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The main speaker features three 2.8-inch drivers.
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The subwoofer also houses three 50-watt amplifiers to power the speaker, plus a 75-watt amp to drive the sub's 6.5-inch woofer. It will come into play when Cambridge starts selling the speaker without the receiver/DVD player. A rotary switch on the speaker selects Mute, Surround, Dialogue, or Stereo, but it's currently inactive (you access those functions via the remote).
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That's not possible right now, but Cambridge hints that future SurroundWorks satellite/subwoofer systems will work with other brands' receivers.
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Interestingly, the 200's processor resides in the subwoofer, creating the possibility of using the system without Cambridge's receiver/DVD player. Unlike most of the other virtual surround systems we've tested, the 200 doesn't need to bounce sound off the room's side walls to create the surround effect. The Cambridge SoundWorks SurroundWorks 200 uses the company's Binaura Audio Surround Processing (BASP) to synthesize a multichannel audio experience. Once you have those two squared away, hook up the video cables to your TV, then cruise through the system's straightforward onscreen setup menu-you're done. Cambridge includes two color-coded multipin cables-one wire runs between the receiver/DVD player and the subwoofer the other runs from the sub to the speaker (each cable is 12 feet long). The SurroundWorks 200's setup chores won't intimidate even the greenest of home-theater novices. The remote is pretty average overall our main gripe was that the tiny volume buttons should have been bigger and more accessible. Since it runs as cool as the proverbial cucumber, you can stash it inside a cabinet without fear of overheating. The 200 combines a single-disc CD/DVD player, an amplifier, and a receiver into one slim component measuring 2.5 inches high, 17 inches wide, and 14.5 inches deep. The matching gray subwoofer is a mere 11.2 inches high, 10 inches wide, and 13 inches deep, yet its little MDF (medium-density fiberboard) cabinet feels nice and solid. Rear keyhole slots allow for easy wall mounting. The speaker's concave front and side panels house special drivers, so to produce surround effects, you need to leave the sides unobstructed.
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The single speaker measures 4.5 inches tall, 15 inches wide, and 7 inches deep-about the size of a compact center speaker in a full 5.1-channel speaker system. People buy single-speaker surround systems to save space, and the Cambridge SoundWorks SurroundWorks 200 system is commendably petite. Best of all, the 200 provides sound comparable to that of some of the best virtual-surround systems we've tested here at CNET. The company isn't kidding when it calls the SoundWorks simplified-hooking up the audio portion simply requires plugging in two color-coded wires.
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Cambridge's "surround sound, simplified" system, the $1,000 SurroundWorks 200, features an A/V-receiver/DVD-player combo, a single compact speaker, and a powered subwoofer.