Price, performance and size

For my room size, none!

I saw the reviews for CSW Movieworks 408 and decided to get one for myself. The MW 408 was for $369.99 at hifi.com, and I told the CSW guy that I saw this in hifi.com.

He looked at his computer and said that he would match the price. He looked at it some more and said something that I have never heard *ANY* salesman say, I could get the whole system for less!

The deal was that MW 408 consists of 5 ensemble IV satellites and base cube 8 powered sub. The ensemble IV system (with a passive sub) was on sale for $149.99 and the base cube 8 powered sub was on sale for $169.99, giving a total of $320 for the 5 satellites, a passive sub and a powered sub!!! So I get a powered sub for negative money :)
This is still the case at hifi.com.

I also got an Onkyo DR-90 DVD and Receiver with it, all for $720. The CSW man honored the $100 off DVD deal with the speaker package for this DVD/Receiver combo.

This is probably the best investment I made! The speakers are superb, along with the dvd/receiver (55 watts per channel, high current revceiver), I was amazed at the sounds from my CDs that I never knew existed! I keep finding out new instruments in some of my CDs. Hats off to CSW for these speakers. I will probably go for some of the higher range speakers after a few months.

Thanks for all the reviews that you have posted, they really made my life easier and richer!

And thanks too to the Cambridge Sound Works person at the San Jose Great Mall CSW store.

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Low end speakers

Best system for the "price"; Average performance for music, but excellent for Dolby Digital/Pro-Logic.

low price, clear and precise sounds, excellent for movies

none

excellent speakers for a low price

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meridian, celestion, infinity, jbl

If CSW had a better sense of marketing and advertising, this MW408 home theater set would be considered a reference "micro-speaker" ensemble. For the price I paid ($400), I received five identical satellites (3-inch long-throw midrange drivers), and a powered Bass Cube 8 (which itself, could sell for $400). THe performance of these babies are in a league by themselves. Hooked up a Sony DVP-530 and Harmon Kardon AVR-45 to them in a 15x15 room and I was impressed! On Dolby Digital sources, the 408 performed accurately and fluidly, and on regular analog sources (CD and radio), these speakers ran extremely well.

I've tried them all during the initial "pricing stage" but the MW408 was without any doubt in my mind, the best: the best in performance, the best in quality, the best in warranty, the best in price. For those people who actually own CSW products, they are getting a flat-out steal on any product! Does the name Henry Kloss ring a bell? He basically invented the small sat-sub set-up (acoustic suspension) with Villcur decades back (not "better sound through advertising" Amar Bose). These speakers have years of innovative design and history behind them.

Highly, highly recommend!

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Klipsch, Energy, Paradigm, and last and least, Bose

Price, performance and unbelievable 10 year warranty !

None

These speakers are a steal ($375, www.hifi.com)! I never heard of CSW before, but, like others below, I am a believer now. For the price, no other similar system could compare to it. The sound quality is excellent. The subwoofer could shake the walls on some videos; the bass is awesome. The sats deliver clear, crisp sound. I don't know why CSW does not market themselves better. They are hands down better than BOSE. I bought a JVC RX-888VBK receiver at same time, replacing old Technics receiver and Advent speakers. Next will be a DVD player. For someone on a budget creating a home theater set-up, the CSW MW408 should be your first choice. My only complaint was that the folks at hifi.com were not willing to bargain on a price for a system put together by the customer. Their price on the JVC was extremely high, and they would not dicker on the combined price. So, I went to ecost.com for the receiver. But, they were prompt on answering a question about the MW408, and their web site contains tons of useful information on setting up a home theater system.

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JBL, Bose

Sound pretty good and execellent value.

None

This is an execellent system that you can buy for the money. I purchased an entire system of Sony Receiver STR-835 and
CSW Movieworks 408 for a price of $675 from hifi.com.
The system sound great. Also hifi.com has a special now.
They throw in a Samsung DVD-709 free in the deal which makes
it very sweet. You can get the DVD on sale for $200 at some store now. However which means for less than $500, you can get a system which is comparable to the 1100 or 1000 Yamaha/Mirage system or $1150 Yamaha/Paraydme system that I listed to at the store. I am really impressed with the clarity and sound of the speakers and sub-woofer. We have a big living room (18*12) with a dinette. How ever even with 30% volume, the system fills up entire room completely.
We cannot turn the volume more than that. I really recommend this system to anyone who has less than $1000 dollar to spend on a system. Actually, I wish I had another receiver with low THD, the Sony STR-835 has a THD of .8%
in Surround mode which is 10 times more than than a Yamaha HTR-5150 or a Pioneer Ellite VSX-21. I always wondered how the system would perform with those Receivers. I would think even better. Unfoutunately, hifi.com does not have these receiver. They have Onkyo and JVC and I did not find good reveiews of those receiver, too. Sony STR-835 had a rating of about 4 star, by the way.

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Harman Kodak, Bose, Paradyme and Mirage

Great sound stage, great price, great value! Great with small rooms, and much better quality comparing to Bose.

Too weak for medium to large rooms. Need to add a powerful subwoofer.

If you were to spend $1000 on Bose Acousticmass speakers, I would highly recommend you save up the money and buy these Movieworks speakers. They sound better than those Bose ones...yes, see other reviews.

The money you save you can put it into other equipment budget.

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NONE

This system from CSW is by far the best thing I could find at 1) the size speaker I wanted and 2) the price I was looking for.
I was willing to spend up to about 500 or 600 dollars on a speaker system and this system for 399.99 stood out as the best amoung speakers that were as much as 2 or 3 hundred dollars more.

The fidelity that comes from these little speakers is fantastic. When coupled with the powerful and rich sub it makes the system sound as good as many theaters I have been in. I am running these speakers with a DD TEAC DD Reciever and I am astounded.

I definitely recommend this set.

low cost

I needed good speakers for my new home theater system, without spending a lot of money. I did some research, and found out about the movieworks 408. After hearing them at CSW I bought them. I was amazed when i brought them home, they sounded great. The bass is more than enough for a small room also. If you want to invest in a home theater system, these are the best speakers for only 400 bucks too