Return-Path: Received: from MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa00850; 9 Jan 94 20:38:19 EST Date: Sunday, 9 January 1994 20:37:36 EST From: Dave.McKeown@MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU To: bovik@cs.cmu.edu cc: dmm@MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Cambridge Sound Works Message-ID: <1994.1.10.1.33.25.Dave.McKeown@MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU> Harry, Here is a late comer. I know the guy at Audio Options and he is, as said below, a really nice guy. He is also great at suggesting which particular CD recording of the myriad of Mozart, Bach, Brahms, etc is the 'best'. And he has a bunch of budget CD's who the guy who just wants a copy of 'the Planets' to listen to. Certainly a fair number of the CSD audio-knowledgeables seem to like and respect his stuff. -Dave - - - - Begin forwarded message - - - - Return-Path: Received: from ROADKILL.FOX.CS.CMU.EDU by MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa20046; 9 Jan 94 14:39:33 EST To: dmm+@MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Cambridge Sound Works Newsgroups: cmu.cs.general In-Reply-To: Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon Date: Sun, 9 Jan 94 14:39:10 EST From: acid@ROADKILL.FOX.CS.CMU.EDU Sender: acid@ROADKILL.FOX.CS.CMU.EDU In article you write: >an 800 number? Any comments from satisfied (or otherwise) consumers >will be shared with Dr. Bovik. -dmm When Peter Lee was looking for speakers, I auditioned a satillite/subwoofer system by this company. It was around $500-600, and as I recall it had left and right subwoofers. I was very UNimpressed, to say the least. My impression was that you would probably come up with something "better" for $500 by even just choosing randomly at that price point. The flaws were such that I don't think it had anything to do with the particular setup or other components in the system, so I feel pretty confident with my opinion. However, I put "better" in quotes because these things are largely personal taste, as hard as that is for me to believe. I know why people buy these -- they want bass. But I found the bass to be of low quality and of little extension. Of course, that *is* one thing that is very setup-dependent, so I'm not as confident making a statement from that one audition. But I am confident with my belief that for $600 you will not get good *real* bass. Period. I *strongly* encourage you to audition some speakers by PSB. There is a dealer in Squirrel Hill. The place is called Audio Options. It's a small store that exists mainly to sell classical CDs. I would much rather listen to the $200 PSB Alpha than the above system any day. And they have a whole line up to $2000. I've listened to their speakers at the $200, $850, and $2000 price points, and each one has demonstrated to be an excellent bargain for its selling price. The $200 and $2000 speakers are the best I've heard around those price points. PLUS -- here's the kicker -- the PSB line puts a lot of effort into the bass range, relatively speaking against other speaker systems of comparable price. So this is why I feel even better than usual recommending PSB to someone who is considering CSW. The owner of Audio Options, Mark, is a really nice guy. He's not like any other stereo salesperson I've ever met. He'd probably even give you the same 30-day audition if you asked. (Not sure about this.) No affiliation, etc. In fact, I don't even own PSB myself. -chris - - - - End forwarded message - - - -