Next, I popped in my Men in Black DVD for a theater performance evaluation. Overall, though, it's a very well-matched system.
Cambridge soundworks model 17 drivers#
This may have been masked slightly by the Tower IIs' bass drivers and flat output. The BassCube 10 handled the guitars' bass notes seamlessly, with very little loss in tonal quality while transitioning between various frequencies. I understand that they were probably designed for a room only half the size of our studio, but I'd definitely note them as the weak point of this ensemble.
The Surround II 5.1 dipolar rears seemed to get lost in our large listening room. It didn't break up at high volume levels. In 5.1 music mode, the center channel was my favorite of the ensemble, producing big sound and clear, natural vocals. The imaging and soundstaging were wide, open, and very flat-sounding overall.
I turned off the BassCube 10 subwoofer for an untainted evaluation, and these speakers were able to stand on their own merit. In two-channel mode (stereo), the towers, in particular, sounded very dynamic. I was, however, very impressed with the musical performance of this ensemble. There was nothing that immediately caught my attention about the sound quality. I inserted my Eagles Hell Freezes Over DVD into my player and began the music evaluation. Both high- and low-level ins/outs, variable crossover, and gain control offer complete system flexibility, allowing you to match the BassCube 10 to your listening requirements.Īfter setting up and inspecting the ensemble, it was time to hear how the Cambridge SoundWorks System II performs. The sub's rear panel has all the features you'd need to integrate it into your theater. The sealed enclosure utilizes a 10-inch woofer in a downward-firing application. A simple square design with a 70-watt amplifier is used. Again, don't expect any sexy body lines to blow wind up your skirt here. Wrapping up the low end of the System II is the BassCube 10 subwoofer. The textured material of the Surround II 5.1 begs to be painted a color that matches your interior. The speakers do have a threaded insert for mounting purposes (which is very useful for surrounds), and there are clips for speaker connection. Here, Cambridge chose to use a pair of very small dipolar "cubes." The build quality of each speaker is on par with the rest of the System II, but I question the effectiveness of such a small speaker for rear-channel effects.Įach Surround II 5.1 is constructed of sturdy polymer material, with metal grilles. The Surround II 5.1 surround speakers were a bit disappointing in comparison with the other speakers in the System II. The rear panel features binding posts for connectivity. There are two small, frontward-firing ports on the front of the center. The CenterStage features a single 1-inch soft-dome plate tweeter flanked by two 5 1/4-inch polypropylene mids.
Cambridge soundworks model 17 tv#
I'm not sure of many TV stands that would have the space to accommodate the wide center, leaving set-top placement as the only option. It seems as though it would be the perfect candidate to stand a 30-inch-or-smaller TV on, but it's not deep enough. The speaker is rather wide, yet it has a height of 6 1/4 inches, making for a very short profile. My first impression of the CenterStage center-channel speaker was that of puzzlement. The enclosure is built rather stoutly for a speaker at this price point. The back of the Tower II features binding posts for optimum connectivity. Using a rather simplistic rear-ported, rectangular tower design, each of the main L/Rs is built very well and has a 1-inch soft-dome plate tweeter, a 5 1/4-inch polypropylene midrange, and a pair of 8-inch polypropylene woofers. When it comes to cosmetic appeal, Cambridge has never been known for offering anything that would be considered sexy, and such is the case with the Tower II main L/R.
Commonly referred to as the Tower series, the Cambridge SoundWorks System II represents a fantastic offering for the budget- and performance-minded.