Which 5 speakers for HT?

[GaryB]

I don't know what else to say... you don't seem to be reading the replies.

In my opinion, you won't be happy unless you get them, so by all means yes, go for the CBM-170 SE surrounds.

[Ivory05G35]

I missed that reply that said 5 HTM would work well , sorry about that. Thanks again for the replies, I'm very interested in these Ascend speakers...

[Charles D]

a few questions i didn't see mentioned. what is your room size and , normal listening habits ? real loud ? big room ? will you be running them as large or small ? these are all things to think about when getting your speakers.. if you have a large room and like it at referance level you might be more apt to use and or want the 170's for surrounds .

i cant say much how they compare since i dont have any yet, hopefully to be changing that soon these are all kinda generic questions and would prob be something to think about no matter what brand you go with.

[Ivory05G35]

They will be in a smallish room, 16x12 or so. They will be paired with an Outlaw LFM-1 sub, so they will be crossed over at 80-100 Hz. They will be used for movies about 95-97% of the time and I like my movies to be kinda loud.

Good questions

[Gov]

I have 170SE's for mains, 340SE center and 200's for surrounds. My room is about 16' x 18' open to a kitchen. I also have a Mirage S12 sub, BTW. I play my stuff pretty loud, but never at reference levels. I LOVE this set up and it has plenty of clean power! I just got my SE's yesturday and have just completed MCACC on my receiver and checked everything with my meter. I highly recommened this set up! It does not disappoint!

[Ivory05G35]

Which Pio are you using Gov?

[GaryB]

I have 170SE's for mains, 340SE center and 200's for surrounds.

IMO, that is the "decathlete" Ascend setup for anything other than large rooms or ear-splitting volumes, good at everything with no real weaknesses. I wanted a small center channel for my current installation, so went with the HTM-200 instead, and overall, have not been sorry.

At some point, I will almost certainly be upgrading to CBM-170 SE mains and a CMT-340 SE center.

YMMV, of course.

[Jorge59]

I found the HTM-200 to be more dynamic (sealed spkr) and have better dispersion than the CBM-170 (rear ported). This is good for movies (dialogue and special effects).

They also seem brighter to me (what, for a neutral speaker with silk tweeter, seems good to my taste). Furthermore, if your receiver is on the warmer side, I'd say - no doubt - pick the HTM-200.

Of course, the 170 has better imaging and deeper extension, what is better for music, specially 2-channel. But I guess for HT you won't benefit much from the 170 over the 200, besides spending more and dealing with a bulkier piece.

[Gov]

Which Pio are you using Gov?

1014, you using one too?

[GaryB]

I found the HTM-200 to be more dynamic (sealed spkr) and have better dispersion than the CBM-170 (rear ported). This is good for movies (dialogue and special effects).

They also seem brighter to me (what, for a neutral speaker with silk tweeter, seems good to my taste). Furthermore, if your receiver is on the warmer side, I'd say - no doubt - pick the HTM-200.

Of course, the 170 has better imaging and deeper extension, what is better for music, specially 2-channel. But I guess for HT you won't benefit much from the 170 over the 200, besides spending more and dealing with a bulkier piece.

It's nice to hear someone pointing out the many virtues of this very good little speaker. Too often it's treated as the "runt" of the litter, suitable only for home theater surround use (where it excels, of course) or damned with faint praise.