Cambridge SoundWorks HT setups - Page 8

Glad I found this CSW thread. Need some advice on a 7.1 setup. Currently have a 5.1 setup, MC300s across the front and S300 for surrounds, bipole mode mounted on the side walls. Still using my trusty PSW1 sub. Looking to upgrade my receiver to an Onkyo 607. I want to stick with CSW, but all they have available now is S205s. Are these okay to use as my rear speakers? Price seems pretty good after 25% off. thanks.

The S300s are on ebay all the time. Just keep an eye out.

Hmmm, I'm not sure how good the 205s are, is this just to get the extra 2 channels to make 7.1? Why not get two 305s?? :^) I'm sure the 205s will be fine, I mean how often does sound come out the surround anyway?

Most blu-rays are 5.1 soo I'm not sure if 7.1 is worth the investment...if you ask me. I'm a 5.1 kind a guy. :^) Let me know what you do and post some pics!!! :^) I need to get some new pictures, I have the stands up in a better location now. :^)

Anyone have any idea what the frequency response of the surrround 5.1's is.

CSW was never very forthcoming with actual specs. The manual, here, says only to set speaker size to "small," and elsewhere to "choose a setting that reduces low frequency content sent to the rear speakers below 100 Hz."

I use a Center Channel -- which is an original Ensemble satellite with shielding added -- with a 100Hz crossover and it sounds fine. I think the drivers are similar to the Surround 5.1. I have a Center Stage, but I don't use it -- it just sounds too different from the Ensemble.

(I'm using original Ensembles for main and surround (one pair '88 vintage, one pair the later Chinese builds), the CC, a BassCube 15, and a pair of the old Ambiance bookshelves for rear surrounds.)

My HK 2600 AVR sets the crossover 60Hz, which I knew could not be right. Based on a review I found of The Surround II's I've been setting the crossover at 120Hz. I have a Movieworks 5.1 system I pieced together from ebay and craigslist. Movieworks 5.1 fronts with a Centerstage in the middle and the Surround 5.1's for, well, surround. I started out with an Ensemble IV system. Briefly, 1 day, used the passive sub that it came with but found it unimpressive and went back to the CSW store and bought a Basscube 8.

I sold the satellites to a friend last year but kept the subwoofer. Then last week through craigslist I was able to get a still boxed new Movieworks 5.1 set of speakers for $175. I wanted the Basscube 12 it came with and would have gladly paid that just for the subwoofer. I'll resell one of the Movieworks sets I have sans the larger sub. I just love the sound CSW's older speakers for the price you pay.

Hello, everyone.
My setup includes three CSW MC300IW, in-wall speakers, arrayed across the front with a Panasonic 65-inch plasma. In-wall speakers are space savers and look like part of the architecture. We really like the clean look as well. Behind all three MC300IWs fiberglas batting fills the area between the studs from ceiling to floor. The surrounds and rear surrounds are four CSW S300s, and the sub is a CSW P1000 in a corner facing the main listening position at 45 degrees. This sub is absolutely hum free. The P1000 manual states that with Dolby Digital sound systems,

"A Dolby Digital® decoder provides its own 'bass management' processing when you activate the decoder’s 'SUB OUT' jack. Set the Newton Series powered subwoofer’s low-pass control to 150 Hz in this case."

This low-pass setting and positioning provides more than ample bass without the bass being directional. Our main TV and music room is 13 x 23 x 8. Our CSW 7.1 system provides impressive brass attack, a clear high end, and a most satisfactory full-range sound for both film and music. From time to time I entertain upgrade notions, but these thoughts are fleeting. Unless something happens to them, the CSW speakers will stay put.

We followed Henry Kloss and his speaker engineering through his several companies. A friend back in Cleveland had one AR-3 (two-speaker stereo was just getting started) which was amazing, but in my high school days, the AR-3 was well beyond my means. My first really good speakers were four of the Kloss original Advent speakers as stacked stereo pairs. These were exceptional. Eventually the foam speaker surrounds of the woofers deteriorated and we sold them to someone who was willing to repair them. After Kloss started CSW, we ordered the four-piece original Ensemble in 1991. We also had two of CSW's original powered subs. They performed quite well, but were somewhat temperamental, and there was a just perceptible annoying hum that would not go away. We sold those subs as well. We still use the almost 20-year old CSW Ensemble with our smaller TV, and the sound is wonderful.

If Cambridge SoundWorks is no longer the company it was, that is unfortunate. Without having spent inordinate sums, we have two speaker systems of high value and competency.

Wow glad to hear you are happy with your P1000 and In the wall 300s. I have three 305s and a p1005 for the front of my system and, to me, they sound great. I actually think this set sounds better then my Ensemble III set.

You should take some pics, I still have not upload new pictures of my completed setup, maybe this weekend. :^) I love my set and can't wait for a sale on the separates to complete my mc305 set.

Hey all,
Check these out! CSW in ceiling speakers on sale... arriving Mid-March (Its mid March now!)

I was considering monoprice 8" & Polk 8" in ceilings but these AMBIANCE 80 look awesome... any experience?

http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/s...=53CW0100AA000

Price is ridiculously cheap

I'm do not have knowledge on the in wall speakers, but what about the MC300IW? :O) I like the MC305s which are similar, just not in the wall and a different tweeter.

Behind me I have a closet, to the sides & walls are open & the ceiling I found out is already wired for ceiling speakers.

I have these Ambiance 80 ceiling speakers at work & they sound best right under them... but in the HT rears I'll be 3' away...
I'm wondering if I should look at directional speakers instead.
The Ambiance 80s are awesome for music

Playing my M80s tonight for the first time in a couple months, sounding great. Leaving the sub off...they really don't need it at all.

Hmm, don't the Ambiance 80 have a way to aim the tweeter? I think this might help aim the sound. :^) I hope you stay with cambridge soundworks, I think they are great.

How is your P205 holding up? I have the p1005 and it's great. :^) Are you going to make a second audio zone for the M80s to live in or just a temporary change of speakers?

My Wharfedale speakers are better, but the M80s are fun once in a while for the bass. Still though, the Wharfedale tweeter is much much better and more detailed than the M80s....they just sound too soft to me now. Can't really listen to the M80s a lot because it feels like something is just missing.

We both posted at the same time apparently. The new P205 is working well, haven't had any of the same problems as the last one. Having some problems getting it to blend, but blending a sub, especially for music, is an art in itself. It's currently used with the Wharfedale speakers in a 2.1ch setup with an Onkyo surround receiver (being replaced with an integrated amp soon) and a Marantz CD player. Someday I'd like to replace the P205 with something like a REL, but one thing at a time.

M80s live on my shelf while I'm not using them, along with an MC400 and S200s. I plan on giving that stuff to my parents along with the surround receiver once I get the new amp. P205 will stay with me. Basically I realized that I never really watch movies, and the ones I do watch don't benefit from surround, so a music oriented 2 channel setup seems like a better choice for me, and the Wharfedales do that really well.

4 Ambiance 80s on the way! + Polk Monitor 70 floorstanders & CS-2 center
Onkyo 608 shipped on March 31st too!

Should be great... I've worked on my speaker placement & I'll be fine with the CSW, they sound AWESOME playing Bob Marley at work cranked up high

Here are some pictures of our three CSW MC300IWs in-wall speakers along with one of the four S300 surrounds, and the CSW P1000 sub. The field of sound they present is superb, leaving us wanting for nothing. Unless something untoward happens to them, these speakers will stay with us into the foreseeable future.

Also shown here is some of our equipment: Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi AV receiver, Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray player, and Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi DVD player. We use the Pioneer DVD to play SACD CDs, DVD audio, and standard CDs. We understand that Oppo makes an exceptional player that combines the functions of our Sony blu-ray and Pioneer DVD player, but, at the moment, we don't feel compelled to do anything now for replacement.

Apologies for the less-than-perfect cellphone camera picture qualitycurrently it's all that I have for snapshots.

How come the surrounds are upside down (and why not just swap the grills around so they aren't upside down)? Otherwise nice stuff.

You're right! They are upside down. We have been so focused on the sound that this completely escaped our notice, and we have not troubled ourselves to correct it. Rather than remove the grills, I'll just turn them upside down. There are two slotted keyholes on the back to allow this. Thanks for taking a look at the pics and for your easy-to-do suggestion.

They're made to mount either way so that the selector is easier to access. On the S200s, since the drivers aren't uniform, they recommend mounting up side down based on placement and where you're wanting the speaker to fire.

Flipping the S300 shouldn't bring any sonic differences, except changing the height of the tweeter which may or may not be an improvement. But it looks funny if you don't fix the grills afterwards :P

Nice setup. Your pics are better then mine, I guess I really need to get on that. I really like out clean your setup is. :^D I bet the sound out of the MC300s sounds a lot larger then they look next to the large TV.

I also, agree with your DVD and Receiver selection ;^) Pioneer all the way! :^D Thanks for the updates.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Reasonable people will come to different conclusions about equipment selection, especially so with speakers. Creating a credible facsimile of a live music performance or of a filmscape is the most we can expect of speakers.

My wife and I enjoy attending concerts from time to time. Over the years we've attended performances by Ray Charles, B.B.King, Seals and Crofts, Don Shirley, and others. We've also attended performances of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Puccini's La Boheme and Madama Butterfly, Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto, Miklos Rosza's Violin Concerto. This coming Saturday we'll attend performances of the William Walton Violin Concerto and Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakoff.

Although we have many of these artists and compositions in our CD collection, there was and continues to be a compulsion to hearing them in a live setting, when possible. Listening to a CD evokes the pleasant memory of our actually being there, and the CSW MC300IWs in-wall speakers are outstanding in helping to recreate a delightful experience.

Even though modern film provides DTS or Dolby surround with astonishing dynamic range, music in film lends unforgettable atmosphere. Some examples of exceptional films with equally exceptional film scores:

The Adventures of Robin Hood [blu-ray] (1938)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Jane Eyre (1944)
Samson and Delilah (1949)
Ben Hur (1959)
El Cid (1961)
Forbidden Planet [blu-ray] (1956)
The Pawnbroker (1964)
El norte [blu-ray] (1983)
The Big Country (1958)
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
The Mission (1986)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Superman (1978)

We have immensely enjoyed these films and soundtracks several times over the years, and the sound of our CSW speaker system, even with the older titles, is extraordinary!

Of course we could have spent quite a bit more to get an in-wall speaker system exceeding the quality of our CSW speakers, but it might have taken significant cash outlay for relatively small incremental improvements in sound. As I said in an earlier post, these CSW speakers are keepers for the very long run.

Regards.

Your system pictures are great. That's a fine system.

Thanks for sharing your pics.

On your recommendation, I watched Star Wars episode five (The empire strikes back) . Yeah the sound track sounds great, loved it. Just wish I could really crank it, but I sadly live in an apartment.

Here is the answer to sadness. Headphones have been my resource to avoid disturbing neighbors. No, they are not the same as listening to my dearly loved CSW speakers, but they can be a good substitute. Especially at night or at any other time when the speaker volume I desire would be too loud, I use a pair of Sony MDR-V6 headphones, which I have used since 1990. The Sony MDR7506 model is essentially the same. With these headphones an explosion can be just as startling and unnerving, and music can be gloriously dynamic without disturbing the neighbors or members of the family.

By the way, not too loud with headphones—we don't want incessant high volume. Persistent high headphone volumes will lead to hearing loss. Transient explosions, gunshots, or music fortissimos here and there may be fine. But 115 dB or more continuously with no let up, not good at all for the crucial audio part of our AV interests. Males as they age past puberty gradually lose the ability to hear higher frequencies as it is. There's no point in causing ourselves even more hearing loss. Once hearing receptors are damaged, they do not regenerate.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-P...9970026&sr=1-3

hmm not too bad, I have been looking for a good headphone set. Thanks for the suggestion.

Lets try to add some pics
Polk Monitor 70s, CS-2 & PSW 505
In-Ceilings are Cambridge Soundworks Ambiance 80s
Receiver not in yet Onkyo SR608
PS3 internet wired for streaming using PS3 Media Player to the Sharp 60" e77un

The camera makes a 60" TV look mighty small! Not the case in person!

Been using CSW speakers for years and just recently my Ensemble II passive sub developed a rattle (bought it on ebay a few years ago so who knows what the former owner did with it) so I hand to change my settup a bit so I picked 3 of the MC305s and the P205 to blend with my 13 year old CSW powered sub and surround speakers and yet again I'm completely impressed. I did decide to connect the P205 via the speaker level inputs to blend it with the MC305s (especially for 2 channel CD playback) and just couldn't be more pleased. I read 1 review about the P205 and that it was difficult to blend but I had no issue at all and the base couldn't be more natural and tight. Glad to see the quality is still there as it was back in their Hey Day in the mid 90s!