Nice balance, accurate, open, well voiced, sound like much more expensive speakers

None as long as you do not expect the bass units to act like subwoofers

I have had the Ensemble since 1993. It origianlly did duty as main speakers for a traditional stereo set-up centered around both LP's and CD. It now serves - with a Cambridge Soundworks Powered Subwoofer II - as the back channels for a Dolby Digital/DST based home theater. I have always found the Ensemble to be everything that CSW said it was - a very accurate, well balanced and nicely "voiced" system that returns a lot of value to the consumer. I have submitted this review at this late date only because I was looking at the reviews posted here and find that some people are thinking of the bass units as subwoofers and being critical of the bass output. The BASS UNITS are not SUBWOOFERS and were never ment to take the place of a subwoofer. When the Ensemble was designed and first marketed, home theater was just starting to take on form. Dolby Prologic was in its infancy and MANY people still listened to LP's, while CD's were the most popular music listening format. As such, the Ensemble was designed to PLAY MUSIC not reproduce World War II, an atomic explosion or the earth being blown apart by an astroid. The separate BASS UNITS allowed much more freedom of placement and the separate midrange, high frequency units could be positioned for most accurate sound staging. In addition, the better half of the audiophiles out there were very happy with obvious absence of the BIG BOXES that were always the main stay of traditional speakers. With the explosive development of home theater and the near universal presence of Dolby Digit/DTS along with the integration of entertainment sources, the Ensemble simply cannot reproduce the low frequency output of DVD based systems - and it should not be expected to. My current set up consistes of the following: Front mains are BIC DV5312's, Center Channel is a BIC DV62CLR, Front Sub is a BIC D1210R, Rears are Ensemble and Rear Sub is a Cambridge Soundworks Powered Sub II. The Ensemble are doing a fine job in current role. I would recommend these speakers to anyone who is interested in a system with separate bass units just DO NOT call the bass units subwoofers - they were never indended for that role.

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JBL - various models, BIC's, Altec Lansing

Awesome sound, excellent imaging, very god power handling.

Need an equalizer to adjust to different room acoustics.

I bought them in 1991: the ensemble system with 2 subwoofers & 2 satellites, as well a set of pioneer components from CSW: an amp, a 1 bit DLC CD player and a dual cassette deck. The whole thing cost me $1100 (incl. sahipping) Since then, i have been very very satisfied. They sound great, with nice imaging. The equalizer in the amp is excellent for subtle modifications with regard to room acoustins. E.g., i just moved into a house, and the family room completely ate up all the bass. So the
coinfiguration that works is to reduce the high ends, keep the bass end of the wqualizer at middle, and play them at slightly louder volume.

Overall, while the higher end speakers (like the CSW NEwtons) will sound very slightly better, these are more than enough for my listening pleasure.

Good job Mr. Kloss!

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None, but i have listende to Bose in showrooms, and i think CSW is better.

Neutral, full-range sound

Needs care in placement

I own two sets of Ensembles: one was purchased in 1989, shortly after they were introduced; the other are "New Ensembles" purchased in September.

I purchased the new pair with the intention of using them as mains in a home theater sysem, moving the older pair to the surround positions. But first I set them up side-by side and compared them.

Speakers should not impose themselves on the music. That's really the whole of what I want from a loudspeaker. I've liked the original Ensemble all these years because once I had them properly placed in my listening room, I stopped hearing them. They have no sound of their own, although they can definitely sound bad if you're not careful with placement.

The New Ensembles sounded remarkably similar to my 12-year old set. It sounded to me like there was a bit more definition in the midbass, and a tiny bit more air in live orchestral recordings, but for all intents and purposes I'd call them "timbre-matched." It's a testament to the build quality of the US-made originals. The new ones (like all the recent CSW product I've seen) are made in China.

So my next challenge was installing the four bass modules (which as someone noted below are *not* subwoofers; they're "detached woofers") in my living room so that they sounded right but didn't clutter up the landscape. This might be a deal-killer for some people, especially if (like me) you also had to find a place for an actual subwoofer (I bought a CSW BassCube 15). I worked it out, never mind how. And I'm still married.

I also have a CSW Center Channel speaker (the original one, identical to an Ensemble satellite except that it's shielded). So the result of all this was a 5.1 speaker array that sounds as good as any I've heard in anyone's home, including rigs costing thousands of dollars more. The five matched satellites, the four detached woofers, the powered subwoofer create absolutely stable imaging, reproduce every audible frequency, and play as loud without strain as the room can stand.

The kicker is that at current prices you can get the equivalent of this system, brand new today, for $1000. I've listened to quite a few packaged HT speaker systems in the $1000 category and none of them have had the no-compromise impact of this system (although none of them were set up with the time and care I gave to mine, either).

The Ensemble is an excellent stereo pair for music, at least as good now at it lower price as it ever was. As part of a HT setup it's even better.

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Advent, Dynaco, AR, Paradigm, many other speakers over the past 35 years

solid base, plays lound and sounds good doing it

for the money none really

I purchased these speaker after reading several reviews and I liked the way they looked. When I first recevied them, I was dissapointed. the satellites were placed on some coffee tables with the subs underneath them. The best way to descride them was that of a cheap raido. of course I knew this placement was not what was intended for them, so I placed the sat in the corner of the room on some small shelfs I made with each wolfer under them. The sound really came to life. a freind of mine had purchased some bose sub/sat similar to the cambridge and he by his own admission felt the cambridge were superior and they cost about $100 more. what I am trying to say is placement is everything with these speaker. I believe the corner placement reinforced the mid range of the sat. and also the base of the sub. I think one would have a hard time finding a speaker that could offer these any serious competition for the price. also I overdrove three of the speakers with an old amp. cambridge replaced all three of these speaker and one that my nephew destroyed with a hammer, no questions asked. they even sent the replacement before i had returned the orginal. Now what else can one ask. Anyhow I have had these speakers for nearly 10 years. recently had a house fire and lost most everything I had. have not tried but I believe these speaker may still work. looking to upgrade and cambridge rite now is at the top of my list. I have been very pleased with my experience with this company. hope they have not grown to big

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advent loud speaker, some radio shack special

At first when i saw the speakers i thought "What a small Speaker set probably sounds like *@#%" then i listened to them i thought wow they're pretty good. I thought that it had some side firing tweeter design or something cause alot of sound was coming from it and it sounded like a wide stage. So i bought them when i hooked them up to my Receiver (McIntoch C39) then i turned it on. I was watching a Movie on my DVD (Toshiba) the sound was great (i had it at about the 40w Power) until there was an explosion there was a BIG BOOM the speakers started slapping making the most annoying noise sounding as if the speaker was going to explode. Personnally i don't like Cambridge Soundworks i would rather have Eosone (Which i own right now), JBL, or Cerwin-Vega.

I've had these speakers for over a year now and still enjoy them immensely. They provide a good, clean sound that makes them suitable for all types of music. They go on sale quite often for $499 through the CSW web site. Being an accoustic suspension design (sealed box), they allow for much placement flexibility. Also, having dual bass units helps alleviate the problem of low end directionality common to sub/sat systems. An ideal system for medium-sized rooms, especially when one doesn't want big boxes taking up valuable floor space. I added the CSW Powered Subwoofer (140 watts w/12" woofer), the CSW Center Channel Plus, and a pair of CSW Dipole surrounds for my home theater setup and love the way it sounds.

I bought the CSW Ensemble from the factory showroom (outside Boston) nearly four years ago. I agree that the satellites need solid stands. I have the two woofers facing one another on the floor.
Most noticeable: they improve with age. Every month they seem to offer a brightness in the treble and a smoother bass than previously. Otherwise ver satisfactory setup.

Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble - I have had this system for 2 years and I am very pleased with the overall sound quality. I agree that the "subwoofers" are actually woofers. I felt the need to add the Subwoofer II to get any real low bass response. I added the Surround II's and Center Channel Plus last year for home theater. I find the sound well balanced and the hookup options were very convenient in my small living room. However, if I were replacing this system today I would go for a pair of NHT Super One's, 3 Super Zero's and a Sunfire True Subwoofer.

I bought my Ensembles about a year ago at Best Buy when they were discontinuing them (they had made thier own brand, Eosone). At $180, they couldn't be beat. After a lot of experimenting I was able to get a nice soundstage. They have a warm tone that excels with vocals. As far as a weakness, it would have to be a lower bass limit of around 50Hz.
One of the things I love about these speakers is despite their small size, I am impressed with the sound levels these speakers can dish out. It is only at extremly loud levels do they begin to sound harsh. The sound is smooth, if not somewhat dry, but non fatiguing. I would have to agree with some of the other reviews that they do sound better with time.

I can't imaginge getting a better speaker set for even around $400, although at normail retail price, you may be able to get equal or better sound in a convetional speaker. I think that even if I had paid full retail price for the ensembles, I would not be dissapointed.

I bought these speakers and tried them out for 2 days. Most noticible was their lack of soundstage. Although their highs were unique in the showroom, they seemed overly harsh after long listening at home. The bass units actually seemed to require a lot of tuning to get good response. I got a pair of Boston Acoustic Lynfield VR40s and am much happier with them. They also have a unique tweeter design, which I actually prefer when listening to jazz over the Cambridge.