Cambridge SoundWorks CSW PCWorks FourPointSurround
Out of stock |
Similar in Computer Speakers
Ask Friends for feedback
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
A real bargain, for me especially ;-)
Pros
Good sound, easy setup, go well with the Soundblaster Live! family of soundcards.
Cons
Lots of cables, superseded by the six speaker surround 5.1 systems (with center speaker added)
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Tired of your no-brand two-speaker setup, go for something with a bit more bang, which is exactly what this system is. No Soundblaster Live! card should be without it.
Hold it ! Before you people start flaming me about the price I put up for this system let me explain how I came by it:
I was once again browsing through the bargain offers in the computer section of my local supermarket during the sales period which always takes place in January where I live, when all of a sudden a big carton caught my eye because of its red 12$ price tag and the handwritten note stuck to it saying "Only speakers". This carton was in fact the packaging of a complete Soundblaster Surround 1024 sytem which normally consists of the Soundblaster Live!1024 soundcard bundled with this Cambridge FourPointSurround FPS 1000 speaker system. What had happened ? Somewhere along the road the soundcard of this package had gone astray, maybe it was defective, missing or stolen so that now during the sales the supermarket was doing away with the speakers that were the only thing left in the packaging. The five (4 satellites and 1 subwoofer) speakers were untouched, still individually wrapped inside the carton and totally unused.
I took the plunge for the 12$ they were asking for it and I haven't had any regrets since. I was a bit surprised to see how tiny the four satellite speakers actually were but once I installed the lot on my computer - for the sake of completeness I must add that I already owned an OEM (= the version of the card with no additional software and just a basic shrinkwrap for packaging) Soundblaster Live! card I bought in a computer parts store several months earlier - I was surprised by the sound quality and the sheer power of the whole setup.
Everything is clearly marked so even the novice shouldn't have any problems connecting and installing the lot. The satellites offer many possibilities of installation be it suspended or on the provided stands, the amplifier is integrated in the subwoofer and is fed through its own AC adaptor.
Continuously striving for perfection (ahum) Creative did change the subwoofer on the next generation (FPS1500), certainly to please those that still weren't impressed with the bass output, but for me the quality of the subwoofer was and is already very good, bass settings can be adjusted on the subwoofer itself and the FPS1000 comes with a separate main volume knob which connects through a long enough cable to the subwoofer amplifier. You can place this knob somewhere on your desk where it hinders you the least and where you have easy access to it. This knob solution Cambridge could only have bettered with an infrared remote control but surely this would have upped the price too much.
I was once again browsing through the bargain offers in the computer section of my local supermarket during the sales period which always takes place in January where I live, when all of a sudden a big carton caught my eye because of its red 12$ price tag and the handwritten note stuck to it saying "Only speakers". This carton was in fact the packaging of a complete Soundblaster Surround 1024 sytem which normally consists of the Soundblaster Live!1024 soundcard bundled with this Cambridge FourPointSurround FPS 1000 speaker system. What had happened ? Somewhere along the road the soundcard of this package had gone astray, maybe it was defective, missing or stolen so that now during the sales the supermarket was doing away with the speakers that were the only thing left in the packaging. The five (4 satellites and 1 subwoofer) speakers were untouched, still individually wrapped inside the carton and totally unused.
I took the plunge for the 12$ they were asking for it and I haven't had any regrets since. I was a bit surprised to see how tiny the four satellite speakers actually were but once I installed the lot on my computer - for the sake of completeness I must add that I already owned an OEM (= the version of the card with no additional software and just a basic shrinkwrap for packaging) Soundblaster Live! card I bought in a computer parts store several months earlier - I was surprised by the sound quality and the sheer power of the whole setup.
Everything is clearly marked so even the novice shouldn't have any problems connecting and installing the lot. The satellites offer many possibilities of installation be it suspended or on the provided stands, the amplifier is integrated in the subwoofer and is fed through its own AC adaptor.
Continuously striving for perfection (ahum) Creative did change the subwoofer on the next generation (FPS1500), certainly to please those that still weren't impressed with the bass output, but for me the quality of the subwoofer was and is already very good, bass settings can be adjusted on the subwoofer itself and the FPS1000 comes with a separate main volume knob which connects through a long enough cable to the subwoofer amplifier. You can place this knob somewhere on your desk where it hinders you the least and where you have easy access to it. This knob solution Cambridge could only have bettered with an infrared remote control but surely this would have upped the price too much.
