Impressions on unfinished Ascends

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04-22-2005, 10:12 AM
majorwhalen

Impressions on unfinished Ascends

I'm fixin to join the Ascend club with 4 340s and the 340c but I'm not crazy about the black. I'm considering the unfinished but would like to know if anyone out there has finished their own and with what success. Does it take paint or stain? Also, is it possible to paint over the black? Thanks and and I look forward to being an Ascend owner.

A little history - just finished an in-home demo of the Rocket 550 package and the Klipsch RF35 package. Bottom line is that the Rockets were too warm & not enough detail in the highs) and the Klipsch were too fatiguing in the highs. Looking for a speaker that fits in the middle with clean, crisp highs & a full mid. I've got an SVS 20-39 and a Pio 1014 just sitting there waiting for a good match.
04-22-2005, 10:45 AM
Lou-the-dog

I originally planned to finish some in Piano Black but when I saw the stock finish in person I changed my mind. IMHO the stock finish is more attractive than some give credit for.

The cabinets are MDF so staining wouldn't work well. Painting or veneering would be best. I think the 340's would be relatively easy to veneer...no radiused corners and such. Applying an automotive finish would not be difficult but time consuming to get good results. Ascend does offer custom finsihes too and this might be worth checking out. If you want to do this yourself I'd suggest you have Dave send out a single unfinished cabinet (maybe the center) and then decide what route to take. If you chicken out (as I did) then you can send it back no problem. I would not suggest trying to paint over the stock vinyl finish.

I'm still inclined to finish a set myself and I'd like to experiment with veneer...someday.

I think the 340's will fit the bill for you! Enjoy!

Randy
04-22-2005, 10:46 AM
Quinn

You will need to paint or veneer the cabinets as I do not believe MDF takes stain.

BTW- Brad Z on AVSForum is in the St. Louis area you may be able to get an audition. I do not know what his screen name is here. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...67#post5501267
04-22-2005, 11:53 AM
BradJudy

Any excuse to show off. :)

http://www.bradjudy.com/pics/Ascend_bear.JPG

These were NOT easy, but I love the finished product. I have been tempted to do my center channel as well (I still have some veneer left), but haven't.
04-22-2005, 12:34 PM
curtis

I was wondering when Brad's veneer job was going to show up again. :D

There was another guy that put wood panels on his CBM-170's (ala ACI)....those looked good too.
04-22-2005, 04:05 PM
Lou-the-dog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lou-the-dog

I think the 340's would be relatively easy to veneer...no radiused corners and such.
Randy

I'm quoting myself here. I misled you...the front baffle on the 340 IS radiused and would be a pain to veneer. Maybe Brad could jump in here and tell us about he got veneer around the radiuses. The front baffle could be painted a piano black and the rest veneered...this would look cool...similiar effect as Brad's 170's.

Randy
04-22-2005, 04:32 PM
majorwhalen

Well I pulled the plug today and ordered a pair of 340 mains and a 340 center in black. I'm really hoping I like these. Will finish off the set with some stands, another pair of 340s if I do like them. Might even go for a 6.1 or 7.1 set up. So far, Dave at Ascend has been a great help.
04-22-2005, 05:47 PM
BradJudy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lou-the-dog

I'm quoting myself here. I misled you...the front baffle on the 340 IS radiused and would be a pain to veneer. Maybe Brad could jump in here and tell us about he got veneer around the radiuses. The front baffle could be painted a piano black and the rest veneered...this would look cool...similiar effect as Brad's 170's.

The radiused corners on the CBM-170s are 1/2" radius. Even with veneers that are forgiving, it isn't recommended to veneer a radius smaller than 3/4" (according to people who do this for a living). Mine only worked because of practice, patience and a lot of luck. Even then, there are a couple of cracks in the veneer on the corners. One reason I haven't tried a 340 is that the radius is a bit tighter and I doubt I could do it without cracking. As mentioned, you could do a painted baffle and veneer the sides. This would be a fairly straight forward veneer job.