kind. I have been a bik fan of Polk Audio for some time now. I am also using their RT55is in the front and f/x 500is as surround with a psw250 for a sub. Polk has truly succeeded in making a speaker with superior audio at a reasonable price.

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Polk cs245i

Power, quality sound whitout effort. look.

None.

I bought that speaker after i saw all the goods comments on that site. Thank you to everybody who take time to guide the guy like me making it easy to make a choice. A perfect choice. You can`t go wrong with that speaker with any system. I agree with all the comments on thoses reviews i saw.