My review of Ascend 340C SE and 340M SE

[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.

[azanon]

If your wife is like mine, they're going to be all about how the speaker looks and everything else is a distant second. My wife's primary choice is to see speakers disappear, but if they must exist, looking the least offensive is priority #1.

[Gov]

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.

You ever put the 170SE's as your mains? I am interested in your thoughts between the 340SE and 170SE as mains

[Grayson73]

Not yet. I'm moving on July 10th so the 170SEs will stay in the box until then.

[Gov]

Not yet. I'm moving on July 10th so the 170SEs will stay in the box until then.

Ok....please post when you do, thanx

[gevorg]

Any updates?

[Grayson73]

Sorry, I never got around to using the 170s as mains. I mounted them as surrounds

[Gov]

Sorry, I never got around to using the 170s as mains. I mounted them as surrounds

Come on man!!! I was counting on you doing this!!

[chas]

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.

Did you ever get a chance to do a comparison of the 340SE with the AS-F2 for 2 channel listening?

[Grayson73]

Unfortunately, no. They are in different rooms now.

It's such a huge upgrade that I don't even want to A/B them