Sound
Quality
For the tests I used a Soundblaster Live sound card. The speakers
offer the same outsanding sound quality as the FPS2000's, and
more. The speaker setup now includes two front speakers, a center
speaker, two rear speakers, and a sub-woofer. Maybe I am hearing
things, but I personally think the sound is cleaner now that
the amplifier is removed from the subwoofer and in its own encased
unit. Cambridge has included their own "Surround" emulator called
"CMSS". This setting on the amplifier has a Music, Movie, FourPoint
and Stereo setting. These essentially create some simlulated
sound fields similar to what's on home amplifiers (i.e. Hall,
Jazz, etc.). The movie setting on the amplifier did a very decent
job of simulating 5.1 sound during the DVD's I tried. Of course,
listening to them using the Dolby Digital option is even better.
Decoder
Amplifier
| Gone
is the volume control and fader on a cable. Cambridge
replaced this with its new separate amplifier. This was
a great move, except someone forgot to put the fader and
balance knobs on the amplifier. I may get flamed for saying
this, but in my opinion, who cares. I have yet to use
a fader or balance knob for anything useful anyway. Things
you can control from the amplifier are things like center
volume, subwoofer volume (YAY!), surround volume and of
course, the master volume. I can't describe how nice it
is to have a real console to adjust your levels on. |
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Dolby
Digital
Yes, that's right. You can actually watch a DVD movie on your
PC now and watch it the way it was intended to be watched.
In Dolby Digital AC-3 sound. Dolby Digital is essentially
an advanced form of digital audio coding, allowing us to enjoy
movies in a whole new way. Dolby Digital was first experienced
in 1992 when movie audiences got their first taste of real
sound quality. Dolby Digital AC-3 (5.1) consists of five discrete
full range channels: left, center, right, left-surround, right-surround
and of course number six (or the ".1" of "5.1"), the LFE (low
frequency effects) channel. If you are unsure what the LFE
channel is, it is commonly known as the subwoofer. Cambridge
had introduced Dolby Digital to the PC desktop with their
PCWorks Desktop Theater. The new 2500's are a MUCH better
unit. To listen to your DVD's in Dolby Digital format, you
will require a DVD Decoder card in your PC, something like
a Dxr3 or Real Magic Hollywood Plus. I used the Real Magic
for my tests with the unit. I tested the sound quality with
various movies and one of my favorites, Top Gun. After inserting
the DVD, off go the lights, and kick back and relax. The movie
sounded just fantastic. Having a home DVD system already,
I am fairly use to DVD and its mind-blowing sound quality.
To hear this kind of quality on your PC is what will blow
you away. When the gaming world starts taking advantage of
DVD and Dolby Digital, things are really going to change in
the PC speaker community. With these speakers you are ready
for what the future has to offer. 
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