Entered CNET Catalog: 04/23/2003
SKU: C1PCWWEE
Manufacturer: Creative Labs
Manufacturer description
Just a few years ago, Cambridge SoundWorks changed the way people listened to music with computers, portable CD/tape players, boom boxes and TVs when they introduced SoundWorks - their first self-contained, amplified speaker system. The PCWorks is a smaller, more affordable alternative that can be plugged into a portable CD player, home computer, TV, clock radio or boom box - anything with a headphone jack - for rich, beautiful sound, including terrific bass. PCWorks has been carefully fine-tuned by Henry Kloss so that it produces the natural, accurate, wide-range sound normally associated with high-quality component stereo systems. Many people hear PCWorks for the first time and say, "Wow! That sounds better than my home stereo system!" PCWorks consists of a pair of very small (less than 3" x 3" x 3") desktop speaker cubes plus a compact, floor standing subwoofer cabinet. The desktop speakers are magnetically shielded, so they can be placed very close to a TV or a computer monitor. They contain a 2" long-throw driver that reproduces the high- and mid-frequencies. The compact subwoofer cabinet (only 9 1/4" x 6" x 6 3/8") reproduces only non-directional bass, so it can be placed out-of-the-way behind your TV, under your desk or in back of furniture. By putting the woofer in a separate cabinet from the mid/high-frequency speakers, PCWorks takes advantage of a room's natural acoustics. A woofer on the floor, near a wall, has four times the output of a woofer on top of a desk or table.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 2 user reviews
Excellent value in a 2.1 system
Pros: Decent mids and highs; good for music
Cons: Somewhat flubby sub will disappoint gamers or folks who love their music loud
Review: I bought a pair of these back in July 1999 and they are still going strong as near-field PC speakers. At the time I bought them, I had hoped to find their big brother "SoundWorks", but the PCWorks were all I could find here in Tokyo.
They were not a mistake. Six years later, I'm still delighted with their overall sound. The volume control on the sub is usable, as is the master volume control that I've stuck on the side of my monitor.
There are cons, of course, as can be expected in a speaker set in this price range. They do low-to-medium volume music well enough. When the volume climbs, however, the 6" subwoofer just can't keep up. It flubs out. Keep the volume within the sub's limits, however, and things are just fine. The satellites do a pretty remarkable job even at higher volumes, though, and the spacial imaging in near-field terms nets an impressively wide sweet spot. (Mine sit aside a 21" monitor,)
Again, these are $50 speakers, so we're not going to sell anybody on the idea that you're getting a set of JBL reference monitors. That said, I /did/ use these as one of the several reference sets when mixing my band's album (Life After Failing "Small Light"). I used the PCWorks, a set of JBL clip-on speakers that came with my wife's Presario (these smoked those speakers), a set of Onkyo D-66RX monitors, and a couple of TVs (one stereo Aiwa and an incredibly ancient mono Toshiba). I test my mixes on all sorts of platforms to ensure that the mix works well everywhere. Accepting the speakers for what they are, they compare very favourably with the Onkyos. It came to the point that I would do much of the work mixing with the PCWorks (I mix using Cakewalk on the PC) because I could trust the EQ. It helped that I have had 6 years of experience with this speaker set.
In my listening environment, these speakers come across very well and have elicited "wow, those sound nice" comments many times over the years. When my diminutive PCWorks die sometime down the road, Cambridge will once again be on my short list of speaker manufacturers. Yes, my next system will also be a 2.1 system simply because I primarily use them for listening to VBR MP3s from my eMusic subscription. I'd hope for a little more power for those rare occasions that I do crank it up.
These are definitely worth a listen. If you can't listen to them, I'd suggest that you risk very little in buying direct from the manufacturer. You'd be hardpressed to find another $50 set of speakers sounding this good.
They were not a mistake. Six years later, I'm still delighted with their overall sound. The volume control on the sub is usable, as is the master volume control that I've stuck on the side of my monitor.
There are cons, of course, as can be expected in a speaker set in this price range. They do low-to-medium volume music well enough. When the volume climbs, however, the 6" subwoofer just can't keep up. It flubs out. Keep the volume within the sub's limits, however, and things are just fine. The satellites do a pretty remarkable job even at higher volumes, though, and the spacial imaging in near-field terms nets an impressively wide sweet spot. (Mine sit aside a 21" monitor,)
Again, these are $50 speakers, so we're not going to sell anybody on the idea that you're getting a set of JBL reference monitors. That said, I /did/ use these as one of the several reference sets when mixing my band's album (Life After Failing "Small Light"). I used the PCWorks, a set of JBL clip-on speakers that came with my wife's Presario (these smoked those speakers), a set of Onkyo D-66RX monitors, and a couple of TVs (one stereo Aiwa and an incredibly ancient mono Toshiba). I test my mixes on all sorts of platforms to ensure that the mix works well everywhere. Accepting the speakers for what they are, they compare very favourably with the Onkyos. It came to the point that I would do much of the work mixing with the PCWorks (I mix using Cakewalk on the PC) because I could trust the EQ. It helped that I have had 6 years of experience with this speaker set.
In my listening environment, these speakers come across very well and have elicited "wow, those sound nice" comments many times over the years. When my diminutive PCWorks die sometime down the road, Cambridge will once again be on my short list of speaker manufacturers. Yes, my next system will also be a 2.1 system simply because I primarily use them for listening to VBR MP3s from my eMusic subscription. I'd hope for a little more power for those rare occasions that I do crank it up.
These are definitely worth a listen. If you can't listen to them, I'd suggest that you risk very little in buying direct from the manufacturer. You'd be hardpressed to find another $50 set of speakers sounding this good.
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 2 user reviews
Excellent for AC 97 sound STANDARD
Pros: QUALITY sound, EXTREMELY reliable with no windows crashes!! and QUALITY manufacture at a SMALL price ! A lot of sound cards have problems due to the fact they are PCI based. AC 97 is common on-board with many motherboard manufacturers. You get a LOT for
Cons: Bass isn't exceptional, but the highs are crisp and tight.
Review:
