Crystal Clear sound, amazing presence, excellent tonal balance, excellent build and design

Magnetic shielding is lacking if speaker is too far forward (no problem if placed about 1 inch back from front of television)

Received the speaker and it is still burning in. However, it is immediately noticable that the speaker is very well matched to my Cambridge surround system and that detail is MUCH better than my older Boston Acoustics center speaker (which was excellent itself). The center speaker is incredibly crisp and accurate - I noticed that at the the beginning of "Sleepy Hollow" that the scratching sounds of people signing a will was very clearly heard even though the music was strong and powerful. Sounds that were simply washed out in my older center speaker come out with suprising clarity and definition.

The speaker also plays very deep - to about 70 Hz. It allows excellent dialog and allows a more even tonal quality with my system. The bass is tight and strong. At first, the speaker sounded a bit bass heavy in lower voices, but this has gone away as the speakers have burned in.

Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics, Cambridge Soundworks, Bose

Best value

none

The speaker is great! Well worth the $125 shipped that I got it off of ebay for. I tried getting one of off Ubid and did't have much luck with the customer service that I received from them. I won the klipsch center channel from them and received one that had been a prior return to them for damage. It only took about 2 weeks for Ubid to return my repeated emails. It then took another 2 weeks for them to fax me a shipping label to send it back to them. It now has been another 2 weeks and I still have not received a refund from them yet. I guess I'll have to dispute the charge thru my credit card company. I'm also going to file a complaint with the better business bureau. So I went on ebay and got one for the buy it now price of $110 + $20 shipping. Its brand new and works great.

Efficiency, "live" sound, great for HT, quality build, plated 5 way binding posts.

Somewhat dated aesthetically.

At this pricepoint, a cost effective way to build a modest home theater system which far exceeds other "mass market" brands found at large retailers, and at a competive price. The Tractix horn driver creates realistic effects as well as incredible efficiency. (Very little power is required to drive Klipsch speakers.)

Note, these speakers were manufacturer discontinued in 1999 as part of the first generation Klipsch Synergy Series line.

System:
Fronts - Klipsch KSB 3.1
Center - Klipsch KSC C-1
Rears - Klipsch KSB 1.1
Subwoofer - Mirage FSx 10
Receiver - Integra DTR5

Similar Products Used:

Other brands considered: Mirage, Boston, Acoustic Energy, Energy, and B&W.

Clear sound for dialogue in home theatre movies and musically perfect for cymbol crashing rock. Fills my basement and the upstairs of my house.

NONE

I've compared this center to JBL, Polk, and Paradigm center channels. Frankly, I cannot tell a sound quality drop at all. I just see a price difference of at least $200.

Currently, I have this center connected to a Sony STR-DE675 100x5 home theatre receiver. I use Cerwin-Vega AT series floorstanding speakers for fronts, and a Klipsch SW-10 Series II subwoofer.

I've compared my system to a friend's Paradigm system and for the price he paid against mine, I feel his pain. His stuff sounds wonderful, dont get me wrong, but if your someone who appreciates sound, you can get that for much cheaper without a noticeable sound difference.

The KSC-C1 utilizes all your needs for home theatre and music. For a good size room, this speakers does the job. This is your most important speaker in home theatre, I feel. You can't go wrong with Klipsch, I haven't had any problems.

Similar Products Used:

Optimus, JBL, Philips, Klipsch, Polk, Paradigm, Cerwin-Vega

Clarity and highend freq response.

yet to be seen.

I have traditionally used Bose speakers and thought they were great. I was truly amazed when I plugged the speaker in and went through music, dss, and dvd. I really cannot believe the sound reproduction. They are definately brighter than Bose which definately have a fuller low end. But, this is a center channel speaker - it does exactly what it is supposed to do with better than flying colors. P.S. Value rating is based on my cost..watch out for shipping costs on Ubid! You may not be getting the deal you think you are! However, in directly speaking with Klipsch they inform me that Ubid is one of only four authorized net dealers - all other will not have valid warranties - new or not.

Similar Products Used:

Bose

This lives up to true Klipsch quality. It even has decent bass. Very crisp and responsive. The whole range of sound is clear, even in movies where dialogue can sometimes be a problem to hear between booming action scenes. A sensitivity of 95? That's tough to beat in any speaker.

None that I've noticed.

For $79, I don't think it can be beat. For those of those wary of auction sites, ubid tells you if it's new or refurbished. Mine was brand new. Considering I saw it for $279 on one site, I'd say I got a good deal. One of the local audio/video stores also sells it for approximately the same price. The salesman about died when I told him how much I paid. It's the perfect power match for my receiver, and complimented by a pair of Klipsch Quintet satellites as rear speakers, two floor-standing Wharfedale Sapphire 87's, and a Polk Audio PSW250 sub, I finally have a complete and clean sounding system from every speaker. For a small apartment, it booms, and unless none of my neighbors are home, I can't turn it up above 2 without pissing someone off. I got all of my speakers from ubid except the sub, and saved myself a good 6 or 7 hundred dollars. No, I don't work for ubid or have any affiliation with them, but if you want bargain prices on moderate to good equipment, it's worth checking. And if you want a relatively cheap sub that can rumble, see the reviews here.

Similar Products Used:

Smaller Polk Audio center, and before that a cheap Magnavox center that was iffy at best. Often times unplugging that one and using the standard tv speakers produced better dialogue response.

This is a smooth sounding center speaker. I currently have Infinity SM120's (which I love and don't want to replace) up front and trying to voicematch this was a task. I use Denon's AVR-3200 in 5-channel stereo mode for my evaluation..as well 5.1 Dolby Digital. I originally had the affordable JBL MR Center (too weak, felt small), then I bought the Advent Shale, which was a little more dynamic (but still not crisp (crossover was at 5K)...but it still did not match my Infinity's clear/crisp highs's.
So I thought maybe a horn-type tweets will bring out more treble...so I went to the horn-speaker experts...Klipsch. So far, the KSC-C1 Synergy Series center is doing great with my SM120's.
So you say, why did I not get Infinity's SM series Center speaker? Well, I can't find any around....been told it is discontinued; and getting the Infinity's CC1, CC2, or CC3 would not help either....I've heard these, and no match. (don't get me wrong these are good speakers as well).

These are affordable as well. MSRP is $329, was able to find it for $160 via mailorder.

Specs: 70-21K,
Dual 5.25" woofers/single 1" neodynium horn (x-over at 3K)

Check this out...I'm sure there is better out there, but this is a great value for the moderate home theater.

I am in the process of slowly revamping my system, slightly upgrading it, but more likely matching it out. You see, I have Magnepan SMG's for my front speakers, powered by an anemic Sony STR-1020, with some old Polk 5a's for surround. You can see my dilemma. The Maggies suck the power right out of my crappy receiver. I am now accepting the fact that my older ears like a nice bright sound to compensate for the natural hi freq. hearing loss of age. A college friend had an old Klipschorn (he named it "Ted") and powered it with a horrendous Heathkit amp - but it rocked the dorm, and had a phenomenal high-end. Therefore, for sentimental reasons, I am gonna sell or trade the maggies for some nice KSB 3.1's, upgrade my receiver and start listening to some nice Dolby Digital (I wish "Better Off Dead" would come out on DVD).
Anyway, as far as I can tell, my KSC-C1 sounds awesome, even though it is in a poorly matched system.

BTW: no flames about the maggies - I love them for listening to real music, even with the crappy receiver, but alas I cannot give them a good home.

This is a good speaker in my opinion, but I don't have too much to compare it to. I'm using it with a pair of JBL CF100s, and I can tell you that the treble on the Klipsch is much better than the JBLs. I've noticed a lot more detail in music that I never noticed before. Accoustical instriments sound so much more natural. They don't really have any bass at all, but it's only a center speaker. For the price of $165 that I paid for them, I think you can't complain. I'll give it 4 stars for being great for the price.

Due to the large abundance of inquiries regarding where I got the speaker for $160. I will publish it for my fellow audio enthusiasts.
Check out http://www.netmarket.com This place has the best prices on 95% of the things I shop for. Yes, there is a membership fee. It is $1 (for the first 3 months), then afterwards if is $69.95/yr afterwards. Cancel at any time and get a full refund. Keep in mind, I've saved $1,000's from shopping here in the past year. No complaints. Also you get things called Netmarket cash....which as it sounds is a 5% cash credit into your "account" from the current purchase, to use on your next purchase if you chose...or save it up, and get something free.

Give it a try...they have tons of stuff in the Electronics section...high and low end merchandise.

Enjoy folks...great place to shop. THis is 5 star shopping store.