Expert's Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
According to Cambridge SoundWorks, the MegaWorks 211 is “for people who spend a lot of time at their computers, and are fanatical about sound quality.” Although our favorite subwoofer/satellite system is still the Altec Lansing FX-6021, the MegaWorks 211 is definitely a quality option (and is priced accordingly, at $350).
Unlike many “computer” speaker manufacturers, who design each sub/sat system separately, Cambridge SoundWorks’ higher-end systems involve various combinations of their sold-separately subwoofers and satellite speakers. In the case of the MegaWorks 211, the company has paired a BassCube 821 subwoofer, which includes an integrated 3-channel amplifier, with two Newton Series MC100 satellite speakers. We were impressed with the BassCube, which despite its small size puts out impressive amounts of bass — among the best we’ve heard in a computer speaker system. The weak spot in the system is the MC100 satellites, which are somewhat midrange-heavy — we found ourselves missing the high end using the default settings. However, the built-in bass and treble controls on the BassCube allowed us to tailor the sound somewhat — we turned the bass down slightly and the treble up a bit to balance things out. This improved the top end considerably, but we never quite got the same detail quality provided by the FX-6021. That being said, the MegaWorks 211 is still among the better speaker systems we’ve auditioned, and we especially recommend it for fans of kickin’ bass.–Dan Frakes