McIntosh XCS1.5K

McIntosh XCS1.5K Center Channel Loudspeaker

The Center of an Unrivaled Home Theater Experience.

The McIntosh XCS1.5K Center Channel Loudspeaker is an important piece of the puzzle to create a cinematic, immersive experience in a home theater system that uses our XRT2.1K or XRT1.1K Floor Standing Loudspeakers as the front left and front right speakers. The center channel speaker is a critical component in any home cinema system as a vast majority of dialog and other key sounds in a movie or television show emanate from the center speaker – thus making it essential that it produces a high quality, clear sound. The XCS1.5K has been meticulously engineered for this exact purpose.

It’s also important that your center channel speaker works in perfect harmony with the front left and front right speakers so that sounds can seamlessly move from side-to-side across all three front speakers without any unwanted changes to the sound characteristics. For this reason, the XCS1.5K has been voiced to match both the XRT2.1K and XRT1.1K, ensuring proper timbre of vocals and instrumentals as the sonic image moves across the virtual stage in front of you.

The McIntosh XCS1.5K features a line array design similar to the XRT2.1K and XRT1.1K where the midranges and tweeters are installed in an array mounted forward of the woofers, but the line array on the XCS1.5K is shorter and the drivers are operated in a hybrid Bessel alignment. This alignment provides even sound coverage for the shorter line array on the XCS1.5K and is the reason why there is not a more uniform layout of midranges and tweeters.

The McIntosh XCS1.5K is rated to handle 1,500 Watts of power and is a unique hybrid design of both a 3 and 4-way speaker. For low frequencies, it has four 8″ long throw carbon fiber sandwich cone woofers housed in the vented bass cabinet. All four woofers will reproduce low frequencies but if needed two of them will extend to slightly higher frequencies until reaching the crossover point where the (14) 2.5″ aluminum midranges take over. The midranges are located in the line array along with (25) 3/4″ dome tweeters. The careful selection of the speaker drivers based on their performance attributes, the placement of the individual drivers, and the detailed crossover design result in a uniform and wide sound field. This means that even if you are not sitting directly centered on the speaker you will still be able to clearly hear every sound coming from the center channel.

The speaker grilles feature black knit cloth with high gloss trim; if you prefer to have the drivers visible, the grilles are easily removed via their magnetic fasteners.

The XCS1.5K can also be tilted in its base to one of five preset angles so the speaker can be optimally aimed towards your listening position, giving you more control over the speaker and how to set it up in your home.

The crossover networks used in the XCS1.5K are phase matched between the low frequency, midrange, and high frequency sections to ensure a smooth frequency response over the entire audible range. The crossover inductors were selected so they will not add audible distortion, while the network capacitors are film type for extra reliability. All the capacitors and inductors were chosen for high current capacity; the midrange and tweeter sections use auto-resetting over-current devices to provide an extra measure of protection.

Three sets of our Solid Cinch™ speaker binding posts are located on the back of the XCS1.5K. These patented speaker connectors will securely attach the speaker cables to the speaker. Separate pairs of binding posts are available for the mid/high, low, and subwoofer frequencies to allow for bi- or tri-amping or bi- or tri-wiring.

Like the XRT2.1K and XRT1.1K, the XCS1.5K bass cabinet is finished with 7 layers of high gloss piano black paint and has touches of brushed and black aluminum. The line array features hints of the classic McIntosh front panel with a black center section and silver trim. It is suspended in front of the bass cabinet via steel spiders that are inspired by modern skyscraper construction; they are capped with magnetic covers that mimic the look of McIntosh control knobs. All of these luxurious design features result in a cohesive family of front left, center, and right channel speakers in your home theater that will not only sound amazing but will also be the envy of your friends and guests.