Digital Trends

Cambridge SurroundWorks 200 August 3rd, 2005 | by Rebecca Day

Design and Features

SurroundWorks features an unusually styled center speaker with concave moldings for the front three speakers: one on either side 2.78-inch full-range left and right speakers flanking a 2.78-inch center speaker. The speaker box connects via a single cable to the subwoofer which houses all the amplifiers for the ensemble: the 75-watt bass amp and 50-watt amps for each front channel. The subwoofer connects to the DVD control module which also packs an AM/FM tuner.

Additional A/V inputs include one component, three S-Video and two composite video jacks, one coaxial and one digital audio jack, and a set of standard front-panel A/V jacks for a game player or camcorder.

The bundle is space efficient, measuring approximately 15 (w) x 4.5 (h) x 7 (w) inches for the speaker, 10 x 11 x 12.5 inches for the subwoofer and 17 x 2.6 x 13.5 inches for the DVD/tuner. At 7 inches deep and just 4.5 inches high, the speaker module can fit beneath the screen of a plasma or LCD TV that's mounted on a stand. Mounting screws are also included if you want to hang the speaker above or beneath a wall-mounted flat-panel TV.

In addition to Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, the DVD player spins DVD Audio (but no SACD) and MP3 files on CD. The AM/FM tuner stores 40 AM/FM presets.

Setup and Use

Consumers who don't have space for surround speakers generally don't have tolerance for messy wires or complicated setup. SurroundWorks satisfies that crowd on both counts. One cable connects the speaker to the sub and another runs from the sub's amps to the DVD module. The owner's manual uses illustrations to spell out the no-brainer connection process.  

One confusing feature is the mode switch on top of the main speaker. According to the manual, it's there for use with systems other than the AVS600. Those who don't read manuals may try to flip through the settings: Mute, Surround, Dialogue and Stereo and find little satisfaction. The manual states that the dial shouldn't be used with the SurroundWorks speaker system, which automatically selects the proper playback mode.

Little is required in the way of setup since it's a one-box speaker system—part of the EZ setup concept. You can play with the positioning of the sub to get more bass (the closer to the wall, the more oomph), in addition to cranking up the volume using the dial on the back of the cabinet.

Image Courtesy of Cambridge SoundWorks