I want a COMPLETELY seemless soundstage - HELP!

[FirstReflect]

Hello all. In my search for speakers, I've learned one thing - I HATE even the slightest voice/timbre mismatch between the front three speakers - so much so that I don't even use a center channel anymore! But my desire to make every seat in my theater a great seat has me searching for three front speakers that can meet my needs.

My theater:

8' high x 12.5' wide x 18.5' long - not a large theater at all, but very comfortable

106" diagonal screen = 99" wide with frame (thus, only 23.5" on either side since I have 2" thick sound treatment on the walls and I need about 4-6" from the screen frame to the speaker to avoid blocking the edge of the screen for the seats that are on either side of center)

First row of seats w/eyes @ 12 feet from screen and 86" wide, centered in the room's width.

Second row of seats on riser 8" high w/eyes @ 17 feet from screen and 114" wide, centered on the room's width.

Angle furthest right/furthest left from center channel position to side seats = 16 degrees to either side of center or a 32 degree cone.

The Front of the Center channel would be 2' from the front wall (ie. 10 feet from the first row of seats, 15 from the second row)

The left/right main speakers would be 2.5' from the front wall and directly to either side of the screen about 1 foot from the side wall (depending on the width of the speaker).

Tweeter of the left/right main speakers will be at 37" from the ground.

Tweeter of the center speaker will be about 20-22" from the ground (depending on the height of the center speaker) and angled up as necessary.

I have a HSU VTF-3 MK II subwoofer at the front of the room 1/3 along the front wall from the right side. (Below the screen and beside the right front speaker).

:::Given all of that information, what would you recommend?:::

3 CBM-170SE's across the front?

2 CBM-170SE's as l/r mains with a CMT-340SE center?

Or 2 CMT-340SE L/R mains with a CMT-340SE center?

Right now, I am using a pair of Axiom M50Ti towers and no center. I really like the sound of the Axiom speakers, I have no complaints there, but neither of their center speakers could match the sound perfectly. The match was better than some of my older speakers, but when there was a pan from left to right or right to left across all three speakers, the slight shift when going through the center speaker drove me so crazy that I did away with the center altogether! This works fine for my primary seat, dead center in the front row, but for the other seats off to the sides, I can hear the vocals collapsing slightly to one side or the other. I'm picky, I know, but I want perfection dag-nabbit!

Right now, I am leaning toward 3 170's across the front. That way I KNOW I have three identical speakers. But I wanted to hear what Ascend owners think

Also, if I DO go with 3 170's, would it be better to position the center vertically or horizontally? I figure that because I will be tilting/angling the center upwards that the horizontal position will be better to avoid vertical lobbing. But again, I'd like to hear your thoughts

So thanks a million for any replies!

Jon

[curtis]

Can you use a vertically oriented center speaker? Another M50Ti?

If you do go with the Ascends...they are ALL extremely well timbre matched. Right now, I have 340L/R's and a 340c...the front stage is as seamless as I have heard. If I were ever to go to a screen such as yours, I would try three 340L/R's up front.

[FirstReflect]

My screen is not high enough to use a tower speaker below it. Being that it is almost 59" high, at it's current spot 26" off the ground there is only 11" above it as it is. Believe me, if I didn't object to the screen being so high, I would try three towers across the front. But I value the picture as much as the sound, so I don't compromise the screen placement. It is also more difficult to have the sound seemingly coming from the screen when the screen is up so high and all the speakers are below it.

Every speaker manufacturer claims that their speakers are timbre matched. A speaker manufacturer isn't likely to come out and say that the center speaker sounds different, now are they

The CMT-340c center troubles me because it very clearly uses a different cross-over than the other speakers. The info on Ascend's website also talks about compensating for the baffle created by putting the center on a TV, but I do not have this situation using a projection screen.

Again, this makes me lean towards 3 CBM-170's across the front, but I would like to hear some more opinions from Ascend owners.

I'd also like opinions on vertical vs. horizontal placement concerning the CBM-170 center - especially since I will need to tilt the speaker.

Thanks for the reply!

Jon

[chas]

I have 340L/R's and a 340c...the front stage is as seamless as I have heard.

I'll second this. There is some interesting info in the post linked below by Dave F. on Home Theater Forum regarding the design of the 340c crossover and the matching of the 340c and 170:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...45#post2517545

[curtis]

The CMT-340c center troubles me because it very clearly uses a different cross-over than the other speakers. The info on Ascend's website also talks about compensating for the baffle created by putting the center on a TV, but I do not have this situation using a projection screen.

The change in the crossover is very small.

Call Ascend, in the past, they have made the center for folks without the crossover change.....it is posted somewhere on the forum.

Three 170's across the front is also excellent. Placing the 170 is only 3" different in height.

[Jonnyozero3]

The change in the crossover is very small.

Call Ascend, in the past, they have made the center for folks without the crossover change.....it is posted somewhere on the forum.

Three 170's across the front is also excellent. Placing the 170 is only 3" different in height.

Well color me ignorant. I didn't know that was an option. I'll have to look into that for my setup when I upgrade to the SE's. Thanks curtis!

[Lou-the-dog]

Wouldn't a projection screen still be considered an extended baffle and thus the EXBAC crossover still valuable to the speaker in the center?

Randy

[BradJudy]

I suppose one question is the alignment with the screen. My center is on a sliding shelf so I can pull it a foot in front of the screen and I'm not sure if it's still better to have baffle compensation in that situation (I suppose I should ask Dave sometime).

I'm curious if the new tweeter has a specific alignment like the existing one (i.e. a 340c tweeter is rotated 90 degrees from a 340m tweeter), or not.

[FirstReflect]

Thanks for the replies so far! I'm still not sure what is best for me. At this point, I'm considering ordering a pair of 340SEm's a pair of 170SE's a 340SEc and a 170SEc and then just trying all the combinations to see what works best!

I was hoping to save some money by not having to ship some of the speakers back, but I know that I'm so picky about the center speaker timbre match that even if someone says it's flawless, I won't believe them

So the return shipping may be a small price to pay for knowing that I got what was best for my room and myself. It's just that I'm in Canada, so shipping costs quite a bit...oh well, the expenses we endure for the things we love

I'd still love input though. I think my description of my room and setup was very complete and clear, but perhaps it wasn't. I'm still not even sure if I should use 340SEm fronts or 170SE's! So any more thoughts would be very helpful!

Thanks,
Jon