A differing opinion
Written: Feb 21 '02 (Updated Feb 26 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small satellite speaker and convenient wired remote control, price.
Cons: Confusing sound. The theory of the speakers are wrong.
The Bottom Line: You can find better computer speaker systems elsewhere.
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| roostrfsh's Full Review: Cambridge Soundworks C1MWBWEE 2 Speakers |
The Cambridge/Creative SoundWorks PCWorks speakers system by Creative is a step above “tin can” computer speakers. It is solidly built, easy to install and is very pleasant to listen to. They are inexpensive and if you can live with a couple of shortcomings they will give you quality sound at a bargain price. A nice extra is a wired remote control volume control that can be attached in a convenient spot is appreciated.
If you are cramped for tabletop space the satellite speakers have a very small footprint that saves a lot of space on the computer table. They are made of well-built plastic construction. These little cubes can be mounted on a wall or stuck on a computer monitor or TV. While the removable plastic stands feel flimsy the rest of the system is sturdy. They are cute little cubes!
But because of the small cube satellite driver, the satellites have a major sound problem.
While the cubes are smooth sounding in the higher frequencies the speaker system has a severe midrange droop in sound at the 500 to 4,000 Hz range. The midrange frequencies are important for reproducing voice and musical instruments. This midrange droop is to be expected because the small speakers in the satellites do not have enough cone area to produce midrange frequencies. The PCWorks 6" woofer is relied upon to produces the mid-band frequencies.
I do not like to call the computer bass boxes subwoofers. They are not subwoofers at all. Subwoofer frequencies are in the 20 to 40 Hz range. A 6” woofer driver like the PCWorks woofer cannot push that much air effectively to make sounds in the 20 to 40 Hz range. Only a 12” or larger driver can do that. So the speaker companies should get honest about call their boxes “subwoofers” and call these bass boxes a more accurate name. These bass boxes they sell are really running in a mid-bass range of 80 to 200 Hz range and are not even close in the lower frequencies to be called a subwoofer.
Since the PCWorks woofer is situated on the floor to enhance the bass, the midrange, which is directional, are lost or reflected into the carpet or under the table furniture. Midrange is important for vocals and most sounds. The result is a “mid-band or midrange suck”, a loss of the midrange sounds. The crucial midrange frequencies, because of floor positioning and sound absorption, are depressed. Another problem with the system is the directional midrange coming out of the woofer is located in a completely different area than the satellites. This results in sound confusion as the time delay of the midrange are out of phase by coming at a time just slightly behind the satellite speakers. The midrange is coming from a different direction than the satellites causing more stereo listening confusion. Some sounds are more spacious because of the time delay of the sound reaching the ears while other sounds are cancelled out. This is all because of two different sources and phasing problems. This time delay confusion makes a rough sound that can be heard.
To explain the phasing problems think about this. Imagine throwing two rocks at the same time in a calm lake. There are two circular ripples with secondary ripples widening outwards. When the two ripples touch each other you will see the interference and confusion of the ripples. Some of the ripples are amplified when they touch and other ripples are depressed. This also happens to speakers with two distinct sound sources; this is phasing problems. The PCWorks speakers have this problem.
Even adjusting the bass knob the drooping mid-band cannot be corrected. It you raise the adjustment up to increase the mid-band the bass is also exaggerated and there is more distortion from the woofer. I have tried moving the bass module away from the wall but the bass disappears and the bass module honks because of a 200 Hz frequency doubling. Computer software can roughly mask the honking problem but cannot adjust the time delay/phase problem. The effect is very noticeable if you move around the room with the system playing. You will hear the sounds peaking and drooping as you change positions around the room.
These speakers, as a whole, have a great dynamic range but don’t expect a living room full of sound of sweet sounds unless you can ignore the distortion from the bass box. The speakers are not big enough or powerful enough to make great room-sized sound. . The stereo separation in the high frequencies is excellent and the high sounds are crisp.
On the other end of PCWorks is the workhorse of sound, the woofer box. The 6” woofer cannot be expected to make low bass notes. The woofer driver is too small to do the job. Only a larger area woofer can make lower notes but the PCWorks speaker does give decent bass for its size.
The woofer is a bit muddy sounding. Because he woofer is only 6” in diameter the driver must work a lot more than a larger woofer to get a deep and loud sound. I give credit to the PCWorks woofer box because the 6” woofer driver is larger than the average 4” diameter of other companies. Because of the larger size the woofer will have to work less, will get a deeper sound because of the size and will have less bass distortion because of less movement of the driver.
Because of the large excursions the PCWorks woofer does to make a large and deep sound it tends to run a bit out of control making muddy bass. The volume of the box and the design of a ported box seem to be bias toward making louder sounds at the expense of deeper sounds. This design also hurts the midrange sounds.
As mentioned earlier the bass harmonics are also doubling at 200 Hz creating a honking sound. Because of the large excursion the woofer must do the midrange sound is also affected. The movement of the woofer is causing distortion in the midrange because of the pumping of the woofer and the output of the midrange is causing midrange phase compressions. This results in a rough sounding midrange. This is a phasing problem because of the too small sized box for the woofer. I also believe the bass port is not properly designed. The port seem a bit too short which would give the bass box a "boom box" sound, the 200 Hz doubling sound. Poking some synthetic insulated batting in the port would help tame the 200 Hz tone.
If the PCWorks speakers could use a larger satellite driver the midrange could be shifted to the satellites resulting in a more balanced, accurate sound. But then the cubes would be larger and wouldn’t look so compact and cute. And a larger woofer would put less strain on the bass system yielding a cleaner sounding bass and midrange but then the PCWorks system would cost more.
Credit is due to the PCWorks for giving honest specifications for the amplifier power. The satellites power is 3.5 watts RMS at one percent distortion per channel at 1 kHz and the woofer amplifier is 10 watts RMS with less than one percent distortion at 100 Hz.
Yes, these are harsh criticisms for the famous PCWorks speakers. They do sound nice for their price. I can’t blame the PCWorks speaker for the sound problems. Cambridge/Creative is going along with other manufacturers of speakers systems and using this type of speaker system for computers. This just happens to be the current fad.
This system is an average unit but better systems can be bought.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
roostrfsh
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Location: Stockton, CA, USA
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
STILL living in and loving California.
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