Thick, yet transparent vocals Flat frequency response. Voice matching controls and adjustable stand.

Less performance for 5 channel stereo.

I purchased this unit in 1999 to match my infinity rs-5 front speakers. At the time that I bought it, I was using an onkyo tx-ds575 receiver. The first thing I noticed was that it didn't seem to match the sound of my fronts. I figured it just needed to be broken in. So I cranked it up really loud. I was surprized how well it handled loud volumes. The sound didn't get splashy or overly bright until the receiver itself began to clip. Very impressive. After a few days the center seemed to be matching the fronts better, and I got some DVDs together to test it's performance with dialog. This being my first expiriance with dolby digital and DVD, I didn't quite know what to expect. The first movie I watched was the Matrix. The orchestal transitions were really smooth which says good things about the flatness of the frequency response. Vocals are thick, agressive and forward-projecting, never muddy. Same with gun shots and other sound effects, they seem very present. This speaker isn't going to instantly blow you away with sparkling trebel, it's going to earn your apreciation over the years by doing what a center channel is supposed to do.

Similar Products Used:

b&w dm series, polk audio rt series (better for music,) sony junk

Clear, precisely-imaged dialog. Ability to adjust angle. Built like a brick sh*thouse. Don't drop it on anything you value, like your TV.

I guess a child or animal could knock it down, but I don't let such creatures in my HT room.

Why is this in the Main Speaker category? Anyway.... I've owned this speaker for nearly 4 years, and I've never had the desire to replace it. It functions exactly as it's supposed to: clear and natural sounding dialog and on-screen effects. To be honest, I've never perceived much of an effect from adjusting the voice-matching controls, but I still fiddle with them sometimes. I also like the rounded design that allows you to angle them to the listening position. The only possible reason I would ever upgrade is to match my Entra and Interlude -series towers and gain larger drivers for wider speaker response. Near the bottom of my list of upgrades, though.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Interlude, Entra, and Reference series speakers.

Clear crisp sound. Controls on back to help match sound.

Can't find one yet.

Bought this speaker on Mercata for $187 shipped (included $50 credit). Sounds very good. Dialogue is clean and clear.
This Speaker puts out a lot more sound then I expected and was a huge upgrade to my system. Would highly recommend to anyone.

Crystal clear sounds, loud

none

I've upgraded to the CC-3 from the Optimus CS-5 and I didn't know what I was missing. The CC-3 sounds so much better. The Optimus has more bass but it also make the voices sound very bassy. I've purchased this at Mercata of course and could not be happier with my setup. I have a Sony DE 835 reciever, CC-3 center, Infinity RS-3 for the fronts(works great in my small living room on speaker stands), Infinity QPS-1 rear channels, and Infinity BU-120 subwoofer. I have read both positive and negative reviews for each and every component that I own, but to me this is a kick ass setup.

Crisp Clear Sound. Really good Center Channel

I've had the CC-3 Ever since it's come out and it works great. The Voice matching is really good if you want to mix the speaker with different speaker systems(non-Infinity). I would recomend this speaker to anyone.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha

Great Sound!

Big, a bit ackward in general

Hearing that Infinity is no longer going to make the CC3 I stopped waiting for Mercata to carry it and bought mine at Circuit City for $279. Am envious of those who did catch it on Mercata. I currently have RS5's fronts and RS3's as my backs. Together with the CC3 dvd's take on an amazing sound. I couldn't be happier and I'm not a real "techno" person. I like having all the same product, they work very well together. Was thinking I needed to add a sub, but actually have been totally pleased with the bass the above speakers project. Bought the last one the Circuit City had and just really pleased with this baby!

Similar Products Used:

never had a center before

Very solid feel & build, above-average sound, supposedly handles over 100 watts (does anyone actually put this much volume through the center channel??), uses polymer over paper cones

Awkward shape, the stand for the base of the unit is cheap - would be easy to knock it off the TV by accident. Also, the voice-matching controls on the back of the unit do not change the sound hardly at all.

I was able to pick this up at Mercata.com in December for about $175. Infinity no longer produces this speaker but they are still widely available for around $200. I would put this unit into the upper-middle range, for both quality and value. It's probably the best of your choices out of what is widely available at Circuit City and Best-Buy type stores. Voice and music from TV/movies is clear and pleasant, and it should meet or exceed most every home-theatre enthusiast's expectations for a good center channel solution. But, like my other Infinity speakers, I would not say this speaker is really exceptional. In other words, pretty damn good but not great.

Test System :
Sony 635 receiver
Infinity Overature 2 fronts
Infinity CC3 center
Infinity BU-120 sub
Infinity RS-3 rears

Similar Products Used:

Various similiar products tested at Circuit City and Best Buy.

I bought this speaker from CC for $290, but took it back a couple days ago after reading reviews here referencing mercata.com. Well right now this speaker is on a powerbuy for $199. You can't beat this price. If your interested buy now to lower the price. There is still one more day left. I watched several DVDs with this speaker (I have RS5's up front and RS3's in the rear) and I was very pleased with its clarity and performance with sound effects.

One of the best sounding center speakers around for the money

dosen't quite take the same power as the Ovetures 3's

I am now using 2 CC3's to keep up with 4 Ovetures 3's
A velodine 18FR for the bottom end, B&K 4090 preamp,
and ATI 1506 power amp, Love the CC3's, but had to get
2 of them to keep up, funny, though the CC 3's seem to have the same driver's as the Ovetures 3's do!

Similar Products Used:

Phase tech, Jbl

Crisp clear highs

Weak lows

The inifinity CC-3 is definitely a step up from the CC-2 however there are better center channels on the market. i was disappointent with the mid to low frequency response of the CC-3. I have since replaced my CC-3 with a Polk CS400 which I feel has a superior sound.

Similar Products Used:

Polk CS 4000, Infinity CC-2