Polk CSi40 or Paradigm Studio CC (1 Viewer)

[Bobpaul]

Hi:

I am in a little bit of a dilemma. I have the Para Studio 100v2 mains and wish to get a center. Denon AVR-3803 "preamp" with a Sherbourn 5/1500A amp.

Looking at different options, the Polk CSi40 specs and sound seem to beat the more expensive Studio CC. Don't get me wrong but i took the Studio CC in along with the Polker (neighbour's) and i do not see the difference. Maibe there is something wrong with me Also, Polk are known to be honest and so far have always met their paper specs in the labs on reviews.

Check our for yourselves. Apart from weight the Polk beats the Para by specs.

http://www.polkaudio.com/home/specs....83&printable=1

Scroll down a bit on this following one:

Link Removed


Is there any reason (apart from Mr. Harley's and others' speaker matching theory) why i should not get the Polker?
Esp. that Crutchfield-authorized (5 yr warranty) has them for $299

Just an afterthought. Check the specs of the LsiC and you will see that the CSi40 beats those too

Anyway, i know that i will catch some flak for this sacrilege of Paras but my conclusion is firm.

Thank you so much for reading this. I am looking forward to learning from you all.

Bob

 

[EricSm]

I have the CSI40 and love it. But, if I owned the Studio 100s I'd most certainly get the Paradigm Center. I think there is a real value in seemlessly timber matching speakers where possible. The key is that most people don't want the character of sound changing as sounds move from speaker to speaker, and that's exactly what happens when you start mixing brands(and sometimes even within the same lines).

I truthfully wouldn't think twice about it and just pick up the Paradigm Center. I think in the long run you will be happy you did and it will help to create a more united, realistic soundstage.

That said, if you just want a good speaker, the CSI40 is great.

 

[Bobpaul]

Thx for reply.

I was thinking and thinking and finally i saw the light. Going to dealer yesterday and running a B&W center with the Paras revealed that fault.

I am shipping back the csi40 and getting the Studio CC. Is $400 a good price for a dealer purchase?

Thx

Bob

 

[Mark Russ]

Oh man! No way does Polk compare to Paradigim. No speaker can compare to Paradigm! Paradigm's cheapest, bottom of the line speakers will easily beat any other companies best and most expensive ones. If you don't believe it, just ask any Paradigm owner.



Seriously, I would keep the same series as my mains are though.

 

[EricSm]

$400 is a pretty good price on the Para center, if that's what you were referring to. I'd take up that offer. There's not too much variance on pricing as far as I know.

 

[TommyL]

give er take 25 bucks, that's probably a well spent 400...the center is a good piece of work...can't see why you would go with the polk...don't know the price, but timbre-matching is worth the little extra

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Whoa there! That's a pretty overboard statement. I can name many many MANY speakers that beat paradigms. Of course all of those are WAY more expensive. That being said, at any given PRICE, it's DAMN hard to beat paradigm, and I'm with you for that Paradigm love .

As a paradigm owner, I can confidently say that at any price, digm pretty much whoops the competition, but to say that their classic entry Atom at 189/pr is better than every speaker out there is ridiculus. Better than almost every speaker under bout 500, yes, but we have to be a little bit realitic, no?

Heck some people don't like the digm sound at all.

And bob, definitely get the studio CC to match. I'd have a hard time beleiving the polk to be better, and it is pretty important to tibre-match.

 

[paulBAW]

I think Mark was being sarcastic Chris. Paradigms are a very good speaker. The greatest budget speaker ever? There will always be debate. I personally thought the PSB Alpha was the ultimate budget speaker back in the day. It's a very saturated market. Energy, PSB, Paradigm, KEF, Klipsh, I don't think you can honestly say one company does a better job then the other. The only thing I'm pretty sure about right now is that NAD still makes the best ultra budgeted 2 channel gear. There really is no more comparison anymore. Rotel has gone the higher road, Yamaha has gone way down hill in my opinion. Affordable 2 Channel is dying. For some strange reason NAD still focuses on it. It's less saturated and therefore their can be that "one" company that stands out. This is coming from a once Paradigm owner. They are good speakers, but the buzz they seem to be gettin here, it's almost like other speakers are all inferior even at the same price point. That simply hasn't been true in my experience. And I'm Canadian, I can get them cheaper.

 

[Jason GT]

Well Paul, I'm more Canadian, so I can get them even cheaper

Paradigm does indeed get an unusual amount of press here -- but it's worse on AVS where there are yearlong threads (it seems) that extoll the virtues of Onix Rockets. I'm sure Rockets are fine speakers -- but even then it kinda bothers me when I see threads like "Best Speaker Ever". Absolutes are never a good thing

I do agree with you, though.

 

[John Garcia]

Haha. Sarcastic or not, it's funny. I have been a long time 'digm owner, and I certainly do not think they are the best thing since sliced bread. Very good? Yes. For the price? Yes. Better than anything else in the same price range? Nope. Since I started out with them, I just kept upgrading one or two pieces at a time, which made sticking with them the easy road (trade-in upgrades sure don't hurt either) If I were to redo my entire system, they would probably be on my list, but not my first choice. I actually own other speakers that best them in price vs performance, and I have heard others that do as well, compared to each of their lines.

Studio CC vs CSi40, spec vs spec does NOT tell you how each actually sounds. You made the right choice in switching to the Studio CC.

 

[Ernest Yee]

John - what would you recommend if starting from scratch then? On a similar Digm price level. I'm currently in the process of getting rid of my Polk R30 towers and GHETTO Polk Sub. I was thinking Monitor 7s or Studio 40s along w/ their matched CC and ADP sides. Oh yeah and can't forget the SVS sub.

 

[Jamey F]

I wouldn't consider the monitor 7's over the studio 40's. I prefered my studio 20's over my 7semk3's and minimonitors. The studio line just sounds better in every respect to me, but much better in clarity/detail.

 

[Bobpaul]

Thank you guys.

The Studio CC does true justice to my system. The opening scene of gladiator is so much more real.

Now, i didn't let you in on dirty 'lil secret. I had a Bose VCS10 (the last vestige of my Service Merchandise package deal 5 years ago) for center for my Studio 100s before i got the Paradigm ))))))))))) Old habits die hard but i'm finally clean thanks HTA (Home Theater Anonymous).

You guys are a great bunch to hang out with. Thank you again for the free education.

Regards,

Bob