Full range sound.

Size, but what do you want for full range sound?

Have never heard anything better. Nothing even close for the price.

Similar Products Used:

T300
MC300

clarity

lifeless

I am fairly disappointed with these speakers. I have Advent Legacy 2 speakers and was looking for a center channel. I wanted 3 way, acoustic suspension, and something that matches well enough the Advents. I started with the lowest priced acoustic suspension center channel in CSW store and swapped back until I ended up with this one. The dialogue is fairly clear on many discs. However, it is lifeless reproduction compared to the other speakers in my house (too tight). The sounds coming from my left and right speakers are certainly muddled when passages are intricate (2-way speakers have limitations) but bells ring vibrantly and the overall sound is qualitatively better. I am wondering if a single M80 would have been a better choice (or two in parallel) for center channel.

Unbeatable cost/performance ratio

big, for a center

I use it as a center speaker and I love it. It is definitely the strongest feature of my system. I replaced a lower end JBL center with it and there is no comparison. Dialogue is great, but music is where it really shines. Planning on getting 2 more for LF/RF. Note: I mis-cabled it when I first got it and the sound was terrible; low and muffled. Was about ready to send it back for refund. Took a few days to find my mistake and correct it. Correct cabling is critical and not necessarily intuitive. Not difficult, just not obvious. RTFM. They sell these on Ebay all the time for $200 - $250. You'd have to spend a lot more for anything noticeably better.

Similar Products Used:

JBL

Accuracy and detail in the mids are excellent! Lows are tight and punch enough to become a standard for me.

8.5" tall,hard to fit in most entertainment centers.

I us the MC500 for a center. I had NO idea how much low end is needed for a center in pro-logic until I hooked this speaker up. I have been rediscovering all of my cd's ever since. I notice a distinct difference between my polk RTI28's and the MC500 thanks to the extra detail from that 3.5" poly driver. The polks are only 2 way and have a gap I never new was there until I heard my MC500. Overall this has been one of the finest center speakers I have heard yet. highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

polk,csw center channel plus, cerwin vega.

Everything about this speaker, the highs, the mid's, and even the lows!!!

NONE

First of all, this is a review for the Cambridge Soundworks M-50 speaker, since there is no category for it. At first glance, this speaker may seem like it would sound like a tin can because of it's size. In this case, size does not matter. First i'll start with it's appearence. It features either a real-wood veneer of blond maple or cherry wood.It has gold plated binding-posts, and it's sytling of the grille and color are just beautiful. Now the sound. When i first heard these, i had asked the salesman to turn to the
M-50's, and he said they already did. The bass was UNBELIEVABLE. The tonal balance, the imaging, the crisp and tight highs are totally outstanding. I actually thought i was listening to tower's. As for music, i played the Metallica S&M dvd. WOAH is the only word i can describe for the sound. Everything about it, clear spacious, absolutely perfect sound. With a sub, this 3 piece system would be insane. If you are looking for polks or infinitys, sure they are good and probably will cost you more, i suggest you check these out. I seriously think there is no comparison but hey, dont trust me, take a listen for yourself.

Note- use good speaker cables to insure maximum sound fidelity(monster cables)

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha bookshelfs

Amazing life-like clarity, dynamics, projection, full range,
etc.

unless you consider size a weakness- it's a large, 27lb speaker (but not as heavy as the competitions models.)
Slate gray finish fingerprints easily.

I am using this speaker as a center channel, it's marketed as either a mains or center. This speaker is amazing. Anyone who dismisses CSW should give a listen to their new, Newton series speakers. I have the MC500 as a center with a pair of Newton M80 bookshelfs as mains up front and they image seamlessly. The clarity of dialogue from the center channel has given new life to my DVD collection. I am hearing things I never heard before. The dynamics are enough to make your heart skip a beat. I got this on sale during hifi.com's greatest speaker sale but even at the regular price of 349.99, it's worth every penny! At $500 it would be worth it. I had previously owned the CSW Centerstage. While it was good with bass, I was straining to hear certain dialogue. I decided to check out the competition, because after reading the boards here it seemed a bunch of diehards dismiss the CSW line. I tried almost every brand I could find out there up to the $600 price range. While Polk, Paradigm, PSB and a few others all were great, honestly, none of them had that clear, dynamic presence and life-like clarity without being harsh after a few minutes. Theres a fine line between life like clarity and brittle harsh highs. This one has all the clarity without the harshness. Try it, you'll be amazed. You could certainly spend more money, and there surely is better out there, but not even close to this price range. For my ears, not even at twice the price. I have spent a bunch of time on this very website reading reviews, and even bought a few like the Image 9C after buying this just to further compare and there was no comparison. (The PSB Image 9C is one of the highest rated center channels on this board, I A-B'd it with the Newton and it was not in the same league. The PSB was full, but it's two way design lacked the dialogue clarity that the Newton MC500 will give you. And I was sure based on the reviews here I'd be digging the PSB. Well, it's back in it's box already on it's way back for a refund and the Newton MC500 has ended my quest for pristine center channel performance.
I am running this with the Onkyo 575x 5.1 receiver, the Onkyo 535 DVD and a Boston Acoustics subwoofer.
One note, I am not biased, I did try the Newton Series S300 surrounds and did not care for the dipole effect with 5.1 so I returned them. The Newton M80 bookshelfs that I use for the front L&R are phenomenal! I am still searching for what I will upgrade my rear speakers to. I'm after a direct radiating, wall mountable white speaker....

Similar Products Used:

CSW Centerstage,CSW Newton MC300, Paradigm, Polk CS Series and the PSB Image 9C

Clear, crisp! I like the lean look for the mains...tall and narrow!

Heavy and big for a center. When used as mains the tags leave holes in the knit grilles when you move them to the bottom of the speaker and the tags are easy to break, but they will send new tags if you request them.

I originally purchased this speaker as the center channel with the CSW M80 L/R. After using the AVIA HT Guide, it was obvious that my L/C/R was not matched in tonality. I liked the sound of the MC500 so much that I returned the M80's and purchased two more MC500's for L/R. I now have the following:

MC500 L/C/R
S300 Surrounds
JVC 9010VBK Receiver
JVC XV62SL DVD
Jamo SW1008 Sub

The three MC500's together really sound terrific!!!

Similar Products Used:

CSW M80, Yamaha