Cambridge SoundWorks 740 CD/Radio (Black)

by Cambridge Soundworks

Product Details

Product Manual [1.43mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 13 x 18 x 8 inches ; 26 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 14 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000D1E04
• Item model number: Radio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,451 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 1, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

At a suggested retail price $150 less than its nearest competitor, the Cambridge SoundWorks 740 CD/Radio is the hands-down choice to make if you're in the market for a full-sounding table-top compact CD/radio system. If you're looking for a top-of-the-line alarm clock to go along with the sound performance that the Cambridge 740 offers -- well, that's a different story. But let's start with the good news, because it's very, very good news.

Sound
At the heart of the Cambridge 740 is a pair of high-accuracy speakers and a large subwoofer that somehow fits inside the unit's compact case. As we tested the FM reception on a classical radio station, a passerby turned her head and remarked that she'd never actually "felt" the bass from such a small radio before. And it's true; pop in any CD that's heavy on the bass, and you will definitely feel it. Whether you're listening to classical, jazz or rock, this baby will fill your small space with large sound. (We even placed the unit on an outside balcony at medium volume, and a full block away Mile Davis came through nice and clear. It was truly impressive.) It's hard to imagine finding a compact component system that's anywhere near the Cambridge 740 in quality at anywhere near this price.

Design
At about five inches high, fourteen inches wide, and eleven inches deep -- smaller than a breadbox! -- there's no question that the 740 is compact. It's a perfect size for a table top. But is it a perfect size for a night stand? For our taste it's too bulky to place beside the bed. On a related note, the very small buttons -- of which there are twenty-one on the face -- are very small and it's not exactly a cake walk to set the functions, especially as you're waking up or getting ready for sleep. Thankfully, though, the included remote simplifies these tasks enormously. And aesthetically -- again, it's all a matter of taste, and we'll leave it at that. Nevertheless, in this case the sound quality more than makes up for any shortcomings of design.

Features
There's no denying that this baby is loaded with features, most of which seem to work flawlessly. We played factory CDs as well as home-burned CDs with MP3 files without a glitch. The 32-character display, which offers title/track information, was invaluable, especially when playing MP3 files of songs we'd never heard before. And while scanning the FM waves (superb radio reception, by the way!), we were excited to see the radio station information scrolling across the screen. Separate bass and treble controls, a conveniently placed headphone jack, a credit-card sized remote, and 16 station presets all conspire to bring a smile to any user's face. In another nice touch, front and rear auxiliary inputs are provided for external audio sources such as a portable MP3 player.

Alarm Clock
Our only bone of contention with the 740 centered on the alarm clock. After nearly two hours of following the otherwise quite helpful user's guide, we gave up trying to get the alarm clock to do what we wanted with any kind of consistency. We were able to get every feature to work at least once -- we figured out the way to wake up to the alarm tone, to the radio, and to a specific CD track -- but try as we might, it was frustratingly difficult to repeat our efforts successfully. A related grumble is that the display's automatic dimmer function does not dim enough for anything resembling a sleeping level. And finally, in two separate, three-day tests, we synchronized the time display to our cell phone's time, and in each test the 740 had lost one to two minutes by the end of the third day. This was not a scientific test to be sure, but it convinced us that the money dropped on the Cambridge 740 -- which we would gladly drop -- would be spent on its incredible sound technology, not on its alarm clock functionality.

Pros

• Exceptional sound quality for a compact unit
• $150 less than the nearest competitor with similar functionality
• Programmable display shows radio station information, CD and MP3 text

Cons

• Alarm clock user interface and accuracy could be better
• Not compact enough for the bedside
• Blue LED display should offer greater dimming

Product Description

Nothing compares to this radio's deep rich sound. Or its incomparable value. If you're looking for big sound from a small radio, this one stands alone: Our new SoundWorks Radio CD. Its sound is so deep and rich, you won't compare it to other tabletop radios, you'll compare it to the quality of your home stereo system ? the sound is that remarkable.

Our goal was to increase functionality and reduce complexity. So we made the multi-language display big enough to see clear across the room, and made it Radio Data Service (RDS) capable so you can see the name of the station... even the song they're playing scrolling across the display. We added a single Jog menu to handle "set and forget" functions. There's a full-featured remote control that's easy to use. Two bands of FM provide 16 presets to store all of your favorite stations. Plus two alarms that wake to tone or music and feature variable snooze settings.

Slip your favorite CD into the front-loading slot and it's gently pulled into the player, just like a high-end car CD player. The SoundWorks Radio CD will even play your compressed MP3 CDs - imagine having 8 hours of high quality music on one disc! It's a generation ahead of any other tabletop radio on the market today.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ugly Duckling WIth Nice Quack, February 18, 2004

By 

David Gurgel (Roseland, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cambridge SoundWorks 740 CD/Radio (Black) (Electronics)

I purchased this for my office. As soon as I lifted the 12 lb. box, I knew this was serious stuff in a small package. I ran my computer sound output to the aux input so that even my Windows startup tune now thrills me. Now as I work I stream digital, high-quality radio from the free RealAudio player to the radio. There are dozens of stations available. The audio quality (surprisingly good bass) is about the same as a midlevel, three-piece PC speaker set. Setup of the Cambridge radio and RealAudio are trivial.

I have two of the high-priced (about $100 more than Cambridge) Bose radios (one with CD, one without) at home. Sound is great from the Bose and the Cambridge systems; I cannot choose between them. However, the Cambridge does have bass and treble adjustments while my Bose systems do not have these adjustments. I also am pleased with the FM reception for both the Bose and the Cambridge and wish the AM were better in all.

I was disappointed in the looks of the Cambridge system. The Bose system, in its plastic case, has a high-tech, modern look, although the control pad on top is perhaps not as easy to access as the front-mounted controls on the Cambridge. The Cambridge wooden case (black on mine) is solid enough but unappealing in appearance, with a big volume knob sticking out dead center and small, cheesy control buttons around it. A huge snooze-mute button sits on the otherwise unblemished top.

I have ten radios in my office. Most are small portables that I purchased for their design. My favorite is the Grundig Yacht Boy. Good design in consumer products seems important only to Italian and German firms.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars no major compaint, October 29, 2003

By 

flt-1 "flt" (Mason, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cambridge SoundWorks 740 CD/Radio (Black) (Electronics)

No major complain w/ the unit. For the amount of $ this unit cost, one would/should expect a lot. I'm not blown away by the sound, but I'm not dissapointed either.

CD eject is not quite strong enough and I have to 'pull' the cd out every time. Not sure if it's defective or just the way it is.

The time it allows one to change alarm setting is really short. I end up having to get into the change-alarm-mode several times in order to make a change. This should get better once one becomes more familiiar w/ the settings.

One good thing about the unit is the slot loading. This allows me to pile stuff such as CD cases on top. The bose alarm cd is top loading so night stand space is vertically-challenged.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far exceeded my expectations, February 15, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Cambridge SoundWorks 740 CD/Radio (Black) (Electronics)

I was suprised when I read reviews of this item which were anything less than 5 stars. I have been looking for ages for a decent, small sized radio. This item far exceeds Bose for sound quality, and it plays MP3's in addition to CD's so you can put in one CD with 8 to 10 hours of music. You can also adjust treble and base which you cannot on the Bose. It also displays the radio station playing and the current song and artist and the upcoming song and artist when playing the radio (again, Bose doesn't). But beyond any of the "features".. its just sounds great. I have a Onkyo stereo with Bose cube speakers and a Bose subwoofer and this blows it away. Its not just my opinion, but everyone who has come over and listened to it has been amazed. I will be keeping this for years to come I can already tell you. Its also great becaue if you need to move it its just one piece.. no speakers to connect or anything else. I'd give it 10 stars if that was a choice. Zero complaints and many suprises.

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