CMT 340SE /CBM 170SE 7.1 review

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!!

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.

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!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vandy23

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:

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mag_Neato

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by davef

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.

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?

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vandy23

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?