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[Rodney Connelly]

I have a chance to pick a pair of these speakers up for $500.  Should I go for it?  or are they not up to par for todays standards?

http://www.loudspeakers.net/files/specs/new/csx57_s2.pdf

[Chris Davis]

Normally I would jump at the opportunity to get something from them for that price...if it were from a higher caliber line such as XLT, XLTE, or SLS for instance.  I just think that anything from the CSX line is probably neither a good nor bad deal for that price.

[Rodney Connelly]

Well for a total of $700 he will throw in a pair of CSX 40-S2 subs.  Here's a picture of what is offered.  So this stuff is low end and I shouldn't bother?  I was thinking of using these for those bar band rentals.

[Alexandre Richer]

http://www.loudspeakers.net/main/articleswindow.php?id=18

It's a design from the mid-90s, with piezo drivers above 10 khz. The subs just won't get that loud (129 db program, calculated) and they start to cut off at 60 Hz. Are the cabs plywood?

[Dave Dermont]

At $175.00 a cabinet for doing bar gigs, it's a sound business decision. No pun intended.

I am a big fan of Community stuff, but never cared much for the CSX series. This is mostly because the better Communities are SO much better. I have never used these particular models.

The very high sensitivity of these cabinets makes for lighter amplifier requirements which makes for less power requirements. This is a very good thing at small bar gigs.

Are there better cabinets? Sure there are. Are there better cabinets for your application at that price? I highly doubt it.

[Chris Davis]

For that price just make sure all drivers work, and more importantly the character of the speaker system sounds acceptible to you before the deal is closed.

[Scott Hibbard]

Rodney,

Having never used them, I can't comment directly on the CSX 57's. However, one of my smaller, original rigs was made up of several CSX40-S2's (going back 7-8 years ago).  I'll say this - they are decent cabinets when used within their intended application.  In other words, they'll probably serve you just as well as they did me when used for similar situations (small venues/bars etc.)

Assuming all drivers are in good condition, I would strongly consider all 4 speakers for the money.  You'll proably find renting them out as quite profitable, esp. if you pick up all 4 for $700.

As far as "...up to par for today's standards", products available today (for the most part) are "generally" better.  Without playing the name game, you can get a dual 10" self-powered sub these days that would all but leave the CSX40's gasping for air.  To the contrary, the CSX40's are also better than many subs offered today.  A well designed speaker can defly time - the EAW KF850 is a classic example of this.

Do as Chris recommended and have a good look/listen first.

ScottH

P.S. If memory serves me correctly, these cabs are plywood but not very heavy ply.

[Ted Christensen]

If the subs cut off at 60hz im sure they do not leave much to the imagination....

[Rodney Connelly]

The subs actually have a response of 40 - 150 k according to the documentation.

[[x]]

I have had three chances to hear the CSX57 in action. This christmas at the Campus Crusade Christmas Conference in Indianapolis, the same DJ service came as last year. The DJ is for the New Year's Eve Party, which is always a blast. The last time they were there, they brought four CSX57 and four CSX50 single-18" subs, and played a bunch of music, but they were running the speakers very hard to fill the space, and the subwoofers would frequently trip their thermal protection. You could sometimes see a disco light-show from inside the subwoofers as the light bulbs inside (HPCCRs) absorbed the extra power transients, and then the Thermal Link protection circuit would kick in and you'd walk by and not hear one of the subs for a while. Not a very good show. This year (2005), they brought four CSX57s and four CSX50 subs per side, and arranged them in a semi-circle (not just flat). This time there were no flashing lights or tripping protection, but the subwoofers seemed on the boomy side. The highs were crisp but bordering on harsh at times. These speakers are designed to save themselves, which is good for rental operations, or really stupid DJs like the one that was hired for our Campus Crusade New Year's Eve party. Community doesn't use HPCCRs in their upper end Solutions and T-Class lines or even in the Tandem Drive but they still use them in the MVP series. When I heard these speakers for the second time (sometime in the middle of last spring), I could have sworn that they were the same system as had come to our Christmas Conference party, because they used crest power amps. One of the subs was blown, so the whole small rock show ran on one sub, with the disco-light flashing on big bass hits. The CSX-57 main speakers go plenty loud. You'll probably want more subbass power than those will supply. I looked at some used Community CSX when I was thinking about getting a small-venue system to do sound for small local bands. Today, I would consider an MVP15HO above an MVP18S instead. But given the jokers I've seen using this Community CSX gear, this may explain why Community's newer stuff like the T-Class and Solutions series still doesn't make it onto technical riders. It seems like it's easier for production directors to just state "No Community" than to specify model series.

Should you buy these? You'll need a good way to get them up off the ground. If you're a DJ, or a church that doesn't have any PA gear at all and is looking to get some, then these CSX may fit the bill, but if you're looking for something more serious then you should look at Community's XLT range for the mains, and some Tandem Drive TD2118 subwoofers.