I am dealing with a point in my life when it is natural for me to have no money. None. I suffer with the life-style commonly, and affectionatly, refered to as student.The saddest part is I have no money, but I love music and its reproduction through EQUIPMENT, toys, whatever - stereo .... hi-fi stereo. Over the years, I through summer jobs, hard labor, who cares? I have saved and saved for equipment that makes me feel good about this shit, this affection. The equipent I own is what I can honetly say is my "reference system." For my source, I use a CD format, that takes its form as a Theta Miles. I use a Sonic Frontiers tube D/A converter. I compromised on the pre-amp a bit and bought the Musical Fidelity X-Pre, a tube preamp at beautful prices. My amp is a Conrad-johnson 45 Watt tube amplifier.
I went broke.
So, I had to find a pair of speakers that would feed me music at a low, low, low, low, cost. In DESPERATION, I bought these speakers. Listen, if you want sound at a good price, do not, I repeat do not look at smell or buy this product.
So, the sh*t hit the fan. I returned these speakers, and bought another pair. NHT's. Super Zero's they are called, and I bought a subwoofer, the SW2p, too. I have magic for no money at all.
These speakers are a JOKE!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!! SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR SPEAKERS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD!!!!!!!!
I hate this product and I will support every other but Cam Soundworks.

Terry.

CSW's Ensemble strikes to me as another sub/satellite combo that's targeting the mass consumers (i.e. Bose). Like Bose's products, the Ensemble are not very musical. For the money, I'd suggest NHT (http://www.nhthifi.com) or PSB (http://www.psbspeakers.com). For a lot less than $599.00, you can purchase the NHT 1.5, which is by far more musical than the Ensembles. For slightly more money, you can purchase a NHT SuperZero/SW1P combo if you prefer sub/satellite combo. Personally, if I were to purchase a speaker in this range, I'd spend a bit more and purchase a pair of NHT 2.5i (about $900.00). Overall, I'd say that the Ensembles are below-average speakers for the money.

Clarity, Imaging, Warranty, Trial Period, Indestructibility

Ugly subwoofer, placement takes time and patience

I probably shouldn't be writing this review after just three
weeks of ownership, but I can't help it...

The main advice I can give regarding these speakers is to have patience with their placement and their "burn in" period. The first few days I brought them home, I really thought I would be bringing them back for full credit using CSW's awesome 45 day trial period. I tried the speakers in a new configuration every day, listening for hours on end, and I just wasn't happy. Then, finally, after about a week, I
tried moving the satellites to opposite sides of the room
pointed at 45 degree angles, and voila, I got all the hype.
(Before, I had them about six feet apart on one side of the
room.) I also have the subwoofers in almost the same
location as the sats, but at floor level. Also, about this time, the speakers began to get a warmer sound, which I guess I can attribute to them finally getting "burned in".
For the past two weeks I have been completely thrilled by
this speaker system. I have them powered with an NAD
C740 Receiver, conservatively rated at 35 watts per
channel at 8ohms. (If you know NAD, you know what I mean
by conservatively!) I listen to a lot of different types of
music, Van Morrison, BB King, Whiskeytown, Natalie
Merchant, Beatles, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Miles Davis, Doc
Watson, but no rap. So far, every piece of music has been markedly improved by these speakers. (My old speakers
were 20 year old EPI 120Cs, that I cherished.) I am really
impressed with how Henry Kloss and his designers can get
such midrange out of those modestly-sized satellites. I am
not a bass fiend, so I cannot attest to their bottom limits, but for my musical tastes, I am very satisfied.

Before I finish, I just want to say a couple of words about Cambridge Sound Works, in general. First of all, these
speakers are guaranteed for TEN years! Both parts and
labor! Where do you see a warranty like that these days.
Second, with all CSW products you get a no risk 45 day in
home trial. Unlike most others speaker purchases, you can
take them home with no worry, play your kinds of music in
your environment, and make the decision to keep or not. I
can take these babies back on day 44 and get a refund
with no questions asked. I have never had to use that
feature, but a friend has, and he had absolutely no
problem. Lastly, at least in the store CSW store I went to,
the staff is knowledgable and (eventually!) willing to
deal...once I started to walk out!

The one lasting negative is just this...the two subwoofers are plain...plain and ugly. You may want to consider another speaker set if the subwoofers can't be completely concealed from view. I wish the designers could have done something to embellish them.
(This review was first posted on epinions.com)

Similar Products Used:

EPI 120C

Imaging and detail

a little weak on the bass; placement of the woofer unit

[See my review below also.]

Finally purchased a subwoofer, Velodyne HGS-12, an expensive sub, but seems to be worth it so far. With the sub, the CSW sounds better, the sound stage became larger for one thing. The whole systems sounds better with the sub, not just the bass.

With the New Ensemble, a sub really is highly recommended.

With the New sub, I compared the New Ensemble with NHT SuperZero. I listened to the music using my headphone first and then compared the sound to the New Ensemble and NHT.

The NHT sounds a bit warm and tends to have a be a bit (not a whole lot) exaggerated bass (a bit muddy). The CSW seems to have a more neutral sound and is a bit more detailed than the NHT.

When comparing the two, I set the HGS crossover at around 90Hz.

So, if your preference is a bit more on stronger bass, then NHT SuperZero would be better, but I found cleaner (and tighter) sound with the New Ensemble.

Placement: I use the New Ensemble woofer units as speaker stands for the satelite units (with the rubber feet to help them isolate from the vibration). So, compared to the NHT SuperZero, the CSW set up is not necessariily neat or pretty, but it does sound better.

My setup:

Velodyne HGS-12 subwoofer
CSW New Ensemble (of course)
Onkyo TX-DS 777
Sony DVP-S530D DVD player.

Similar Products Used:

NHT SuperZero, Infinity bookshelf speakers

I would be the first to admit that the CSW Ensemble would not be the best speaker choice for the Audiophile out there. The speakers are too small to recieve the sort of attention that audiophiles demand and they are not the most powerful speakers on the market. However, for the average person who wants to fill a normal-sized room in a house with music or the sounds of a good movie, one could hardly ask for anyhting more. The bass will not leave your ears feeling plugged up, and this system is not advertised as such. With its wide range, surprising bass depth for passive subwoofers, and solid soundstage, most people will find little reason to slight the sound from these small speakers. Their size means that they do not have to become a part of the furniture landscape and can be easily moved if the dimensions of your room require that you do some tweaking. I have been continually impressed by how clear and robust different kinds of music are presented with the Ensemble and like some others on here, I have found that the speakers actually seem to sound better with age, smoothing out in the mid-range and grauduating the transition into the bass. Unfortuantely, I have also been dismayed at how the Ensembles have been written off as a consumer level product. That is exactly what these speakers are and as a consumer I have never been as satisfed with an electronics purchase before.

great near-field monitor. smooth highs, clear midrange, tight bass (with proper sub placement).

none, for my purposes. the perfect computer speaker

As you can see by the speakers I use in my main system, I'm a minispeaker fanatic. Nothing can compare, for me, with the 3-dimensional effect of "being there" that only good minis with proper electronics can provide.

That is why the CSW Ensemble is the perfect computer speaker for me. They are small and easy to place (placement is important with these--it can make the difference between a lifelike, beautiful soundstage and mud). They sound very nice, ESPECIALLY when used as near field monitors. Mine sit on stands at my computer, driven by a simple Audiosource Amp 1, using the sound card as a preamp. I do a lot of midi mastering and CD recording and wanted something that would give me an idea of how my music would sound on a "real stereo."

Believe it--this little setup is every inch a real stereo. I'm using KEF RDM 1's in my main setup, because they image so well compared to the wonderful but finicky Sonus Fabers, and in a near field monitor setting, where I can have complete control over the placement of the CSWs, the imaging and beautifully even tonal response can make these sound EVEN BETTER than my expensive KEFs!

Mind you, that is because I use them exclusively in a near-field environment, but even so, the sound coming from these speakers is a credit to Cambridge.

Now for the caveat.

I had to work literally for hours to find a place for the subwoofers that did not completely muddy the sound or cause the bass to "detach." I wanted to simply place the bass units under the desk and be done with it, but since the crossover point for these sub units is a bit higher than I would choose, I lost some upper midbass because of muffling from the desk, while the desk resonance caused lower midbass to be accentuated. If you are going to use these speakers for your computer as I recommend, you must keep the sub boxes close for time alignment, but beware of midbass coloration caused by your furniture.

I finally settled for one cabinet next to the wall under my digital piano keyboard, with the other turned sideways and parallel to the desk, outside of it with the driver facing the wall. Turns out the imaging is fine in my room with this placement. It will be different for you, of course, but my experience with the subs leads me to believe that if you fool around with them enough, you can find an "installation" in most any room that will satisfy.

There are expensive near field monitors that no doubt sound better. But I could never justify the expense of buying them--not with the great sound I get from these.

5 stars.

Similar Products Used:

Sonus Faber Concertino, KEF RDM1

Dollar for dollar, this is one of the best surround sound systems out there. Lacks a little color when playing music, but if tweaked correctly, they work just fine. I would suggest matching a different subwoofer with the system though. I have mine matched with the Velodyne VA-8100X.
Home Theatre: 5 Stars
Music: 4 Stars

Dollar for dollar, this is one of the best surround sound systems out there. Lacks a little color when playing music, but if tweaked correctly, they work just fine. I would suggest matching a different subwoofer with the system though. I have mine matched with the Velodyne VA-8100X.
Home Theatre: 5 Stars
Music: 4 Stars

I have had these speakers for 14 years(first came out). I probably have the most lopsided system around:conrad-johnson tube pre-amp, c-j amp, cal audio labs cd, api line condtioner. My cd player upgrade cost more than my speakers! What these speakers do well is take the harshness out of digital sources (cd). They are easy to listen to, have a good 3-d soundstage, and disappear in your room (high spousal acceptance factor). They are somewhat laid back though, so don't expect eye opening dynamics. I continually look for my next speaker, but haven't found the combo of sound/value/unobtrusiveness of the ensemble. Am looking forward to listening to the Micro Nucleus...

I bought these speakers in 1989 but wasn't impressed with them. The clarity of the sound wasn't bad but they were very (actually and soundwise) lightweight. returned them under the sale or return policy. I know have a real sub-woofer system from Teufel with is (now) cheaper and does an excellent job.