Full range sound in a small package. Better imaging and clarity than bookshelf speakers with higher price tags. Small satelites can be placed anywhere and hung on a wall Subwoofer is accurate and rich sounding. Some of these other reviews makes me wonder what amplifiers were powering there setup. With a good reciever these things sound amazing. I'm running mine through a Technics SA-GX 490 and they rival my bigger Jamo S802's with suttle yet accurate highs. Silky smooth midrange and deep tones. The bass is not over-powering and round the whole system out. The subwoofer I would just call a woofer as it is not powered. But man for its size, it packs a punch. Although the satellites from the Ensemble III are better, the subwoofer is not as nice. This overall was a better package.

The non powered sub would have been better if it came with it's own class D amplifier. Having said that, it works good. Because it is passive you will need more speaker wire.

A great value when it was available (though it can still be found on eBay); unobtrusive but with excellent balance across its range. The three-piece system design provides additional richness and fullness when compared to typical bookshelf speakers. The Stereo imaging is a nice surprise, and it's amazing that something so inexpensive can sound so good.

The full-range drivers aren't as extended in the treble as many would prefer, so these speakers may sound midrange-heavy to those who prefer a forward or 'zingy' treble presentation instead of a laid-back one. The woofer module doesn't go particularly deep, and can sound a bit boomy at times.

With these speakers, it's all about your expectations. Thankfully, Cambridge Soundworks is remarkably up-front about the Ensemble IV's capabilities when they state that they understand the sub is tiny, but it's "the best way to make bass at this price point." The sound of the Ensemble IV system is great for background music, or for an unobtrusive system for music listening.

The shoebox-sized bandpass woofer module is on the boomy side, though it's not particularly obtrusive. It lends presence and punch that the cubes just couldn't muster on their own. However, its small size limits its output and low frequency extension, so the larger Bose Acoustimass 3 bass module produces deeper and louder output, but the Ensemble module seems less muddy than the Acoustimass. I wouldn't rely on the Ensemble's woofer module for home theater use, however, unless I had an extremely small space or an extremely limited budget. The Ensemble IV woofer module has a relatively high crossover frequency to the cube satellites, so it's placement sensitive. I recommend placing it out of sight somewhere along the front soundstage.

While the woofer is no slouch, the cube satellite speakers are really the best part of this system. Henry Kloss's later years saw a variety of designs intended to offer greater performance per dollar, so the cube satellite speakers consist of a 3" paper-cone driver (inexpensive, yet excellent for rendering midrange detail) and a four-element passive contouring network which controlled cone breakup and extended the high frequency performance of the drivers. Proper placement usually isn't the main concern with a background music system, but if you set them up as you would an ordinary pair of speakers, you're in for a treat. The Ensemble satellites have a silky-smooth midrange, and a laid-back treble range that makes for easy listening. Another thing that the Ensemble IV satellites do very well is creating a broad stereo image -- when listening to Ben Folds' "Landed", I was struck by how wide the soundstage seemed to be, and yet how accurately each instrumentalist was placed in space. This is a natural strength of single-driver loudspeakers, since there is almost perfect phase coherence from the single voice coil instead of a separate midbass and tweeter.

Customer Service

I never had any trouble with these speakers, though I understand Cambridge Soundworks's customer service is fantastic.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Acoustimass 3, Cambridge Soundworks MicroWorks II, Orb Audio Mod2 Home Theater System

10 Years Warranty Price

Sounds "Bright"

Paying $99 for a 2.1 speaker system is definately bang for the buck,sound quality is acceptable for it's price. Not recommended for music listening cause it sound bright. Good for teens/spouse for light listening,movies

Price, satilites sound great, ten year warranty

Bass, bass, and bass.

Incredible sound for the price. I watch a lot of movies and the system sounds great, though I do have to turn the bass on my amplifier all the way up. Placement in a corner when I moved into a new house (with wood floors) helped the bass problem greatly. I blew the subwoofer one day while listening to music too loud. Cambridge SoundWorks fixed and replaced the woofer for free under warranty, no questions asked. I will need a bigger subwoofer to shore up the bass on this system, You can bet it will be from Cambridge.

Similar Products Used:

none

Build quality, subwoofer, finish, home theatre applications

Should not be bought to listen to music. Not a good idea at all. Very poor performance in this area, but are they really meant to play music??

I would like to bring some reason to this review process. These speakers are not good for music listening. There simply is not enough capability from this small, single paper driver to deliver music for a listener, in an enjoyable fashion. In fact one can loose interest in music entirely if this is both an audio and a video system. And the bass is fine. So... This speaker system is fine for home theater if you are not looking for too much. The subwoofer is excellent for what it is, the center channel may also not be sufficient, but it performs well for a home theater system, for the price an excellent value.

Similar Products Used:

I have listened to B&W DM601 S2 - very good, The polk 25si also excellent.

Very precise imaging, nice warm bass

None, even compared to much pricier systems

I'm short on time, but I have to get my two cents in on these speakers. They are an OUTSTANDING value. Coupled with my Harmon Kardon AVR-500, I get an incredibly precise sound stage (breathtaking, really), and a very full sound.

I had heard that cube systems have an advantage in imaging, because of the single driver. Totally true. I had also heard that having five identical speakers is the best approach to surround sound, hands down. I'm a believer. I am immersed in the best sound that I've ever experienced, and I used to own audiophile speakers.

I love this system. Only a far more expensive system could possibly beat this setup.

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Polk

excellent design, super low price, great dynamic balance

passive subwoofer, no mounting hardware.

I purchased this at hifi.com for $199 (free shipping), and am thoroughly satisfied. After being disgusted by the Bose Acoustimass V (way to middy) and not impressed by the equivalent Klipsch (horrendous mix of tinny highs and muddy lows), I went with the cheapest competitor. Wow! The cubes are tiny but produce a lot of excellent sound, dwarfing their competitors. The bass is warm, although it's not earth shaking. If you are a bass freak, you'll want an additional active sub--passive subs are a real drag unless you have everything cranked and have a small space (I recommend the Yamaha Subwoofers; $150 will buy you more than you'll ever need). My only regret is the price of the speaker stands, $50/each, which is ridiculous, but as far as sound value goes, you WILL NOT do better for the money (which is why Consumer Reports picked these as their faves.)

Similar Products Used:

bose acoustimass, klipsch quintet

Good Sound, Nice bass, Flexible Placement Options, Two Colors, PRICE!!!

Quality of sound is highly dependent on placement of the passive woofer, satellites have small "sweet spots", mid - high range has a single driver.

These can be great speakers for home theater on a budget or casual music listening, if you are willing to spend the time to put the passive woofer in the right place. The trial and error placement is what makes this difficult to do. The bass is awful if the woofer is not placed well, and the satellites need to be on stands, because they have somewhat small sweet spots which make listening outside of the "Zone" lackluster. If you think this is bollocks, please don't wait untill you get home and have the speakers screwed onto the walls.

Like I said though, these can be GREAT speakers for the money if you work at it. The satellites are so small, that you can place them in almost any room without changing the character of the room too much, which is cool. The value is great, especially during the annual march madness sales at HIFI.com.

I would, however, reccomend the KLH 9912 instead. There are better values out there if you look around, you will find something that isn't so picky about the placement. I recognize the potential of these little guys, but honestly have mixed feeling about the sound.

If you have the opportunity, try bringing home these and a pair of their big brothers, the Ensemble III, or maybe the II. the III supposedly fixes the sweet spot issues because of the large drivers and the 2 way design... I'm not sure, having only listened in the showroom, where the IV was perfectly placed and sounded excellent, which is why I bought it. At home it was a different story untill I had time to experiment.

Similar Products Used:

none

Well balanced, pleasant sound.

None major.

I bought the Ensemble IV for my bedroom sound system after reading the reviews here. Having read good experiences with this speaker system, I was still floored when first getting the music going. They sound more like much bigger (and more expensive) systems. Because I used it mostly at low volume, the bass response is quite adequate for me. At $120 (on sale) this is quite a steal. I am thinking about getting one more set to put in another room.

great price, the high freq is clear and accurate

Distinct midrage gap. Does not fill room completely.

Bang for the buck: this is the best
high frequency is great. Low frequency is Good and adequate.
Midrange is lacking, especially with explosions. When fronts are replaced with bookshelfs, it sounds more complete and warm, but the high frequency is taken away. In my opinion, is sounds like the bass is hitting good, with good high pitchs music, but lower voices are not being produced properly when I play music.

I welcome any help or comments about this situation.

Similar Products Used:

bookshelfs: Infinity rs2, polk rt15