Price Paid:  $36.00 from Ebay.com

Summary:
These speakers a the best you can find for any medium to small room! I love the price I paid for them too. If you look on Ebay I bet you'll find one just as I did. Better than Bose anyday!

Strengths:
Satalites are perfect.

Weaknesses:
Sub doesn't have a great low end responce, don't expect anything going on in Middle Earth to shake your room wiht it.Get a basscube 8 at ebay cheap

Similar Products Used:
DTT2200's and other 5.1 computer speaker setups. Nothing is this good and this cheap.

Price Paid:  $149.00 from online

Summary:
I've had the Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble IV speakers for about 10 months and continue to enjoy listening to them. They are a pleasure, in fact, for the casual listener to audiophile. The system is perfect for a small room, which is exactly for what I was shopping. I've found that the bass response is wanting, except at higher volume. The clarity of the sound across the spectrum, however, more than makes up for this weakness. I would consider these to be among the absolute best value in audio and would recommend them without hesitation. Anyone who is looking for an entry level home theater or a high-end home theater is small confines would be well-advised to check out this system. Mr. Kloss has done it again!

Strengths:
Clarity and depth of sound are magnificent in a small room. I would expect they would sound weak in a large room, more than 300 square feet. If one needs home theater in a smaller room, however, it would be impossible to find a better speaker system than this one.

Weaknesses:
The bass response could be better. It is wholly acceptable at a higher volume, but it is not always comfortable or desirable to listen in those ranges. A powered subwoofer would be a good addition to the system. It must be said, however, that the bass range is good and the sound pleasingly natural. There just needs to be more of it.

Similar Products Used:
None. Many listened to in stores, however.

Price Paid:  $128.00 from HiFi.com (via eBay)

Summary:
For their size, I'm impressed with these little speakers. I set them up in my small living room (roughly 10' x 15' and hooked up to an Onkyo DS575x) and they're excellent. These little guys wouldn't cut it in a larger room - and I'm sure there are better speaker systems out there - but for the $$ it can't be beat.

The only real complaints are with the passive subwoofer. As I expected it doesn't pack a lot of punch. For my small room, it does an acceptable job, but I'll eventually replace it with a powered unit, perhaps an 8" BassCube. Another thing to keep in mind: the signal for the front L and R speakers are routed through the passive sub, so be sure to factor in a few extra feet of speaker cable.

The spring clips on the speakers are kinda cheesy too, but they're affordable and sound good for a reason.

In short: not the best on the market, but definitely the best for the $, so it gets 5 stars. I'd add a sixth for their customer support. Doug - one of HiFi's online customer support guys - was very helpful and answered all my questions quickly.

Check out HiFi's auctions on eBay for the best prices on reconditioned units. A little patience could net you a great bargain compared to their regular prices.

Strengths:
great sound in a small package

Weaknesses:
passive subwoofer delivers only a limited punch; cheesy spring clips

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Cambridge SoundWorks

Summary:
These are some awesome little speakers! The guys at my local store were super helpful when it came to hooking these things up and once they were set.... I was nothing short of astonished! The tiny little cubes were giving me a much clearer, stronger sound then my old stand-ups were.
This is a great set of speakers for anyone looking to get into surround sound without breaking the bank.

Strengths:
full true sound, small size, 10 year warranty, great price

Weaknesses:
Expencive Brackets

Similar Products Used:
BOSE

Summary:
I've owned the Ensemble IV for about 2 years, now, and am still impressed with these speakers. Don't let the small size fool you, they deliver great, clear sound. Even though the subwoofer is passive, it creates excellent bass. These speakers have to be heard to be appreciated. I highly recommend them to anyone with not a lot of money spend, but want to start their own home theater system.