for $99, it sounds fine: decent bass, enough detail, and musical. small size, small bass module, and very spouse friendly

bass module doesn't go low, disaapointing service from hifi.com when returning items

At $99, it's a great value. Puts out good music and takes up no space and extremely spouse friendly. No low bass, not a lot of detail, OK or worse soundstage; but it's $99, fits on top of the TV, and is fun to listen to.

On the downside, I returned a different item to hifi.com and they said it takes 3-4 weeks to refund your money. Totally unacceptable from an established retailer like them that is so proud of their return policy.

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NHT SuperZeroes
B&W CDM 1NT
Sonus Faber Concertino
Triangle Zephyr xs
Polk RT35i

High bang for the buck factor.

Lack the bottom end for movies without an additional powered sub.

I use these in a small room, but have used them outdoors as well for background music. I was concerned about the single driver design, but they do an excellent job, without leaving any obvious holes, even when used outdoors.

If you plan on watching movies, plan on supplementing the system with a powered subwoofer. This in not unreasonable, as you would need to do so with most bookshelf designs also. Once paired up with a sub, you will be amazed at how this system sounds.

I'm using it with a Yamaha HTR-5250, Toshiba SD-1600 DVD Player, and an older Klipsh powered sub.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned many sub-sats and bookshelf speakers in this price range and above.

First off let me say that I'm not really a "casual" listener, but then again I'm not enough of an equipment nut to call myself an "audio enthusiast". Since there seem to be no reviews on this, here's my review on the CSW SoundWorks multimedia system, which I'm pretty sure uses the same satellites and woofer as the Ensemble IV, just in a self-amplified configuration.
It's a perfectly fine system, for $100 (the current price). I bought it two years ago when I decided I needed some speakers, and after reading all the rave reviews from computer magazines (yeah, probably not the best people to listen to) I paid $230, which was a little high. On the other hand, it's convenient and offers pretty good detail and pretty powerful bass. It's a huge leap beyond normal PC speakers, and a small step above mass-market mini systems. It's by no means an audiphile quality speaker, (you won't get any imaging unless both the satellites and your head are PERFECTLY placed and you don't intend to move your head more than a few millemeters from side to side) but for someone looking for an alternative to a shitty boom box for their dorm room, this is definitely a good buy. I give it 3 stars, mostly because I'm bitter that I paid 2.5x the price when I didn't know any better.

The Ensemble IV comes with five satellites and requires an amplifier. The SoundWorks Multimedia system comes with two and is self-amplified. The current price difference is about $50, with Ensemble being more expensive, of course.

I have the Ensemble IV home theatre setup (5 matching satelite speakers and a passive woofer) The only regret I have is the passive woofer, in that you have to go through it to get to the front side speakers. I have in wall wires and had to rerun some wire back into the wall. But for the money I can live with it. I think they sound great for movies, and almost as good for music. The woofer placement makes a huge difference and I had to play around with it for quite a while to get it right. I think It sounds just as good as the bose lifestyle type setups and it's way less money. (As a side note, they don't come with any mounting hardware, and it's not cheep to buy.)

I feel for the money there is not a better home theater setup. I paid 329.00 for 5 cubes and a bass module they are mounted in my travel traler which has slides outs given this amount of space they rock, I think that they would be lacking in my house but for a dorm, bedroom or a small den they are great

You just can't go wrong with this home theater setup for $249. I added an 8" powered sub from Atlantic Technology for $149 and a Yamaha RX-V493 receiver on clearance for $199 (Dolby Digital 5.1 Ready). For $600 I have a great sounding home theater system that spanks all the consumer-level stuff out there, for a comparable price. Some people spend $600 on a center channel speaker alone. Hey, let them (Emperor's New Clothes/Home Theater System anyone?). I highly recommend the Ensemble IV system. Spend the money you save on DVDs!

I think that for the price these speakers are great. The sound quality has a rightness to it that is quite impressive considering the size of the entire system.

Price is right for and sound is great for an entry level system or small room.

True audiophiles will want more.

You can't go wrong with the Ensemble IV if just starting out. The sound is amazing for such a modestly priced system.

PRICE, PERFORMANCE, 10 YR WARRANTY

The CSW Ensemble IV HT set is amazing -- for $200, I received five satellites and a passive woofer. Though I was pretty apprehensive about the actual quality and performance of the set-up (cheap = poor performance in the a/v industry, right?), I was KO'd by the magnitude of versatility of these tiny speakers. This HT set-up is a perfect entry-level speaker set for the run-of-the-mill consumer. My room is approximately 15 x 18, but it is completely filled with sound. Also looking to up my receiver to a Dolby Digital type (only have a cheapo Sony PL); and I expect these speakers to glow much more with DVD playback (running only pro-logic material now)! Also looking to upgrade to the MW 408 set (same speakers but add a powered bass cube 8). CSW offers a one-year upgrade policy (full store credit of any purchase), so in terms of flexibility, you can't lose.

I guarantee you'll be blown away by these speakers: the price and the performance especially!

Small, price, great sound for small size.

none as of yet.

As a first time buyer I was impressed with the starter kit that I purchased from CSW. $600 and I was into a great sounding system with PSW/C/L/R rears and reciever. In my opinion the ensemble IV is great buy for a low price. Now it is time to move on. I plan to upgrade the PSW/C/L/R for the ensemble II.