Cambridge SoundWorks CSW PCWorks FourPointSurround

Okay, so that's not quite the way the song goes, but it works for these AWESOME speakers. I must add now that my impression of these speakers is a bit skewed because I'm using an amazing sound card, the SoundBlaster Live! X-Gamer. The benefit of this card is that all the data going to the speakers is crisp and clear, and possibly preventing me from hearing distortions that others may notice.

When I was building my computer, almost six months ago now, I wanted to make sure I could use it for everything. It had to be me word processor, my game console, and my stereo. Because of this I bought a top sound card and wanted to get some good speakers.

Well looking around on the net I saw computer speakers going for $400 and more. If you ask me this is ridiculous. I got my Cambridge speakers for $80 and they are beautiful. Granted I have my good sound card, and I also don't have a musician's ear, but the speakers still sound great.

If you are mixing music on your computer, or doing other professional sound editing, you may not want these speakers (although I honestly can't tell a difference between these and more expensive speakers). If you aren't using your computer in the professional world these speakers should blow you away with both their sound and with their price.

Sitting the woofer under my desk and putting the four satellites around the room you can really get some great sound. CDs, MP3s, and other digital music sounds great. Playing games with environmental audio is also a blast because you really can tell as something moves from side to side or front to back. I'm sure there is a game out there where something circles you, and it would sound fabulous on these four point speakers. If you really want to have some fun with the surround sound you should play Unreal Tournament, it takes the experience up a notch.

While researching speakers I read all kinds of things about these Cambridge sets, but I haven't heard them yet. Some people report that there is distortion at high volumes (I use them in a dorm so don't usually get up passed 1/2 volume before my room starts shaking). There have also been reports that the satellite speaker cables are not shielded and so pick up electronic sounds; well, as mentioned above, I live in a dorm and I haven't noticed this. We have tons of electronic devices all around us and we may pick up other people's phone calls from our portable phone, but nothing has ever been picked up by my speakers.

I don't know what to say about these reports other than to tell you I haven't noticed a single fault in these speakers. Even so I will address one more issue: Some people claim that the stands for the back speakers are "flimsy". Yes, they are made of fairly pliable plastic, but they won't break. Heck, they haven't even fallen apart for me. Since I am in a dorm room I find myself moving my speakers around a lot to get at what ever is behind them (or, more often, kicking them in the night) but no matter what happens everything is always fine. In my experience the pliable legs of the speaker stands are good because I can kick them, smash them, bend them, and generally abuse them but they always snap back into place. The stands don't fall apart and don't break so I'm not sure what people are worried about.

I spent a lot of money to build a good computer, but I wasn't going to spend much more than $100 on a set of speakers, and I'm glad I didn't. For my needs in gaming, and using my computer as a stereo/DVD player/TV, I don't need better speakers. If I ever start doing professional sound manipulation I might consider buying new speakers, but I probably won't do it.