This is a very complex subject.
But I think the key point is that we NEVER experience a single citta.
In a pandvara citta vithi there are 17 citta. Then it is followed immediately by three manodvara citta vithi; see, “Citta Vithi – Processing of Sense Inputs“.
Then if the subject is of interest, there will be many many more sequences of the above in rapid succession. Millions of them can occur in a split second.
It takes at least 10 milliseconds (hundredth of a second) for us to register a picture in our mind according to scientists; see #7 of “Citta and Cetasika – How Vinnana (Consciousness) Arises“.
So, what we experience is the cumulative effect of millions of citta vithi.
We NEVER experience the cakkhu vinnana that arises first. By the time we have the experience, they are contaminated due to our gati. What we experience is vinnanakkhandha, not citta or even vinnana.