Cambridge Soundworks Newton Theater T300
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- Front Speaker: 3 Way
- Main Speakers Power Output: 150 Watts
- Included Components: Receiver
- Number Of Speakers: 6 Speakers
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Cambridge Soundworks Newton T300: An Excellent Front-Radiating Tower From Cambridge
Pros
precise imaging; tight, deep bass; flat frequency response
Cons
no more emotionally involving on symphonic music than Cambridge Towers
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The Cambridge Soundworks Newton T300s are excellent speakers, fully competitive with anything else out there in the $1600 price range.
For many years, the Cambridge Tower was the flagship of the Cambridge Soundworks speaker line. At $1500, the Tower is a bipolar design, with sound radiating from the front and back of the speakers. Among the last to be designed by Cambridge Soundworks founder Henry Kloss (of AR, KLH and Advent fame), the Towers are excellent speakers, with a smooth yet detailed sound, and a wide and deep soundstage. After listening to several audiophile speakers in the $1000 to $2000 price range, I eventually BOUGHT the towers earlier this year, and they now serve as my main speakers.
Recently, Cambridge Soundworks introduced its "Newton" Towers, the T300 and the T500. More modern-looking than the boxy Tower and Tower II, the Newton Towers feature new drivers, self-powered subwoofers, and a more streamline design. The Newton T300, the speaker reviewed here, retails for $1600, and is second only to the Newton T500, which retails for $2200.
The basics.
The Cambridge Soundworks T300s are three-way magnetically shielded tower speakers with built-in 150 watt powered 10-inch subwoofers. Each speaker also features a 10-inch passive radiator. All bass drivers are side-mounted, allowing the front baffle to be more slender, for better imaging. On the front baffle of each speaker are two 4" midrange drivers and one 1" silk-fabric tweeter. Unlike the older Cambridge Towers, these are NOT bipolar speakers; midrange and high frequency sounds radiate from the front of the speakers only.
The T300s are large, attractive towers, with a modern look. Two sets of "feet" (included) provide stability to the speakers and raise them a couple of inches off the ground. Including the feet, the speakers are 47 1/2" tall x 12 3/4" wide x 18" deep. The 300s come in three finishes: blonde maple, mahogany, black "slate" finishes. All are real wood veneers. The grilles (which have a modern-looking curve along the outside edges) are removable.
The Sound.
I've listened to these speakers several times, with a variety of music, and have come away impressed each time. They provide deep and tight bass, a smooth midrange, and clean non-fatiguing treble. They also provide rock-solid imaging, with instruments clearly located within a fairly wide and deep soundstage.
The other night, a friend dragged me along on his quest to find a subwoofer to go with his Paradigm Studio/20 speakers. We found ourselves at the local Cambridge Soundworks retail outlet, listening to Cambridge's BassCube 12, and alternating between the T300s and the basic Towers. This gave me a chance to directly compare the sound of the T300s with the speakers I currently use at home. For our listening, we used the following recordings:
Keith Jarrett's "The Cure," an excellent recording of jazz music
Holst's "The Planets," a symphonic work with wide dynamic range
Saint-Saenz Third Symphony, the "Organ Symphony," with organ pedal tones into the low 30 hz range
Several blues recordings
On the jazz recording, the T300s sounded outstanding. Piano was reproduced with remarkable accuracy, cymbals sounded pure and real, and both drums and bass had excellent snap and tightness. By comparison, the older Towers sounded a bit "mushy." Imaging was not as precise with the towers, bass notes were looser, and transient attack was not quite as good. Both the T300s and the Towers were pleasing to listen to, but it was clear that the newer speakers were more precise in their presentation.
On Holst's "The Planets" (mostly "Jupiter"), the T300s sounded clean and accurate, with individual instruments easy to discern. Transient attack was excellent, and the bass foundation (even when we turned off the subwoofer) was excellent. However, the overall presentation was a bit "smaller" through the T300s than through the older Towers. Though individual instruments were more precisely located with the T300s, and dynamic range was excellent, the older Towers still did a better job of presenting the wide and deep soundstage that one actually hears at a symphony.
The same was the case with the Saint-Saenz. The T300s were more precise, and provided greater heft and tightness on the organ pedal tones. But the older Towers excelled in providing a sense of a large acoustic space.
On electric blues recordings, the edge swung back to the T300s. B.B. King or Muddy Waters sounded like they were in the room with you, you could hear fingers on guitars, and bass and drums were rock solid. The older Towers were pleasing, but a bit diffuse.
To summarize, compared with the older Cambridge Towers, the Newton T300s had tighter and more dynamic transient attack, more precise imaging, and tighter, deeper bass. They also had slightly more treble energy, but not to the point of being fatiguing or grating. The Towers, on the other hand, were slightly more relaxing to listen to, and generated a wider and deeper soundstage (due to their bipolar radiation pattern). The T300s generally made me feel like I was sitting third row center in a small acoustic space. The Towers made me feel like I was sitting thirtieth row center in a larger acoustic space.
Conclusions.
The Cambridge Soundworks Newton T300s are excellent speakers, fully competitive with anything else out there in the $1600 price range. If you are on the market for direct radiating speakers, I recommend you give these a listen. Though I have only heard them with solid state amplification, I think they would mate really well with tube amplification, since their subwoofers are driven by internal amplifiers.
As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I am addicted to the sound of dipole and bipole speakers, like the Cambridge Tower, and speakers from companies like Magnepan and Mirage. I am willing to give up a bit of precision and slam for that amazing (and probably exaggerated) sense of space. But then, I also like the sound of my friends' parents' vintage speakers, including AR3as, KLH 6s, and Large Advents. With my own Cambridge Towers, I operate them fairly close to the wall, so I can achieve something of a compromise between space and precision.
If your tastes run toward the mellow, you might prefer the older Cambridge Towers, which are currently on sale at Cambridge Soundworks stores for $1000. But if you prefer precision and snap, you will probably prefer the T300s, which are currently on sale for $1400. Both come with 10-year warranties, and with 45-day satisfaction guarantees, meaning that you can take them home and audition them in your system before making a final decision.
Both are Highly Recommended.
Recently, Cambridge Soundworks introduced its "Newton" Towers, the T300 and the T500. More modern-looking than the boxy Tower and Tower II, the Newton Towers feature new drivers, self-powered subwoofers, and a more streamline design. The Newton T300, the speaker reviewed here, retails for $1600, and is second only to the Newton T500, which retails for $2200.
The basics.
The Cambridge Soundworks T300s are three-way magnetically shielded tower speakers with built-in 150 watt powered 10-inch subwoofers. Each speaker also features a 10-inch passive radiator. All bass drivers are side-mounted, allowing the front baffle to be more slender, for better imaging. On the front baffle of each speaker are two 4" midrange drivers and one 1" silk-fabric tweeter. Unlike the older Cambridge Towers, these are NOT bipolar speakers; midrange and high frequency sounds radiate from the front of the speakers only.
The T300s are large, attractive towers, with a modern look. Two sets of "feet" (included) provide stability to the speakers and raise them a couple of inches off the ground. Including the feet, the speakers are 47 1/2" tall x 12 3/4" wide x 18" deep. The 300s come in three finishes: blonde maple, mahogany, black "slate" finishes. All are real wood veneers. The grilles (which have a modern-looking curve along the outside edges) are removable.
The Sound.
I've listened to these speakers several times, with a variety of music, and have come away impressed each time. They provide deep and tight bass, a smooth midrange, and clean non-fatiguing treble. They also provide rock-solid imaging, with instruments clearly located within a fairly wide and deep soundstage.
The other night, a friend dragged me along on his quest to find a subwoofer to go with his Paradigm Studio/20 speakers. We found ourselves at the local Cambridge Soundworks retail outlet, listening to Cambridge's BassCube 12, and alternating between the T300s and the basic Towers. This gave me a chance to directly compare the sound of the T300s with the speakers I currently use at home. For our listening, we used the following recordings:
Keith Jarrett's "The Cure," an excellent recording of jazz music
Holst's "The Planets," a symphonic work with wide dynamic range
Saint-Saenz Third Symphony, the "Organ Symphony," with organ pedal tones into the low 30 hz range
Several blues recordings
On the jazz recording, the T300s sounded outstanding. Piano was reproduced with remarkable accuracy, cymbals sounded pure and real, and both drums and bass had excellent snap and tightness. By comparison, the older Towers sounded a bit "mushy." Imaging was not as precise with the towers, bass notes were looser, and transient attack was not quite as good. Both the T300s and the Towers were pleasing to listen to, but it was clear that the newer speakers were more precise in their presentation.
On Holst's "The Planets" (mostly "Jupiter"), the T300s sounded clean and accurate, with individual instruments easy to discern. Transient attack was excellent, and the bass foundation (even when we turned off the subwoofer) was excellent. However, the overall presentation was a bit "smaller" through the T300s than through the older Towers. Though individual instruments were more precisely located with the T300s, and dynamic range was excellent, the older Towers still did a better job of presenting the wide and deep soundstage that one actually hears at a symphony.
The same was the case with the Saint-Saenz. The T300s were more precise, and provided greater heft and tightness on the organ pedal tones. But the older Towers excelled in providing a sense of a large acoustic space.
On electric blues recordings, the edge swung back to the T300s. B.B. King or Muddy Waters sounded like they were in the room with you, you could hear fingers on guitars, and bass and drums were rock solid. The older Towers were pleasing, but a bit diffuse.
To summarize, compared with the older Cambridge Towers, the Newton T300s had tighter and more dynamic transient attack, more precise imaging, and tighter, deeper bass. They also had slightly more treble energy, but not to the point of being fatiguing or grating. The Towers, on the other hand, were slightly more relaxing to listen to, and generated a wider and deeper soundstage (due to their bipolar radiation pattern). The T300s generally made me feel like I was sitting third row center in a small acoustic space. The Towers made me feel like I was sitting thirtieth row center in a larger acoustic space.
Conclusions.
The Cambridge Soundworks Newton T300s are excellent speakers, fully competitive with anything else out there in the $1600 price range. If you are on the market for direct radiating speakers, I recommend you give these a listen. Though I have only heard them with solid state amplification, I think they would mate really well with tube amplification, since their subwoofers are driven by internal amplifiers.
As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I am addicted to the sound of dipole and bipole speakers, like the Cambridge Tower, and speakers from companies like Magnepan and Mirage. I am willing to give up a bit of precision and slam for that amazing (and probably exaggerated) sense of space. But then, I also like the sound of my friends' parents' vintage speakers, including AR3as, KLH 6s, and Large Advents. With my own Cambridge Towers, I operate them fairly close to the wall, so I can achieve something of a compromise between space and precision.
If your tastes run toward the mellow, you might prefer the older Cambridge Towers, which are currently on sale at Cambridge Soundworks stores for $1000. But if you prefer precision and snap, you will probably prefer the T300s, which are currently on sale for $1400. Both come with 10-year warranties, and with 45-day satisfaction guarantees, meaning that you can take them home and audition them in your system before making a final decision.
Both are Highly Recommended.
