Official Signature Edition owners thread

[Galwin]

"He felt that a really good speaker could have good clean high frequency response without being difficult to listen to. An interesting perspective that may or may not apply here."

Interestingly, the ADS speakers were highly regarded for the performance of their soft dome tweeters.

[Grayson73]

Once you get the difference in bass extension, I think you will be quite pleased.

I have the SVS 25-31CS and will be comparing them with the sub on, crossed over at 100hz. That's the lowest setting on the SA-XR50 unfortunately, so I'm waiting for the XR57 to come out so that I can put it at 80hz.

[bikeman]

"He felt that a really good speaker could have good clean high frequency response without being difficult to listen to. An interesting perspective that may or may not apply here."

Interestingly, the ADS speakers were highly regarded for the performance of their soft dome tweeters.

I owned a pair of ADS 810 II's back in the early 80's. They had some faults compared to today's speakers but the tweet was a strong point for the time. Saw a pair on Ebay last year but shipping would have made it too expensive to purchase. Gave it some thought though.

David

[bikeman]

I have the SVS 25-31CS and will be comparing them with the sub on, crossed over at 100hz. That's the lowest setting on the SA-XR50 unfortunately, so I'm waiting for the XR57 to come out so that I can put it at 80hz.

I've experimented with the crossover on my Panny 55 and there is a difference between the 100 and 80hz setting with the 340's. My subs suck compared to yours so I expect the difference to be more pronounced with the SVS. New receiver for sure.

David

[Eddie]

It's a SONY - not the ES version. Could that be a big contributor?

Yes it could, indeed!

You may want to consider this CDP, very punchy dynamic yet warm sound and can be had for a song:

http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-...item=MARCC4300

[Galwin]

Eddie,

Thanks for the tip on the Marantz - will check it out.

[Eddie]

Eddie,

Thanks for the tip on the Marantz - will check it out.

You're very welcome. If you do order it, let us know how much of a difference you hear.

When I was CDP shopping, I did ABX comparisons with that Marantz in a shop against a NAD c542, my vintage SonyES, and a Pioneer 563. They were using some Monitor Audio towers and I think that's why I didn't hear any striking differences (other than immediately disliking the Pioneer). Then I got the Marantz and ABed it at home against the Sony on my 340s, and suddenly---bam! Huge difference.

So I can't speak for the SE version, but my classic 340s proved to be quite sensitive to the musical source.

[Mag_Neato]

You're very welcome. If you do order it, let us know how much of a difference you hear.

When I was CDP shopping, I did ABX comparisons with that Marantz in a shop against a NAD c542, my vintage SonyES, and a Pioneer 563. They were using some Monitor Audio towers and I think that's why I didn't hear any striking differences (other than immediately disliking the Pioneer). Then I got the Marantz and ABed it at home against the Sony on my 340s, and suddenly---bam! Huge difference.

So I can't speak for the SE version, but my classic 340s proved to be quite sensitive to the musical source.

Are you using the internal DACs of the player or the preamp/receiver's DACs?

I have the 563a using it's optical digital link to my Denon.

[Eddie]

Are you using the internal DACs of the player or the preamp/receiver's DACs?

I have the 563a using it's optical digital link to my Denon.

No, I was using the analog connections to a NAD c372 in the shop. At home I also use analog connections to my Panny 55 right now; at the time of the Marantz vs. Sony ES test I was using NAD separates also with analog connections.

[Grayson73]

I hooked my 340C and 340M SEs last night and left my Athena AS-R1 surrounds, S.5 rear center, SVS 25-31CS sub, and Panasonic SA-XR50 receiver. Speakers were set to 'small' with crossover at '100hz', the lowest setting on the XR50.

My previous setup was Athena AS-F2s, AS-C1, AS-R1s, S.5 with the same sub and receiver.

I consider myself an audiophile and am very particular about sound. I play many instruments and I work a sound system at my church so I know what sounds good.

Watched 24 and Alias last night and the difference from my Athena AS-F2/AS-C1s was immediately apparent. The Ascends are in a totally different class! Prior to receiving them, I thought the Athenas were great and were wondering how much better could speakers be. Even with this skepticism, I was blown away!

The 340SEs are super clear and detailed and have excellent imaging and wider soundstage. I could hear every little thing and everything sounded more lifelike. Dialogue is MUCH clearer than the AS-C1 and I no longer have the problem of the loud scenes being too loud. With the AS-C1 at a level where I could understand the dialogue, the loud scenes were way too loud. These speakers are phenomenal!

When I put up the 340s, my wife said that she liked the look of the Athena's better.
When watching 24 and Alias, she agreed that the speakers were much more detailed than the AS-F2s and that they sounded better.

I did find that the Ascend 340Ms are less efficient than the AS-F2s. Had to turn the volume on the XR50 higher to get it to 75db.

I ordered 340SE, 170SEs, and TP-24 stands, all B-Stock. With the black finish, you can barely figure out why they are B-Stock. All I saw was a smudge here and a scratch there.

I will put the 170SEs as mains to see how they compare. I won't be putting the 170SEs as surrounds until I move in July. Even with the Ascend/Athena combo last night, the sound was incredible since most sound comes from the front 3 speakers.

Can't wait to listen to some music tonight! Too bad I had to come to work today

I still plan to A/B the 340s and AS-F2s, but I want to enjoy the 340s some more first! I'll also try setting them to large and turning off the sub to see what they sound like.