CG3 BOOKSHELF SPEAKER – DISCONTINUED

I'll start by saying that I by no means consider myself an audiophile. I have experienced and owned a lot of high end audio systems through my life and a lot of very high end brands especially in the car audio arena. The majority of my personal home theater experience had been more expensive home theater in a box type systems. I decided when I moved into my current house I wanted to build a real system. After many trips to the local box store and fancier store within I had an expectation and budget in mind. I then turned to the internet and found AVS forum amongst others. I quickly realized that my room did not provide the best HT environment, however, I would utilize it mostly for music and sports and still wanted great audio. I first discovered RSL being recommended for Atmos speakers and originally didn't pay much attention due to the price. I was under the impression that something ⅓ to ¼ the cost would not provide me with what I was looking for. After much more research and emails with Joe I decided to pull the trigger on the CE34s, CG23, and Speedwoofer. I was still under the impression that I was going to be underwelmed musically in my large space. I was wrong. That setup is amazing and everyone who has been in my house with music even at low volumes comments on the clarity and quality of the sound. When I decided to upgrade the system in my other room RSL was a no brainer. I again decided to go with a single Speedwoofer (for now) and the CG23 center. I wanted a more level soundstage and went with CG3s for the fronts.

The new CG3s are amazing, as expected. The sound is amazing and they are still breaking in. They are seamless with the CG23 and provide a great TV and music experience. With all of the supply issues I was disappointed to find the white CG3s were a thing of the past. My audio problem has primarily revolved around trying to get the sound I am looking for while keeping the room esthetically pleasing for my wife. She is not a fan of huge speakers and less than pretty objects. The CG3s and CG23 met the size expectations while filling my sound expectations perfectly. The new matte finish on the CG3s is great. I don't want to minimize the quality of the white or piano black because I have both and they are great, however, the new finish does not leave you wishing for more. They are simple, clean, and look great. As always, the customer service at RSL has been great. I am still waiting for my sub but they are restocking regularly. It has been a long time since I've dealt with a company that will actually promptly respond to calls and emails and happily answer any and all questions. I would be tempted to support RSL just for the customer service even if the speakers were not truly amazing. I am sold. I have two rooms setup with all RSL as well as Outsiders in the backyard, they continue to impress everyone who hears them.

These were my first exposure to RSL speakers...and these did not disappoint! The sound is clean, clear and surprisingly dynamic for thier size. Imaging and soundstage are excellent...worth every penny! These got me into getting the CG5 line lol ( not because they weren’t good...I just wanted to put these for my bedroom system as their size is perfect ;). Great job RSL!!

This review of my CG-3's is about a year overdue. I had purchased CG-5's in December of 2019 with Joe's help and advice and was so pleased with those on one of my systems that a few weeks later got CG-3's with some advice from Joe and Howard both for a small living room system using a Cambridge Audio Minx X-300 sub(stereo only) After all the turmoil of this past year the planned review was forgotten till now. Given all the extra time involved I have had a good long while to live with both sets of speakers in 2 different environments and I must say I'm still as impressed by both pairs as I was the first couple of weeks. The CG-3's have surprised many people so far-they can't get over how really good a small pair of speakers can sound. Used mostly for music they are great performers-clear and clean as well as dynamic when the need arises,as well as being solidly built and beautifully finished. There is no music I have tried that has not sounded Excellent. They are a seamless match sonically with the Cambridge sub and was quite easy to match up (Howards tip for 100hz was spot on) For anyone on the fence about trying them-Go for it! You won't be disappointed and you have nothing to lose!

I have these speakers for a few weeks, use them with a tube amp then soild state amp, big room and small room, music and movies.I mate these speakers with polk audio sub my opinion is they are fantastic speakers. all around speaker I use them in my small man cave. for music the speakers almost disappear movies do not need rear speakers they are that good thank you very much.

I purchased two CG3 speakers in July of 2017. Now that I've had a little over a year to break them in and get to know these speakers, I'm happy to say that these are indeed in a class by themselves. I am a television editor and listen to expensive studio monitors every day. For the money, I don't think there are ANY other speakers that come anywhere close to these. I have found that they are balanced and while listening to Jazz, Classical, and Rock, voices and instruments are well defined and the sound is clear and never muddy. There is presence and warmth that is surprising for such a small package. Before I purchased them I had several questions so I called and left a message requesting a call back. To my surprise Howard Rodgers himself returned my call. We had a very enjoyable half hour conversation where he explained compression guide technology and talked about the return of RSL. We also reminisced about the original RSL in the 1970s. After he answered my questions, I went ahead and bought the pair to use with my vintage 65 watt per channel Yamaha CA - 810 stereo amplifier that was once connected to RSL 211s - 8" 2 way speakers, I bought from RSL in 1977 or 1978. I loved those speakers! I'm using them with a passive 10" Subwoofer. The crossover hand-off from the CG3s to the Sub is smooth and invisible. My sources are a Teac A-1250S reel to reel tape deck and a Technics SL1800 direct drive manual turntable with Shure M110HE and Ortofon 2M red moving magnet cartridges. I’m excited to own RSL speakers once again! I rate them 5 out of 5 stars.

(This is a revised and corrected review)

I purchased two CG3 speakers in July of 2017. Now that I've had a little over a year to break them in and get to know these speakers, I'm happy to say that these are indeed in a class by themselves. For the money, I don't think there are ANY other speakers that come anywhere close to these. I have found that they are balanced and while listening to Jazz, Classical, and Rock, voices and instruments are well defined and the sound is clear and never muddy. There is presence and warmth that is suprising for such a small package. Before I purchased them I had several questions so I called and left a message requesting a call back. To my surprise Howard Rodgers himself returned my call. We had a very enjoyable half hour conversation where he explained compression guide technology and talked about the return of RSL. We also reminisced about the original RSL in the 1970s. After he answered my questions, I went ahead and bought the pair to use with a passive 10" Subwoofer. The crossover hand-off from the CG3s to the Sub is smooth and invisible. The speakers are connected to my vintage 2 ch. 65 watt per channel Yamaha CA - 810 stereo amplifier that was once connected to RSL 211s - 8" 2 way speakers, I bought from RSL in 1977 or 1978. I loved those speakers! My sources are a Teac A-1250S real to reel tape deck and a Technics SL1800 direct drive manual turntable with Shure M110HE and Ortofon 2M red moving magnet cartridges. I’m excited to own RSL speakers once again! I rate them 5 out of 5 stars.

A friend recommended these speakers to me and after really looking into them, I pulled the trigger and bought them. These speakers live up to the reviews. After the recommended break in period, I put them to the be max and they sound great with zero distortion. Thank you Doug Booth for recommending them and thank you Howard for being so humble. I will be getting more of these speakers.

It has been about 6 months or so since I purchased a pair of CG3 speakers from you and couldn't be happier. As I mentioned when on the phone with Mr. Rodgers, my father owned a pair of RSLs when I was a kid in the 70s there in California and when I discovered the brand had returned nostalgia for the wonderful experiences I remembered from my wouthful exposure to RSL demanded I give them another look. After reading some reviews and speaking with some of your team I made the purchase and am so glad I did. It would not be an exageration at all to say that there have been moments when I have been moved to tears by what I've heard from these wonderful, milk-carton-sized boxes. I have my RSLs hooked up to an inexpensive ($130) Yamaha Bluetooth Receiver at 100 w/ch along with a cheap ($99) Boston Acoustics Sub which is almost off the gain is turned down so low and am presented with an absolutely enveloping wall of sound that has instrumentation and ambience coming at me from all directions--the system is completely transparent. I may not have high-end, exotic equipment (yet), but I still have plenty of imaging, staging, depth, and width--not to mention the profound joy of being able to get lost in the music and forget the system entirely; The music just comes at me from all around me. Fantastic job team! What a privilege it must be to work and create for your brand.

After talking to Joe, and being between a few brands I decided to go with RSL speakers. I came home from work and there was the box containing the CG3 speakers. I picked them up and was struck by how heavy the package was. I opened up the outer box, and they were packed nicely, and double boxed. I then opened up the 2 individual boxes containing the speakers. The first thing I noticed was how beautifully finished they are, beautifully pained and overall pretty to look at. The next thing I noticed was build quality, and the weight of these babies. They are solid, a few knocks on the cabinet and you will know you have solid speakers and tight cabinet without resonance. You know sometimes by the weight of a speaker of what the quality is and these have that quality feel to them. Then I get out some old banana plugs and wire them up to an older Denon receiver I have, just a plain old 2 channel system for now.

Now onto the most important part of a speakers true quality, the sound. The movie Castaway happen to be on at the scene of the plane crash into the Pacific ocean. Well the level of detail, and the size of the sound stage was incredible for such little speakers. I heard every single smash, and breakup of the plane hitting the water. Everything, but only what was intended, nothing added, no coloration at all. Back the the sound stage, its so big from such small speakers that you would think you were listening to towers. Honestly I don't know how they did that.

Another movie was on, the animated movie "Monster house" and again the detail of the house coming alive was way beyond what I would have expected. The wide sound stage is astounding but in the end its the level of detail, the nuances that really blows me away.

So to say the least I'm very impressed, actually blown away by these speakers. RSL knows what they are doing. The testing, over testing, and the engineering really pays off, because you hear it in the speakers. Many thanks to Joe Rodgers who answered more emails of questions I had a right to be answered. Great customer service goes a long, long way and its just about the best here at RSL.