Cambridge SoundWorks Ambiance Speakers

[truevis]

Just acquired a set of Cambridge SoundWorks Ambiance speakers. They are 2.1 3-ways in a sat/woofer configuration*.

I just tried the satellites* and they sound nice. Interestingly, they are way less efficient than some Cambridge SoundWorks Ensemble IIs that I have, yet they look like jumbo clones of them.

The woofer has two ports which are just holes cut in their box. Ensemble II woofers have plastic ports.

Here is a 1990 review of them in Stereophile: http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/390cam/index.html

I continue to be impressed by Mr. Kloss' gear.

(* see my followup post for correction)

 

[RichPA]

Just acquired a set of Cambridge SoundWorks Ambiance speakers. They are 2.1 3-ways in a sat/woofer configuration.

I just tried the satellites and they sound nice. Interestingly, they are way less efficient than some Cambridge SoundWorks Ensemble IIs that I have, yet they look like jumbo clones of them.

The woofer has two ports which are just holes cut in their box. Ensemble II woofers have plastic ports.

Here is a 1990 review of them in Stereophile: http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/390cam/index.html

I continue to be impressed by Mr. Kloss' gear.

I've used a pair in my office (no sub) for many years - nice little speaker.

 

[Renzor213]

Cambridge Soundworks makes some very nice speakers. My dad has some Ensembles, and very nice. I've been running a Cambridge Soundworks Microworks set up for my home office computer for several years now, and no way I'm giving this up. Even had some problems with it, but like the accurate midrange so much, just did the repairs. Guess it helps, that I can do this myself though.

 

[truevis]

Upon further inspection, the woofer box I got is actually Ensemble II. It is a different version than the ones I have.

Hence, I deduct that the Ambience are stand-alone bookshelf speakers and someone just added the woofer unit to his set.

(DD broke the good camera last weekend so photos will be delayed.)

 

[Bostown]

Ambiance are about as close as CSW ever got to making a Studio Monitor - although it does much better mid-field than most studio monitors. Unfortunately I think The stereophile review lacks merit (my personal opinion, it's sweet then goes sour when the reviewer revisits the product. - basically it's like he's saying "forget what I said previously, these actually suck". That's fine.. I think his wife is a dog , what's that opinion worth?)

I've owned ( as still own ) as few sets. My Favorite being the Solid Oak and original tripod stands, although I really like Painting CSW speakers in High Gloss enamel paint once the nextel paint rots away from years of exposure to Air. I'll have to post the finished product of my latest set when they're done.

AMBIANCE speakers needs really good amplification to truly perform, and most owners never really got to hear what they can actually do if they ran them with an average receiver. They are Tube amp friendly but again they need a beefy tube amp, even then, expect to roll the volume a bit to get output that is room filling. OH but they can FILL a room.

They sound great, but again, they're very amp hungry. for short money, an NAD 2200PE, ( or even better, a pair bridged) mated with the Ambiance and great sound will result. Pair them with an Acurus A200/A250 Aragon 4004 MKII or Accuphase P-300 and they'll go toe to toe with Kef Reference 101 and Celestion SL6.

Truevis, you have a white new ensemble II Sub (w/ flared port) , It's not a good pairing for the Ambiance. Henry made ( and CSW sold) a passive high pass filter for them at one time. very rare item . He also made an Active High pass / low pass unit called the EXO-1 that is perfect for using with the Ambiance and a Powered Subwoofer in a 2 channel system - Finding one is probably just as hard as finding the Musical Fidelity X-A50 Mono amp that I've been hunting down for the past couple of years.

I lucked out and found an EXO-1 a while back and will get around to recapping the thing for optimal performance. All in all the Ambiance is a sleeper. It's not for everyone and its a glutton for amplification but feed it properly and you'll understand that this is probably the hidden gem of all of CSW's original line of products and one of Henry's lesser known classics.

 

[truevis]

...Truevis, you have a white new ensemble II Sub (w/ flared port) , It's not a good pairing for the Ambiance. Henry made ( and CSW sold) a passive high pass filter for them at one time. very rare item . He also made an Active High pass / low pass unit called the EXO-1 that is perfect for using with the Ambiance and a Powered Subwoofer in a 2 channel system...

I have two Ensemble II black woofer boxes with flared plastic ports, and one Ensemble II white box with two holes for the port. The white box also has spring clips for the inputs and the black ones have gold screw terminals. I think I'll try all three boxes on one Yamaha amp and just let them rumble.

I have a CSW Cube10 powered subwoofer but it has no highpass filter that I know of. I reckon its advantage would be that it reproduces lower tones than the Ensemble II woofers.

Next step is to find an active crosssover...

Thanks for the insight, fellas.

 

[Bostown]

I have two Ensemble II black woofer boxes with flared plastic ports, and one Ensemble II white box with two holes for the port. The white box also has spring clips for the inputs and the black ones have gold screw terminals. I think I'll try all three boxes on one Yamaha amp and just let them rumble.

I have a CSW Cube10 powered subwoofer but it has no highpass filter that I know of. I reckon its advantage would be that it reproduces lower tones than the Ensemble II woofers.

Next step is to find an active crosssover...

Thanks for the insight, fellas.

sounds like someone painted an original Ensemble II bass module from Black to White. To the best of my recollection , CSW hadn't released a White woofer until the "NEW" ensemble series was released. Factory made White E2 bass modules "should" have a single flared port. - A pic will confirm.

If your pre-amp / processor is a dolby digital unit then it will filter bass from the Ambiance and route low frequencies to the sub ( typically at around 80hz or higher depending on the unit ) - If its a 2 channel unit.

M&K used to make a passive high pass filter. They pop up on Ebay from time to time. I think it's called an HP80 or something like that.

 

[Renzor213]

Not sure what version my dads Ensembles are, but two flat boxed 8" acoustic suspension woofers. The whole set up is white from the factory, with the woofer cabinets, being texured vynil clad. Maybe these are rare, but the way he ordered them.

 

[Bill S]

Nice little speakers

A bit power hungry by nature of their relatively low SPL. But give them some juice, and they do very well for a small speaker. The bass won't rattel windows but it is still very strong for such a small driver. A very balanced, smooth sound.

 

[truevis]

A bit power hungry by nature of their relatively low SPL. But give them some juice, and they do very well for a small speaker...

Yes, very inefficient. Had my Yamaha integrated amp up at 3/4 of full volume listening to those speakers, today.

Like that wood. Mine have the sticky black finish. Gotta give them the Bostown-suggested wild paint job.

 

[Bostown]

Not sure what version my dads Ensembles are, but two flat boxed 8" acoustic suspension woofers. The whole set up is white from the factory, with the woofer cabinets, being texured vynil clad. Maybe these are rare, but the way he ordered them.

They are third version of the original ensembles in white (aka "new" ensembles). Nice speaker and they sound great bi-amped.

 

[truevis]

Here's a picture. I have them on the stands that came with my Ensemble IIs stacked with the Ensemble IIs sats with brackets that I made. One set is on A and the other on B. This lets me mix and match to vary the sound. The 2 Ensemble II woofer boxes are on a separate amp. This give much flexibilty and I get to do lots of knob turning and button pushing :yes:.

 

[djnagle]

Seeing the other picture, it looks like the cabs are solid wood. You could really make them look good with a little sanding and clear coat.

 

[Bostown]

Seeing the other picture, it looks like the cabs are solid wood. You could really make them look good with a little sanding and clear coat.

The black Ambiance speakers are made of MDF, and they clean up pretty easily. I may have mentioned that CSW used to offer the original MDF ensemble and Ambiance speakers in a "PRIMED for painting" version. a primer coat lives under that "sticky" NEXTEL textured paint. so the process is pretty straight forward.

The solid OAK Ambiance are pretty swanky as evidenced in the pics posted by Bill S.

 

[JKent]

Keep on truckin'

That Nextel really does get sticky and scratched over the years. I have a pair of the solid oak and love them but recently bought a pair in Nextel. Paint remover will remove the Nextel but leave most of the primer. I did a final clean-up with lacquer thinner, which DID remove a lot of the primer, then sprayed with sandable auto primer. For the final finish I used spray-on Truck Bed Liner. Sort of in the spirit of the original Nextel but more durable (I assume). Came out nice!

A few photos here:
http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=7315

 

[truevis]

JKent, nice report. Did renewing the capacitors change the speakers' sound noticeably? The pair or Ambiance I have sound okay, but rather they're duller (have less treble) than other speakers I own.

 

[Bostown]

JKent, nice report. Did renewing the capacitors change the speakers' sound noticeably? The pair or Ambiance I have sound okay, but rather they're duller (have less treble) that other speakers I own.

I had the same question. I have another pair stripped and ready for prime and paint.
Might as well hit up the internal organs while I'm mucking around with the cosmetic surgery part. -

No doubt that I'm a fan of the Ambiance and not being short on amp power , their inefficiency has never been an issue. - I've said it 100 times I'm sure. it's truly an underrated speaker.