Polk cs 10 or cs 20???

[backtothecanvas]

I know the cs 20 has bigger drivers. do you think it would be worth it to return my cs 10 and get the 20?

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by backtothecanvas

I know the cs 20 has bigger drivers. do you think it would be worth it to return my cs 10 and get the 20?

Bigger drivers are better, but if you already have the CS10 there's no sense in bending over backwards to get the CS20. If you bought it locally then sure, but if it involves mailing something back in then I wouldn't bother. But then I'm kinda lazy. Besides, the CS20's a pretty big speaker. I had to build a 3" riser just so I could see over my CS1 which is smaller than the CS2/CS20.

[langn08]

Are you not happy with the CS10?

[Sonny]

I wouldn't worry about it. You are not running any super floor-standers or anything. My little CS10 does the trick & it does it well. I love the piano black finish on my TSI's! Whats wrong with the CS10? Not loud enough for you? You have plenty of power!!! I love that Pio 05!!

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by backtothecanvas

I know the cs 20 has bigger drivers. do you think it would be worth it to return my cs 10 and get the 20?

Well besides the mid/woofer on the CS20 being 1.25" bigger, they are really the same speaker. I believe the CS20 might have a slightly better cabinet. The biggest hang-up I see is that the price difference on NewEgg is about $80. That makes it not worth it in my book. That is too big of a difference in price points to only get a slightly better speaker.

However, if you are really not happy with the CS10, then perhaps you should get the CS20.

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

However, if you are really not happy with the CS10, then perhaps you should get the CS20.

Or the CS2, which I believe is essentially the same (if older) speaker.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by repete66211

Or the CS2, which I believe is essentially the same (if older) speaker.

I was going to mention the CS2, but NewEgg is sold out of them right now...but you are right, I am pretty sure that only the cabinet of the CS20 is of a better design that seperates the CS2 from the CS20.

By the way, the mod's might move this over to the Polk Thread...but then again, they may not...

[talstarone]

The Polk CS20 and Polk CS2 are Outstanding Center Speakers.But then again,so are the Polk CS10 and CS1.

The CS20 and CS2 do have the 6 1/2 inch woofers which allow them to reproduce deeper,louder,and stronger special effects that occur from the Center Speaker.
It also brings some deeper voices to the center speaker,but not a huge difference.

If it was a center with (2) 3 1/2 inch drivers(like many speaker in a box kits)with a small cabinet,then I would say grab the CS20 and CS2 because they would make an incredible difference.

But with the CS10 and CS1 having 5 1/4 inch woofers and cabinets that are not too much smaller then the 20 or the 2,the difference will not be that large.
If you had front speakers like the Monitor 70's or the TSi500(each with (4) 6 1/2 woofers)the CS20/CS2 would be a better match due to the 6 1/2 inch woofers.
It will allow the tonal balance to be much more even and similar for the front soundstage.

But using front speakers that have 5 1/4 inch drivers(Monitor 30's,40's,50's,60's)or the TSi(100's,200's,300's,400's)the CS10/CS1 will blend in better and give you a front soundstage that will sound much more balanced.

So all the advice you have already been given by the many Polk Experts is certainly advice I would follow.

[Kali157]

I know this is an old thread but this forum has been very helpful to me in the past and I wish to contribute back if I can.

I was looking into these two speakers for an upgrade. So I went to Frys w/ several blu rays and did a side by side comparison inside one of their sound rooms. On paper these two seems so close that I was VERY close going with the CS10 to save money. You could say I was sold on the CS10 on paper. Anyway, I spent around 45 min having both speakers side by side playing scenes from various blus back to back switching from one speaker to the next.

Can you tell the difference? YES! The CS20 sounds A LOT "fuller". The sound doesnt sound as strained compared to the CS10. The differences are very noticeable even in medium volume (ie the strain difference doesnt occur only when volume is maxed out). Dont get me wrong the CS10 is good, but WE can tell the difference (me, my wife, the frys guy, and 2 other random people that stopped by the sound room). My wife and I even did several blind tests to see if we could hear the difference, and we each could tell the difference btwn CS10 and CS20 and can pick out which was playing. I even switched the connections around just to make sure it wasnt the connection to the switch and receiver that was making the difference. This was using the same receiver (a Yamaha). I think the difference in sound really comes down to cabinet size b/c the CS20 is noticeably bigger.

So if you have the space, I think the CS20 is DEFINITELY worth the difference in price since the center channel produces most of the sound in movies. You can tell which center channel we went with .

I hope this helps anyone that cannot preview these two speakers side by side.