I bought my Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble II speaker set last summer. My stereo was a Sony bookshelf system, which had a reasonably powerful receiver (100w x 2) but was lacking on the speaker side. I had spent about $400 on the system the year before. I realized that I wanted to upgrade, but I wanted something that would last. I thought about replacing the components in the system, but that would end up being really costly, especially for a college student who's only employed during vacations. I started shopping around for speakers. My parents had purchased not too long before a Bose speaker system that was very comparable to the Ensemble II. Both had a single subwoofer unit with two satellite units. So I did some (very unscientific) comparisons. I picked a bunch of music which I felt represented the variety of sound that was going to be played on my stereo. I was looking for a speaker set that could handle the heavy bass that electronica carries while still reproducing at least most of the midrange found in classical or folk music. I tried it out on the Bose at home. I was happy with the bass, but the midrange was lacking - the satellite speakers were each composed of two small units of the same size, and it made for excellent high range reproduction but if anything was playing where the subwoofer wasn't kicking in, things just sounded tinny and shallow. I then took a trip down to a Cambridge Soundworks brick and mortar store and asked to hear some of their systems. I was impressed by the Ensemble II - it was very reasonably priced (I paid about $500, whereas my parents paid much more than that for the Bose - and it was on sale) and it sounded to my ears every bit as good. Above even the product, the salespeople were very knowledgeable and very helpful, and the product was backed with a 10 year warranty - it led me to believe I was making a solid investment in a piece of equipment that would last. I took the speakers home and set them up side by side with the Bose and repeated my tests. The results were again in favor of the Ensemble II. The acoustic guitar of Ani DiFranco pounded out of the Ensemble II's satellites far better than out of the Bose system's. The Ensemble has a satellite unit with two speakers of varied sizes, one of them much larger than the drivers used in the Bose satellites, and that made a lot of difference. The subwoofer didn't seem quite as efficient, but it made up for it by containing larger drivers - two 6 1/2" woofers, if I remember correctly. I've been very satisfied with my purchase - it made a huge difference in the quality of my stereo, and I'll be able to use the speakers when I upgrade the tuner and CD player down the line. I felt I got a really good value, plus friendly and knowledgeable service. It really made me want to shop there again, and the speaker quality makes me want to continue buying from them. Cambridge Soundworks is a name I trust.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 500