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The Sony cost as much as the CS1 and employed the same sized drivers/tweeter. I purchased it at a much reduced cost of $80 from a different retailer and it sold out the day after the price was reduced. The Polk Audio CS1 can't be beat at this price. The Monitor series have been greatly reduced in price since they are no longer manufactured, and since replaced by the TSi series in Polk's speaker series.Pair with Bookshelf speakers or with Towers and you won't be disappointed. I regularly employ 7.1 surround when listening to music since buying the CS1.The bad news is that the CS1 won't be available much longer. The lower range is much more substantial at 55Hz, than most satellite speaker, 100Hz, and can therefore free up the subwoofer for LFE and low bass duties. Prior to purchasing the Monitor speakers, I had been using a combination of Bose bookshelf speakers for the L/R Front and Rear channels, mated to a fairly hefty Sony Center channel to obtain 5.1 movie surround.
Even with the movie maker purposely employing roaring airplane engines to drown dialog the CS1 was able to deliver every word.Forget about music listening with the Sony - it was nowhere as clear as the aging Bose 301 or 201's, and definitely outclassed by the Polk CS1. The CS1 passed several listening tests with flying colors, including the noisy D-day scene in Band of Brothers.
You won't drown the dialog or have trouble hearing detail with the Monitor CS1. Even with the Center channel level output pushed up much higher than the other front speakers using the A/V Receiver, the dialog was often lost during movie scenes with noisy effects.
For budget conscious speaker buyers or those who want a more powerful, detailed sound than that delivered by most satellite speaker systems, the Polk Audio Monitor series is an exceptional product. However, the lower range of the Sony was much inferior and detail was lacking.
Get it before it's gone. It's sound is very clear and articulate without the brightness that accompanies aluminum drivers.
If you want even more detail and to add more power to your center channel, the CS1 can be bi-amped to deliver.
I would recommend to anyone looking to upgrade their sound quality. I have recently upgraded all of my speakers to Polk and have not been let done. This speaker does an amazing job and sounds great.
Other than that, it's a great speaker at a great price. Bigger than i expected, but that's my own fault for not looking at the measurements in advance.
That room is going to be the place to be. As you can see from the pictures I added, I also have a Polk Monitor 60's center and a Polk PSW111 sub. I am in the process of getting 4 Polk Monitor 30's to use as surrounds to get the full 7.1 in my room. I bought this brand new and couldn't be happier. I will be sad everytime I have to leave it. My room is approx. I hated how I had to crank up my sony xbr3 speakers to be able to hear dialogue in one scene and then have to turn them down in an action packed scene so they wouldn't be blown out.The CS1 sounds incredibly great for the price. 16x20x7 and this is plenty center channel.
I highly recommend it. I got this center channel speaker to go with my Polk Monitor 50 tower speakers. Sounds great at a VERY attractive price point, recommended. For the higher model numbers with the larger drivers, go with the matching CS2. Acoustically it is a perfect match for the towers and presents a seamless sound stage. If you have any of the Polk Monitor series speakers up to the 50's.
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