Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks 210D and 510D

Mikael Hagén  - Last updated October 6, 2001

We have now posted our final review of the MegaWorks 510

Introduction

When Creative Labs started its effort be a major player in the multimedia speaker market a few years ago they offered a line-up ranging from the low-end with the PC Works to the high-end with the MicroWorks, all of them designed by the wholly owned subsidiary Cambridge SoundWorks. While they all got some attention for offering great bang for the buck it was first with the introduction of the Cambridge SoundWorks Four Point Surround speaker system (later renamed FPS1000) in 1998 that Creative offered something unique. This also clearly showed the significant benefit of designing both soundcards and speakers.  For those who don’t recall, the FPS1000 was the first 4.1 multimedia speaker. Without the FPS1000 the benefit for users of getting the PCI64/128 and later the Live would have been significantly less due to the increase cost and hassle of getting two 3-piece systems.

The reviews almost unanimously found the FPS1000 to offer great value but still many was disappointed Cambridge SoundWorks didn’t offer a system based on the more expensive SoundWorks or MicroWorks series. This complaint was also raised when a 5.1 version of the FPS1000 (not identical quality but similar) including a Dolby Digital decoder was released a few months later the same year. About a year later most were happy when Creative released both a more midrange 4.1 (FPS2000) and 5.1 system (DTT2500) based on the SoundWorks 3-piece system, rather than the low-end PC Works one upon which the FPS1000 was based. These two systems again showed the benefit of designing both speakers and soundcards with the introduction of the Digital DIN input matching the Digital DIN output on the Live cards.  It was simply a way to send S/PDIF inputs to both the front and rear channels but they were still a year ahead of any other system to offer this.  Three years have passed since the launch of the first Live card and Creative Labs remains the only company that offer a soundcard with digital outputs for both the front and rear channels. 

A year later Cambridge SoundWorks again released a new system matching the latest Live 5.1 card, an analog 5.1 system without decoder (DTT2200) and one digital with decoder (DTT3500) that could also use the center speaker in gaming mode unlike the previous 5.1 multimedia systems from Cambridge SoundWorks. There was no major increase in sound quality this time around and people prepared to pay $300-400 for a system now had other much better options (e.g. VideoLogic’s Sirocco Crossfire and Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400/4.1). 

This fall Creative Labs finally decided to take on the high-end in the multimedia speaker market again with the introduction of the MegaWorks 510D, a $399 5.1 systems designed by Cambridge SoundWorks with both analog and digital inputs. There will also be a 2.1 version of it named 210D for $299. The 510D version will be available world wide through Creative Labs usual distribution networks starting by end of this month or early next while the 210D will to the best of our knowledge only be available in North America through Cambridge SoundWorks stores and website (you can already pre order it). We should note pricing and availability info comes from Creative Labs Europe. Creative Labs US says availability and pricing will be announced soon.

If you wonder if there will be a 4-speaker version the answer is unfortunately no. Creative also made it clear during a recent press briefing I attended that the focus on the future will be 5.1 systems and secondly 3-piece systems. They may continue to release 4-speaker systems but then only for the low-end of the retail market. The reason is simply that sales are much better for 5.1 than 4-speaker systems now. 

The MegaWorks 510D continues the trend of being a good fit for the latest soundcard release from Creative Labs by being compatible with the 4 pole digital output of the Audigy (and Live 5.1 cards) and by also supporting the 24 bit/96 kHz output of the Audigy. Creative also stresses that a quality system such as the MegaWorks 510D is required to really hear the full potential of the Audigy’s improved sound quality over the Live. 

In this preview, which is based on testing of a prototype of the MegaWorks 210D, we will mostly compare it to VideoLogic’s Sirocco Crossfire (4-speaker system with a SRP of $450/£212) while focusing on the feature set of the MegaWorks 510D rather than the 210D. The sound quality of the 210D and 510D should be almost identical with the exception of the subwoofer. The subwoofer driver will be the same in both systems but the 510D has a larger subwoofer enclosure that should improve both the depth and power of the bass. 

The most eye catching features of the MegaWorks 510D and the 210D are the digital inputs’ support for 24 bit /96 kHz and the 150 Watts RMS 8” powerful subwoofer. Also noteworthy is the designers decision to go with single driver satellites, despite the fact that almost all other multimedia speakers in this range feature 2-way satellites. In the preview we will cover why Creative made the decision to go with single driver for the satellites and the effect of this decision. 

As a side note it can be interesting to know Cambridge SoundWorks has designed and sold speaker systems of much higher quality for years in its own stores and website (hifi.com). That is they most certainly don’t lack the experience of building a high quality speaker system. 

One other thing we will mention up front is this is a fairly lengthy preview. If you don't want to read a lot then you can head straight to the last page for the overall summary, but you will by doing so miss out on the in-depth detail. 

So on to detailed overview

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