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View Full Version : CBM-170's or CMT-340's up front?



eRob
01-31-2005, 09:26 AM
I'm thinking about going with the package that has the CBM-170 fronts and surounds, CMT-340 center, and the Hsu VTF-2 MK2v sub. The room is going to be around 21 by 15. My question is do I need to have the CMT-340's for the fronts or will the CBM-170's up front work just fine? How about the sub in this size room, will it work good?

BradJudy
01-31-2005, 10:19 AM
I have a very similarly sized room with CBM-170 mains and a Hsu VTF-2MkI and I think it works quite well (naturally, positioning and setup play a key role).

craigsub
01-31-2005, 10:22 AM
We have 170's and a 340 set up in our 27x24 foot family room ... and it is fantastic. We have also switched off with an STF-1 (and a couple other subwoofers) ... the STF-1 does well... so a VTF-2 should be outstanding !

Also ... We have a pair of 340's available for this room, too ... but the 170's are MORE than enough.

kindredspirit
01-31-2005, 10:45 AM
The 170's can definitely handle the job, but WOW!! the 340's are awesome. Love the HSU VTF-2.

Ben_Wood
01-31-2005, 12:40 PM
Kindredspirit, I've been very pleased with my 4 170s with a 340 center and VTF-2 sub. Did you get iced in during the storm this weekend?

Kpt_Krunch
01-31-2005, 03:38 PM
eRob - I belaboured over the same cunundrum as you with a room that is 12 x 22'. I decided to go with the 340's across the front and the 170's on the side (using the Omnimount 20's). I already had a great sub (the Paradigm PW-2200 V.2) which would be equivalent give or take to the VTF-3 from HSU. I decided on this setup for two reasons : 1. I enjoy multichannel music (DVD-A & SACD) as much as I do movies, and this was the recommended setup for it and 2. I wanted the look of a beefier speaker up front.

I'll be posting a review of my setup very soon now that the forum is up - but all I can say WOWOWWOWOWWOW. These speakers have far exceeded my expectations (and they were pretty high - believe me). This may sound like a cop out - but to be honest you'll be happy with either the 170's or the 340's as your mains I am sure. The 170's sure do produce a lot of good, clean, accurate sound for such a small speaker. One day I may just put them up front to see how they sound (don't know why I never did that before I mounted them, just never really thought of it until after all the work was done).

kindredspirit
01-31-2005, 05:49 PM
Ben,
I live far enough south that it didn't ice us in too bad. We had some trees broken because of the ice, but it melted pretty quick. I can't say enough about my Ascends and the HSU sub.

Ben_Wood
01-31-2005, 06:42 PM
Glad to hear the weather wasn't too bad, its always nice to see a new member from the southeast!

gr1m
01-31-2005, 10:17 PM
eRob,
My rooms is veeerry similar to yours, I have a 15.5x20.5x9' room and my 170s up front more than hold their own, with the 340c & 200s as my surrounds - I love the setup! I mated them with a Pio 1014 and a PB10. I'm darn sure the 340s will be great and the VTF-2 an excellent choice.

eRob
02-01-2005, 08:50 PM
Thanks for the advice everyone. I still haven't decided on what package to go with but it's nice to know the CBM-170's will work fine. It's going to be awhile before the room is built so I'll have plenty of time to decide.

Shrubman
02-02-2005, 06:18 AM
I'm confused by these packages that use a larger center channel than the LF and RF. I thought the center channel was one of the least demanding in a system, often served by a thin set-top box in the HTIB market.

Please educate me.

BradJudy
02-02-2005, 06:29 AM
Actually, the center is the most demanding role. I forget the exact number, but the majority of sound is coming through the center speaker. For this reason, many people consider if the most important speaker in the setup.

jeh
02-02-2005, 05:30 PM
yeah i would consider the center as being one of the most important channels.

Quinn
02-02-2005, 06:18 PM
80-85% of a soundtrack is reproduced by the center channel and nearly all vocals are on the CC.