CAMBRIDGE SOUNDWORKS 5.1 SURROUND SOUND SPEAKERS DRIVERS
CAMBRIDGE SOUNDWORKS 5.1 SURROUND SOUND SPEAKERS DRIVER

CAMBRIDGE SOUNDWORKS 5.1 SURROUND SOUND SPEAKERS DRIVER

The Aero 5 centre speaker uses a similar driver complement, but here the BMR is centrally mounted and flanked by a pair of 13.5cm bass drivers, which provide the low-end reinforcement. Given just a little room to breathe they sound balanced enough.

And, indeed, we didnвЂ™t find these towers particularly finicky about positioning. The speaker uses a single front-firing port, which should make them a little less fussy about placement in relation to a wall. The BMR driver at the top looks similar to a conventional tweeter вЂ“ this is an intentional move, as Cambridge knows that customers donвЂ™t quite trust anything that looks unfamiliar.Д«elow the BMR sit a pair of 16.5cm bass drivers, which certainly promise plenty of bass. Their relatively slim proportions keep them just on the right side of imposing. The Aero 6 towers are a reasonable 98cm tall.

CAMBRIDGE SOUNDWORKS 5.1 SURROUND SOUND SPEAKERS DRIVERS

It sounds fairly simple, but thereвЂ™s an awful lot of development needed before the results approach proper hi-fi standards.ДЄll that means that the crossover point to the dedicated bass drivers is moved to a region where our ears are far less sensitive to the inevitable phase and crossover distortions that are part and parcel of any such frequency handover. This bending wave operation ensures wide dispersion characteristics even at very high frequencies. A BMR works as a conventional pistonic driver at low frequencies, but as the frequency rises (to the point where a conventional driver starts to beam) it uses bending mode radiation to reach up the frequency range. ThatвЂ™s a massive advantage and moves the crossover point into a region where our ears are far less sensitive. A conventional tweeter can be used only down to around 2.5kHz, where the 46mm BMR driver used in both the Aero 6 floorstanders and Aero 5 centre reaches right down to 250Hz. The idea is to extend the response of a single driver as wide as possible.

What makes BMR drivers different? This kind of driver covers a much widers frequency range than a conventional driver could, and weвЂ™re slowly starting to see more speakers with this technology included. Cambridge has already made good use of this type of driver in its Minx products, but here it attempts to apply the technology to much more sonically ambitious speakers. BMR technologyДЄt the heart of this Aero range is BMR (Balanced Mode Radiator) technology. CambridgeвЂ™s solution is to offer something a bit different. ItвЂ™s always tough to go up against such established rivals. ItвЂ™s an entirely logical move of course, allowing Cambridge Audio to provide complete system solutions at a whole variety of prices.

WeвЂ™re big fans of the companyвЂ™s small wireless Minx speakers systems, for example. Over the past year or so thereвЂ™s been a strong move towards speakers of all kinds, and this Aero range is another case in point. However, weвЂ™ve noticed recently a determined shift in the companyвЂ™s product range.

Cambridge soundworks 5.1 surround sound speakers