Sometime last winter, hifi.com (which is the direct retail store for Cambridge Soundworks) had a crazy special sale for a free Samsung DVD Player with any speaker purchase $299.99 and up. Needless to say, I bought the DTT2500 system for $299.99 and got the free DVD player, free shipping, and $25 dollars off to bring the grand total to $275 shipped to my door. Who could resist such an offer, especially after hocking the DVD player on eBay for $180? That brings the speaker system down to a cool $95. Unfortunately, the hifi.com sale has changed so that the DTT2500 speakers are not included in this deal. Either way you look at it though, they are great speakers.
The first thing that hits you with this system is the system itself. Black speakers, black stands, black subwoofer. Very sleek. It comes with 5 speakers (two front, two rear, one center) and a subwoofer. Most attractive is the console to which all the speakers are attached. This allows the user to place the console on the table for easy on/off switching instead of bending over to the subwoofer to turn the speakers on. Four knobs are on the console: one for volume, balance, subwoofer (bass), and surround (controls how much audio is sent to the rear speakers). The speakers come with a convenient button for a speaker test which helps troubleshoot whether problems are from the connections to the speakers or the source of audio itself (the computer). The speakers have four modes for playback that can be controlled also from the console: music, movie, FourPoint, and stereo. The music mode seems to bring the vocals to the front speakers (left, center, right) and the more subtle instruments to the rear channels. The movie mode places all dialogue in the center speaker (interesting to listen to music and hear all the vocals from one speaker). FourPoint reproduces the same sounds in the four speakers (front and rear, excluding center speaker). Stereo works just the front two speakers.
The most attractive feature for me was the integrated Dolby 5.1 decoder in the console. This allowed for lush sounds while watching DVD's on my computer. Usually a seperate dedicated Dolby 5.1 decoder costs more than $200 so getting one with the speakers was a huge bonus. The 5.1 sound is great and loud enough to fill a small room nicely.
The speakers are adequately loud, not nearly as loud as the Klipsch speakers or as lush either, but the DTT2500 comes with 5 speakers and an integrated decoder which I think makes it even more attractive than the Klipsch speakers. Listening to MP3's and CD's is great, especially when enhanced by a little Winamp plugin called WowThing (www.wowthing.com) which really allows the speakers to shine with a rich, vibrant, and explosive sound not usually found in mere computer speakers.
The only downside I can think of is the unpowered subwoofer. By moving the power to the console from the subwoofer, the subwoofer acts as just another speaker transmitting weak bass thumps. Looking at the shoebox-sized subwoofer, you would expect a bit more. Remember though that treble is always more important than bass =) Don't let those bass-thumpin' low riders fool you otherwise.
All in all, I am very pleased with the DTT2500 speakers. These are my second set of Cambridge Soundworks speakers (the first being the PCWorks) and I have been totally satisfied both times. The good sound reproduction, adequate loudness, and Dolby Decoder make this an irresistible package.
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