Price Paid:  $149.00 from HiFi.Com

Summary:
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.

Strengths:
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.

Weaknesses:
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,

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Cambridge SoundWorks Retail Store

Summary:
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

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

Weaknesses:
Inexpensive

Similar Products Used:
Cambridge Soundworks MicroWorks III "Sub-woofer/Satelite System.

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Cambridge Soundworks Local store

Summary:
You should get this system if you're looking for the best sounding speakers for the pc. I bought the MusicWorks center component and it acts as a shelf stereo system. I love it. I used MicroWorks with a Yamaha $10 soundcard and it didn't sound so good, but when I upgraded to a SoundBlaster live, man it was soo good. Since they are getting cheap nowadays, go out and get yourself one while they last.

Strengths:
Sounds sooo good!

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Altec Lansing, JBL

Price Paid:  $155.00 from Computer Exhibition

Summary:
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!

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

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

Similar Products Used:
Compared with ACS48 and ATP3

Price Paid:  $210.00 from Computer shop in SLS

Summary:
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.

Strengths:
Small size of the satellites
Exceptional sound for the price

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

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