Polk Audio - Polk Reserve Series R400 Large Center Channel Loudspeaker, New 1" Pinnacle Ring Tweeter & Dual 6.5" Turbine Cone Woofers - Black

I was looking for center channel speaker to improve the loudness and quality of dialogue. I shopped these and equivalent from Martin Logan, Bowers and Wilkins and KEF at price points much higher than Polk. The clarity of dialogue, very clear and distinct. Sound Stage is very broad with a variety of sitting positions available and no loss of sound quality - some of the more expensive equivalents had a very precise sweet spot or sound stage, I found that objectionable considering their price. I have the black finish, which looks similar to a grey slate monolith - gorgeous. Speaker grills are magnetic, and I'm torn between leaving the grills on or off - they are beautiful. It's the perfect match for the movie genre I watch most. I have better sound vs. the competition and spent less. Can't beat that...

I have been a Polk fan for as long as I can remember. This R400 was an upgrade for my coveted Polk CS20 center channel speaker. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the CS20, I just wanted to upgrade and see if Polk could improve upon a sound that was still excellent after many years. Polk managed to do it. Starting from just the unboxing experience it was like no other. The box is top quality and looked sleek, overpacked to the perfect degree, down to the speaker that was wrapped in a black cloth bag, sealed at the bottom with a heart sticker. The design is aesthetically pleasing, and cabinet feel study and well designed. Magnetic grill is a lovely touch with the perfect amount of gripping force. The woofers and tweeter are works of art. These things are all easy to improve on, but how about the sound? The timbre matching was perfect with the CS20. Ran a few tests, and the tone of the R400 sounded identical to the CS20. It operates well on my old Onkyo TX-NR787 and sounds louder and with more presence than the CS20 (which is shocking). The speaker sizes and arrangement are close to the same as the CS20, although the tweeter was higher in the cabinet which seems to make a difference. The cabinet is significantly larger but it still fits in my center space. Again, it just sets the center stage with more confidence and sound, the final welcome improvement to the theater system. I recommend the Reserve series if you are looking for a premium line that is still fairly reasonable on pricing.

Most pleased with upgrading our center speaker and going with Polk. Providing deeper bass and brilliant sound that our old Infinity was not providing. Hearing dialogue much clearer & instruments we never heard coming from the center speaker before.

I playing a song in an old CS1, and then played it after swapping it with this. Of course the price differene is massive, along with a large age difference so this is apples to oranges, but my spouse who isn't much into caring about these things was shocked how much better it is.

Much better than E350; deep and clear center........