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dae3dae3
05-09-2005, 12:31 PM
Here are my thoughts about my Ascend Acoustics 340M mains and 340C center after one week of ownership.

The speakers were well packaged and arrived in perfect condition. My initial impression was that they felt heavier and more substantial than I thought they would. They weigh more than the floor-standers they are replacing. :) I did not notice any flaws in the fit and finish of the speakers. There is nothing fancy about the finish of the speakers; they have a nice almost pro-audio look to them. It is obvious when inspecting the binding posts that they are of high quality and give a good solid thunk when you push the banana plugs into place. The materials all seem top notch.

The speakers have a very neutral sound to them. I don’t get the impression that they add or subtract anything from the sound but instead reproduce whatever is on the source material. For instance, FM radio sounded like crap because I could hear static that I couldn’t hear with my previous speakers but I live way out of town and don’t get good reception here. On the other hand I watched my new Phantom of the Opera DVD and got chills once or twice from the clarity of the sound. My jazz cd’s all sound great. I have more than once found myself listening to 5.1 sources in stereo because the 340m’s were imaging so well that I didn’t notice that the center channel wasn’t playing anything. (I don’t have rear speakers yet.) I can play these speakers much louder than my old speakers (which are supposed to have the same sensitivity) without them sounding strained or getting listening fatigue.

I was worried that buying $640 speakers (including the stands) would not be an upgrade from the $600 floor-standing speakers that they are replacing but I have found IMO these new Ascend speakers to be a large improvement.

Have I heard speakers that are better? Yes.
Were they in the same price range? Not even close.

In my case it was well worth the risk of eating the return shipping costs to try them out. I am very happy with my purchase. Also, the customer service has been great. It is cool to send an e-mail to a company and get a response from the President of the company.

dae3dae3
06-02-2005, 06:41 AM
I just wanted to add some more thoughts on my new speakers now that I am getting closer to a month of ownership, have received my stands, and have dialed in the setup and positioning.

The speakers are sounding better and better to me. Now that I have them positioned perfectly the imaging is even better. The sub is now dialed in and the whole system is incredible for music. I am listening to more and more music. The ratio is now probably leaning towards more than 50% music now and would probably be even more if it wasn't for my wife wanting to watch TV. :rolleyes:

In my initial review I mentioned that I had heard better speakers but at a much higher price. To update this impression, the threshhold of what I have heard that is better is creeping farther and farther away from my Ascends price range. Now that I have the whole system dialed in it is getting harder to think back to listening sessions where the sound was better. Now that the mains and sub are blended perfectly they sound much better as a system than any of the speakers to which I listened. IMO my 340's and my SVS 25-31pc+ when combined sound better than the $4000 B&W speakers that I auditioned. This is of course after following the placement suggestions in the 340's user manual and calibration with test tones and an SPL meter.

bikeman
06-02-2005, 09:21 AM
Darren,
Did you try Lee B.'s suggestion using AVIA? I found it helpful.

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=894

David

curtis
06-02-2005, 09:42 AM
I am listening to more and more music.

Yup.....happens to a lot of us with these speakers, and great speakers in general. For me now, I watch just a few TV shows (and now I see myself getting spoiled with HDTV and watching only HD shows if possible), otherwise, I would just rather listen to some good music.

dae3dae3
06-02-2005, 11:12 AM
I don't have the Avia disk. I used Digital Video Essentials along with the test tones in my Pioneer 1015. I let the auto-config set the speaker distances but I set everything else manually. I may eventually get Avia and a BFD but that will have to wait. While the money isn't really a problem, I have pretty much used up all the WAF for purchases for now. :D

Nicholas Mosher
06-02-2005, 09:03 PM
Congrats!http://mysite.verizon.net/nicholasmosher/gin.gif

mboy
07-22-2005, 06:40 PM
I just wanted to add some more thoughts on my new speakers now that I am getting closer to a month of ownership, have received my stands, and have dialed in the setup and positioning.

The speakers are sounding better and better to me. Now that I have them positioned perfectly the imaging is even better. The sub is now dialed in and the whole system is incredible for music. I am listening to more and more music. The ratio is now probably leaning towards more than 50% music now and would probably be even more if it wasn't for my wife wanting to watch TV. :rolleyes:

In my initial review I mentioned that I had heard better speakers but at a much higher price. To update this impression, the threshhold of what I have heard that is better is creeping farther and farther away from my Ascends price range. Now that I have the whole system dialed in it is getting harder to think back to listening sessions where the sound was better. Now that the mains and sub are blended perfectly they sound much better as a system than any of the speakers to which I listened. IMO my 340's and my SVS 25-31pc+ when combined sound better than the $4000 B&W speakers that I auditioned. This is of course after following the placement suggestions in the 340's user manual and calibration with test tones and an SPL meter.
Talk to us about how you have them positioned, if you don't mind.

dae3dae3
07-25-2005, 12:18 PM
I set them up as noted in the Ascend owners manual.

I measured the distance from my seating position to the center position and then multiplied this distance by .72. The main speakers were then placed this distance apart. The sub is placed to the inside of the right speaker. I had the sub in the corner but I could easily localize its sound there. The speakers are 18" from the front wall.

mboy
07-25-2005, 12:39 PM
I set them up as noted in the Ascend owners manual.

I measured the distance from my seating position to the center position and then multiplied this distance by .72. The main speakers were then placed this distance apart. The sub is placed to the inside of the right speaker. I had the sub in the corner but I could easily localize its sound there. The speakers are 18" from the front wall.Darren, what sub you runing?
I have a Dayton 10 in the front right corener now, but am jumping up to an SVS PCi or PC+ this week and may throw it behind my sectional.

Oh, I like local loopback too :-)

dae3dae3
07-25-2005, 01:27 PM
I have an SVS 25-31 PC+

If I would have noticed that the 20-39 PC+ was only $50 more I would have bought one of those. That and the wife wouldn't have wanted an even taller sub. :o

mboy
07-25-2005, 02:43 PM
I am eyeing either a new 20-39 pci or a used 16-46 Pci or PC +.

I imagine you like the Acend + SVS combo? (how can you not?)

gr1m
07-25-2005, 11:05 PM
congrats on your 16-46pc+ mboy, you will love that ascend+svs combo, no doubt just as great as an ascend+hsu combo

mboy
07-26-2005, 01:58 AM
Thanks. Pretty excited to get my 340c and my new 16-46Pc+.

JohnnyCasaba
07-26-2005, 11:32 AM
Thanks. Pretty excited to get my 340c and my new 16-46Pc+.

Man you have been on a spending spree! Enjoy all the new toys!

mboy
07-26-2005, 12:01 PM
Thanks
:-)

The sale of my JBL E80's and EC35 almost covered the 2 pre owned 340's.
Splurged and charged the 340c, but I wil have that completely paid off by end of week.

Only wanted to spend $400 (strecthed a bit once the wife was cool with the cylinder vs box) or so on the sub, but figured WTF, now I won't have to buy a sub (or front 3) for a LOOOOONNNNGGG time.

Have some PC consulting business this weekend (side business), so that should cover about half of the 16-46PC+ :-)
The rest, well, the wife offered to chip in a couple hundies, but I said I would cover it. SHould have that paid in a couple of weeks max, so it's all good :-)
No one starving in the house (altho I could use a few weeks without food) and doesn't affect my weekly contribution to the own my own home fund.

Only conceivable thing I would upgrade is my surrounds (JBL E10's sides) and N24's rears, but that won't be necessary for quite a while.
Otherwise, my 4 computers are set as is my newly overhauled HT :-) hehehehe.
Man, can wait till the 340c and SVS arrive. Feel like a little kid (with a bigger budget :)

tjennings
10-19-2005, 10:21 PM
I received my new 3 front 340's on Tuesday, so I have about 8 hours of listening in so far on two evenings, and I'm very happy with my purchase! The clarity and detail of the 340's is amazing. As dae3dae3 said in the first post, they were much heavier than I expected for their size, and well-packaged (double boxed). The 340m's look fantastic on the stands which make them look like large towers (even taller than I expected). I put a 50 lb bag of play sand in each stand as people have recommended here in the forum and they are SOLID. The 340c is a monster compared to the previous two center speakers I've owned! Since they arrived, I've mostly listened to multi-channel music, DVD concerts, and just getting into sampling a few movies now - dialog sounds wonderful as do action scenes. Hi-res MC music is absolutely mind-blowing. I was listening to a couple of concert DVDs tonight that I am VERY familiar with and the clarity of the instruments was really jumping out at me, as well as sounds / instruments I never heard or noticed before. Guitars, violins, harp, etc. on the concert DVD sounded so natural I thought they were right in the room with me.

They sound so great that I'm also breaking out old CDs that I haven't played in YEARS!

Great speakers and VALUE!

bikeman
10-20-2005, 04:21 AM
[QUOTE=tjennings]
They sound so great that I'm also breaking out old CDs that I haven't played in YEARS! [QUOTE]

So many of us did the same thing. I think we have a pattern developing. ;)
Welcome to the club. I had a "hunch" you might like em. :D

David

curtis
10-20-2005, 09:38 AM
Tom....glad you are having fun.

I am also another one that broke out old CDs.

mboy
10-20-2005, 03:18 PM
Can certainly add me to that list.

dae3dae3
10-22-2005, 07:43 PM
I am excited to give another update to my Ascend voyage. :D

I thought that I would give a shot at using the Bi-amp feature of my Pioneer 1015TX to bi-amp the 340's since I had extra cable and the only cost involved would be my time on a Friday evening. Either it made a huge difference for the better or I unknowingly corrected a wiring problem with the speakers. As good as they sounded before they sound absolutely incredible now. I was listening to a music video on one of the digital channels on cable and I would have swore that I was hearing sounds coming from behind me and I had the receiver in Stereo mode. I don't even know how that is possible. :cool:

I was happy before with my speakers but I am really excited now. The mids have more punch than before and the imaging is even better. I am wondering if I previously had something wired out of phase because I did not expect nearly the difference I am hearing. I also tightened down some connections so maybe I had a loose connection. The improvement was even noticeable to my wife. Whether I fixed a connection problem or the Bi-amping made a huge difference I know that I am going to keep it this way. :D

KPFury
12-28-2005, 11:19 PM
What's bi-amp, and would it be possible to do it w/ the Panny XR55 and the Ascend 340?

dae3dae3
12-29-2005, 05:58 AM
To bi-amp the 340's you remove the jumper between the top and bottom binding posts and then run speaker cables from one amp to the top binding posts and speakers cables from another amp to the bottom binding posts.

Because you are still running everything through the crossover inside the 340's this is usually referred to as Passive Bi-amping. The idea is that you are running more power to the speaker because one amp is powering the tweeter and one amp is powering the mid/bass drivers.

I know nothing about that receiver so I can't help you there.

dae3dae3
12-29-2005, 06:12 AM
Another update to my Ascend voyage.

I bought a pro-amp with some money I got for Christmas. I am now running a 350 Watts per channel amp to power my 340 mains. :D

Mid-bass is punchy as heck and I can play the speakers much louder now without them sounding strained. I was reading pro-audio amp buying guides and they said to buy "at least" twice the watts that your speakers are rated RMS so that you never send a clipped signal to the speaker. I'm not quite there with 350 Watts per channel but it was as close as I was going to get without spending more money than I had.

The imaging also got even better. I don't know why but it did. I guess there is no replacement for nearly unlimited headroom in the amp. This amp is stable down to a 2 Ohm load so I doubt I will ever make this amp break a sweat powering the 340's. It should also be able to easily drive any speaker I ever may purchase in the future. Not that I am shopping around but you never know when you are going to win the Lottery and have a few hundred thousand to spend on speakers. :cool:

S_rangeBrew
12-29-2005, 08:08 AM
The evidence is mounting that pro-amps are a incredible bang for the buck. Even the most inexpensive ones make the amps in all but the most expensive home audio equipment look weak.

The amps in my 1014tx will hold me over for now, but eventually I hope to have pro-amps powering every channel.

I'll use one of these SmartStrips (http://www.bitsltd.net/smartstrip/landing1/landing.htm) to power them (and my subwoofer) on automatically when I turn my amp on. :cool:

It's too bad Pioneer, Onkyo and others don't make a pre-pro without the amp section, which is most of the cost.

mboy
12-29-2005, 08:35 AM
Darren, which amp did you go with?

before I bought my Infocus 4805, I was looking at a QSC which was 2xx watts per or one of the crowns. Most likely the 402b.

dae3dae3
01-02-2006, 10:00 AM
Darren, which amp did you go with?

before I bought my Infocus 4805, I was looking at a QSC which was 2xx watts per or one of the crowns. Most likely the 402b.

I got a Carvin HD 1800. I am working on getting quieter fans for it. The fans aren't loud but I think I can get quieter for around $30. I will probably post over at AVS and here with how that turns out.

I am very happy with the sound of the amp and a little disappointed in the fan noise. I disconnected the fans and the top of the amp barely gets warm so I could probably get away with leaving them unhooked since the amp is rated for 2 ohms and I am not even straining it with my 340's but I would feel better knowing that it is getting cooled properly.

dae3dae3
01-02-2006, 10:24 AM
I just called Carvin and the guy told me not to disable the fans.

After giving me the "Official" response that he can't give me any advice about how to modify a Carver product he then "Unofficially" told me I can just use regular quiet computer fans as long as I get the right size. I have some links for quiet computer fans so I'll probably go that route once I determine what size I need.

dae3dae3
01-03-2006, 04:59 PM
I found that I can't replace the fans. Carvin uses 24 Volt DC fans. Very strange. :(

dae3dae3
01-04-2006, 12:07 PM
I am going to return the Carvin Amp before my 10 day return period is up. :(

I have a few other options in a similar price range that I am going to look into. This really stinks because I loved the sound. I am just too picky about fan noise. :o

bikeman
01-04-2006, 01:10 PM
I am just too picky about fan noise. :o
Maybe if enough people follow your lead, the folks at Carvin will figure out how to properly build an amp.

David

einsteinjb
01-04-2006, 09:40 PM
Darren, to be perfectly honest with you, Carvin isn't taken too seriously in the pro audio field. Most of their products are, well, junk, or at least that's the way it's always been as long as I've been in the business. (Behringer is too, much as folks around the forums love the BFD.)

Look into Crown and QSC amps. I use the ones designed for live sound systems so they do have loud fans, but I know both companies produce amps designed for studio use which would have quieter fan solutions. Both companies make outstanding products. Please let us know what you end up with.

Oh -- you might look at Mackie amps too. Haven't used them personally but Mackie makes pretty good stuff.

bikeman
01-05-2006, 03:36 AM
(Behringer is too, much as folks around the forums love the BFD.)
What's the problem with the BFD? It's $100. and does what we need it to. What are the better alternatives in this price range? You definition of "love" is a world away from mine.

David

mboy
01-05-2006, 04:52 AM
I wouldn't take too much offense at what was said about Behringer.
I to, have a BFD and it can not be beat at the price for what we use it for, but in the pro sound world, it is considered a lower end brand for sure.

Lou-the-dog
01-05-2006, 05:53 AM
In one of those huge pro-amp threads over at AVS alot of the Crown 402 users were disabling the fans and not having any problems. Also some were swapping in quieter fans with success. For driving a set of Ascends I suspect that the fans in the Carvin could be disabled without a problem. Also a variable speed control could be wired in to slow the fans down to a suitable noise level. The Carvin rep would not dare stick his neck out that far by telling you that tho.

Randy

einsteinjb
01-05-2006, 04:08 PM
What's the problem with the BFD? It's $100. and does what we need it to. What are the better alternatives in this price range? You definition of "love" is a world away from mine.

David
Hey David,

I didn't say there was a problem with it, and I've personally never used one. It might be a fantastic piece (especially for $100). I was just pointing out that in general, Behringer is considered a low end pro audio company. For that reason my company does not buy or use any Behringer gear, and neither does any other reputable company I have personally worked with. Does that mean everything they make is crap? Of course not. As someone who works in pro audio, I just thought I should point out that their rep isn't very good in the business, so folks here don't labor under the misconception that they're a really highly respected brand, that's all. Take it for what it's worth, YMMV, etc. :) I don't have documentation, proof, scientific studies, or anything else to back my statement up other than years of anecdotal evidence from what other engineers have told me. Well, that, and the fact that their gear is generally priced WAY lower for any given piece than that of their more respected competition, which (considering that they are not an ID brand) could lead to the logical assumption that it's cheaply made. Quality generally costs money, so if they're charging bargain basement prices and still making a profit, well you can draw your own conclusions. (I do have a little experience with one of their compressors, which a friend of mine has in his little system, and the sound is definitely inferior to all my DBX gear.)

When I first heard about the BFD, I looked at it online and thought it looked nice, but you have to remember that the sound quality of your system is always only as good as the weakest link. You carefully choose a good receiver or pre/pro-amp combination, use good speaker wires, pay for good speakers and a quality sub, keep everything in the digital domain as much as possible... then you run the whole thing through a $100 EQ/processor from a company with a rep for producing cheap, inferior-sounding pro audio gear? That just didn't seem right to me. Of course if you're only using it to EQ your sub, meaning only the LFE signal from 80 Hz (or whatever) down, I'm sure that's not nearly as intrusive as if you used it on your mains. I just feel that if I really felt the need to EQ my sub, for room modes or whatever, I would like to choose an EQ that I know is quality (like Ashly or at least DBX) and one that doesn't include a lot of unnecessary processing (e.g., the feedback reduction circuitry). I've had enough experience using low quality EQs to want to avoid them like the plague. But that's me. :)

BFD users please don't take offense to my comments. If the piece works well for you, especially at that price, that's very cool.

dae3dae3
01-07-2006, 11:25 AM
einsteinjb

Since you gave such a glowing review of Behringer products I decided to give them a try. ;)

I am going to try two Behringer A500 amps. I will run each in bridged mode which will give me 500 watts per channel. I'm not too shy about returning stuff so if they stink I will send them back. I have read some good personal testimonials about these amps so I decided to find out myself.

I can tell you that my sound took a definite turn for the worst when I unhooked the Carvin amp and plugged my speakers back into my Pioneer 1015. I am not going to try the Crown amps because I know that they have louder fans than the Carvin I just sent back. The A500's don't have fans.

Also, since I am going to be stacking them I thought there might be a problem with heat so I found a guy on E B A Y that builds super-quiet fan kits that plug into an standard AC power socket. I am going to plug it into the back of my receiver so the fans kick on when I turn on the reciever and give the amps a little extra cooling that will hopefully be absolutely silent from the seating position. For an extra $5 I had him throw on a controller that can set the fans at five different speeds. These are quiet computer fans and are running at a slower speed than normal so I am hoping they will be dead quiet. I originally purchased the kit because I was going to disable the fans on the Carvin and then use the kit to suck some air through the amp but I decided to return the Carvin because I didn't like the idea that I was voiding my warranty by doing this.

einsteinjb
01-08-2006, 12:18 AM
Hi Darren.


einsteinjb

Since you gave such a glowing review of Behringer products I decided to give them a try. ;)

I am going to try two Behringer A500 amps. I will run each in bridged mode which will give me 500 watts per channel. I'm not too shy about returning stuff so if they stink I will send them back. I have read some good personal testimonials about these amps so I decided to find out myself.

I can tell you that my sound took a definite turn for the worst when I unhooked the Carvin amp and plugged my speakers back into my Pioneer 1015. I am not going to try the Crown amps because I know that they have louder fans than the Carvin I just sent back. The A500's don't have fans.

Also, since I am going to be stacking them I thought there might be a problem with heat so I found a guy on E B A Y that builds super-quiet fan kits that plug into an standard AC power socket. I am going to plug it into the back of my receiver so the fans kick on when I turn on the reciever and give the amps a little extra cooling that will hopefully be absolutely silent from the seating position. For an extra $5 I had him throw on a controller that can set the fans at five different speeds. These are quiet computer fans and are running at a slower speed than normal so I am hoping they will be dead quiet. I originally purchased the kit because I was going to disable the fans on the Carvin and then use the kit to suck some air through the amp but I decided to return the Carvin because I didn't like the idea that I was voiding my warranty by doing this.
Lol. OK, sounds good. Just remember, if they crap out on you in a year or two... don't say I didn't warn ya. :D Also note that if you're bridging them, that generally makes the amps run hotter, thus further shortening their lifespan. Just so ya know. ;)

You might, before you take the plunge, look further into Crown and QSC. They both make lines of amps designed for studio use, which have very quiet fans. The Macrotechs I use are loud of course (and even my QSC PLX amps have loudish fans) but I wouldn't recommend them for home use anyway. They're huge, POWERFUL beasts designed for heavy touring (or those who love having WAY too much headroom). :)

dae3dae3
01-18-2006, 04:31 PM
einsteinjb

Which line of QSC amps have the quiet fans? The place that ordered the Behringer amps for me is jerking me around with when they are coming in so I may cancel that order.

einsteinjb
01-19-2006, 04:20 AM
einsteinjb

Which line of QSC amps have the quiet fans? The place that ordered the Behringer amps for me is jerking me around with when they are coming in so I may cancel that order.
Well, you could look at a few of their series. The RMX series is inexpensive, very popular and highly regarded, and features "Low-noise variable speed fans with rear-to-front air flow."

The DCA amps look good and are designed for cinema use, and their CX amps come in 2, 4, or 8 channel varieties, but no idea how quiet or loud their fans are...

QSC products: http://www.qscaudio.com/products/products.htm

Personally I prefer Crown amps. Check here: http://www.crownaudio.com/amps.htm

The K Series in particular uses no fans at all so they're silent, and they're VERY powerful amps capable of driving any load down to 2 ohms (K1 is 350 watts at 8 ohms and the K2 provides 500 watts/channel at 8 ohms).

Either QSC or Crown will cost more than Behringer, but as usual you get what you pay for. :)

dae3dae3
01-20-2006, 05:24 AM
I bought a QSC RMX 1450 yesterday. I took it home and the fan is LOOOUUUUDDDDD. :(

Well, I hope nothing ever goes wrong with this amp and I need warranty work because I sure as heck voided it last night. I cut the fan wires because I am tired of screwing with this. I have been trying to buy an amp for two months now.

I have super-quiet fans that I set to blow directly through the fan tunnel of the amp and I am getting good air flow so I'm not worried about overheating since my 340's are 8 Ohm speakers.

pappekak
01-20-2006, 06:00 AM
I bought a QSC RMX 1450 yesterday. I took it home and the fan is LOOOUUUUDDDDD. :(

Well, I hope nothing ever goes wrong with this amp and I need warranty work because I sure as heck voided it last night. I cut the fan wires because I am tired of screwing with this. I have been trying to buy an amp for two months now.

I have super-quiet fans that I set to blow directly through the fan tunnel of the amp and I am getting good air flow so I'm not worried about overheating since my 340's are 8 Ohm speakers.

Another option might be to open the box and install something like this http://www.silenx.com/fan_pro_64.asp
if it fits.

dae3dae3
01-20-2006, 06:14 AM
Another option might be to open the box and install something like this http://www.silenx.com/fan_pro_64.asp
if it fits.

The fan in the amp is a 24 volt DC fan and computer fans are all 12 volt. The solution I have in place should be fine. It also has variable speed so if I am not getting enough cooling I can turn it up a little. These fans on their highest setting are much quieter than the fan in the amp. I bought them from a guy on Ebay that builds fan kits that plug into a normal AC outlet. I have it plugged into the back of my reciever so the fans kick on when the receiver comes on.

einsteinjb
01-20-2006, 09:11 PM
I bought a QSC RMX 1450 yesterday. I took it home and the fan is LOOOUUUUDDDDD. :(

Well, I hope nothing ever goes wrong with this amp and I need warranty work because I sure as heck voided it last night. I cut the fan wires because I am tired of screwing with this. I have been trying to buy an amp for two months now.

I have super-quiet fans that I set to blow directly through the fan tunnel of the amp and I am getting good air flow so I'm not worried about overheating since my 340's are 8 Ohm speakers.
Sorry to hear the RMX amp fan is so loud! How do you like the sound of the amp?

Make sure (I'm sure you did make sure, just checking) that you set the new fan to blow through the amp from rear to front per the QSC design.

dae3dae3
01-22-2006, 11:39 AM
I am getting very good sound with the amp. My wife even said that she heard the difference.

I played music for an hour yesterday at volume levels higher than what I normally would play and the top of the amp was just barely warmer than what I would expect when putting my hand on a piece of cold metal so I am not worried about whether I have enough air going through the unit. If I ever get worried I have four more higher settings for the fan.

mboy
01-27-2006, 02:11 PM
Darren, what differences did you notice with the amp?

dae3dae3
01-27-2006, 05:25 PM
Things like drums sound punchier and also it seems that the highs are smoother. Actually, just about everything sounds smoother. It is not a dramatic difference but it is noticable. The biggest difference comes at higher volumes. With just the receiver the speakers start to sound edgy at about -10 to -5 on the volume and sound harsh by 0. With the amp they sound good right up until almost at 0 on the volume. I am hoping that the SE's will fill out that last bit with their higher power handling.

On another note. I got the Diana Krall DVD-Audio disk "Love Stories" yesterday and I was absolutely stunned by the sound coming out of my 340's. It sounded like Diana was in the room with me. :D

The last couple of additions I have made to the system have really moved it to a different level. The amp and an addition of a Velodyne SMS-1 have really kicked it up a notch. It sounds so good I am reluctant to upgrade to the SE's because I am wondering if I wouldn't get a bigger performance gain by upgrading the sub. I don't know how big the improvement would be with the SE's but I know for a fact that I am under-subbed for the cubic feet of my listening area when getting below 30 Hz. I think I am getting very close to where I am reaching the point of diminishing returns on upgrades. I think I would have to spend a ton of money to get a dramatic difference at this point.

boludaso
03-07-2006, 09:52 AM
Darren:

I'm am a month away from buying a reciever. My choice was the pioneer 1015. are you happy with it? was there not enough power that you had to buy the amps.

thanks

aran.

dae3dae3
03-07-2006, 02:08 PM
It was more of a want than a need. I have a very large space to fill. If the 1015 isn't enough power for your room then none of the receivers anywhere near the same price will be enough either. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

The only thing I don't like about the 1015 is the crossover choices jump from 80 Hz all the way down to 50 Hz. I wish there was something in-between.

bikeman
03-07-2006, 03:42 PM
The only thing I don't like about the 1015 is the crossover choices jump from 80 Hz all the way down to 50 Hz. I wish there was something in-between.
50 might just work with the 340 SE's. Definitely not with the originals.

David