1) Price 2) 45-day return policy (I used this) 3) Ease of set-up 4) Small size

1) Not a true balance speaker system 2) Lacks ''warmth'' 3) No real low end 4) High end frquencies missing 5) Harsh sound above low to moderate volume levels

These speakers are probably only good for a bedroom or home office where the voume is typically low. I would not recommend them for any more than that. I tried them for a small (10X12) room as part of a HT system with mixed results. The bass isn''t there nor is the midrange when playing at any more than a background level. Even with a sub, they just didn''t cut it. The do produce a big sound that maybe acceptable for a small HT system and they hide well. Music quality is less than stellar at mid to high levels of volume. The sound is a little harsh in the top end and the bass isn''t there without a sub and then it still missing a frequency range. The speakers lack any ''warmth'' when played above background level volumes. Another negative is that the satellites don''t go to the top end (18Khz max I think). Not that may people can easily hear above 18KHz, but it''s not there with these if you could. In all fairness, these speakers would do well as part of an inepensive HT, bedroom, or home office system. At $150, they are relatively inexpensive. Look elsewhere if you want something more than a bedroom or home office background background music speaker system.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 310 II CSW MC300 CSW M80

decent sound for the price

lack of depth, uneven at times

This is an update to my first review (see above). I had a chance to listen to the New Ensemble III once more and I correct my first review somewhat. The lack of depth is still noticable, but not as dramatic as I first thought. Also, the sound is a little flat at times, probably due to the small midrange driver. Overall I would rate the sound quality as "good", especially for the price. But for really smooth, balanced sound you''ll need to move up the chain.

Similar Products Used:

CSW MC150, Canton Fonum 3, Paradigm Atom

sound seperation, range of accurate sound, bass, theres alot

they seem to need a little more power to get high volumes than others, maybe its just my inferior receiver

ok first of all, alot of people says theres weak bass, well of course there's weak bass if you dont know where to put the subwoofer. try putting it in a corner near a solid piece of furniture and in front of the listening area. it helps if its on the bare floor rather than carpet (hardwood flooring) and make sure you hook it up right.
the treble and midrange sound great to me, perhaps they could be a little better but not at anywhere close to this price. sound is clear and stereo-surround seperation is great too.
consumer reports rates it a very close second to the bose (which costs over twice as much), i myself have compared them and personally like the cambridge better than the bose. i think people just want to think the bose is better because bose has a great reputation and is so expensive.
the color scheme of the white speakers and the black centerchannel looks real good. im hearing parts of music that i wouldn't hear with other speakers, its just so much better. well expect a follow up when i get myself a reciever worth powering these speakers.
i think if they sold the cambridge at the same price as the bose,..... people might be saying that cambridge soundworks are the ultimate standard of sattelite speakers and are better than bose.
i give it 4 stars because ive only had them about two weeks, their not proven enough to me yet.

Similar Products Used:

technics 3-way 10" woofers, realistic sattelites, yamaha 3-way bookshelfs, others

Sound quality, excellent highs, mids. Great for home theater
& music. Size. Price.

None at all.

This is the second home theater speaker system that I have
owned and let me say that for the money there is nothing out there that even comes close to the sound quality that these speakers put out. I spent 3-4 months auditioning Bose, Energy, Polk Audio, JBL, Jamo plus several others at different audio stores. After 3 trips to Cambridge Soundworks along with many CD & DVD demos I decided to bite the bullet & go for it. So far I have not regreted my decision one bit. I had budgeted up to $1,200 for a surround
system but when it came right down to it it didn't make a whole lot of sense spending more and not really getting more in sound quality. All the above mentioned brands cost alot more with the exception of JBL which I consider inferior(to
tinny). Plus with Cambridge you get a 10 year warranty so all things considered it was real hard not to make the purchase. I did however upgrade from the passive sub to the Cambridge Bass Cube 8 which gives plenty of ooomph to my 12 by 15 foot family room. In all I spent $583.00 which included the Ensemble 3 system, Bass Cube 8 powered sub & 2 pairs of speaker brackets.
In closing anyone shopping for a surround speaker system for music & home theater should check out Cambridge Soundworks before making your purchase. For price, value & overall quality I give it 5 stars!

Similar Products Used:

Optimus

i bought these b-stock from hifi.com by way of ebay for $90, and at that price they're a great bargain. they're not yet broken in, and sound a little harsh, but i think that's pretty typical of new speakers. hopefully, they'll gain a little warmth after some use.

in any event, they provide low end that far exceeds what i used to get from by bottom-of-the-line infinitys, but they sound a little thin, as if they're missing some lower mid-range. imaging is ok, but like most people, i rarely have occasion to sit down in exactly the right spot and just listen, so it's not critical.

for $90 bucks, i got a good, unobtrusive set of speakers that sound dandy. at that price, they're a steal, but in the $200 range (which is what they're selling for new at hifi.com), for those with space for a traditional 2-speaker system, there are better choices.

Compact, good soundstage & imaging

poor bass extension

I've had these speakers for quite awhile now. I like them. They're okay. I've heard better and I've heard worse, but overall, I am not at all displeased with them. For the price I paid, I think they were a good value that I've gotten a lot of return on so far. In fact, my whole speaker system is made up of CSW speakers and the only piece I am displeased with is the powered subwoofer II. But put together, the entire system blends well.

Sonically, the best thing about them is their soundstage and imaging. They do a good job of that. I've found that like any other speaker, they sound better with better amplification. They have also improved with age as they have broken in. Originally, they were brighter than they are now.

The weak end would have to be the bass extension. It maybe passable amount of bass for music, but not nearly enough for a good action movie. That's why a powered sub is necessary.

On my system, I have reversed the phase of the passive subwoofer that comes with the ensemble III's because I noticed that I was getting somekind of cancellation with the powered sub. With that tweak I found the bass to be much more full and rich. I kept the passive sub in the loop in order to fill in any gap between the sat's and the powered sub. One of my friends perceived a midrange hole in the system, but I never heard it.

Build-wise, the system feels very solid. I actually have the older ensemble III's. The sats have small threaded posts with knurled nuts instead of the spring clips that the newer ones have (at least I think the newer ones have spring clips). It allows me to use spade connectors which I personally like. The sub unit, however, uses spring clips but they seem to work okay. I think it would have been better to put the subs clips in the rear of the unit rather than the bottom, but oh well.

I like the nextel finish on the sats. Much better than showing the bare abs plastic that the speakers are made of.

In the end, would I buy this system again? If I were looking for a sub/sat system in the same price range? Probably not. Not that I don't like this system, but I think by now I could find a better system at around the same price, maybe alittle more. I might audition the energy take 5's, the NHT super zeros/ones, some B&W sats and maybe even the radio shack offerings. Maybe it's just a case of "the grass is always greener . . ." but I think I could do better the next time around. Do I regret getting the ensemble III's? Not at all, like I said, they are a decent set of speakers and have given me a lot of enjoyment. I think any home theater investment is a sound investment in enjoyment. (no pun intended)

My system consists of . . .

CSW Ensemble III w/ passive sub mains
CSW Surround II's
CSW Ensemble III center
CSW Powered Subwoofer II

Magnavox 32" television
Sony STR-DE 435 receiver
Sony SDP-E800 DD processor
Toshiba 2107 DVD player
Technics 5 disc cd changer
Samsung hi-fi VCR

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Altec Lansing

An excelent price for all that you get. A very clear sound when played at moderate volumes. Very small, can be placed just about anywhere.

Not well suited for a large room. Mid range can be a little muddy.

Overall I have been very happy with my purchase. They don't perform as well in our living room with very high ceilings. The price is great, especially for a high school student like me on a budget. Support is also great, people are friendly and can answer all questions.

Easy set up, great starter system

Weak bass unit, though easily fixed in receiver. Had to do some major tuning to round out sound, but was eventually fixed.

I'm not an audiophile or a huge TV or movie fan, but I do enjoy having good sound when I watch the occasional movie, and particularly when I listen to music. This is also my first entrance into my own personal "high end" sound system (I've set up others, though).

I found the system to be very easy to set up. With my fiancee stripping the cables, and myself feeding the wires and hooking it up, we had the whole thing up and running in less than an hour. The instructions were excellent, as it is with all CSW products.

My receiver is a mini-stereo system (not portable) by Philips from about 5 years ago. I had the equalization set to emphasize the high and low ends and the bass boost turned off (I usually have it on). Upon first turning on the system, it sounded very tinny with barely any bass. I set the equalizer to emphasize the bass and mid-range, and I took away from the high end a little bit, but still had that up there so it wouldn't get lost by the bass. Upon hitting the bass boost, the sound rounded itself very nicely. It's annoying that I have to go through those acrobatics to get good sound, but I expected some tuning. Nothing ever works perfectly right out of the box.

I listened to television, videotape, classical CDs and rock CDs. They all sounded very well rounded and balanced. The bass is not huge and will offer the listener good sound without disturbing your neighbors. It does catch the low end for the important bits, but isn't heavy all the time, a problem I find with powered bass units. The satellites are crisp without being painful. But there is an emphasis on the high frequencies. Finer tuning may be in order, because it's not so much as to be uncorrectable.

If you've had a nicer system in the past, or are looking for something serious for home theater, this is not for you. This is not the greatest system in the world, wasn't meant to be and I didn't expect it to be. It is very satisfying for what it does and it's size, and I think it's a great value. For anyone looking for a good entry point into home theater while not even coming close to breaking the bank, this system is good.

Similar Products Used:

Ensemble II, SoundWorks

compact, decent bass

significant reduction in midrange, lack of depth

Bought the New Ensemble III after reading various posts on this board and browsing Consumer Reports. Hooked them up to my Kenwood amplifier to compare them with my old and trusted Canton Fonum 3 bookshelf speakers. I was immediately struck by a very noticable lack of midrange and depth. Playing various rock CDs the vocals were muted and much less direct and lively than with the Cantons. I tried various setups and other recordings but everytime I switched from the Cantons to the Ensemble III I was disappointed. I really wonder why these speakers get so good reviews. I guess they're ok but nothing to rave about. I will return mine tomorrow.

Outstanding clarity, wide sound stage, impressive volume, build quality

none at the price and design scope

This system has super sound for both music and home theater. Passive woofer delievers enough bass for most applications in smaller rooms. (I have a Bass Cube 10 hooked up to it) Better clarity and dispersion than I thought possible especially in this market segment. For really powerful bass you need a powered subwoofer though.