First post! considering getting ascends...

[ncHTsetter]

Hi All,

I've been researching speakers for a little while now and have decided to start with a 2.0 or maybe a 2.1 system. I have just placed an order for a Panasonic xr55 receiver after reading all the rave reviews.
Now I was wondering if any of you are driving your ascends with the xr55, how would you describe the overall sound quality?

Also, I'm currently living in a smallish apartment (thats why the 2.0) and the room dimensions are 14' x 16' and one big problem is the only place the TV can sit is in one corner of this room, so the speakers cannot sit too far apart.
Given the above, would you guys recommend the 340s or the 170s?

Another parameter, I might be moving to a house maybe within the next year and would like to upgrade to a 5.1.

Thanks to these forums I have gone from getting a HTIB to a setup that should be a big step up.

[Mag_Neato]

Welcome to the forum, Setter!

I'd say go with the 170's. I have mine in a room that is approx. 13' x 18' and they do great. depending on budget and future upgrade plans, you could pick up a Hsu sub with the 170's and probably get a package deal from Ascend.

When you eventually upgrade to 5.1/7.1, you can pick up a 340 center and either add a pair of HTM-200's for surrounds, or add another pair of 170's for that duty, or move the 170's you started with to surround duty and add 340 mains. Lots of possibilities.

[ncHTsetter]

Just curious, if I did not want to get a sub now, would your suggestion change? Being in an apartment a sub would be pretty useless unless I want to deal with angry neighbors at my door.

Also, anybody who has heard both, does the 340's bass extension go much lower than the 170s?

[sensibull]

Also, anybody who has heard both, does the 340's bass extension go much lower than the 170s?

Yes, by a fair margin. In-room, the 340s are 50Hz - 20kHz +/- 3dB, 170s are 63Hz - 20kHz +/- 3dB. If you're foregoing a sub, I'd say go with the 340s (I have both and sometimes run the 340s w/o a sub as I believe does their designer. Few would suggest doing the same with the 170s). Frankly, though, the corner placement will not be ideal with any speakers, let alone rear ported ones.

[ncHTsetter]

Frankly, though, the corner placement will not be ideal with any speakers, let alone rear ported ones.

Having a fireplace in the middle of the room looks good but is really bad for acoustics and speaker placement :-(

How far from the wall behind is ideal for placement of a rear ported speaker? Also, between the 170 and 340 is one more ideally suited than the other for such close placement to the wall and each other?

I would really like to have a decent setup going with my limited options, thats why all the questions. thanks for the replies.

[sensibull]

How far from the wall behind is ideal for placement of a rear ported speaker? Also, between the 170 and 340 is one more ideally suited than the other for such close placement to the wall and each other?

The manual suggests at least 3-4", but I think most opt for considerably more (this thread lists the current positioning of many forum members. And here's another discussion more specifically related to the 340s). IMO, the 170s are more forgiving in this respect than the 340s. Both actually gain a bass boost the closer to the wall they are, but at the cost of squeezing the soundstage and probably reducing their accuracy.

[ncHTsetter]

Thanks much sensibull.
The threads you pointed to made for some very interesting and informative reading.

Looks like most prefer about 10" or more, thats going to be hard to get in my room.

[sensibull]

Looks like most prefer about 10" or more, thats going to be hard to get in my room.

FWIW, I think you'll find that is true for any set of quality speaker owners. Getting speakers away from walls helps them perform as they were designed. But that's not to say they won't still sound good, particularly the 170s. As I said, the manual only mandates 3-4" .