Cambridge SoundWorks HT setups - Page 6

Already did that. Swapped the 10" driver from the other tower and still makes the noise. It must be the circuitry/crossover/amp somewhere in the enclosure. I will investigate more tonight.

I'd call CSW then. They might just send you a new amp unit if you're able to install it yourself because they aren't going to want to ship a T500....I believe that's actually why they discontinued them.

How do you like the Wharfedales?

Sent my amp in on Friday. We'll see what they say.

I've only had them for about a week now but they sound very nice to me. The highs are much more detailed than the M80s but I think I like the M80's midrange
and bass better. I'll post a more detailed comparison once I've had more time with them, but these are very nice speakers.

Glad to see this thread! I wasn't sure anyone was using CSW anymore. I just upgraded my fronts from an MC300 center and MC200 L/R to all MC305s. I did the L/R first as I didn't want to spring for 3 even with the current Father's Day 40% off prices (normal direct 25% plus DAD25 code). When I installed the 2 MC305s, the sound stage sounded much fuller immediately, but the L/Rs were much louder. Ran Audyssey set up on my Onkyo 606 and the levels on those speakers were lowered about 3 db. During set up I noticed the tone was different than on the MC300. So I ordered a third MC305 so I would have a matched set. Installed it last night, ran Audyssey, bumped the center up 2 db as I always do, and dialog seemed a little crisper than with the MC300.
My surrounds are the S200s. Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan and We Were Soldiers all have me ducking bullets whizzing around me!

It looks as though Cambridge has both the black and cherry M85s back in at $180 each if anyone's interested.

http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/s...=clr_bookshelf

Good eye Boulder! I'm glad to see these back as I love mine.
I'm also glad to see CSW doing temporary runs of their discontinued speakers; i hope to see some towers back in stock as I had my eyes on the T205's and may scoop 'em up if they came back.

Here are some detailed impressions of the Evo2-10 I posted on ecoustics.com:

So now that I've had some time with these speakers and listened to many different albums I'll post some more impressions.

Since getting them, the bass has come out quite a bit. It seems much deeper than before, and while still not as punchy as my other speakers, I can still feel it and it seems much more balanced with the rest of the music. I'm actually finding I'm not missing the extra punch with my old speakers as I'm realizing it was more of a distraction than anything. These have really taught me to appreciate what bass should be like I think.

With the bass came the mids, which seem very smooth but dynamic to me. Guitars sound a little polite, but I think that's an amp issue. Drums, organs, and vocals however sound excellent. I'm listening to The Tragically Hip's Phantom Power right now and Gordan's voice which is VERY dynamic sounds very realistic to me, and listening to the way the snare drum's sound decays just sounds great.

Highs I've said all along have impressed me very much with the amount of detail and resolution. I do think there is a bit of politeness when it comes to cymbals but again, I'd bet a new amp would take care of that. I really do like this tweeter though, it has all the detail I could want without sounding harsh like a metal based tweeter. It also sounds very good off axis to me....I frequently listen when falling asleep or sitting at my computer which is to the right of my system and while it's not the same as my primary listening position in that I lose proper imaging and such, it's still very impressive.


I've also pushed them pretty hard and even with my cheap Onkyo AVR they have never sounded distorted or hurt my ears or anything. Not sure if it's just that the speaker is easy to drive or what but they have never sounded bad even with my extremely underwhelming amplification. I still plan to upgrade my amplifier, probably this winter (although the NAD and Cambridge Audio deals at Spearit Sound are very tempting). But either way, these speakers have never sounded bad at all with any album I've thrown at them. My M80s had some trouble with some albums but excelled greatly with others.....I still think they do better with the albums they were good at but the Evos are much more well rounded in that they do everything. I think the biggest thing I've gotten from this speaker is the learning experience. While I haven't heard as many speakers as you guys I'm sure, I'm definitely learning what I like. I've found to disregard what sounds "impressive" (in a "look at me!" way) such as the punchy bass or over the top highs and just listen for the music. I remember auditioning the Paradigm Monitor V5s a couple years ago and being very impressed with the bass.....Looking back on that I do not think I would have been happy in the long run had I bought those speakers. What I like best about the Evos is that no aspect of them calls on itself, which I think gives it the balance that I'm only starting to appreciate.

I have some ideas for my upgrade path.....Stands as I mentioned in my other thread ( http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/1/579584.html, should be starting those soon), the room treatments as Jan has suggested (and perhaps a new room, which I was supposed to get a while ago but has yet to happen), as well as the integrated amp. I think I will be living with these speakers for quite a while though, these are the closest I've come so far to what's "right" to me and I doubt I'll find anything else in my price class that will come close. Overall I am very pleased with these speakers.

Got my T500 amp back yesterday. Installed it last night and all is well. It took about a month turnaround time, but that was expected beforehand. It cost $75 for the repair. I felt that was fair. Anyhoo, everything is up and running again!

Cambridge Soundworks says to set the crossover at 80Hz, but my Onkyo AVR with Audyssey sets the center at 100 and the LR at 120. Previously, a MC300 center was set at 80 by Audyssey. I do notice that the MC305s seem a little "brighter" than the MC300.

The Newton IIs use a metal dome tweeter (can't remember the material) as opposed to the original's soft cloth dome, which by nature will have a more relaxed sound. That is where the brightness comes from.

This company has gone way downhill. I'm not sure if I've posted it here but I've just gone through so many problems with my P205 sub. Back last Nov/Dec it started acting up....It would blow fuses immediately after turning it on. Replacing the fuse did nothing, it would just blow immediately after turning it on. Sent it in for repair and got it back, was told the power supply and mosfet chips were replaced.

When I got it back the second time I set it all up and it did the same thing right away. Contacted them again, sent it back, and this time they replaced the whole amp and power supply again. Was fine for months afterwards, until I stopped using it for a while due to going to 2 channel.

I decided to use it again and went to using speaker level inputs rather than the line level inputs so I could use my receiver in pure direct mode. Set everything all up and the fuse blew yet again, but this time replacing it did nothing. The unit was completely dead.

Fast forward to today, when I get my replacement (this time a different unit with a different serial number). My plan since the last time it died was to just sell the replacement as I'm just fed up with it. Anyway, get the box in, it's pretty beat up and clearly marked as refurbished (not unusual generally, but refurbished for CSW usually were in new packaging and did not look used at all). Unpack it to check the condition and take some pictures for AudiogoN, and there is something rattling inside the amp section. Called them and was told there was nothing the operator could do, and now I'm awaiting a call from the service manager tomorrow.

QC has gone way down hill for this company. Back when they had their stores, I'm betting that none of this would have happened, and if it did, I'd walk away with an upgrade or something for my trouble. I'm guessing the call I'll get tomorrow will be to send it in yet again and get another replacement. Hopefully that one will be sellable and I can put this to an end.

Anyway sorry for the rant....I really used to love this company. I've never had anything like this happen to me before and it's really put me off.

Agreed. Since they closed all their stores, their customer service and product line has become laughable.
Don't get me wrong, I love my CSW speakers. In fact I have a new appreciation of how well-balanced and detailed they are. I recently installed a new system in my car and the Infinity Perfect 6.1 component speakers turned out to be unbearably bright. No amount of eq'ing made them sound good; at moderate volumes the highs were so shrill that it felt like ice picks stabbing into my ears. I would actually get headaches after only listening for 15 minutes. I can listen to my M85's all day at deafening volumes with only a little hearing loss to complain of
However, I never want to buy anything from them ever again because of the terrible customer service experience I received. Also, their current speaker line is very weak.

:^( - that's depressing to hear. I've been waiting to get a set of 305s for my front speakers to replace my ensemble III system. Right now they have a sale for 524 to get the whole 305 5.1 setup NEW. I really want to, but I don't know. Maybe I should wait to a better sale. :^/ I purchases my p1005 from them during the sale and the box was beat up, but the sub has been working great. Maybe everything is fine. :^)

Try looking for used on Craigslist. In Boston anyway, people regularly list MC300/305's, Towers and bookshelves for excellent prices. I don't think that the warranties carry over to 2nd owners though so be extra careful in examining and listening to them.
With patience you can get a pair of gently used Tower I/IIs for about 300 bucks, an MC500 for the center for 150-200 and a pair of MC305s for the surrounds for 150; along with your p1005 you can get a superb 5.1 setup for just a little more than what CSW is selling now.

Yep. Just be careful with Craigslist....It's addicting! My first time on it and I came home with the M80s....just too good a deal to pass up lol ($140 for the pair in great condition).

:^)
I haven't looked there, only looked on ebay. I'll check it out and let you guys know. Thanks.

I am about to acquire a pair of "Towers", the first version and wondering what speaker will fit with these for center?

One of the older ones, you'll have to watch Ebay. Try calling them, they should be able to tell you which one it is. I know it's not the Center Channel II or Center Channel Plus, as those use paper tweeters which match the Ensemble sets.

If all else fails, try one of the Newtons. The MC400 would probably work fine.

Thanks boulderdashcci. A better question might be, what should I look for in speaker specs to ensure that they match the Towers as closely as possible? For example, from my former 7.1 setup, I still have a JBL ES25C center.

You could always just try what you have now and see if you can live with it. I always found center matching to be overrated really (though now I'm finding surround altogether is overrated....Perfectly happy with 2 channel).

There IS a matching center I believe, it's just hard to come by. The Newtons completely replaced the older lines in the early 2000s. They do pop up on Ebay and craigslist once in a while but that obviously isn't a very reliable way of getting one.

Maybe just try a phantom center? If the speakers image well enough in your room then that may be sufficient for you.

LOL! I don't think I have read too many posts that call BS on center matching because I think self-declared audiophiles would instantly attack that as heresy :-)

Well, I am by no means an audiophile but my limited research into center matching (or, so-called timbre matching) did not yield much in terms of science. Apparently, the quasi-scientific term for timbre is "tonal quality" or "tonal characteristic" and this parameter does not have a good scientific method of measurement. Very broadly, I think volume of air and material used in the sound instrument are two factors that would most influence this attribute. Of course, everything is shadowed by the sensitivity of the individual adult human ear (genetics, environment etc). So I take this whole timbre-matching affair with a huge pinch of salt and will mostly run the setup with the existing center to find out if I can find any difference.

As for surround, I too have a similar opinion. After running a 5.1 setup for a year, I wasn't impressed greatly by it. I am just giving it another chance with new better speakers, a blu-ray player and some more careful calibration

I'm sure quite a few HT guys would have some serious problems with my statement but because I am generally "music first" and only use two channel for that I've found the whole timbre matching thing overrated. I actually had an unmatched set for a very long time (2 completely different tweeter materials even) and then went to the Cambridge Newtons which were matched and didn't think the difference was anywhere near how some people on forums describe it. I can see why it's always optimal to have a match and you should probably try to do so....But if it just isn't possible it's not the end of the world like some people make it out to be.

But then again, my center is in a box on the other side of the room right now as I'm enjoying 2 channel. If you don't need a huge sweet spot this arrangement works very well (probably a lot better than most people who have never tried would give it credit for). The imaging from my current speakers is so good that I don't feel like I'm really missing anything I had with the multichannel set.

Also, I should point out that most designated centers suck. The horizontal MTM design is bad by nature due to phase and dispersion issues and usually a bookshelf will sound better, but people don't like the look of that.

Just Picked up three MC305s at the 35% off special going on right now. These will replace my current ensemble III HT Front set. After opening the box, these speakers are bigger then I thought. Also, I'm not so sure they are 6 pounds, feel heavier.

Did get to watch much or hear the speakers much, but from what I did hear. Wow, this is a huge upgrade. Especially when paired with the P1005 sub. I'll let you guys know what how great they sound after some more testing.

If you auto-EQ, use them a lot for a month, then EQ again. My MC-305s seemed to need a little break-in time.

I use the calibration provided by the SC-05. So I guess Iw ill have to watch a few movies. Good thing I have the extended version of LOTR. :^) I can't wait to get home.

http://s1023.photobucket.com/albums/af358/jamhandman/

I posted some pictures of my setup with the new MC305s. These speakers sound great! The clarity of these speakers over my Ensemble III is like wow! :^) I am very happy with my purchase. I just need to get two more to replace my Ensemble IV surrounds. I guess later after I save up again. :^) Woots!

Oh yeah, I know I need speaker stands. :^)

Hello fellow CSW owners,

I currently have the T500 towers and am looking to trade in for a pair of MC500s.
I have a pair of MFW-15 subwoofers so the subs on the towers are useless.
Would it be better to get the MC500s which have an additional 6.5" driver in them?

I am running an Emotiva XPA-3 amplifier for the front three channels which is 250 watts per channel.
What do yall say??

Do you not like the sound from the T500? If you are looking to replace for space reasons, then ok, but if you like the sound then I don't see a reason to make the swap. Sounds like you have a nice setup. Pics?