Clean & Clear sound!

none so far.

These MC300s are awesome when used with the P500 subwoofer. I was listening to a Robert Miles CD Dreamland, gave out some tight, awesome bass. No distortion!

Similar Products Used:

Newton Series MC200

Styling and ability to hang on a wall.

Mid-to-low end speaker performance.

I owned a pair of MC-300's for a while but was unhappy with the job the speakers did filling my large room with sound. CSW M-60's are a MUCH better sounding speaker at $50 less a pair.

The good news, CSW has a great trade-in/satisfaction guarantee program. If this wasn't such a great store to deal with that let me swap out the speakers, I would have had a problem. But as it is, I am now very satissfied.

Similar Products Used:

CSW M-60

build of speaker cab and heavy as hell for some speakers, very good sound not overly bases just good clean sound for music and hom theater

not too much base but its not a tower speaker

i just got this thing to night and exchange my centerstage for it and man i'm i happy with the sound. although the centerstage had a little more base out put i'm perfer better sound and clearity over more base. i have used the center with action and love story movies and they sound awesome for the size. i love how transparent for music and love how it sounded with salsa and classical music with salsa it brought out a lot of high end that i really couldn't here too much with the centerstage not that i'm ncking it but it is a good product but the new newtons are here and there going to be loved by alll cambridge soundwork customers and newbeys.

Similar Products Used:

centerstage

Crisp, neutral, nice soundstage. Not too sensitive to placement. Head and shoulders above the regular CSW stuff. Solidly built.

Slightly odd styling- WAF jury still out

I have sold as well as loved audio since the late 80's and believe I have listened to some of the best (Thiel), and worse (Bose) loudspeakers out there. Up until the beginning of this year I had two discreet systems- one for Home Theater, and one for critical listening. With a new baby and a house of a limited size I could no longer rationalize taking up two rooms with my "hobby". My wife thought I was crazy, and questioned whether I really wanted to sell off my stereo set-up- she knows that I find great pleasure in listening to music, so of course she had some concerns about whether making such a move would be a good idea. So I decided that if I couldn't find a set-up that gave me a good mixture of listening and DVD watching quality I would keep my stereo set-up. I had no false illusions, I knew that in my price range finding a system that did justice to music as well as HT was going to be a tough. I found that most HT Systems in the under $1000.00 dollar range were either deficient in midrange articulation, or too big and imposing for my family room (17 x 12).

So I went out to Tweeter, and a few local audio shops and listened to multiple sub-sat systems from Mirage (AVS 500), Boston Acoustics, Anthony Gallo Acoustics and PSB. I was going to listen to Paradigm, but even though the price was right reviews said that the bass articulation was a weakness. Along with those brands I also figured I would try out a couple of Internet Retailers (Home Theater Direct and Edge Audio), but the size of the Level 3 HDT sats were too large (my wife did have a say in how the system would make the family room look), and the steep shipping charges for Edge didn't sound all that attractive if I had to eat the charges- $80.00 for shipping was the cost of some good interconnects, DVD's or a gift for my understanding spouse.

So listen I did but depressed I became. Alas most of these systems were not meant for music listening. To my ear they sounded boxy, boomy, and not at all refined. Sure they made Home Theater sound good, but music fell flat.

I should mention that up to this point I had not even considered CSW's Newton series, mainly due to the experince I had with their bass cube and ensemble sats. Due to money (what else) I had originally settled on CSW for HT because they were cheap, and I already had a great system for critical listening. At the time my stereo system was an outstanding Classe'/Thiel set-up, so I felt I could purchase my HT system based on HT performance only.
So I went out and plunked down $700.00 for the CSW 408 series, both because it was small and sounded reasonably good for HT. Then, over the course of a year, started upgrading the sats and the sub to a point where I had a BassCube 10, Center Channle Plus and Ensemble 3's for the surrounds. The system did a good job with HT, but was absolutely horrible with music. The sound was anemic, and without soul. Overly smooth, and not well integrated. Sonic wall paper was the best it could provide with imaging that was neither deep nor well-placed.

Being completely disheartened by my experience with these other systems, I peered at the Newton flyer I received a couple of weeks before and in a moment of weakness I fell prey to the 45 day trial plicy. This along with the fact that CSW would take back my current system and give me full credit toward the new one made my rationalizing that more compelling- you got to hand it to these guys, their marketing just pulls you in with low cost systems, then keeps you in the family with an 1 year trade-up policy.
So I went down to my neighborhood CSW and talked to Jason (a guy who had taken care of me in the past)about the upgrade. In particular an upgrade from my HT system to the Newton 300 System (MC 300's across the front, with SC300 surrounds, the 1000 watt (yeah, right) P1000 Subwoofer and a Marant SR7000 receiver). Needless to say I left CSW that night with the complete package less the Marantz which I replaced with a floor sample Onkyo TX-DS777 DD, DTS receiver (I have long been a Onkyo fan and have found their products to be quite good; the Marantz by comparison didn't seem as well-built to me as the Onkyo. Then again the extra money I saved off the package price was also good:-))
So with the understanding that I would take the Newtons home and compare them to my current set-up, I was off and running. At the very least I would get the chance to play for a month.

It took me a few hours to set everything up. The biggest chore was moving an extra bracket over to support one of the MC300 sats. These speakers were heavy, and required two of the ball n' claw CSW brackets for support, so that relegated the right sat to our fireplace mantle for support while the rear SC300 sats simply replaced the Ensemble threes and fit the plastic CSW brackets perfectly-one per bracket. The sub by far was the most interesting piece of the group. Weighing in at 45lb's the P1000 was quite "dense" considering it had similar demensions to my BassCube 10, but weighed twice as much. Hook-up was a breeze and the control module, while not as "heavy" did have a nice feel to it. The controls were a bit on the cheezy side as far as asthetics, but well-made none-the-less. Considering it's good-looks it was a shame that the P1000 would live behind the couch. Suspiciously though, the power consumption of the sub was only 7.2 amps at 120 volts. 860 watts consumption for a supposedly 1000 watt sub woofer? Hmmm...

In the case of all the sats, and the sub, parts- especially the binding posts, which were metal, not plastic- were of high quality.
I hooked everything up to the 777 and set all the speakers via the very intuitive front panel. Keep in mind the 777 was a floor sample and came with no manual, never-the-less I was able to set input, speaker balance and program radio stations without any problem. You can see a separate review on the 777 in the receivers section of this site.

So after setting the system up I looked at the clock and decided to leave the listening for the next day. Before retiring I tuned in the radio and left the system playing in 5 channel stereo for the evening and most of the next day.

The next evening my wife and I watched "What Lies Beneath" in DTS. After all the only real reason I decided to go with a new receiver was becasue my older Onkyo 474 was DTS-less. The movie was OK (not as bad as the reviewers said, but not all that good either) but the benefits of DTS were not all that apparent. Sure the SFX-rich sountrack did sound hyper crisp and clean, and the bass did seem to be deeper, but it was questionable whether it was due to the speakers or the encoding,

I listened to some music after that. A really great recording of Everthing but the Girl, and some other British Pop. Both sounded quite good, but not all that fantastic. So far I was less than impressed. Music performance was OK, and the THX sound test still pointed out a crossover hole in the 100hz region that was suspiciously similar to my Ensemble set-up.

The next day I decided to give CSW headquarters a call fully expecting them to give me the runaround to some questions I had about the sub and its ratings. To my surprise I first spoke to one of the COO's and then the Newton Product Manager. The Product Manager, whose name escapes me, was EXTREMELY helpful and professional, and spoke to me for more than 20 minutes. Within the context of the conversation he answered my questions, and shed light on some tweeks I could try to make my set-up work better. In my mind some of my questions were definitely loaded and more the act of being a smart-ass, not a concerned consumer. But the fact that this GENTLEMAN actually spoke with me and admitted to certain inaccuracies spoke volumes about the type of integrity CSW employs. Some manufacturers would point you to their less than informed Tech Support, and refuse to offer any info outside their Marketing party-line. The fact that this man spoke with me makes me feel better about his product.
Over the course of our discussion I found out a few pieces of info that proved to be accurate and invaluable. One thing that I felt totally embarassed to admit was that I was using the crossover adjustment on the sub when my Onkyo's LFE channel was doing the work. The Onkyo's crossover was at 80hz so therefore I should have bypassed the P1000 by setting it at it's maximum (160hz) X-over point. Adjusting the P1000 in series with the Onkyo actually caused a cascading affect in the response between the sats and the sub, and in the end accounted for the frequency response "hole" I heard when testing the system.

Anyway I found my experience with CSW quite rewarding and positive. Anyone who knows anything about good business will tell you that you keep customers by offering good customer service. Read many of the negative posts on this site and you'll find that a great product with horrible customer service equals a mediocre product.

So after tweekign things a bit I watched the X-Files Film in DTS and was very impressed. The explosions, dialogue were not only clear but dramatic- my wife who was upstairs screamed when she though an explosion in the film was a electrical transformer blowing up on our street. I of course, just had a grin from ear to ear. The Onkyo was incredibly dynamic and seemed to handle DTS with aplomb, while the subwoofer was tight and never boomy.

This past Friday night I treated myself to watching "The Matrix" for the sixth time but this time at THX reference. One word- Unbelievable. The infamous lobby shoot-out was clear as a bell, with tight control of bullet SFX and concrete fragments flying everywhere, while the Helicopter crash caused waves of bass to move from my TV to my couch 13 feet away. I was loving life.

The next evening I decided to listen to some more music. Peter Gabriel, Rusted Root, a Mapleshade records sampler and some classical. And whether it was break-in or the extra tweeks, things sounded quite nice. Initial impressions don't show it stomping all over my Thiel/Classe' set-up, but the MC300's image nicely, have nice tonal quality, and are detailed without being bright or etched. The P1000 is very tight and presents the bass respective to the recording.

All in all I am finding a lot to like about the new Newton Series. They are unlike their lesser expensive bretheren, and very much like what I have come to expect from a quality stereo set-up. No system will do everything well, but for the price point (about 1200.00 over my trade-in) and the quality I think CSW has a winner on their hands. They are at least worth an audition.

I will be sure to follow-up on this review once a few months pass, or if for some reason the Newtons fall from grace. For now 4 stars all around.

Similar Products Used:

CSW Ensemble 3, Thiel Loudspeakers, Acoustic Energy Loudspeakers, various ADS, Various Acoustic Research, Various Paradigm, Mirage M5si. Advent Baby 2's and Legacy.

Some small QC glitches involving paint overspray, and adhesive staining on front baffles. Annoying logo installation (Plastic pins easy to break. CSW's traditional speakers reputation may give the Newtons a tough up-hill battle with discerning audiophiles.

This is an update to my review posted back in February
It's been 2 months now, and since the CSW trial period has long since past, it's apparent that I've decided to keep the Newtons.
In a word the system, which includes MC300's across the front, SC300's at the rears and the formidable P1000 anchoring the bass, is wonderful. The Newtons have proven to me that they cannot only handle HT, but deliver enjoyable, involving stereo when paired with the right amplifier. When I purchased the Newton 300 system I initially chose to go with an Onkyo TX-DS777. Since then I have reluctantly replaced the Onkyo with an Harman Kardon AVR510. As a testament to the Newton's transparency, I was able to tell a big difference between the two receivers and found the Onkyo, while stellar in HT, failed to get me emotionally involved with music. You can see my complete review on the HK510 to get more detail on this comparison. For now, though, onto the Newtons.

The MC300's image well, and have a crisp tonal balance that is not only smooth, but has enough detail to bring out air and ambience in well-recorded material.
The P1000 sub is powerful but athletic and can deliver both detail and sheer muscle when needed. On a number of recordings the P1000 brought out subtle, tight bass and authoritative slam that would have been lost on a lesser “one note” subwoofer. Whether it was the plucking of a Jazz bassists, The strummin' of a Pop guitarists, or the pumping of electroronic-bass, the P1000 delivered clean output with snappy definition.
With the MC300’s and P1000 combined, recordings came to life with a presence that, at times, surprised me. Often audiofanatics (like myself) talk about palpability, or the ability to reach out and touch the music. The Newton MC300's, and P1000 paired with the HK offered this quality as well as a fine sense of control with well-recorded material. On lesser recordings bloated bass, paper thin vocals and strident highs were apparent but not to the point where I was unable to enjoy the music. After all what good is a mega-transparent speaker if it takes away from a mediocre recording that one still finds musically enjoyable?

Home Theater was equally impressive. With the participation of the SC300’s the Newton’s were able to create tight, seamless reproduction of Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks. Films like X-Men, Eraser, The Hunt for Red October, and X-Files Fight the Future were delivered with excitement and authority; dialogue was always clear, complex crescendos of sound FX were always well-controlled, and surround sound panning was always very real and involving. The jet in X-Men actually flew from the left front to the right rear with such perfect balance and separation that the scene genuinely captivated me.

The Newtons were relatively easy to set-up and didn't seem to penalize real-world placement with lackluster sound or imaging. I did find setting up the sub to be a little tedious when I was trying to minimize localization in my difficult room. But even then the P1000's flexible control module allowed seamless blending between it and the MC300's; in my honest opinion, once you try a sub with the flexibility of the P1000, considering a sub with less flexibility seems a huge step down. For my set-up I chose the 100Hz subwoofer setting in the HK, after deciding that 80Hz was a tad too low.
One piece of advice though… if you are anything like me (anal and obsessive) getting a SPL meter and test CD may not be a good idea; lest you educate yourself to all the inadequacies of your room and spend many a late night tweaking rather than listening! :-).

When it became clear that I needed to consolidate my stereo and HT set-up I was very concerned about making sure that the compromise not only sounded good but would also be something I could live with for the foreseeable future. Before the Newtons I thought CSW speakers were pretty mediocre, a better product than say Bose, but still not up to the level of what I would consider a musically enjoyable speakers. Given this I never figured that the Newtons would meet my expectations. After two months I find myself very satisfied with their performance and find them to be a huge step in musicality for CSW. They are refined, revealing and very enjoyable. For the money they not only offer great sound but some pretty ingenious features, like the balanced RJ11 Sub hook-up, that makes owning them that much nicer. This feature alone allowed me the flexibility to place the sub behind my components, amidst power and signal connections, with nary a hum or buzz to be heard!

Like I said, I never cared much for CSW stuff, but with the Newtons I have renewed faith in the company’s commitment to building good audio cheap.

Now a word about customer service...

I'm pretty sure that during the course of my auditioning the Newtons I tested CSW's customer service mettle quite thoroughly. Even despite my overly obsessive audiofanatic behavior sales associates at the CSW Berlin, MA store, as well as the Newton Product Manager were extremely helpful and receptive.
When it came to making sure I was completely satisfied with my purchase Jason (Jay) and Ron never blew me off, and went as far as to let me borrow an HK510 to audition against to the Onkyo.
When it came to answering every one of my 20 some-odd e-mails with professionalism and expert knowledge, Mr. Bob Hazelwood was always willing to offer his years of audio experience to make sure I got the most out of my Newtons. With some audio manufacturers you get the feeling that Marketing drives everything while little passion for the medium comes through in the product. Through my correspondence with Mr. Hazelwood I found that this was not the case. His clear love of music, and years of experience with such audiophile-driven companies like A/D/S/ and Apogee Acoustics, made me feel confident that, even given the compromises engineers are forced to make every day, his team was always concerned with making speakers that were worthy of reproducing excellent sound.

My thanks to CSW, and their Killer product.

Similar Products Used:

Thiel 1.2, 1.5's, Mirage(M5si), Acoustic Energy, Paradigm Eclipse, Acoustic Research TSW 510, 610, Advent (late 80's), A/D/S L1290's, Various JBL, Definitive BP10.