Tight accurate vocals and brilliant highs(but not over-accentuated). Blends perfectly with Aura's speakers which employ the same Linaeum monopole tweeter. Value,value,value. I paid $200 for my Aura LSC-537M Center Channel(a very similar product) a little over a year ago and I was able to nab this speaker for only $55 on ebay.

None, so far. Honestly, I REALLY can't hear the nasally and bass-heavy mids that some people have mentioned.

First off, I purchased this speaker to compliment my daughter's pair of Aura LSW-828M's which employ the same Linaeum monopole tweeter. I have the same speakers in my HT system in our living room and I just got done evaluating this Optimus Center Channel in my system. This speaker blends perfectly with the Aura's. I can't hear much difference between my Aura Center Channel and this Optimus Pro CS-5...honestly. I prefer the appearance of the Aura...bigger woofers,rubber surround compared to the foam surround of the Optimus,black laminate wood grain finish compared to the molded plastic enclosure of the Optimus. However, they're very equal when it comes down to sound quality. I'm playing Toy Story 2 through it right now and it sounds great. I'll get a better idea when I play more music through it but I just know that I'm gonna be satisfied. I had purchased a BIC Center Channel(a budget model..don't rememer the model) to compliment my daughter's speakers but that turned out to be a big mistake...terrible sound and totally mismatched to the great-sounding Aura's. I'm not trashing BIC...their top-notch DV62 Center Channel is highly regarded and I personally own their DV1210 Powered Subwoofer in my main system. Don't hesitate to pick up one of the Optimus CS-5 Center Channels(if you can find one) if you own any of the Aura speakers which employ the same monopole tweeter. I'm giving five stars for my overall rating but it exceeds five stars in the value department. Radio Shack screwed up when they discontinued this line of speakers. The RCA line they currently offer is a piece of crap.

Similar Products Used:

Aura LSC-537M,BIC Center Channel speaker(budget model,not DV62)

clear, but slightly heavy on bass on male voice

female voice sound a little heavy

Great buy for $79.00. I think it can compete with most speakers under $300.

Gold binding posts, lineaum tweeter design, PRICE!!!

Not a perfect tonal match for LX-10 Fronts

Have used this as the center for my set-up with LX-10 Fronts and LX-8 surrounds for about six months now. Although not a perfect match for the fronts, which surprised me, the performance is impressive neough to merit a 5 star rating for the $99 I paid for it in April. Tonight I wandered into a Radio Shack looking to kill time and found the clearance price for this speaker to now be...$29.97!!! Amazing! I picked up one just to use in the bedroom at this price. Run, do not walk, to get these at this price while they last! One note, the computer had it at $59.97. I showed them the product price label by the display and they adjusted the price accordingly to $29.97. Spectacular for the price.

Similar Products Used:

None

I purchased this unit mainly to use in my main system until I could fork over the bucks for something better. No dice. The speaker has nice highs and does lack sibilance but I found the boomy lower midrange and upper bass very distracting. This bothered me more with female voices, but male voices had a little too much Barry White. It is cheaply made but what you expect for the price. Props to Radio Shack for the binding connectors though. Another problem with this speaker seems to be the limited sweetspot and horn like beaminess of the linaeum tweeter. I ended up sending it back. I couldn't bear the thought of macho female voices in my bedroom either. I'd recommend a NHT super zero or PSB speaker if you need to go this cheap. System auditioned on was NHT 1.2 towers, Boston Acoustics VR500 sub, NHT Superzero rears, Kenwood KRX-1000 receiver, Toshiba 3109 DVD/CD player. I'd give it 1.5 stars which I'll round off to 2.

I'm submitting this to balance out my earlier post. In my enthusiasm, I confused quality with value. Value (price) is in the "pocket book" of the beholder. As to quality, Ozzie hits it right on. The speaker is boomy and the tweeter is very directional. One thing my system is not missing is bass. So I'm talking back my speaker also. Will have to shell out of the pocket book for something that better meets my quality requirement.

I bought this speaker for $79.00 for my old prologic system.I ended up retiring my Def Tech C1jr. to the old system in favor of this one.Matches up well with Def Tech DR7's in front and I was really amazed at the sound it produced.It is not an efficient speaker so volume to the center had to be pumped up.After this I was more than pleased to say the least.

Great mids and highs, very clear and natural, the perfect compliment the the LX-5's in a home theater setup.

Very smooth, sweet, clean highs. Wide imaging. Decent built quality.

Not much bass, but who needs that in a center speaker?.

Nice built quality. Good gold plated binding posts. Excellent highs, very smooth, sweet and clear. Wide imaging. Decent mids, I cannot find heaviness or too much muddiness in dialogue. Overall VERY GOOD value for your money, recommended.

I have had this speaker for eight months now and I still get excited aboutthe sound that comes out of it. I have my center channel mode set to "wide",
which goes against the recommendation of the reviewer @ Home Theater Magazine
and this speaker handles the bass with ease. I have an entire Optimus Home
Theater setup, which includes LX8s on the fronts, the ProCS5 Center Channel
speaker and LX5s on the rear. Transitions and pans are seamless with this
combination. Folks, for the money I am tickled to no end.

I just added the CS5 to my home theater setup along with my Pro LX8s as mains and Minimus 7s in the rear. The CS5 is a great sounding center channel, with silky smooth highs from the Linaeum tweeter to a nice rich bass. Made an audiophile buddy jealous with the sound! I have listened to center channels costing 2-3 times the price of this speaker and I am still impressed by the sound of the CS5. It goes on sale for about $119 if you are in the market for a center channel speaker grab it!