The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet-
"Read Before Buying" on by indyrex1
Pros: The unit surely is compact and multi-purpose, but is not a standout in any of the categories of sound, flexibility or picture transfer from an iPod. iPod and CD sound are good in small rooms, but the sound is rather compact.
Cons: It broke after 20 hr use and Cambridge argued repeatedly about fulfilling the warranty. Beyond that, the soundstage of the unit is small, in rooms bigger than 15x15 it won't give you what you want. The remote worked sometimes, and sometimes didn't
Summary: All in all this unit is little more than OK for the purchase price. Solid build quality, decent sound in small rooms and multi-format flexibility (CD, DVD, iPod) are in the the plus column. Smallish sound in most rooms, an unreliable remote (worked sometimes and not others) and a unit that broke after 20 hours are big minuses for this unit. The worst part though (as mentioned in other CNet reviews of Cambridge equipment - this is not unique to me) is their customer service. I bought this unit to take out of the US (which Cambridge knew and encouraged) and when it broke after 20 hours use, and I contacted them THEY LEFT ME HANGING! They would not ship a replacement unit, would not ship the power unit (which I suspect is the problem) and as a result I have a nice i765 sitting on a shelf collecting dust with only 20 hours of use. Their customer service didn't return email for weeks at a time, was argumentative, and refused to support their warranty. Ultimately when I asked to simply end the nightmare and return the unit for a refund, they refused that as well. Folks, the unit is OK (and yours may not quit on you) but if you have ANY customer service issues, be completely warned about the reliability (it stopped after 20 hrs. use) and their absolute lack of customer support. I have not owned other similar multi-function units from Polk or Bose, but I guarantee I will never make another purchase from Cambridge. Ever.
It has only gotten worse, if you an believe it!! We got the "repaired" i765 back from Cambridge, and after about 10 hours of listening to a Christmas CD, the unit stopped working... again! This time the CD was stuck in the unit. Again, I called Cambridge customer "disservice" and they promptly informed me it would be $75 to have the unit returned, repaired (for a second time with only 30 hours use on it) and returned to us. Impossible that any company could have such horrendous quality and such unbelievable disrespectful customer service. I have owned Sony, Bose, B&W, Toshiba, Onkyo and many others, and I can honestly tell you that I have never encountered worse quality (two major malfunctions in 30 hours use) nor worse customer service (they blaimed me for calling them after warranty expired). If you consider buying from Cambridge Soundworks, I suggest going to your bathroom and flushing the money down the toilet instead - that way you'll keep these scoundrels from getting it.
Updated on Jan 23, 2010 -
"Nice unit but service is terrible" on by almost101
Pros: The sounds quality is great. heavy on the bass but overall the system is pretty good quality which you would expect for the money paid for it.
Cons: Bass is a little heavy. There is a slow delay when turning on/off the unit that you get use to. Service is terrible. DVD player did not work.
Summary: I had a problem with my DVD player which took some time to identify. I kept thinking the DVD's themselves were bad quality but it turned out to be the unit. So I sent in back in to Cambridge (under warranty) where they have had the unit for over 2 weeks. If you call they have no update or status on the repair or even that they recieved it. It seems they take 4 weeks to look at the systems. I would think for the money I paid for this thing they could at least pick up the mailing tab to send it in and could fix it faster than 4 weeks. I value service on products and because I think their service is lacking greatly I can't give them high marks.
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"be prepared to pay return postage" on by imarealuser
Pros: The concept is nice
Cons: ipod connection doesn't work, so I have to pay the return postage to get it fixed even though the unit is under warranty.
Summary: They don't care that they get poor ratings here. Says they've been doing business this way for 25 years and that they're still in business. Maybe when their products weren't made in China, there weren't so many malfunctions of their products.
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"No Video for ipod touch 2nd gen" on by KYgrl
Pros: This is a great little unit in terms of sound quality, radio, and dvd usage. It plays my tunes from my iPod easily. It does not take up much space.
Cons: I have a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, as I thought I was going to be able to run video from my ipod touch 2G to the tv. The Pic on the web site even has picture of an iTouch. Their tech support didn't even know it would not work until we called.
Summary: Great for an all around music player/radio/dvd sound system. If you are an iTouch 2G user, don't expect to run video from your ipod through this system.
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"Great buy, good service, solid sound, no regrets." on by soundboard
Pros: Good service, prompt free delivery, ease of use and quality sound/functions.
Cons: AM reception on my favorite talk radio station is not that great. But moving the antennae helps.
Summary: I went online fully expecting to buy a Bose, until I read the reviews and realized there were better/cheaper products out there. Online surfing led to me the i765. The reviews were mostly positive and the price was much better than the Bose. A few days before Xmas I called the 1-800 number and ordered mine for $249 plus tax. Free 2 day shipping and delivery before Xmas was promised. I received it late Xmas eve. My wife is technically challenged and has a real problem with my buying electronics she can't operate. I promised her this would be different. I made it a point to unpack the box and set it up with her. Within 10 minutes we were tuning in our local FM stations and playing CDs. Later in the evening we popped in our iPod. Everything works great, it's played every CD (even an old, old Boz Skaggs) I've given it and the sound is pretty damn nice. It fills our large kitchen/living room area and the remote works from almost anywhere. I'm not sure when the price of clock radios jumped from $10 to $250, but this is certainly not my Mama's nightstand GE clock/radio. I'm very, very pleased with this product and although I have its original box in the garage just in case, I seriously doubt I'll be shipping it back. It's performed flawlessly, it's got plenty of FM pre-set buttons, the remote is a good size, the buttons are all easy to read and understand, the sound is nice and it looks good on our kitchen countertop. i briefly tried tuning in my favorite AM talk radio station and didn't get good reception, but as I played a bit with the loop antennae, it seemed to get better. I'm sure I can tune it in better with a little more effort. The FM stations come in solid. Overall, no complaints. I"m glad I found this machine and I'd gladly tell anybody that if you're looking for a Bose but don't want to pay that steep price, the i765 is a great way to go.
Cambridge SoundWorks i765 user reviews
