Tremendous power and bass for the money at the recently reduced price, attractive fit and finish - I bought the black units. The system puts out as much power as my old college stereo system. For people looking for a powerful cheap, two-channel only, wannabe home theater setup for a TV, you can''t beat the price.

BUZZING - When cabled only to my TV I initially heard continuous buzzing coming from the satellite speakers. After a fair amount of experimentation and a couple of calls to tech support I was able to somewhat resolve the problem and I''m fairly happy with the results. The problem stems from the Microworks in-line volume control and how it works in conjunction with my TV''s own volume control output. This may or may not be a quirk with other TV''s. You have to "balance" the two controls against each other, to find a happy medium. This is alluded to in the manual and was suggested to me by the tech folks. In my particular setup I have set the MW volume control to "3". If I want to turn things up I do so by adjusting the TV''s volume control. This almost totally eliminates the buzz. If I set the MW volume at 4 or greater, I can hear the buzz during quiet audio/movie passages. If I play loud rock though, any buzz is lost in the general chaos. Interestingly enough if I plug my cheap walkman into the line-in on the subwoofer there is no buzz at all (buzzing could be an AC related issue?). Before I got to this point though I bought a Radio Shack line interferance filter,

Having a daughter in college, I was looking for some pseudo home theater on the cheap for my 27" Mitsubishi with a busted right speaker. For the approximate cost of repairing the TV I decided to purchase the Microworks sytem instead. My goal was more audio power for my TV, increased bass and greater stereo separation, and a better way to listen to my CD''s and MP3''s. The microworks exceeded all of these expectations. I ordered the system from HiFi.Com by phone for $149 in early February of 2002 and received it four days later. Setup was fairly intuitive and straight forward. The hardest part was fishing the wires through the back of our entertainment unit. My TV has left and right audio-out jacks on the back panel, so I had to buy a Radio Shack "stereo-Y" connector to accomodate the cambridge cable. I was immediately impressed by the amount of power and clean bass this thing puts out. Professionally produced classical CD''s are terrific and MP3''s that I''ve burned myself are excellent (I''ve got a Panasonic DVD player hooked to the TV also that I also use to play music). Hard rock and techno rattle the china in an adjacent cabinet - I can only do that when my wife is out of the house. Placement of the two satellite speakers is pretty subjective but critical to good listening. I''ve got mine spaced about 7'' apart. I listen from a couch about 10'' away from the set in our livingroom. When only listening to music it doesn''t matter too much if the satellites are positioned above or below the mid-line of the TV. But when viewing DVD''s, tapes or broadcast programs you want to center them on the TV screen in order to give yourself a good "phantom" center channel for dialogue; I don''t have a physical center speaker. Otherwise the dialogue "source" will seem unnatural. I just watched the "Mummy Returns" and the battle scenes were very impressive - they rattled the dishes and the bass was only set at half.

Great sound for the price

Haven't found one yet

Got them from Hifi.com for $125 with free shipping (it was a special). I use them as the speakers for my computer. For this price these babies are awesome. Great for games and great for listening to music while working on the computer.

Haven't tried them with any other source.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Soundworks computer speakers

I was neither an audiophiler nor a listener who really cared much about my sound. However, I was looking for a quality sound at a budget to help me with my studying. I received a set of Microworks for Christmas and was nothing short of astounded. I read the reviews and listened to the sampler at a factory store, but had no idea it sounded this good. I am no audiophiler,but I do know how much more powerful the music I play on Microworks becomes. My recommendation, buy it! At $150 (till the new year) there is no greater value by far! And it sounds much better at home than it does in the store. My sister came into the room when I hooked them up X-mas eve night and told me to stop playing our mom's piano because she was sleeping. It was the hit of the party on Christmas. It actually convinced 2 other relatives to go out and buy it the day after!

I thoroughly notice the inferior sound of many other mid-price systems after listening to this. I can't do without my Microworks!

At $150 it is he best deal by far. Especially after I had them at home. The reviews and the demo at the factory store had not prepared me for the bass and clarity of sound I had received.

The MegaWorks 210D delivers audiophile "quality" sound.
270 watts hybrid amplifier/150 watts 8" subwoofer.
High quality drivers, audiophile "lighting fast" amplifier, beautiful enclosure.

Inexpensive

I owned the Cambridge Soundworks (CSW) MicroWorks III for almost three years. Then, recently I purchased the new CSW Sub/Sat multimedia speaker system "MegaWorks" 210D". I hooked it up to my home PC and I was immediately "stunned",
audiophile-dream-come-true "high-end audio" in a PC environment ? YES, YES ! It's true.

I owned other CSW products; Model 88 clock radio, PC Works speakers, MusicWorks audio center; all CSW products are unbelieveable. The founding father of CSW, Henry Kloss is an American legend in Hi-Fi. It's unfortunately the average consumer is not familar with CSW brand name.

I listen to music 60% of the time on the PC, thus the MegaWorks 210D is a welcome addition.

I encourage everyone to replace their PC speakers with a CSW multimedia speaker system. If you are an audiophile, please give the MegaWorks 210D a test drive. Trust me you will not be disappointed.

Happy Listening,

steve

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Soundworks MicroWorks III "Sub-woofer/Satelite System.

Musicality and sound quality

None as far as multimedia speakers go, but it's not going to better a hifi system.

I've had these speakers for almost 3 years now. It used to cost around $325. It can now be ordered from www.hifi.com for around $150. As far as computer multimedia speakers go, these are as good as they get for two channel sound. Some of the newer ones have four satellite speakers for surround sound.
My observations are in comparison to other multimedia speakers, not to real stereo systems (~$1,000+).
The satellites put out a very detailed, but listenable sound that has no treble glare. The highs and mids are very coherent. The subwoofer puts out a lot of quality bass. The sound is not boomy like other multimedia systems that are meant more for knocking you out with explosions and special effects. Instead, the sound is tight and detailed, integrating decently with the satellites. I have no qualms with the sound for music and even games. I believe the sound is even better than you will find in department store single unit stereos that cost around $350.
The sound can also be improved with a number of tweaks. Each tweak may or may not work for you, but they are worth a try if you are serious about improving sound.
1) Place the subwoofer on a concrete slab instead of your carpet. I found a nice one at home depot 12"x12"x3" for $2.
2) Try changing the wires to the satellites. I am using Radio Shack 12 gauge stranded wire left over from another project. It costs $1 per foot. Keep the lengths equal for both satellites and keep the length as short as possible for the best sound. Mine are 5 feet long, therefore $10.
3) Position the subwoofer to where it sounds best. Moving it closer to the walls and especially to the corners of the room will increase the bass output without having to turn up the bass dial. Overdoing it may make it boomy, though. Always sit in your usual listening position to see if you like the change in the sound because each room will have different locations where sound nodes will increase or decrease the bass sound. You can observe this by walking around with bass heavy music playing.
4) To me, the satellites sound best at my ear level. They need solid stands, though if you want to raise them. I had a local woodworker make boxes out of 3/4 inch MDF (medium density fiberboard from home depot) that are 4"x4"x10" with the base plate a little wider for balance. I filled them with play sand. The satellites are attached to the stands with a mounting putty. Total cost for this project's parts and labor ~$20 (with left-over putty, wood and sand all from home depot).
5) I tried putting a ziplock bag filled with sand on the subwoofer to dampen vibrations. The sound was less lively, so I don't use this tweak.
6) I tried removing the grills (with a paperclip). The sound changed a little, but not enough to risk leaving the speakers vulnerable to pet scratches or poking fingers, so I don't use this tweak. Don't try this one as it may void the warranty and could damage the speaker if the paperclip goes too far.
7) Make sure you have a good soundcard! Different soundcards will sound different on this system. Soundblasters are recommended, but there are other good ones. Make sure your media player is also good. For mp3's, winamp is good, but using its "preamp" will degrade the sound.

Experiment with what you like.

There are other tweaks that you could try, but I don't think they are cost effective for such an inexpensive system. They are: more expensive speaker wires, changing the power cable to the subwoofer, replacing the feet of the subwoofer with cones or spikes.

My entire system just stopped playing once while under warranty. It was probably a fuse. The repair was done quickly by the company and I have no complaints. It has worked fine for about two years since.

At the current price, the value is 5 star.
Compared to other multimedia systems overall, it's a 5 star.
Compared to an actual hifi system, it's a 2.5 star.

Similar Products Used:

Altec Lansing acs48?
Aiwa stereo (~$350)

Stunning audio performance. From bass to treble, all make me amazed. Audio details are shown clearly. Nice price for these advantages.

Volume control, speaker cables are unnecessary long(but quality is good than others).

I upgraded my PCWorks to MicroWorks, and sounds are sounded never the same from then on.

Before purchase MicroWorks I have compared it with Altec Lansing ACS48 and ATP3. But those two didn't please my ear well. For ACS48, I think its bass is not as good as MicroWorks. And for ATP3, though it got an impressive bass performance, but I think it's a violence to my ear when its treble also makes me uncomfortable.

Therefore I choosed MicroWorks 'cause it sounds everything right perfect to me!

Similar Products Used:

Compared with ACS48 and ATP3

Small size of the satellites
Exceptional sound for the price

Volume Control - unequal amplitude from left/right channel at different volume settings

The Microworks sounds, in a word, fantastic. My "non-audiophile" ears can tell that a US$1000 Bose Acoustimass system seriously lacks midrange, so I guess I can't be too far off when I say that the Microworks seems to cover the full range.

To get the best sound from the Microworks, I had to play around with the placement of the sub. In the end, I thought the best sound came when the port was aimed at myself(!). If the sub is fired into the walls or a corner in the room, the bass starts to get boomy. The performance of the Microworks far exceeded my expectations. I actually feel "tingling" sensations when I listen to CDs or watch DVD movies.

There is one obvious fault with my Microworks, however. After a few months of use, adjusting the supplied volume control causes unequal volumes to come from the left and right channels. Sometimes it gets so bad that the sound from one of the sats would disappear completely! I have to repeatedly raise and lower the volume control for the left/right channels to equalize. Its a small annoyance that all such simple volume controls has, so I will still give the Microworks a full 5 Stars.

Similar Products Used:

Roland MA-7, Nakamichi PC speakers. Have listened to Midiland S4, Creative DTT3500

I bought these right around the time Creative Labs bought a share in Cambridge soundworks (about 3 years ago). This is probably the best 3-piece computer system you can get for the price. I have read some reviews about problems with the system, but have never experienced them in the 3 pairs I have listened to. Maybe Creative Labs changed production some to bring down the price. A year ago I would have given them 5 stars, now they may sound better than anything in the price range, there are a few other options that might offer a little more bang for the buck. (These are computer speakers so most people are looking for a good deal, not incredible sound). Great for music, games, and movies although not as boomy on the low end as some other speakers targeted at pc-gamers. I actually view this as a positive because the clearer bass sounds better for music. Highly recommended.

Price. Fidelity. Range.

Volume control. Cables.

A good value at their $130 sale price, these speakers feature a natural treble response, surprisingly solid midrange and excellent tight bass with amazing depth, given the bass unit's size.

The volume control is a bit cheap, however this is an external unit that resides on the cable connecting the bass unit / amp to your computer (or other line-level sound source, such as a portable CD player). Mine has already developed a minor glitch after less than a year, and I'm picking up a slight buzzing noise (I'm assuming from my computer or monitor). Still, this can be easily replaced -- I've noticed Cambridge has switched to a new design for newer systems.

Overall, still an excellent unit for 2-channel sound. If only Cambridge's traditional, non-powered speaker systems were so impressive . . .

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Altec Lansing

HIGHLY VERSATILE (will plug into anything with a stereo or headphone jack - tv, pc, walkman, minidisc, mp3 player, portable cd, etc.)
INCREDIBLE SOUND (subwoofer is nothing short of phenomenal)

About a year ago, I was in the market for relatively inexpensive, yet high-performing multimedia speakers (self-amplified). After a long search, I finally ran into the Microworks system (a two-sat, 1 subwoofer set) and was astounded how something so simple-looking and small could sound so huge. I bought a set for $349 and felt that I had a bargain (actually, even at the price, it was considered a Best-Buy and received extremely high marks whenever reviewed). The only bad thing: these are now only $249.

For gaming or music, this system is without any doubt, the best out there in its price/product category. CSW also makes a whole much of other "dedicated sets" (the 5.1 set, or the FPS2000 for gaming, and many different yet high quality multimedia sets), but the Microworks just sounds so clean and pure. I've hooked this up to everything it can handle, from a TV to (recently), a newly purchased Nomad MP3 player. It sounds awesome. I've also heard that you can get two Microworks, plug then together (via its 2nd audio input), and get a marvel that will give any $1000 home theater speaker set a run for its money.

Highly recommended!