Introduction
I still believe that Creative’s acquisition of Cambridge Soundworks was one of their best decisions ever. PC speakers were traditionally "thin-y" sounding.

Up till the mid-90s, most of the ones bundled with your PC were tiny 10-buck jobs that could deliver a sound from your soundcards, but forget all you knew about audio fidelity. But then, soundcards in those days were traditionally hissy and prone to electro-magnetic interference from other components, such as hard disk access, mouse movement etc, so it didn’t make much sense to partner them with respectable audiophile equipment.

But with the advent of the SB16 and its derivatives, including the venerable AWE64 Gold with gold RCA line outputs and digital coaxial output, I suspect Creative realized that they needed a better speaker system to reveal the clarity of their soundcards. After all, these cards had the potential to capture CD quality audio.

True, you could always partner the soundcards with decent hifi amplifier and speakers, but that was an extremely costly solution for a PC. In addition, the desktop real-estate was immense. What they needed was a compact audio system that could still deliver a respectable audio performance. Enter Cambridge Soundworks.


The big and colorful packaging with the huge subwoofer sitting on top of it.

Cambridge Soundworks, founded by Henry Kloss, was already highly successful as a dedicated mail-order firm that dealt specifically for designing high performance hifi speakers with great value for money. After the acquisition, Cambridge Soundworks set about the task of designing their first few dedicated PC speakers and the results were astounding.

Even with its entry-level system, the PC Works showed incredible detail and stereo separation, with respectable bass performance. And best of all, the price was quite affordable. If you were a little more critical of audio quality, you had the option of moving up to the SoundWorks or the MicroWorks, with better subwoofers and satellite drivers. The rest, as they say, is history. These days, manufacturers routinely bundle in a Cambridge Soundworks speaker system when selling their PCs.

Cambridge Soundworks was also instrumental in creating the four-point surround speaker standard, such as the original FPS (later renamed FPS 1000) that was launched at the same time as the Sound Blaster Live.

Since then, Cambridge Soundworks have also broadened their speaker range and branched into complete home theater solutions with the Desktop Theatre systems, beginning with the DTT 5.1, which I had reviewed a few years ago. Their affordable designs have also made them ideal candidates for partnership with the newly launched Playstation 2 which had DVD playback capability. Creative was quick enough to realize that it formed a very large potential market and quickly modified the DTT2500 to work with optical inputs.

But the pace of technology waits for no man, and other competitors have swiftly entered the marketplace with comparable offerings.

When we all first got wind of Creative’s new top-of-the-line home theater speaker system for the PC, we all had high hopes. After all, Altec Lansing and Videologic had all upped the ante by incorporating THX certification and DTS decoding respectively into their premier speaker system. I had expected Creative to retaliate with a system that would provide these additional features and silence the competition, once and for all.

Sadly, this was not the case. When the specifications of the Desktop Theater 3500 were unveiled, they seemed almost under-whelming.

But my disappointment doesn’t imply that Creative had designed a bad speaker system. On the contrary, I was extremely impressed with the acoustics and performance of the extremely compact system. It provided an evolutionary step up from its predecessor, the venerable DTT 2500. And knowing Creative’s need to keep costs (and hence, prices) down, the decision not to incorporate additional features may make economic sense.

So read on, as I put this latest flagship speaker system from Creative through its paces.


Specifications
Here are the specs taken from Creative’s own website.



There are a few cool new features found in the DTT3500, compared to the older DTT2500. Firstly, there is the inclusion of the optical digital connection, a must if you want to partner the system with a PS2. As if to emphasise this commitment to the PS2, you can even change the face plate and orientate the DTT3500 control model and place it vertically, to match your PS2 in appearance.


The decoder beside the PS2 console.

The most glaring omission in this list, other than the DTS decoding feature mentioned earlier, is the lack of analogue 5.1 inputs. Creative probably assumes everyone would be partnering this speaker system with a Live 5.1 soundcard (and so can use the CMSS Digital DIN connection), so if you are not, and using the new Philips Acoustic Edge, Videologic Sonic Fury, or other 5.1 soundcards, then try something like the DTT2200 system which offers the 5.1 inputs.



Glossary
Before I begin, it might be useful to take a stroll along memory lane since there can be a lot of jargon in the area of home cinema technology, a lot of which was used in the specifications list earlier.


Dolby Surround (DS)
One of the first few movies that really showcased Dolby Stereo/Surround technology was Star Wars. The idea was to incorporate an effects channel within a normal stereo signal.

If you are really keen on mathematics, the rear effects channel was embedded as a phase difference signal between the left and right channels. Because of the embedding algorithms, this meant that the rear channel was not a full discrete channel and could only reproduce a small band of frequencies.

But this was enough for most purposes and it transported the audience into a galaxy far, far away, where spacecraft sound effects swooshed easily from the rear to the front of the screens.


Dolby Surround Pro Logic
Over the years, Dolby sound engineers continued to fine-tune the technology, and a derivative, called Dolby Surround Pro Logic (DPL) was born.

The encoding technology was pretty much the same as before, but the engineers were able to “extract” an additional center channel. (For math geeks, they used a common correlation function)

This was extremely useful in creating a more believable soundstage when the action panned from left to right (and vice versa), but more importantly, dialogue became clearer (using a dedicated center speaker) and was locked onto the screen.

The incredible thing was that when Dolby Stereo and Dolby Pro Logic soundtracks were transferred to stereo videotapes, they retained the surround information. As such, it was possible to perform the same form of decoding for the home as you did in the theaters. The era of home theater was finally at hand.

To create a more expansive rear soundstage, manufacturers usually provided amplification for two rear (mono) speakers.

Since most home speakers were unable to reproduce low rumblings in cinema soundtracks, many home AV amplifiers also rerouted the lower frequencies to a dedicated subwoofer.

This is the basic audio subsystem for most home audio systems: 3 front speakers (left, right and center), 2 rear/surround speakers (left and right) and a subwoofer. Together, they produce 5.1 channels of sound.


Dolby Digital (AC3 5.1)
The problem with DPL soundtracks was that you were in effect trying to extract 5.1 channels of audio from a stereo (2.0) soundtrack. Because of the processing involved, you could not obtain a full bandwidth signal for each channel.

With the advent of digital audio compression and perception-based compression (much like MP3), however, it soon became clear that to Dolby engineers what the way forward entailed. With digital audio compression, it was possible to encode 5.1 channels of discrete audio into a digital bitstream, and the era of Dolby Digital (DD) was finally at hand. Internally, the codec was also referred to as AC3, and that name is sometimes used interchangeably with Dolby Digital.

The entire Dolby Digital format includes up to 5.1 channels of discrete audio but can also be configured to reproduce other permutations such as 5.0 (such as in Speed), 2.0 (like in good old Dolby Pro Logic) and even 1.0 (for classic movies like Casablanca).

Sony also licensed the technology used in DD. And went on to create the SDDS system. You won’t find any SDDS-encoded DVDs around but you can find quite a few cinemas equipped with that audio system.


DTS
In parallel with the development of DD, engineers at DTS (which was founded by Steven Spielberg, among others) were also working on a similar perception-based compression algorithm. Because DTS used a lower compression system (producing larger data streams), it was supposed to offer higher audio fidelity.

While DTS is still not as well accepted as DD for home DVDs, it nevertheless has a strong following. The problem is that most DVDs with DTS audio tend to lack sufficient room for the supplementary materials (interviews, making of featurettes, commentaries, etc) found in the corresponding DD title.


THX
This is where things get more interesting (but also more complicated).

George Lucas was always a strong believer in how the audio experience was an integral component of the whole movie watching experience. Back in the old days of Dolby Pro Logic, he had apparently insisted on a base minimum audio subsystem for movies that wished to show the Star Wars trilogy. There was no way he was going to show Empire Strikes Back on a mono sound cinema.

But even then, it wasn’t enough. Cinemas were constructed differently and the acoustic properties of each theater created too many variables in the equation and movies still sounded different from theater to theater.

As a result (according to the legend), Lucas commissioned Tom Holman to experiment with how speakers and amplifiers could be specified to provide a more uniform level of performance. The product of this research culminated in the THX (Tom Holman experiment) standard.

There are four main areas for the certification (I will not dwell on the other aspects here):

• the speakers and amplifiers used had to meet certain reproduction characteristics (for linearity and roll-off across the frequency spectrum)
  
• some form of signal processing (decorrelation) was performed on the rear channels, and
  
• the rear speakers were dipolar in nature (rather than direct firing). In conjunction, they provided a more diffuse rear soundstage than in regular DPL
  
• Finally, there was a cinema re-equalisation feature for home THX systems. In cinemas, the front speakers were placed behind the screen. As a result, the volumes of the front channels in movie soundtracks had to be boosted to offset the muffling effect. In home systems, speakers are placed on top or below the TV/screen and there was no need for this boost. THX Cinema re-equalisation basically brings the front volumes down a notch for balance.

For a quick reference on THX, try visiting this site: http://www.agamemnon.co.uk/thx.asp

With the introduction of digital technologies, the THX standard is not so much a critical issue, though most consumers still believe that it is a form of quality assurance. THX has also sought to reinvent itself in the digital age.

They began by creating different standards for various applications. At the high end, there is THX Ultra for larger home theatre rooms (such as the dedicated rooms you read about in Home Theater magazine), with the THX Select specification for smaller rooms.

They also created a THX specification for PC speakers (Altec Lansing and Klipsch were among the first recipients). This is obviously less stringent than the specifications for home theatre, but it is nevertheless a good basis for comparison.

More recently, THX also worked with Dolby Labs to create Dolby Digital EX (usually called 6.1), which helps improve the rear channel soundstage by embedding a matrix rear center channel (much like the old center channel in the old Pro Logic) in the rear. This is often necessary for large cinemas theatre though Lucas and Dolby are quickly licensing this for home AV amplifiers.

THX also has a quality assurance programme for DVDs, LDs and videotapes, but some consumers mistakenly believe that you would need THX amplifier and speakers to get the full benefit. This is not so as it is merely a certification standard, and a bad one at that. I can’t even begin to list down the number of THX certified DVDs which were badly mastered or worse, had production defects (think Tarzan DVD with a incorrectly mixed rear left channel!)



Installation
As can be expected, installation of the PC speaker system is as straightforward as any other home theater speaker system, i.e. it was difficult.

When you have 6 individual speaker units (5 satellites and 1 subwoofer) and a power supply cable that you have to hook up to a decoder/amplifier unit, it would easily create spaghetti of wires behind the unit. Perhaps, one day, with Bluetooth technology, we may be able to obtain a completely wireless solution, but for now, we have to live with the wire tangle.

In this respect, Creative’s solution is no better but certainly no worse than Videologic’s.




Altec Lansing sometimes cheats a little by using fewer speaker units, which results in a very easy installation process. With some variants, they use only 2 satellites and a subwoofer. The rear speakers are mounted at the side of the front satellite units and fires towards a sidewall while the center speaker is a phantom one. But I felt the impact of the rear channels becomes slightly lost when watching many movies or playing games with 3D audio. Nothing beats having real speakers behind you. So, I guess it is a compromise that we all have to live with for now.



Unpacking the system took a bit of effort since the bundle is quite generous and there are tonnes of items to unpack. In many ways, I had a strange sense of déjà vu because I had just unpacked my Desktop Theater 2500 just a couple of months back.

You get the usual 8 units that make up the nexus of the system: the 5 satellites, one subwoofer, the control module and the power supply. In addition, you get the same plastic rear speaker stands found in the DTT2500. Be careful with that plastic contraption. It needs some assembling, and I remember getting cut when I assembled my DTT2500 a while back.

What I strongly recommend, especially if used in a PC environment is the Surround Station from Creative. It takes care of placing the rear speakers behind you and the cabling required but folds neatly away when not in use. No more running wires on the floor.




But when used in a bigger room, Creative has bundled a 5m run of cable for the rear speakers and 3m runs for the others. It should be long enough for a small PC room but if you are thinking of using it in a living room, you may want to make your own cables, especially if you intend to run the wires under carpets or along the wall to conceal your wiring.

Because these are proprietary connections, you can’t just run off to the local electrical store to get a longer run. You need to find some way to connect an RCA connector to the end of the cable.

With Videologic’s setup, on the other hand, you are provided with very generous runs of standard multi-strand wires that you can easily pick up, but connecting the cables may be more fiddly and daunting, if it is your first attempt at hooking it up.

With Creative, they are already old hands at making things simple to hook up. They even provide you with sticker labels for your cables so that you can easily re-attach back the cables if you had to move your speakers around.



Audition
I split the audition impressions to three sections, according to the three uses I expect this unit to be used in.

Music Playback Impressions
Traditionally, this has been one of the strengths of the Cambridge Soundworks brand. I love the balanced sound that comes out of the speakers and this is without any tweaking of equalizers or bass settings.

The midrange and trebles are pretty clear and at the price you are paying, it is a downright bargain.

I still prefer to listen to music in stereo mode, as I find it adds the least coloration, though the 5-channel music mode adds a certain enveloping ambience. When used in 5-channel music mode, I also found the vocals to be better pronounced since they can now make use of the larger driver in the center speaker.


Gaming Impressions
I tried out the unit in 3 games that support 3D sound, two on the PC, equipped with an SB Live 5.1 and one on the PS2.

With the Cambridge SurroundStation suspending the rear speakers just slightly behind and above me, firing downwards, the illusion of the being smack in the center of the action was incredible.

In Unreal Tournament, the rear speakers help you pick out running footsteps behind you, though with echoes (care of EAX), I got a few false scares. Oh well, better safe than sorry, right?

In Need For Speed: Porsche 2000, the rear audio cues are useful indications when your competitors get too close for comfort. And when you finally overtake the guy in front, the front-to-rear-engine sound pans are just downright satisfying

For the PS2, I used the optical connections and used the onboard Dolby Pro Logic decoding to obtain surround sound. With Gran Turismo 3, the rear sound effects as your tyres screech or the ominous rumblings of another car just behind you were well placed, as with the PC examples. However, with Pro Logic sound, the rear channels are mono, so you do lack that special cue that you get with a DirectSound 3D connection in NFS.


Movie Impressions
For this section, I tested out the speakers in two environments. The first port of call was the living room.


Two of the DTT3500 speakers.

This was a modest sized room of about 18 feet by 18 feet, with a 21 inch TV and a Pioneer DVD player. I didn’t have any problems with the three front speakers and the subwoofer but cabling up the rear units was a real problem since the cables could not be concealed easily, given the short lengths provided. In the end, I just moved the surround speakers to the back when needed (risking cables straggling across the hall) Good thing this was a temporary arrangement as I wouldn’t want anyone tripping over those dangling wires.

At first, I thought the system would not have the power to fill the room, but I was pleasantly surprised at the power and clarity of the satellite units. Rear channels really added a lot of atmosphere, especially in movies like U571.


The subwoofer.

The subwoofer, on the other hand, felt vaguely underpowered initially. I fiddled around with the settings, and moved it around. Eventually, I found a nice corner to fit it in, and the bass felt more pronounced. Because of the high cutover frequency, the low end still felt very directional (which shouldn’t be the case) but this did not detract wholly from the experience. For a S$500+ system, it is hard to match this kind of performance.

My only complaint with this setup is that the remote control could not adjust the levels for the subwoofer, center and surround channels, so when adjust these levels from your sweet spot, it may take a bit of work.


The Dolby Digital decoder.

Moving the unit upstairs to my PC in the bedroom provided a totally different perspective altogether. In the smaller room, the subwoofer begins to shine. Again, placement of the unit makes a whole lot of difference, so you may wish to experiment. If you are wary of loud bass in explosions, try to avoid placing it in a corner.

As before, the satellite speakers have great clarity and midrange. My only complaint was that I had to place the front speakers in very close proximity and it did impair the front soundstage a little. No biggie, and it isn’t the fault of the speakers. Just a problem when you don’t place the front speakers sufficiently far enough.

I have had the speaker system in this setup for about 5 months now and it is used daily with my WinTV PVR PC TV card, and my PC DVD solution, and it is a good testament how it has weathered this daily abuse without any complaint. Build quality, as ever, is top notch. Tuned properly, the system delivers extremely balanced music, without overwhelming you with shrill trebles or thumpy bass.



Conclusions
The Creative Desktop Theater 3500 is a pretty remarkable system. The sound quality is best described as typical Cambridge Soundworks quality: well balanced, clear sounding systems. And that is not a bad thing. Cambridge Soundworks has established a very cult following with the speaker systems which range from the PC (I hesitate to call it low-end since it detracts from the quality of these units) to the well lauded dedicated home theatre units.

If you have a Sound Blaster Live 5.1 soundcard, this is pretty much the speaker system to partner it with. Period. No ifs, no buts.

But if you have a 5.1 soundcard from another manufacturer, the lack of 5.1 analogue inputs puts this system out of running. For that, you can try the DTT2200, or better yet, wait for Klipsch’s 5.1 offering which should be launched soon.

If you already have the DTT2500, I wouldn’t view the 3500 as a noticeable improvement, especially if you have only a 4.0 soundcard.

If you are looking for a unit that you can use in the living room, I would not recommend the 3500 just yet. The limited cable runs and the limited remote controls just do not make it a viable option.

But if you are in the market for a new all-in-one PC speaker system that can be all things to all people, you can’t really go wrong with the DTT3500. It does lack DTS decoding, but you do save a small sum in the process as well, and it is debatable if you can hear a difference in DTS quality with equipment at this price point.

If you read my review of the original DTT5.1, you may recall that I paid virtually the same amount for that unit as the DTT3500 retails for today. You may remember then that I griped about the smaller satellite speakers and lack of remote control. Well today, for pretty much that same price, you are getting a more powerful amplifier unit, a remote control and far, far superior drivers for the satellite speakers.

For its combination of great value and good performance, the DTT3500 deserves our Value Pick Award.