While putting together a Home Theatre system I found a demo pair of Ensemble IIs' for $199 and the center channel plus for $99. I hooked them up to a Harman Kardon AVR40 and wow! I wanted a sub/sat system and had auditioned Bose many times but felt they lacked midrange and the highs were shrill and were in the $700 range. The Ensemble speakers have a much better balanced sound stage for far less money. I am sure that I would have to spend big bucks to have a big improvement over these. I have a pair of old Genesis I speakers with a Yahama powered sub wired to an old Onkyo TX4000 in my living room that produce a bigger and fuller sound but for a second system in my family room the Ensemble IIs are great and the small size makes them easy to place.

I purchased the Ensemble II three years ago and I am pleased with them. The have very open sound and they image very well. For the money, they can't be beat.

I agree with the cambridge ad that was discontinued: better sound than Bose for less. Someone would have to be deaf, or a complete idiot, not to hear a great difference between these and the cheaply built bose junk. For $499 you get real tweeters and crossovers not just whizzer cones and market hype.

very clear and accurate sound.

subwoofer is not powered

I have had the ensemble2 for about 8 months now and am very satisfied with the system. The best thing about it is that you can experiment by placing the subwoofer in different areas of a room and get a little bit different effect. This allows you to get the best possible sound in your own particular listening area.

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technics rack system

Incredible Bass, Really good midrange, compact speakers, really good treble

Not magnetically shielded

I've owned this product for about 3 months, and the thing that I like most about it is that the design allows for the best quality sound, because you can position the midrange/tweeter in the best possible location, without diminishing the bass response. The bass response on the Ensemble II is comparable (if not exactly the same) as the New Ensemble (which is about $50-100 more).

The only downside I found was that the satellites aren't magnetically shielded, meaning you have to keep them about 18-20 inches away from your TV.. not a big problem though if you buy the optional stands or mounting brackets.

After a while I decided I wanted a little bit more bass so I paired this unit with a CSW BassCube 10, hooking the BassCube to the sub-out jack of my Onkyo TX-DS575, and wiring the Ensemble II sub in series with the front satellites, I now get enough bass to change the air pressure in my room and hurt my ears.

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Ensemble Sub/Sat

Small size makes it easy to place in any room.
Sounds great, with good bass (when sub is placed on a hardwood floor).
On sale for $249 or $299, nothing else I tried comes close until you get to more than 2X the price!

Sound stage is not quite as wide open as much more expensive tower speakers, but no other significant weaknesses.

Cambridge Soundworks New Ensemble II

I use these speakers in an average size room to listen mostly to classic rock and movie sound tracks. I would not rate myself as a serious audiophile, but I do like to research the equipment I buy, and feel like I get the best bang for the buck.

Harmon Kardon hk440Vxi high-current reciever drives the system, with a Sony CDP-C615 CD changer and Pioneer DVD-V550 DVD player as sources. I had previously used a 10 year old set of Bose 301 - series 2 bookshelf speakers - which sounded OK (hey I was on a student budget when I bought those), but were not a good fit for the room.

I was considering getting the Bose AM5 sub/sat system, but after looking at many of the reviews on this site, as well as listening to the speakers side-by-side with a new pair of 301's at Best Buy - I agreed that they were very poor sounding - even versus the cheaper 301's.

I auditioned many tower speakers - and quickly ruled out all the Japanese brands, and most of the AR, JBL, Jamo and Infinty models I tried. The best (for <$1200) included the Polk RT1000i's and the smaller 800 & 600i's, NHT Super 2's and Klipsh RP3's. You probaby couldn't go wrong with either of these choices - I especially liked the Polk 1000i's - but the wife decided she didn't didn't want a big pair of towers in her living room. (The Good Guys has a great auditioning room, although they do not carry all of these brands).

I also auditioned a number of CSW models side-by-side in the demo room at the CSW factory outlet store. The Ensemble III's where cheap - but tinny sounding. The New Ensemble II's were about $50 more, and vastly better sounding (Sale price was $249 - which I couldn't believe - less than I paid for my original Bose 301's).The CSW New Ensemble (1) was not significantly better at $100 more, and required placement of two separate sub woofers. The CSW Tower sounded great, with a wider sound stage than the Ensembles(equivalent to the Polks), but these were >$1,200 a pair, and I still couldn't get the wife to go for towers! So I took a pair of Ensemble II's home and hooked them up to my system.

With the sub in the corner on a hardwood floor, the sound was even better than in the store. I am extremely happy with these speakers - and you just can't touch them for the price. Yes the $1000 towers do sound better in a side-by-side comparison, but if you have limited room and / or budget I highly recommend the Ensemble 2's.

5*'s for value
4*'s for overall - (if you want to spend $1000+ you can find better speakers, but not in this footprint)

My next upgrade is probably to a quality surround-sound reciever and matching CSW center channel and rear speakers -if I can figure out how to run wires through the ceiling without destroying the place.If you want even more bass, the CSW BassCube would also make a good addition - but I am happy without that for now.

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Replaced BOSE 301's (series 2)
ALso considered Polk RT 1000i, 800, 600, NHT's Super2, Klipsh RP3's and the CSW Ensemble III's.

Size, Price

Cold, tinny sound

There is a wide range of feelings about these speakers, so much so I wonder if the internals of these things are all the same. I find the high end overpowering, the midrange without warmth, and the bass spotty (sometimes fine, sometimes lacking). Much of this can be tweeked with EQ and placement, but the unforgivable aspect is the fatigue. They just wear me out to listen to them, I suspect the crossover components. I already said all this to HiFi.Com, so I was not surprised to see the comment about iron-core inductors and cheap capacitors. Henry, you disappointed me this time - how about a higher priced set with decent parts?

Can someone recommend a good set of satellite/subwoofers for around 5 or $600?

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Larger Advent, Mission 717

Has the mid-range the Ensembles IVs lack!

Even with the better bass and midrange, they are still a bit on the bright side (fine with me, but check your tastebuds).

First, the obvious plusses: These are tiny speakers, easy to hide, and the "Cambridge" nameplate reminds one of the free spirit civil liberties of the People's Republic of Cambridge (or something like that). And on sale they're only like $300. My review is intended for people choosing between Cambridge Soundworks products.

Before I got the New Ensemble II, I'd been using the small Ensemble IV system (two tiny cubes and a little woofer), which is too tinny for todays bass-oriented music.

Before I upgraded to the New Ensemble II, I tried adding the Cambridge Soundworks Basscube 8 to the Ensemble IVs; it was as succesful as breeding a llama with sheep. They claim they match, and even sell the Basscube 8 subwoofer with the Ensemble IV Home Theatre system, but in my opinion they are ill suited for eachother.

So I put away the Ensemble IV and replaced it with the New Ensemble II. I am very pleased. Not only does the Ensemble II have the mid-range that the IV's lack, the woofer is much better, and if you happen to have one, the Basscube 8 subwoofer matches the New Ensemble II perfectly. The brighteness that many accuse Cambridge Soundworks of having across all their systems is probably true; I like this because at low volumes, you still get a detailed presentation.

The morals of this story are:
a) The Ensemble IVs are too bright sounding for today's bass oriented music.
b) The New Ensemble IIs are still on the bright side, but have the mid-range and bass that the IVs lack.
c) The Basscube 8 subwoofer (sold seperately) does not match the small Ensemble IV system as claimed, but it does match the New Ensemble II perfectly.

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Other Cambridge Soundworks speakers

Great price and very easy to order. I've had the Ensemble II speakers along with the Center Channel Plus and Surround II speakers for both music and Home Theater for about 4 years. First "real" system but I greatly enjoy it.

Small size, excellent sound for the money

Subwoofer is a bit placement sensitive

Excellent sound for the money. It compares well to speakers costing twice as much (or more). We have a 700 square foot condo and the Ensemble II has been the perfect choice regarding our lack of space. We could have spent much more, but I'm glad we went with the Ensemble. HiFi.com delivered excellent customer service, and they even paid for shipping.

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Boston Acoustics, Polk, Freid