Digital Trends

Cambridge SurroundWorks 200

August 3rd, 2005 | by Rebecca Day

Performance

The goal in a faux surround-sound system is to get a credible sense of surround sound, not a replica of a 5.1-channel system. SurroundWorks handled the job well. I was impressed by the power output, which went louder than I was comfortable playing in my large basement room. I've heard annoying high-frequency distortion in other pseudo surround-sound systems but was happy to hear realistic glass shattering sounds in Terminator 2 rather than sibilance.

I placed the sub a couple of inches from the rear wall and didn't feel cheated. Explosions in Empire of the Sun and thundering horse hooves in Mask of Zorro came off convincingly. Dialogue was very clear and true from Martin Sheen's distinctive narration in Apocalypse Now to the Gov's “I'll be back” in T2. I didn't get a sense of the dripping water behind me in the Zorro prison scene in the way I do with a full-blown 5.1-channel system but the sound came from somewhere other than the front which worked for me. A bit of detail was lost in the runway scene in Empire of the Sun, but the system caught the panning sound of a B-51 screaming from left to right across the screen.

I was especially surprised by the musicality of the system, which is likely to get as much music time as movie time. The bass violin line in the Clayton Brothers' “Happenstance” jazz recording was impressively deep and punchy. Overall, music was rich and filled the room nicely. Stereo separation suffered a bit, of course, but there was a decent semblance of a soundstage. It didn't sound like all the sound was coming from a single point.

The player handled MP3s and audio CDs without a snag and went into slideshow mode automatically upon discovering a JPEG CD-ROM. I would have liked the addition of Windows Media Audio (.wma) playback, especially given that Cambridge is owned by Creative, whose Zen portables are Windows PlayForSure devices.

My only gripe is with the remote control, whose tiny buttons and labels require more eye time than should be required. The play button is the same miniature size as the other transport control buttons and not easy to locate—especially in the dark. Volume buttons aren't set off enough for quick identification. The Channel Up button is located two rows above the Volume Up button and both are marked with the same icon.

Image Courtesy of Cambridge SoundWorks

Conclusion

The SurroundWorks 200 is designed for those who want a quick, easy and compact solution for music and video playback. It delivers all that with a few extras thrown in. Sound quality is terrific for a system of this type. Aside from the remote control, setup and use is a breeze, but the remote isn't a deal breaker. This little system rocks.

Pros:

-          Good sound quality

-          Simple to setup

-          Works good in a family room setting

Cons:

-          Small buttons on the remote control

-          Does not support .WMA playback