Since 1994 I've been a struggling audiophile. Starting with used Carver electronics, I gradually upgraded to more "bang for the buck" components trying to build a simalar system to that of my local audio dealer( Arcam Alpha 7 cd, Conrad-Johnson PV10 pre-amp, Parasound HTC 115 amp, and Synergistic Research Alpha Sterling Active interconnects and bi-wired cables.) The only thing left was to get the Paradigm Studio monitors. But I wanted a floorstanding speakers and the Paradigms with the cherry finish were just outside my budget. I wanted fidelity and bling. One day I happened into the CSW store and listened to the T500s which were on sale. In addition they said I could trade in my Newton bookshefs and get credit9$300.00). That afternoon I lugged two very heavy speakers into my living room. IMO better sound(way better finish) than the Paradigms(listening to both on the same components). The finish, mahogany , is gorgeous. I smile every time I come home from work. The break in period is truly long, it's been over five years and I'm still saying "wow". Purchased Cambridge Audio Azur740c cd player from AA, but after 400 hrs of break in, had to send it back. It still didn't sound better than my Arcam. These speakers really do reveal the differences in upstream components. 5 stars!

neutral presentation-no sonic trickery -dipole and bipole-just accurate and non fatigueing great bass -smooth treble which is bright when necessary-not klipschy

large catkillers-spike em-noticed cast feet instead of plastic provided by socalled better speakers

Size does matter!after careful breakin using chesky disc and spl meter to set levels i must say that these are the best big towers i have heard!subs rock but p1000 sub is phenomenal!great for sacd and dvd audio but location and breakin are necessary to derive best sound-it took four months before mine really broke in-will show limitation in downstream components as referred to in other reviews-sorry rich guys-i am not an audiophile but an enthusiast which means i have a budget and not unlimited cash-better i think than paradigm{look and sound cheap}and close to nht-performance is on par with much more expensive spkrs and finish is great have blonde maple w/p1000 in maple too

Similar Products Used:

advent/sae/essheil/marantz/pioneer/csw m80 and model six bu henry kloss

neutral presentation-no sonic trickery -dipole and bipole-just accurate and non fatigueing great bass -smooth treble which is bright when necessary-not klipschy

large catkillers-spike em-noticed cast feet instead of plastic provided by socalled better speakers

Size does matter!after careful breakin using chesky disc and spl meter to set levels i must say that these are the best big towers i have heard!subs rock but p1000 sub is phenomenal!great for sacd and dvd audio but location and breakin are necessary to derive best sound-it took four months before mine really broke in-will show limitation in downstream components as referred to in other reviews-sorry rich guys-i am not an audiophile but an enthusiast which means i have a budget and not unlimited cash-better i think than paradigm{look and sound cheap}and close to nht-performance is on par with much more expensive spkrs and finish is great have blonde maple w/p1000 in maple too

Similar Products Used:

advent/sae/essheil/marantz/pioneer/csw m80 and model six bu henry kloss

Thunderous bass; enough to scare small children and old ladies. Brings a smile to my face though... Looks like a million bucks. OK, maybe not a million, but you'll have to spend like 5 grand to get a speaker that looks as nice. Very revealing. Hook them up to top quality equipment, and you'll know you've got top quality equipment

Very revealing. If you hook these up to your average reciever, be prepared to be unimpressed.

This review is more like two reviews in one. First, I've always been impressed with Cambridge Soundworks speakers ever since I first got some for my computer. I have a set of CSW microworks hooked up to this computer now, and the sound quality is fantastic, always enjoyable. So when I upgraded my Home Theater setup, I purchased a CSW MC500 center channel. BIG improvement, dialog much clearer and effects really grab you now, set your center speaker to LARGE, and you will be impressed! It also matched quite well with my vintage EPI Monitor 1 mains. After that, I decided to improve my surround speakers to the CSW S300. Wow, even if your seated close to them, it is hard to pinpoint the sound source, as the dipole speakers spreads the sound out so well. I was quite happy with this setup until I had the chance to purchase a lightly used set of CSW T-500s. Went to pick them up, and the first thing that strikes you is their impressive looks. I've been around HI-FI for quite some time, and to get a speaker that looks nearly as good, your going to have to spend a fortune; think B&W Nautilus, and NOT the small ones! So on LOOKS you've got a speaker that's in the top classes. After hooking them up I was prepared to hear a top class speaker, but that wasn't my first impression. Let me qualify this; My EPI's that they replaced were horn loaded, and quite bright. I had the setting in the tweeter turned all the way down on the EPI's and they were quite nice like that, but still bright. Also they were very efficient, something like 94db, so I never really pushed my receivers amp much. The T-500's were not as satisfying to me as the EPI's in the top end, kinda disappointing. For the good news; I got to toss my subwoofer! The T-500's have PRODIGIOUS bass. They will shake your walls, floors, windows. Amazing power, it's like having two 12" powered subs, I cant ever see needing more bass for ANY LF-effect. I was happy with that, but at a loss to understand the rolled off treble from these speaks. I mean, all the info says they are pretty flat to ~20, so they shouldn't sound like this. Just today I decided to hook them up to my HI-FI system. I'm a bit of a geek in that I have TWO separate sound systems, an HT setup, and a HI-FI setup which consists of PS-Audio preamp and 200 WPC PS-Audio amp, with a CD/DVD-Audio player as source. These are hooked up to a pair of Magnepan series III-a's. My maggies kick ass, but I wanted to give the T-500's a last chance to prove themselves. Well, was I in for a shock. Put on Sarah McLaughlan and what do you know, the highs are THERE, so is the air, and staging; Hello Sarah! Tried some Bach organ music, and WOW the room vibrates with the bass pedals, really visceral. Tried some Alice in Chains MTV unplugged, and it sounds "live" oh yeah! What's going on here? I was unimpressed with the speakers in my HT setup, but in my HIFI setup they rock. Looks to me I've found my problem, and they are not the T-500's. It's my reciever. Turns out the T-500's are VERY revealing of upstream components. I should have know this. Now I'm on the hunt for a better receiver. Thanks T-500's, I really needed to dump another grand or so into this setup.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan, Advent, KLH, EPI, ect, ect. I've been at this a few years now.

Price is too much.

Excellent sound quality through the entire sound range. Much clearer than the Klipsch RF-7 and RSW-15 set I used to have.

Natural sound.

None that I have found.

Great sound (no bi-wire). Each is wired with one 14 ga. wire - one T500 is wired to a subWoofer pre-out with the second T5 linked to the first. The base is natural and not overpowering. These guys sound great with a variety of music including classical (80%), jazz & rock. They do great with movies of course, but that's no test of a decent speaker. I receommend them without hesitation. They outperform far more expensive systems that friends own.

Similar Products Used:

KLH mod 6, CSW ensemble, CSW M80

Accuracy, deep musical bass. Used Titantic CD to set sub gain and contour controls.

Cannot adjust sub amplifier gain with biwire speaker wire connection, must use sub cable.

Got the slate color on sale as a reburbished pair. Overall excellent, warm, accurate sound. Powered subs included are musical and powerful, I don't notice they are there (which is good). I found that there is no gain control for the sub for the recommended bi-wire connection, just a contour control that adjusts a filter for the lower end of the bass. The sub level gain only works for the sub-in input, not the low range speaker wire input, which connects just to the sub amp. I connected a sub cable to both sub-in RCA type jacks from the receiver's sub-out using a Y connector. The speakers cross at 100 HZ and so does my receiver. I set the front speakers to FULL on the receiver so the speakers' high range inputs would see the same signal as with a biwire connection. Now I can adjust the sub gain at both the receiver and the sub-level controls on the speakers. Very happy with these tall beauties, until upgrade-itess strikes again (I upgraded to these from the CSW M80).

Bass, Timbre, style, over all presentation of the sound stage, and affordable.

Bass a little tough to tune (I strongly reccommend a SPL meter) and not really a weakness, but paired with the wrong equipment, they will show the weaknesses of your system making it easy to blame a poor reproduction on these beautys.

Owning well over 10k worth of 2 Channel audio in my main system, I was suprised to hear such a well balanced timbre from a retail-speaker. They preform very well at lower vol. so there is no need to wake the neighbors. However if you feel the need, These things can output pressure at high vol than needed (very nice). It is important you use these with the proper reciever/amp/intergrated. They are a true high end speaker, hence a Sony ES or a Kenwood reciever WILL NOT do them justice. You will hear the flaws in the rest of your system. Summary, they slim, heavy, elegant, and affordable. 10 out of 10.

Similar Products Used:

Def. Tech, Paradigm, Enegry, PSB.

Price, built quality, high and mid freq

Bass

I tried out the T500 for about a month. I had them bi-wired using Monster Z series cables. I had them connected to Sony E series reciver. I loved the high and mid frequiencies, but could not get the bass right. I tried everything to no avail. Finally I returned them and purchased the PSB Silver i's and am much happier with them. The C500, though is a great center. The S300 were not very good either. The sound stage was very weak.

Base, they look terrific, clarity, makes my ears ring.

none yet

Well what more can you say about these for the price? These are awesome for the average person or audiophile. I run mine with the Marantz SR-8200. I have the MC500 for the center and CSW''s best surround left, right and rear. I bought them all together in February 2002. I also bi-wired them and the center channel, and it makes a pretty noticable difference if you do not. Sound is incredible with movies or music. My whole living room thunders and shakes from the base while watching Pearl Harbor or The Phantom Menace. This happens even when they are turned down relatively low. I can never have enough base though. I''ve been thinking of running my 2 yamaha subs with this setup too. I''ll post again soon......Oh I have the mahogany and they look great!