Everyday I write an epinion, right in front of me sits an unreviewed Electronics product! Nope, not my Westhinghouse HDTV/Computer Monitor, or my Denon AVR1905 Receiver, or even the Cambridge Soundworks M-60 speakers that sit to my left and right. Right above me, in front of me sits my Cambridge Soundworks Center Channel speaker, named Center Stage. I have surround sound in most rooms in my house, although the bathroom only has stereo, and my bedroom uses the Denon Receiver with Cambridge Soundworks speakers.

Although the Center Channel usually sits in front of me idly because I listen to regular CDs, it does get the occasional work out when I decide to watch TV or a movie in my bedroom, or listen to a 6 channel DVD-Audio or SACD.

I will listen to some people to introduce how the Center Channel Sounds

Mark Knopfler & Sting

On the 20th Anniversary Edition DVD-Audio of Brothers In Arms, guitar player and singer Mark Knopfler is clearly heard in the center channel on the surround sound mix, so I used this disc to carefully listen to his voice and how the Center Stage recreates it. First of all, good friend Sting sounds clear as a bell on this Center Stage, his falsetto voice ringing clearly singing I want my... I want my MTV. Guitars ring from the left and right channels joine in by drumming. You need a powerful Center to propel the singer's voice over the onslaught. Mark Knopfler's voice comes in strong and powerful, clearly heard above the guitars and drums, not a bit raspy, or unnatural. Sitting back, you can imagine the band Dire Straits spread out on stage, with Knopfler belting out the song from the center. There is even a sense of where Sting and Knopfler are standing in relation to one another.

Alicia Keys

Popular singer Alicia Keys released her album Songs in A Minor on DVD-Audio, where she is clearly mixed into the Center Channel. I queued up Fallin'. Her voice is clear and natural sounding, and she blends in well with the backing chorus vocals from the left and right channels.

Billie Holiday

On her melancholy SACD Lady in Blue, Billie Holiday's voice sounds fantastic on this speaker. Every subtle nuance of her voice may be heard. The midranges and treble of this Cambridge Soundwork speaker are well served for reproducing the vocals often assigned to center channels.

Lars Urich

Many people may not know it, but whenever Lars Urich isn't beating people up who illegaly download MP3s onto their computer, he is the drummer for Metallica! Metallica released their self titled Black Album on DVD-Audio, and it has a great surround sound mix. The drums are mixed into the center channel and the right and left channel. Here is where the Center Channel shows its inherent weakness. On analog input sources like DVD-Audio and SACD, the Denon can't adjust the individual speaker levels. With a matched speaker set, this really wouldn't matter. My Polk Audio set up for example, sounds pretty smooth across the board. However, the Center Stage isn't really an ideal match for the M-60s, and tends to get overpowered by the left and right channels. Unless an instrument or singer is specifically recorded into the center channel, it tends to get a bit overpowered. From my conversations with salespeople at Cambridge Soundworks, and visits to their website, the Center Stage is a discontinued speaker, and there doesn't seem to be any information as to which particular set of speakers this was actually designed to be a center channel for. If it is overpowered by the M-60s, it would certainly be overpowered by the M-80s or any of their floor standing speakers.

Robert Smith

If you find yourself feeling too happy and giddy The Cure for this is to listen to some moody goth tracks. I popped in a concert DVD by The Cure in which lead singer /song writer Robert Smith is mixed into the center with his moody heart felt lyrics. On DVDs, since they are a digital source, the center channel level can be adjusted, so the problems with the center being drowned out, are easily corrected. On this DVD with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track, Smith sounds sufficiently moody and depressed as he sings.

Movies in General Dialogue is very aptly handled by the Center Stage, I can always hear what the characters are saying. Lower bass isn't really present in this speaker, in fact it goes down to about 59 hz.

Specs The Cambridge Soundworks Center Stage Center Channel speaker has three drivers, a center mounted one inch tweeter and two 5 1/4 inch midrange / bass drivers. It is a ported speaker with ports on either end of the enclosure. It has large mounting posts that can be used with banana clips or wire in the rear for easy connection.

Looks Not only doesn't this speaker match the M-60s (or any of the M line) it doesn't match in looks either. It is basic black with a black grill. Although sound is most important to me, it would be nice if it had the maple wood finish and tan grills of my M-60s.

Test Equipment The Center Stage was evaluated, hooked up to a Denon AVR 1905 Surround Sound system. For Dolby Digital sources, it was set 2 DB higher than the Left and Right channels. I used a Pioneer Elite 47A to play all the DVD-Audios, SACDs, and DVDs used in the evaluation. The front left and right channels and surround channels were Cambridge Soundworks M-60s.

Summary The Center stage gets good grades from me for the natural way it reproduces voices and music. It is a very natural sounding speaker, and singers sound very realistic. My problems with the Center Stage is that it isn't a good match in timbre or sound output with the rest of the Cambridge Soundworks line. Although the timbre match difference is not readily apparent,it is, if you switch between Stereo and Surround, the voice takes on a slightly different quality when output from the Front Right and Left M-60s as when it is output from the Center. A perfectly matched speaker would sound the same. More annoying is the fact that on DVD-Audio and SACD analog six channel sources, the center channel tends to get drowned out a bit by the left and right. This problem is not present on digital sources, as long as your reciever allows you to individually adjust speaker levels. (as my Denon AVR 1905 does). Although I can recommend it, and give it a solid three stars, eventually, the Center Stage will not be center stage in my bedroom surround sound system, but will be replaced by a speaker that is a better sonic match for the M-60s.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 199