Building HT system for friend, please advise!

[Grayson73]

I don't own Ascend speakers so I need your advice in building an Ascend system for my friend. He wants a 5.1 system for mostly home theater.

What would you buy?

Front: CMT-340 SE Fronts or CBM-170 SE
Center: CMT-340SE
Rear: CBM-170 or HTM-200
Sub: HSU VTF-2 MK2 or SVS PB10-ISD
Receiver: Panasonic SA-XR55 or Pioneer VSX-815

If there are other suggestions for Sub or Receiver not in my list, let me know and also why you chose otherwise.

[bikeman]

I don't own Ascend speakers so I need your advice in building an Ascend system for my friend. He wants a 5.1 system for mostly home theater.
What would you buy?

What are the demensions of his HT and what will the speaker layout look like?

Front: CMT-340 SE Fronts or CBM-170 SE
Center: CMT-340SE
Rear: CBM-170 or HTM-200
Sub: HSU VTF-2 MK2 or SVS PB10-ISD
Receiver: Panasonic SA-XR55 or Pioneer VSX-815
If there are other suggestions for Sub or Receiver not in my list, let me know and also why you chose otherwise.

If the Pio has features that are important, then I'd go with the Pio. Otherwise, the Panny gets my vote. Any name brand receiver will get the job done if power isn't an issue. Choose the one that has the features you want and don't sweat it. They all sound good.

David

[Grayson73]

He has a large room. He will either mount the rear speakers on the wall or put them on stands.

[rajacat]

If the Pio has features that are important, then I'd go with the Pio. Otherwise, the Panny gets my vote. Any name brand receiver will get the job done if power isn't an issue. Choose the one that has the features you want and don't sweat it. They all sound good.

David[/QUOTE]

I recently replaced my Pioneer 80w/ch receiver with the Panny XR55 and immediately noticed an improvement in sound quality especially at higher volume and it was easier on the ears because of the lack of distortion ( I think..). The XR55 also had a nice black background from which the music magically appeared. In fact, the Panny seemed better in everything except the low frequencies which were not as pronounced as the Pioneers'. I still need to break it in some more... he,he,he. I can smell the capacitors burnin' in!

[Grayson73]

Thanks. Any suggestions on which the ascend speaker choices and the subwoofer choices?

[ChrisA]

Budget?

[BradJudy]

Thanks. Any suggestions on which the ascend speaker choices and the subwoofer choices?

The two sub choices you mention are arguably the top choices for that price range (you could consider an STF-2 instead of the VTF-2 MkII if you want to save a little bit of money with minimal performance difference).

Since it's a large room, the 340 might be the best mains choice if they listen at fairly loud levels. For rears, it largely depends on placement options, which is a big reason the 200 exists (small size and sealed design is easier to fit into surround places). If you can fit them, the 170 might be best for surrounds since you said the room is big. The crew at Ascend is best qualified to advise on this part.

[Grayson73]

I showed my friend the Ascends and he says they are too plain looking. He's willing to spend more money for speakers that look nicer.

Suggestions on what I should look at? Perhaps Axioms?

[Grayson73]

I asked him to look at:

Axiom
Onix Reference
Onix Rockets
Swans
Aperion Audio

Anything better than these for the same price range?

[Lou-the-dog]

He might well find something in that list that will sound good to him. That being said I'd suggest that he buy based on sound first. I've owned a set of speakers from a manufacturer that you have listed and, while they looked great, I couldn't stand to listen to them. They turned out to be very expensive and very little used furniture. If a custom look is desirable have him consider a custom finish from Ascend.

Randy