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Thread: My new 340's

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Huntington, Indiana
    Posts
    146

    Default My new 340's

    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.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Huntington, Indiana
    Posts
    146

    Default

    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.

    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.
    Darren
    There's no place like 127.0.0.1

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Syracuse, New York
    Posts
    1,222

    Default

    Darren,
    Did you try Lee B.'s suggestion using AVIA? I found it helpful.

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

    David

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    7,034

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dae3dae3
    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.
    -curtis

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Huntington, Indiana
    Posts
    146

    Default

    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.
    Darren
    There's no place like 127.0.0.1

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    335

    Default

    Congrats!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    33

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dae3dae3
    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.

    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.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Huntington, Indiana
    Posts
    146

    Default

    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
    There's no place like 127.0.0.1

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    33

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dae3dae3
    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 :-)

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Huntington, Indiana
    Posts
    146

    Default

    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.
    Darren
    There's no place like 127.0.0.1

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