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Cambridge Soundworks The Surround
Cambridge Soundworks The Surround
MSRP: $ 400.00

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Rating
Reviewed by:
Manuel
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
October 7, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

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Review 1 of 13

Price Paid:  $160.00 from hifi.com

Summary:
These are very good speakers for surround sound use. Notice I said surround sound. They were not made for main speakers, and maybe not for DVD-Audio. They sound very good on my home theater, and do exactly what I expected of them when I bought them. I see that Cambridge Soundworks has now added monopole capable bi- and dipolar surrounds to their lineup. This would be the absolute best choice, but, hey, these weren't designed for that. They do exactly what they supposed to do. I have certainly enjoyed them with my system, and they integrate well with my Polk center and Front/Lefts.

Strengths:
Create good soundfields, work especially well with DVD movies in Dolby Digital. Small size, with good build quality.

Weaknesses:
None, if you consider that they are surround speakers.

Similar Products Used:
Infinity and Yamaha (small 2 ways).


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Rating
Reviewed by:
Keith Savage
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
April 23, 2002

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

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Review 2 of 13

Price Paid:  $100.00 from ebay

Summary:
The Cambridge Soundworks Surround speakers are great if you live in Dolby prologic world and have never heard of Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS, or DVD-audio. These Bipole/dipole speakers have opposing tweeters pointed side ways to create diffuse sound. This works well on Dolby prologic tracks to create rear ambience, but it ruins DVD-audio when you want precise full channel sound from every speaker. I ended up returning these for a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze 1s, which blow these out of the water in term of frequency response and clarity. Do not be fooled in thinking you can flip the bipole/dipole switch on the front of these and make them sound good on DVD-audio -- the tweeters are still facing side ways. If you still have your heart set on Dipole/Bipole technology, then these are a great value at $100/pair on ebay direct from Cambridge soundworks. They mark them as refurbished, but they are in fact brandnew. The build quality is good, like most Cambridge Soundworks products. The grills are metal, so they ought to be highly durable speakers. They are small enough to wall mount without freaking out your significant other. Being a big fan of the Departed Henry Kloss, It''s a shame that at the end of the day I have to recommend against them in favor of convential direct radiating speakers.

Strengths:
Good For Dolby Prologic. Solid construction.

Weaknesses:
Terrible for DVD-Audio Bad for 5.1 channel sound when the rear channels are fed non-diffuse sound

Similar Products Used:
Polk RT7, Polk RT35i, Polk CSi30, Monitor Audio Bronze 1


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Rating
Reviewed by:
Steve
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
January 11, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

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Review 3 of 13

Price Paid:  $110.00 from eBay auction

Summary:
First of all, you can save a ton of money by getting these speakers through hifi.com's auctions on eBay. They say that they are refurbished, but they looked brand new to me. I couldn't even find a scratch on them. I paid a little over $100 instead of the $399 list! And, that included the full warranty.
Now for my review. In a word, these speakers rock! They really bring movies to life. When I pop in "Pearl Harbor", you can hear and FEEL those planes and bullets flying over your head. I had been using some Bose 201's for my surrounds, but there is NO comparison to the sound that the smaller Cambridge speakers throw at you.
If you want a great pair of surrounds without paying a fortune, then these are the speakers for you!

Strengths:
Dipole/bipole design, great sound dispersion.

Weaknesses:
None so far.

Similar Products Used:
Bose.


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Rating
Reviewed by:
Robert
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
February 28, 2001

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

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Review 4 of 13

Price Paid:  $300.00 from HIFI.com

Summary:
I am happy with these surround speakers. They do everything they are supposed to do, without paying too much. I feel these are a nice match to the Definitive Technology BP-10's, c/l/r 1000 and Mirage subwoofer that I own. I think most people will be happy with these speakers.

Strengths:
Bipole/Dipole design

Similar Products Used:
2-way Realistic speakers


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Rating
Reviewed by:
Paul
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
January 14, 2001

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

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Review 5 of 13

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Cambridge Soundworks

Summary:
These are great surrounds, they perform as finely tuned instruments, as Cambridge has rightfully intended. I took my time in finding the right setting on my receiver to get the full ambience affect and it was more than worth it. Make sure that if you get them that they sound equally as loud if not just a little louder than your front tweeters and mids it helps the 5.1's to fully envelope you within the sound. Also the bipole/dipole functioning of these speakers enhances the total function on whateere sound source you might be listening to. If you want a high quality surround that gives you the feel of a home movie theater then you should certainly purchase these speakers.

Strengths:
Everything, these surrounds are absolutely amazing.

Weaknesses:
They take a little time to get set up right to fully function with a system, but what home theater doesn't?

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Cerwin Vega, Yamaha, JBL, KLH.


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