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View Full Version : CMT 340SE /CBM 170SE 7.1 review



vandy23
04-29-2009, 08:01 PM
After months of searching, listening and comparing I finally made a decision to go with the Ascend 340/170 7.1 set-up. Two weeks ago everything arrived and my brother and I eagerly began setting up the ultimate mid range home theater system. In concert with the Ascends, I purchased an Onkyo TX-SR806, an Elemental Design A5-350 sub, and an LG BD-370 Blu-Ray.

My home theater/family room is relatively large, measuring 14x23, with vaulted ceilings averaging 12+ feet. So there is a lot of cubic square feet to fill. Thankfully no problem thus far! I have the 340ses as my mains, and center and round it off with four 170ses for my rears.

For the last two weeks I have been listening to a variety of music and blu-ray content and all I can say is wow!! The Ascends are amazing! The highs are tight and the bass is full with no muddy boom at all. They simply offer a very detailed and tight sound that you would expect from a much higher priced speaker. In fact, during the Onkyo Audyssey set-up, it recommend that all the speakers remain at a full-range speaker level. A testament to what i believe is the quality build of these speakers. Of course I set my cross-overs manually to better reflect my tastes, but these speakers can obviously hold their own without a sub if one so desired.

If you are on the fence about speakers, I say fall over into Ascend territory and you won't be disappointed!!

davef
04-30-2009, 02:47 PM
Hi Vandy,

Thanks so much for sharing your impressions and I am happy that you are enjoying the speakers!

Quick question, how do you like the LG BD-370? I am considering a Netflix enabled DVD player and it is a toss-up between the LG and Samsung.

vandy23
04-30-2009, 05:15 PM
Dave,
So far i really like the LG. I have only streamed one movie thus far, but the one I did worked out fine. I have it hard wired via Ethernet so I am hoping I won't have many problems as far as hesitation goes. I was originally looking at the Samsung my self, but the more research I did the more I became concerned by so many negative reviews.

It was easy to set up and although it has all the major decoding on board I pass the audio through to my Onkyo which has thus far decoded Dolby True HD with no problem. Overall I would recommend it! Supposedly LG will be offering a net ware update that will include an on-demand type application that will include HD content.

Thanks again for the quality product!!

davef
05-04-2009, 08:48 PM
Dave,
So far i really like the LG. I have only streamed one movie thus far, but the one I did worked out fine. I have it hard wired via Ethernet so I am hoping I won't have many problems as far as hesitation goes. I was originally looking at the Samsung my self, but the more research I did the more I became concerned by so many negative reviews.

It was easy to set up and although it has all the major decoding on board I pass the audio through to my Onkyo which has thus far decoded Dolby True HD with no problem. Overall I would recommend it! Supposedly LG will be offering a net ware update that will include an on-demand type application that will include HD content.

Thanks again for the quality product!!

Thanks... I keep going back and forth between the two. I have heard the Samsung offers better picture quality while the LG seems more reliable. Arghh -- I can't decide :mad:

Mag_Neato
05-05-2009, 06:43 AM
Dave, The upcoming Oppo Blu-ray player is supposed to have incredible PQ and audio. It is a bit higher priced though. The early adopter program has them at $499, but will likely increase when they are officially released for general consumption.

davef
05-06-2009, 01:48 AM
Dave, The upcoming Oppo Blu-ray player is supposed to have incredible PQ and audio. It is a bit higher priced though. The early adopter program has them at $499, but will likely increase when they are officially released for general consumption.

Thanks... I am a fan of Oppo but I am looking for a player that will also stream Netflix movies.

Mag_Neato
05-06-2009, 07:00 AM
Thanks... I am a fan of Oppo but I am looking for a player that will also stream Netflix movies.

Ah, ok. I don't know if the Oppo will support netflix once it hits full release. I don't think my Panny BD-55 does either. I think it does Divx or something. I just have not taken the time to investigate that.

There is a HD downloading service via a standalone server box called VUDU. Looks like a slick idea.

get_zwole
05-10-2009, 03:23 PM
On the BR players that stream from netflix is that just the older movies that you can also play on your computer or can you actually rent them on the player and play them instantly without shipment?

vandy23
05-10-2009, 04:32 PM
the movie must be in your Q and be available for streaming. That's it! just click the Netflix Icon and the movie is on your tv.

get_zwole
06-02-2009, 01:49 PM
the movie must be in your Q and be available for streaming. That's it! just click the Netflix Icon and the movie is on your tv.

so you get the NEW movies as well not just the ones they say you can stream on your computer? So you basically dont have to wait for them to come in the mail or am i off base here?

davef
06-02-2009, 11:49 PM
so you get the NEW movies as well not just the ones they say you can stream on your computer? So you basically dont have to wait for them to come in the mail or am i off base here?

Only certain movies are available for streaming. For example, about 1/4 of the movies in my queue are available for streaming.

I just purchased the new Samsung BD-P3600 which offers Netflix streaming and Pandora ( Listening to some Melody Gardot streaming from Pandora to my laptop right now -- great service)

get_zwole
06-03-2009, 10:01 AM
oh ok thats kinda what i figured but not what i hoped lol. thanks for the help. Ill stick to my ps3.

davef
06-03-2009, 03:07 PM
oh ok thats kinda what i figured but not what i hoped lol. thanks for the help. Ill stick to my ps3.

I would say that once I figured out how to stream music from our home PCs and NAS to our PS3 -- the PS3 has become my family's most valued piece of consumer electronics. The value that it offers combined with the quality and performance is truly remarkable.

Only reason we did not purchase another PS3 instead of the Samsung BD is because this is going into our master bedroom and, well, my wife doesn't exactly appreciate me playing video games when she is trying to sleep ;)

get_zwole
06-03-2009, 03:23 PM
I would say that once I figured out how to stream music from our home PCs and NAS to our PS3 -- the PS3 has become my family's most valued piece of consumer electronics. The value that it offers combined with the quality and performance is truly remarkable.

Only reason we did not purchase another PS3 instead of the Samsung BD is because this is going into our master bedroom and, well, my wife doesn't exactly appreciate me playing video games when she is trying to sleep ;)

haha i can see why that would be an issue lol. How did you get your media streaming? i still cant figure it out did you hook your computer up directly or what?

curtis
06-03-2009, 05:25 PM
haha i can see why that would be an issue lol. How did you get your media streaming? i still cant figure it out did you hook your computer up directly or what?
The Samsung BD player is hooked up directly to the net, and movies are streamed to it.

get_zwole
06-03-2009, 05:48 PM
The Samsung BD player is hooked up directly to the net, and movies are streamed to it.

i was talking about from his ps3. I can get winamp to connect to it but my music doesnt show up for some reason.

davef
06-03-2009, 07:30 PM
i was talking about from his ps3. I can get winamp to connect to it but my music doesnt show up for some reason.

I am certainly no expert on streaming to a PS3. I know that windows media player should be up and running and that the PS3 is very picky with regard to folder structure and where files are placed etc. I used various online resources found through Google.

get_zwole
06-03-2009, 09:38 PM
ok thanks man ill just have to work with it till i can get it. sorry to go OT in your thread OP.