tag

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $180.00 from CSW online hifi.com

Summary:
Beautiful sounding center channel with crystal clear voices and crisp tight highs.
It will play flat to 65Hz with a nice visceral impact during movies and beautiful midrange. I use 3 of the MC500 with the L/R mains placed horizontally at the ear level when seated and the center above the TV. Like all speakers they need to be correctly placed and they do require a break in period. Never judge a speaker directly out of the box. I let them play constantly at low volume for about a week and then kicked them up to reference level which they land I oved. With music they are awesome and with a combined speaker volume of 54" my movies are at-the-movies. My two 12" powered subs could not keep pace so I gave them to a friend and I purchased a Velodyne SPL 1200R. The combination is perfect and now I only need another SPL 1200R to complete the set. I originally purchased 5 because the price was just crazy but it was too much even for the 4200 cub ft
room so I sent 2 back. I have kicked myself enough so please don't add insult to injury because I want them back. The MC 500 sounds great. Thanks Henry.

Strengths:
Full range 3 way center/main speaker with 2 @ 6 1/2 drivers, a 4" midrange and a 1" tweeter in a solid enclosure. It can be biwired and plays flat to 65hz. Very visceral and you can hear the large bass strings and kick drums with a crisp fast delivery. Lifelike. The voices can be heard so clearly which makes it great for home theater and music. The tweeter was perfect during Pat Matheny's guitar picked all the way to the cut-a-way with the high notes so beautiful and lifelike I thought I was there. The midrange was flawless with Matheney's trumpet player using an open mouth technique and his hand as a mute with an effect which sounded like the breeze coming in from the ocean. Outstanding. Beautiful. I have my Denon 2801 set to large + sub. They sound better when played at their full range. I have owned many well know and moderately expensive speakers and the MC500 is a great speaker. I have invited my snooty friends to listen to them before they discover the manufacturer and they love them. Do not let a name sway you. Good is Good.

Weaknesses:
Some may say too large but you need the cabinet volume to match the driver size. The speaker looks fine atop my 42"Sony but it did need a bracket for the back end.

You may have to purchase different subs to keep up with the MC500.

GREATEST WEAKNESS. NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE.

Similar Products Used:
JBL L46
Kilpsch Heresy
Kloss Model 16
Kloss Model 17

Price Paid:  $300.00 from CSW

Summary:
I decided to build the ultimate entertainment system using a Dell XPS 600 gaming computer. I already had numerous Cambridge Sound Works speakers and was already impressed with the smaller models. I purchased 5 of these monsters and the P1000 subwoofer. They flank the Dell 30 inch high definition monitor and provide the 5.1 soundstage. I'm using 3 stereo QSC amplifiers to power them. After living with this system for almost a year now, I am still extremely impressed with their musicality and clarity. They have no problem whatsoever filling the large area with gorgeous sound. Coupled to Cambridge Sound Work's P1000 subwoofer this system has few peers. I use this system to play iTunes, CD's, DVD's and games...and it handles all these tasks in stunning fashion. The Dell 30 inch sets atop a horizontally placed MC500 with a vertical MC500 flanking either side. The remaining two MC500's are place behind the listening area for the surrounds.

Strengths:
Extremely musical and accurate. Can play at very loud levels if you like. Handsome cabinetry, they look very expensive and chic. Very high performance for the money...on par with extremely expensive systems.

Weaknesses:
Not exactly cheap. Good sized cabinetry needs a fair amount of room.

Similar Products Used:
JBL 4430's, JBL 4425's, Cambridge SoundWorks MC300's and M60's, AR 303's.

RobertI

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Cambridge Soundowork

Summary:
I started out with Cambridge Soundworks lowest end system and kept upgrading over time (CSW has a 1 year anniversary upgrade program) until I was at the highest end home theater speakers that CSW had to offer. I literally had tried every center channel CSW made and I can say unequivocally this is the best I’ve heard from them. For the first time I’ve heard real bass from my center channel!

Sound replication is accurate. Dialogue is clear and crisp with no muddied sound like I’ve heard from other older CSW center speakers. I suggest using high quality speaker cables (as always) but the MC500 I found is rather demanding in that area. Moving from good quality 12 gauge speaker cable to Canare 4s11 bi-wire was a huge improvement. It is like a whole new speaker. I figure, since the speaker is bi-wire capable, why not use it?

In that room I’m using T300 CSW tower speakers, MC500 center speaker, P500 subwoofer, S300 surround speakers, Onkyo 777 receiver, Canare 4s11 speaker cables all around, Monster cable m1000i interconnects, etc. Not super high end, but definitely nice enough for a casual system.

If matched with other Newton series speakers, sonically the soundstage is seamless. I would definitely recommend this center channel to anyone who can afford the price, and who has other CSW speakers. I’m not a fan of mixing and matching speaker manufacturers in a home theater system. It doesn’t sound right to discerning ears.

I also have the Atlantic Technology 250.1 and 270 THX systems. I have to say, I like the MC500 as a center channel over the AT center channels in those packages. It just sounds…larger.

Strengths:
For the price, I have not heard better. Very smooth and even effortless dialogue and movie soundtrack replication. An all around great center channel.

Weaknesses:
Nothing at all

Similar Products Used:
Atlantic Technology System 6200 and other Atlantic products. Other Cambridge Soundworks Newton spekers.

Price Paid:  $279.00 from CSW Outlet

Summary:
I have a pair of Advent Legacy II's. I was looking for something comparable for center channel. I am a big fan of Kloss so I thought I'd check CSW. Tried the CenterStage and was really disappointed. Sounded like sound coming from a box. Dialogue was muddled and flat or nasal (especially male). I can see that MC500 aren't the best speakers ever, but they really work well with the Advents (coherent with the side speakers) and (for movies) make up for their deficiencies (detail in background voices). I can turn volume way down and hear extreme amounts of detail represented well. I'm now as others who've bought the MC500 rewatching movie soundtracks seeing details I couldn't hear before. For music though, it's good to hear extra detail but center channel really screws up the stereo imaging. I feel I got my money's worth (I paid 325 dollars for the Advents in 1989- that's my benchmark).

Strengths:
good detail, sound natural

Weaknesses:
center channel almost the size (Volume) and weight of a 17" TV set. You need a ridiculously large TV to give appropriate sense of scale.

Similar Products Used:
Center stage

Price Paid:  $211.00 from Ebay

Summary:
I've been busy putting together a HT system, and have added the MC500 speaker as my center. The quality of sound is superb. The additional bass and dynamic punch that the two 6.5" midbass drivers add is very stiking. Even though this is an HT set up, it's also my main stereo too. I've since found that the 5 channel stereo effect is much more satisfing with this addition speaker. Remember to set the center speaker to large.

Strengths:
Dynamic range, clarity of vocal reproduction. Great value. I defy anyone to find a better center under $500.

Weaknesses:
Size, if you dont have a 32" or better TV this is going to look too big.

Similar Products Used:
Bose, Pinnacle