Reviewed May 2011
We handed out an extremely positive four-star recommendation to Cambridge Audio’s £800 Minx S325 package in January this year, but this S215 system is the one we had really high hopes for.
The S215 seems ideal for smaller rooms and/or modest budgets.
For a start, they’re small to the point of in-room invisibility – those five identical MIN10 satellite speakers are a dinky 8 x 8 x 9cm, and even the X200 subwoofer is a bijou 22 x 21 x 22cm.
And they also boast the same quality of build and finish as the more expensive system (and the same ingenious binding-post arrangement that allows full-sized banana plugs to be used, should you so desire).
Make sure you run them in well
Behind each MIN10’s grille is a 5.7cm balanced-mode radiator, which promises wide dispersion, while the X200 features a 17cm driver and a pair of similarly sized passive radiators.
It has to be said that the system demands a good deal of running in – we gave them a good four days before we started testing proper – but once it is properly warmed up, this little Minx packages gives a very agreeable account of itself.
The DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack to the Mr & Mrs Smith Blu-ray sounds a little short of outright scale, certainly, but then that’s hardly startling news in light of the S215’s diddy dimensions.
A fine unity and coherence
Where the Cambridge really impresses is with the unity and coherence of the soundstage it presents, and with the gossamer-smooth integration between satellites and subwoofer.
Effects are located securely, dialogue remains distinct (even if it could project a little more), and the Minx doesn’t scrimp on the details.
Aside from that understandable lack of scale, though, there’s a dynamic reticence on display that robs soundtracks of some excitement, and a rather brash, coarse quality to the top of the frequency range that can become a touch wearing to listen to over time.
We think it’s a trade-off that some people will be prepared to stomach, though – after all, small-room systems on a budget don’t come much smaller than this.
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