Price Paid:  $650.00 from CSW

Summary:
Very good with music and usually OK with home theater. I like the control module and the remote to fine tune as needed.

I ended up buying a second one to fix problems with standing waves in my room, and now I have to say I'm very happy with these. I do find I'm curious about more expensive and popular subs, but for now these are great.

Good value when purchased as a refurb.

Strengths:
Musical, tight sound. Attractive, good WAF, absolutely rock solid physically and under load since there's no vibration of any kind. The connection using telephone cable is great, since there's no hum whatever.

Weaknesses:
In spite of the 1000 watts, they are not exactly overpowered and can be driven to clip on strenuous material, like War of the Worlds or certain organ music.

Also feels like there's a fixed 'bottom' to the sound of these subs when they get to the bottom of their range. Best to try to cut that off rather than overdrive them.

I'm sure there are better subs out there but these subs blew away the B&W 650 I had for a time.

Similar Products Used:
B&W ASW 650

honduhchicken

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $675.00 from hifi.com

Summary:
First I will say that I'm not an audio geek, instead, I think of myself as a music lover. I have fairely sensitive ears when it comes to sound quality. The best instument to measure sound quality is your own two ears, I was in search of a subwoofer for over a month listening to several different makes / models when I stumbled onto Cambridge Soundworks. The Polk 505 left me feeling "less than impressed" sounded too airey and along with most of the other subs I tested it seemed to have a monotonous, annoying grumble. I was so desperate for a decent sub that I bought the Cambridge Soundworks P1000 without hearing it first. Originally I was planning on giving it a listen and sending it right back. It was almost destin to fail.

Delivery day arrives and the first thing I noticed about the sub after I got the foam and plastic off was the finish. "Slate" doesn't do this sub's finish any justice. It's a soft, rich feeling rubbery coating that is almost irresistible to touch when ever I walk by it. It's a very foreign feeling and was a surprising difference from the typical fake wood or cheap "piano" lacquer finish.

The next thing I noticed was it's weight and construction, it was much lighter then I thought it was going to be, yet it felt solid! The reason it's suspiciously light is because when you knock on the sides of the cabinet, you hear almost NO reverberation, it literally feels like a solid piece of matter which is why I was surprised when I picked it up. Don't get me wrong, it's still a pain to lug from one end of the room to the other, but it won't break your back.

Once I unpacked the control module, I was surprised at how big it was. it includes a volume, phase, low pass, eq, and eq gain. The volume is servo controlled by the simple credit card sized, thin IR remote control. The remote is sturdy and small and is made of hard plastic with a membrane style top sheet with the "bubble style" buttons for volume up and down.

The only interconnect from the control module to the sub is a standard phone cord, which I was suspicious of because I know the importance of good quality signal wire. My suspicions quickly disappeared when I finally hooked it up and gave it a test run.

Now on to the sound.

With music, this sub was impressive. 1000watt's delivered to 2 10" subs. I was amazed. Out of the box, with a few simple adjustments this sub sounded amazing. It's near impossible to describe good low tones, but in a nut shell this sub is so powerfull and clean sounding that you will spend quite a bit of time running around the house tracking down the source of misc rattles from furniture, fixtures, windows, etc.

Placement is VERY important with this sub, my room is pretty much square, but at the same time it's multifaceted I have a ledge on the ceiling that is above my picture window. I tried the sub in about 15 different positions and orientations in the room and I find that in any corner it's tends to produce that feared bass chamber reverb that tends to make every bass note blend together into a mass of low frequency "noise" This was quickly repaired by moving the sub away from the far wall about 5 ft. and about 2.5 feet from the side wall. I have the sub positioned at a 45 degree angle to the wall and this seemed to yield the best results. I did seem to lose some of it's "drive" when I pulled it away from the wall, but the quality made up for it. So. play with it a little bit, move it around and tweak the control module each time. You'll find a spot in your room where it works good.

With movies... it's too much sub. It's a good thing they provided the IR remote, because when I watch a movie I have to turn the sub down to just under 20% volume. The first clip I played was some action movie, the actors were out doors, they chased a guy down a grassy field and into a tunnel access hatch, once they were underground, you would "feel" the cars and trucks pass over head, I could also head the distinct low freq rumble of the air ventilation system. Very realistic, and very annoying to my neighbors.

Bottom line, $624 bought me a sub that ended up casting shadows over the Polk Infinity, and Energy counter part. I like a lot of SPL when it comes to bass and I like to feel the floor shake below me, the P1000 actually accomplished this and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Strengths:
crisp, clean, immaculate low notes, hard driving bass. Dual 10" drivers offer the ability to produce the thump required by most of todays electronic dance music.

Weaknesses:
Wish the control module was a bit smaller. Was shipped UPS and they tossed the box in my driveway, Fedex would have been nicer.

Similar Products Used:
Polk PSW505 (fell short) Energy

rreid66

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Cambridge SoundWorks

Summary:
This is an update of my previous CSW P1000 powered subwoofer review now that we have used it for over two years. This is a magnificent sub, and it has proven itself worthy to reproduce bass with remarkable accuracy without any cabinet buzzing or hum. The control module offers a multitude of adjustments to tailor this sub to a particular listening environment. The P1000 does very well in our 13w x 26d x 8h room.

Important: setup for Dolby Digital requires setting the low-pass control of the P1000 control module to 150 Hz. We set the receiver to "small speaker" to assure a smooth transition between the P1000 and our three CSW MC300IW in-wall main speakers (see review under Cambridge Soundworks MC300). This receiver setting lets the receiver itself take care of bass management (which is corossed over in the receiver at 80 Hz). Two-channel stereo for CD's also benefit from these same settings. We've set the P1000 control module's equalizer frequency at 20 Hz, and set the sub's volume to match the output of the three main speakers in our room.

Our listening position is some 12-13 feet from the sub and the three main speakers (CSW MC300IW in-walls). Even so, I am considering adding another P1000 to even bass coverage (which is already very good) throughout our listening area.

We used to own a pair of CSW's original powered subs which we liked a lot. We used them with the original CSW Ensemble. Although together they created a formidable sound, the CSW original subs would hum. It wasn't overly obtrusive but especially noticeable in quiet passages and of course when there was no signal at all. We replaced the non-powered matching "slave" sub with a fully powered CSW original sub to make a powered pair. These subs are still working for others. I guess I have become particular at my age, and wanted to be rid of that hum.

What is audibly exciting is that phone wire connectors between the P1000 and its control module totally eliminate hum. During pianissimo portions of music or when there is no signal at all, the P1000 is absolutely silent. But when bass is called for, it appears effortlessly with full authority.

Some may generally think of bass as necessarily loud enough to terrorize children and adults. But with the subtle bass notes of the solo piano heard on Schubert's "Impromptus" or Joe Sample's "Cifton's Gold" and on numerous other recordings and films, the P1000 seems to be saying, "Yes, I can be loud and startling, but I need not do so all the time. I can surprise with subtlety. I can exude an assured bass that is dramatically dynamic from its utter softness to its thunderous extremes, never once showing unpleasant, incessant single-note bombast." The CSW P1000 is undoubtedly in the class of the best subwoofers available.

Strengths:
Clean bass without cabinet buzz harmonics or electronic hum.

Weaknesses:
None.

Similar Products Used:
CSW Original Powered subwoofer (two of them).

rpearson

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from will purchase @ CSW

Summary:
I don't actually own this sub yet, but a buddy of mine does. This sub is a MONSTER! I purchased another sub online (don't want to bad mouth who..), and I will be selling it on ebay in a few days. Once it sells, I will be purchasing this one! This sub hits HARD! For music and movies! I just wish they would drop the price a little.

Strengths:
Clean powerful bass!

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
VTF 3

Price Paid:  $0.00 from HiFi.com (Cambridge

Summary:
The purchase of the P1000 makes a generational upgrade from our original CSW powered subwoofer twins. After over ten years, the original powered subs are still performing quite well in the home of our daughter and son-in-law. The P1000 is stentorian in its presentation of bass. Remembering the impact of the old Mercury LP recording of the 1812 Overture the 60s and the ground-breaking digital recording of the same in 1978, I had to hear the very low-frequency cannon shots in Telarc's year 2001 recording of Tchaikovsky's audio extravaganza. The cannons were as low on the P1000 as ever heard. The Saint-Saëns 3rd Symphony (the Organ Symphony) was extraordinary in its majestic power. Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue," always a joy to listen to, was enhanced by this sub's authority. I listened to Super Audio CDs, to standard CDs, to minidiscs, and with each medium of recorded sound, the P1000 gave outstanding bass performance. I have yet to try it with DVDs, but I am convinced that the P1000's solid musical character will carry over easily into film. Such a fine subwoofer keeps good company with the best in the market. Highly recommended.

Strengths:
Stentorian, robust, deep bass, controls to twiddle in abundance

Weaknesses:
None, unless one wishes to plumb the sonic depths to 12 Hz for prices so high they should not be said or written.

Similar Products Used:
CSW Powered Subwoofer (stereo pair).