Cambridge Soundworks SoundWorks 705 Mini Audio System
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Great sound, cool retro design, superb AM reception
Pros
Excellent sound over the full audio spectrum, attractive "retro" design, easy-to-use controls
Cons
External "wire" antenna (not included) is needed for optimal FM reception - no big deal
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The new Cambridge Soundworks 705 looks like a 1950s table radio but sounds as good as many "shelf" type audio systems. It gets amazingly good AM reception, too.
Fifty years ago just about every home had a table radio somewhere -- maybe on top of the refrigerator or on a nightstand in a bedroom. Then when transistors allowed radios to be miniaturized, the table radio became nearly extinct.
Probably due largely to the success of the Bose Wave Radio, the table radio has been revived. Tivoli Audio, Boston Acoustics, Sangean, Cambridge Soundworks and other companies have joined Bose in offering premium table radios that look good and sound great.
A new offering is Cambridge Soundworks' Model 705 table radio. I bought mine a couple weeks ago at Fry's Electronics.
I own quite a few radios -- I've reviewed several on here. Some I have owned or do own include a Bose Wave Radio, Sangean WR-1, Boston Acoustics table radio and a Tivoli Model One.
By nature, many table radios have a somewhat "retro" look, mainly because the whole concept of a table radio brings to mind a bygone era. However, this Cambridge 705 probably executes "the look" best: I like the curvy and shiny plastic case and the big, old-fashioned tuning knob on the front. Even the radio's box picks up on the 1950s theme: The features are listed in the same sort of cursive script that used to adorn nearly every ad for a product that was marketed as a luxury or convenience.
Three color schemes -- onyx, white, and white with silver accents -- give buyers some choice as to the radio's appearance. I opted for onyx because I liked how shiny it looked when I saw it in the store, and I don't like the way white or other light-colored plastics tend to dull over time.
The Sound
All of the table radios on the market sound good -- and each one has a unique brand of sound that some listeners could prefer over others. The unique contributions of this radio in the area of sound are that it seems to produce treble better than the other table radios, and that it has an effective tone control that allows the listener to tailor the sound to his or her liking.
It's hard to describe how something sounds, but this radio really does sound very good. Only one other radio I've heard -- the Bose Wave Radio -- fills a room with sound as well as this one. Like the Bose, this radio sends some sound toward the back. The sound that bounces off the wall behind the radio gives the sound a very full quality and creates the impression that a much larger audio system is playing.
Many of these table radios have a very "warm" sound -- richer in bass than treble. I think a lot of listeners like that because it gives the radio a "traditional" sound. You can get that type of sound out of this radio -- or you can get a cleaner and more brassy sound -- because, as stated above, this radio has a tone control. That's something few of the other table radios have.
I assume tone controls are omitted from many table radios because the engineers who design the radios don't want users tampering with what they consider to be the optimal sound a given radio can produce. I see that point. Yet tone controls do have a purpose, because not only do they allow the listener to color the sound to his or her liking, such a control can also make weak AM signals more listenable by suppressing background noise and bringing out the voice.
In addition, this radio has one really good speaker. It gets VERY loud -- great for playing it outdoors or in very large rooms -- and it really seems to reproduce the full audio spectrum well.
So, while all of these premium table radios on the market sound good, I believe that this radio's tone control, along with its ability to reproduce very true bass and treble with seemingly equal clarity and emphasis, give this one an edge over the rest of the monaural radios in audio fidelity. It's definitely in the same league as the Bose Wave Radio.
Reception
AM reception is very, very good. Amazing, in fact. Weak AM signals are more audible on this radio than just about any radio I've heard because it pulls them in well but also because the tone control does a great job of suppressing static. The powerful amplifier and good speaker help on AM, too, because often with a weak signal you have to turn up the radio fairly loud to get good audio. If you like AM talk and want a table radio that's a star performer on the AM band, get this radio.
But FM reception with the "internal" (line cord) antenna is weak. Thankfully, the radio has a jack for an external FM antenna, so you can fix this problem for about $2 by buying a "wire" FM antenna and plugging it into the antenna jack. (To use the external antenna, you also have to move a switch on the back of the radio from "INT" to "EXT.") Cambridge should start tossing one of the wire antennas into the box with the radio, because the reception with the line cord antenna is not going to be good enough for most listeners. Most of the other table radios I've seen do have one of the wire antennas in the box with the radio.
Once you get an antenna connected, FM reception is quite good. Signals are clean, and distant stations come in well. One thing that's nice about these monaural radios is that people who live far from the FM stations they want to hear will get more suitable reception in mono than stereo. I'll take a clean mono signal over a noisy stereo one any day.
Controls
Everything is easy to figure out. This would be a great radio for an elderly person, anyone with poor eyesight, anyone who ranks himself or herself as "technology challenged," or someone who just wants a simple radio that doesn't have a bunch of different features they'll never figure out, much less use. There are five controls: a power button, a volume control, a tone control, a band selector, and a big tuning knob. They all work well. The tuning knob is "geared down" well so it's very easy to fine-tune stations. All the controls are covered in a soft rubber-like material, making them comfortable to operate with minimal effort.
The power button can turn the radio on normally or activate a handy "sleep" timer, which will play the radio for 30 minutes and then shut it off. To turn the radio on in normal "continuous" play mode, you just press the power button for an instant. It turns green to show the radio is on. Holding the power button down for a couple seconds puts the radio in "sleep" mode. When the radio is in sleep mode, the power button glows amber instead of green.
The tuning dial is lighted, and there's a tuning indicator light as well as two other lights to either side of it to indicate slight mis-tuning. It's a great tuning system -- eliminates the guesswork in tuning a station in.
I'm glad this radio does not have a built-in clock radio. The clock-radio features require the addition of several additional buttons that trash up a radio's clean look. Plus, it seems that most people already have a clock radio, a cell phone with an alarm, an early-rising partner, or some other method of getting up in the morning. Although I know it's not literally true -- you could use a clock-radio anywhere in the home -- it seems that designating a radio as a clock-radio almost dictates that it be placed next to a bed. This radio is too good to restrict to a single location like that.
Auxiliary Jack
An auxiliary jack allows an iPod or other external audio source to play through the Cambridge's amplifier and speaker system. Given the radio's excellent sound, it would probably function very well as an iPod player.
Value
A suggested retail price of $119 (which is what I paid) puts this radio in a competitive position. Most of the mono radios cost about $100. How does this radio stack up to the competition? It has better AM reception than all but the Sangean; the Sangean is very close, but the Cambridge's tone control might give it a slight edge over the Sangean in producing a listenable AM signal from a weak station. With the FM wire antenna hooked to the Cambridge, its FM reception is comparable to the rest -- very good.
Sound quality is subjective -- I imagine that different people could proclaim any radio to be superior to any other one. If you like a cleaner and more treble-rich sound, you'd probably prefer this radio to most of the other table radios. Yet if you like the "warm," bass-rich sound of the other table radios, the tone control lets you have that, too. I'll just say the sound of this radio is very impressive for a unit of its size. In the store I compared it to several $250 "shelf" systems and this radio sounded better than some of those, comparable to others. The tone control gives this radio a feature few other radios of this type have -- and it makes weak AM signals more audible.
Quality
The radio seems well-assembled. The onyx finish on my radio is glossy and smooth. The controls work well.
Summary
The Cambridge Soundworks 705 table radio is a great addition to the field of "traditional" table radios on the market. It offers an appealing "retro" look, great sound, easy-to-use controls, excellent AM reception, and very good FM reception once you add an external wire antenna.
Probably due largely to the success of the Bose Wave Radio, the table radio has been revived. Tivoli Audio, Boston Acoustics, Sangean, Cambridge Soundworks and other companies have joined Bose in offering premium table radios that look good and sound great.
A new offering is Cambridge Soundworks' Model 705 table radio. I bought mine a couple weeks ago at Fry's Electronics.
I own quite a few radios -- I've reviewed several on here. Some I have owned or do own include a Bose Wave Radio, Sangean WR-1, Boston Acoustics table radio and a Tivoli Model One.
By nature, many table radios have a somewhat "retro" look, mainly because the whole concept of a table radio brings to mind a bygone era. However, this Cambridge 705 probably executes "the look" best: I like the curvy and shiny plastic case and the big, old-fashioned tuning knob on the front. Even the radio's box picks up on the 1950s theme: The features are listed in the same sort of cursive script that used to adorn nearly every ad for a product that was marketed as a luxury or convenience.
Three color schemes -- onyx, white, and white with silver accents -- give buyers some choice as to the radio's appearance. I opted for onyx because I liked how shiny it looked when I saw it in the store, and I don't like the way white or other light-colored plastics tend to dull over time.
The Sound
All of the table radios on the market sound good -- and each one has a unique brand of sound that some listeners could prefer over others. The unique contributions of this radio in the area of sound are that it seems to produce treble better than the other table radios, and that it has an effective tone control that allows the listener to tailor the sound to his or her liking.
It's hard to describe how something sounds, but this radio really does sound very good. Only one other radio I've heard -- the Bose Wave Radio -- fills a room with sound as well as this one. Like the Bose, this radio sends some sound toward the back. The sound that bounces off the wall behind the radio gives the sound a very full quality and creates the impression that a much larger audio system is playing.
Many of these table radios have a very "warm" sound -- richer in bass than treble. I think a lot of listeners like that because it gives the radio a "traditional" sound. You can get that type of sound out of this radio -- or you can get a cleaner and more brassy sound -- because, as stated above, this radio has a tone control. That's something few of the other table radios have.
I assume tone controls are omitted from many table radios because the engineers who design the radios don't want users tampering with what they consider to be the optimal sound a given radio can produce. I see that point. Yet tone controls do have a purpose, because not only do they allow the listener to color the sound to his or her liking, such a control can also make weak AM signals more listenable by suppressing background noise and bringing out the voice.
In addition, this radio has one really good speaker. It gets VERY loud -- great for playing it outdoors or in very large rooms -- and it really seems to reproduce the full audio spectrum well.
So, while all of these premium table radios on the market sound good, I believe that this radio's tone control, along with its ability to reproduce very true bass and treble with seemingly equal clarity and emphasis, give this one an edge over the rest of the monaural radios in audio fidelity. It's definitely in the same league as the Bose Wave Radio.
Reception
AM reception is very, very good. Amazing, in fact. Weak AM signals are more audible on this radio than just about any radio I've heard because it pulls them in well but also because the tone control does a great job of suppressing static. The powerful amplifier and good speaker help on AM, too, because often with a weak signal you have to turn up the radio fairly loud to get good audio. If you like AM talk and want a table radio that's a star performer on the AM band, get this radio.
But FM reception with the "internal" (line cord) antenna is weak. Thankfully, the radio has a jack for an external FM antenna, so you can fix this problem for about $2 by buying a "wire" FM antenna and plugging it into the antenna jack. (To use the external antenna, you also have to move a switch on the back of the radio from "INT" to "EXT.") Cambridge should start tossing one of the wire antennas into the box with the radio, because the reception with the line cord antenna is not going to be good enough for most listeners. Most of the other table radios I've seen do have one of the wire antennas in the box with the radio.
Once you get an antenna connected, FM reception is quite good. Signals are clean, and distant stations come in well. One thing that's nice about these monaural radios is that people who live far from the FM stations they want to hear will get more suitable reception in mono than stereo. I'll take a clean mono signal over a noisy stereo one any day.
Controls
Everything is easy to figure out. This would be a great radio for an elderly person, anyone with poor eyesight, anyone who ranks himself or herself as "technology challenged," or someone who just wants a simple radio that doesn't have a bunch of different features they'll never figure out, much less use. There are five controls: a power button, a volume control, a tone control, a band selector, and a big tuning knob. They all work well. The tuning knob is "geared down" well so it's very easy to fine-tune stations. All the controls are covered in a soft rubber-like material, making them comfortable to operate with minimal effort.
The power button can turn the radio on normally or activate a handy "sleep" timer, which will play the radio for 30 minutes and then shut it off. To turn the radio on in normal "continuous" play mode, you just press the power button for an instant. It turns green to show the radio is on. Holding the power button down for a couple seconds puts the radio in "sleep" mode. When the radio is in sleep mode, the power button glows amber instead of green.
The tuning dial is lighted, and there's a tuning indicator light as well as two other lights to either side of it to indicate slight mis-tuning. It's a great tuning system -- eliminates the guesswork in tuning a station in.
I'm glad this radio does not have a built-in clock radio. The clock-radio features require the addition of several additional buttons that trash up a radio's clean look. Plus, it seems that most people already have a clock radio, a cell phone with an alarm, an early-rising partner, or some other method of getting up in the morning. Although I know it's not literally true -- you could use a clock-radio anywhere in the home -- it seems that designating a radio as a clock-radio almost dictates that it be placed next to a bed. This radio is too good to restrict to a single location like that.
Auxiliary Jack
An auxiliary jack allows an iPod or other external audio source to play through the Cambridge's amplifier and speaker system. Given the radio's excellent sound, it would probably function very well as an iPod player.
Value
A suggested retail price of $119 (which is what I paid) puts this radio in a competitive position. Most of the mono radios cost about $100. How does this radio stack up to the competition? It has better AM reception than all but the Sangean; the Sangean is very close, but the Cambridge's tone control might give it a slight edge over the Sangean in producing a listenable AM signal from a weak station. With the FM wire antenna hooked to the Cambridge, its FM reception is comparable to the rest -- very good.
Sound quality is subjective -- I imagine that different people could proclaim any radio to be superior to any other one. If you like a cleaner and more treble-rich sound, you'd probably prefer this radio to most of the other table radios. Yet if you like the "warm," bass-rich sound of the other table radios, the tone control lets you have that, too. I'll just say the sound of this radio is very impressive for a unit of its size. In the store I compared it to several $250 "shelf" systems and this radio sounded better than some of those, comparable to others. The tone control gives this radio a feature few other radios of this type have -- and it makes weak AM signals more audible.
Quality
The radio seems well-assembled. The onyx finish on my radio is glossy and smooth. The controls work well.
Summary
The Cambridge Soundworks 705 table radio is a great addition to the field of "traditional" table radios on the market. It offers an appealing "retro" look, great sound, easy-to-use controls, excellent AM reception, and very good FM reception once you add an external wire antenna.
