anything bad about cbm-170???

[Nicholas Mosher]

[Nicholas Mosher]

I like the Paradigm Signature S2's and a few of the Thiel speakers, but they are 5x-10x the cost of a pair of 170s. I could never justify that much extra cash for the percentage gain in sound I would get. Perhaps if I see a used set of 5 monitors from either company at less than $2k I would spring, but I have as much of a chance in finding a deal like this as I do of winning the lottery (in which case I would spring for 'em... ).

Bottom line, to my ears the 170's have the best performance/value, and it will take something pretty impressive to make me upgrade.

[bikeman]

They can be brutally honest at times -- they won't fake orgasms, but they might get out of bed and tell you to your face that what you're doing simply isn't turning them on ;-)

Funniest post I've seen in some time. Truth dosen't always have to be serious.

David

[Quinn]

I'm dying! That is spot on in addition to hilarious.

[BradJudy]

I don't think you can go wrong with either Hsu or SVS (I own a Hsu and have heard SVSs on a couple occassions). I also think the Onix UFW-10 is good, but I haven't heard the ULW-10 or UFW-12 yet (I'll hear the UFW-12 next weekend).

If you're looking at internet direct companies, you don't want to pay shipping to hear multiple ones or go over to houses to hear them, and you don't have some reference speakers that you like to compare against, then you're going to have to pick one and run with it.

Most of the internet direct companies have good customer service and good return policies, so if you did pick one and really didn't like it, it should be easy to return it.

[curtis]

They can be brutally honest at times -- they won't fake orgasms, but they might get out of bed and tell you to your face that what you're doing simply isn't turning them on ;-)

LOL!!

Should probably copyright that one.

[demunb]

The problem with judging speakers is that it's so subjective. I love my Ascends. I also love my Dynaudios. I've heard lots of speakers that I like and could be happy owning. I can't say that if you like the Ascends the next logical upgrade would be brand X. Each speaker has a unique sound that is not necessarily better or worse, just different. If you like the sound of Ascends then you'll be happy with what you get for your money, if you don't like the sound then it doesn't matter how much they cost.

You really owe it to yourself to audition as many speakers as you can to find out which ones are right for you. Use the forums to find Internet Direct brand owners (most of us are eager to show off our systems) to listen to speakers. Go to every local dealer to audition as many B&M brands as you can. Eventually you will find a speaker that's right for you. Only you can decide if Brand X is worth more $$$ than another Brand Y.

As far as subs go, I've got an SVS that I love. If I would have bought my Ascends first I probably would have gone with an HSU because they are so well recommended here. The differences between subs are more subtle than the differences between speaker brands, but there are differences. I don't think you can go wrong with either HSU or SVS, but again- your ears are the best judge so look for owners in your area to audition for yourself.

[Jonnyozero3]

Wow, a funny AND informative thread

Regarding character - I think a lot of the character in the the Ascends lies in their ability to disappear. You don't have to close your eyes to make them invisible. I trick people by asking them "how many speakers are playing" - some say the front three, and some even say its doing surround sound (they;re not critical listeners, but its fun). Each time I'm just playing a CD or MP3 in 2ch mode with just the 170s. When you have them set up right, they image like nobody's business. I think their accuracy is another fantastic trait - they reveal everything in a recording. That is excellent in my mind. Play a good recording on them and you won't have to worry about the speakers orgasming; you'll be too busy cleaning yourself up.

As far as comparisons go, I listen to a pair of super expensive Wilsons a few weeks ago at a high end shop powered by a $40,000 CD stack, I think Parasound Amps among other things (and a pair of $30,000 cables ).

I think they may have been these: http://www.wilsonaudio.com/products/x1/index.html

Anyhow, needless to say the sound was incredible. I listened for about 30 mins and I loved it. I'm not going to say the CBM-170s could compare with uber-Wilsons, BUT, want I want to say is that I noticed they shared some traits in common - especially that of imaging. I left feeling a little overwhelmed with how good the Wilsons sounded, but later when I listened to my CBM-170s I was very, very happy with what I get for 0.38% of the cost

One of my buddies who is also into this sort of thing has a pair of Klipsch RF-7s (those are what, over $1500 a pair?). He's been over several times to critically audition the 170s, and many more times just for TV, Movies, Xbox, etc. He can't say enough about how much he loves the Ascend sound - esp the imaging. He still loves his Klipsch's for rock music (very forward), but he has asked me four times now when Ascend is coming out with floorstanders He's considering building another system around Ascends, and that's coming from someone with over $1,000 taste in speakers.

Anyhow, I'm not sure I'm helping much, but I wanted to add some experiences. I think the gist of this is that the step up to something better is too far to go for most of us. I still haven't heard anything under $1,000 that I would buy instead of 170s, and I have heard PLENTY of stuff up into the $5,000 range that I felt left a lot to be desired (that hi-end shop again).

I think your best bets for other options have been pretty well covered so far in this thread, I can't think of many others - maybe Monitor Audio? Anyhow, I do hope you give the Ascends a listen as one of your finalists...and don't forget, if you have some bucks to spare go for one of the nice custom auto-grade finishs - it'll make them look awesome; I wish I did it.

[bikeman]

Nice diagram. What's the distance from the speakers to the couch (listening position), couch to the back wall and between the speakers? How far forward are the speakers from the TV/AV shelf?

David

[asdf777]

Okay, thank you all for the info. It's been very helpful and I actually ordered the speakers and a HSU sub.