Dont know what to do?

[scottyh]

So i receieved my Ascend 340SE's F,L,C about a week ago and im kind of dissapointed. Let me explain. Ive auditioned Polks, Klipsch, Paradigm and Onkyo speakers in the past month or so..I was very pleased with the polks over my new Ascends though. The only thing is I have a crappy receiver that came with my onkyo HTIB powering these speakers..I guess my question is is it possible that the Polks somehow sounded better because they work better with a not so great receiver? Is it possible that with a nice new receiver these Ascends will blow the Polks out of the water? So i guess ill wait for an answer before i do something stupid by returning the Ascends and going with the polks..Thank you in advance

[curtis]

Which Polks?

Are you comparing what you heard in a store compared to what you are hearing at home?

[scottyh]

No i brought them home and auditioned them for about 2 weeks. It was a Polk Center (CS2), and Polk Monitor 70's for mains. The receiver is from an Onkyp (HT-S790) HTIB.

[davef]

Hi Scottyh,

I am sorry to hear of your disappointment... For me to make a qualified recommendation on how you should proceed I will need a bit more information from you.

1. Which Polk speakers did you audition?
2. Where and how did you audition these? In the store, in your own home etc.?
3. Based on your memory of the Polks, what was it in particular about their sound did you prefer? I know this is difficult so I will try to help -- did you find the Polk's to have clearer and sharper highs or more subdued highs? Deeper and more pronounced bass or less bass? A more forward sound (vocals and instruments upfront) or a more laid back sound (vocals and instruments coming from behind the speakers)?
4. Are you using a subwoofer with the speakers?

The only thing is I have a crappy receiver that came with my onkyo HTIB powering these speakers..I guess my question is is it possible that the Polks somehow sounded better because they work better with a not so great receiver? Is it possible that with a nice new receiver these Ascends will blow the Polks out of the water?

Yes, this is very possible. The 340 SE are very revealing loudspeakers -- the better the electronics, the better they will perform. However, it is important for me (and you) to determine what is it about their performance that you find dissappointing in comparison to what you have heard... This is the first step as I would hate to recommend a new receiver and then you find you are still disappointed with their performance.

Hope to hear from you soon and please feel free to email me directly at davef@ascendacoustics.com if you prefer. I generally respond quicker to direct emails.

[scottyh]

Thanks Dave love the customer service by the way..

I brought them home and auditioned them for about 2 weeks. It was a Polk Center (CS2), and Polk Monitor 70's for mains. The receiver is from an Onkyo (HT-S790) HTIB. To answer your questions. I guess i felt like the Polks filled more of the room. the Ascends seem to sound very good when your in the sweet spot but other than that they seem very distant. When i watch movies with the Ascends I find myself putting the receiver on music mode so that the voices come fom all three speakers instead of having the receiver on movie where just the center has the voices like it should be. With the polks it didnt seem as much that the sound was coming from on top of the TV. My subwoofer is also the same subwoofer that came with the HTIB which i plan to upgrade to an HSU or SVS in the nrear future. I would imagine this is part of the reason i liked the Polks more because they had 4 woofers on each speaker to make up for my poor subwoofer that i currently own.

[Jonnyozero3]

How long have you had the Ascends?

Some ideas off the top of my head (please don't be insulted if you've tried them, just brainstorming for you): Try little things like adjusting placement, distance from walls, and toe-in. That can help sometimes. Also - maybe try a pair of rubber doorstops to angle the center down at your listening position a little. If it isn't already, I mean. Maybe double-check your level settings to make sure the center isn't set too high?

I hope your experience improves

[MikeAndAnnie]

...When i watch movies with the Ascends I find myself putting the receiver on music mode so that the voices come fom all three speakers instead of having the receiver on movie where just the center has the voices like it should be. With the polks it didnt seem as much that the sound was coming from on top of the TV.

I also replaced a CS2 with a CMT-340, and the improvement was very noticeable, so I think it might be something else.
I took a look at the online manual for your system - that's a pretty nice 7.1 receiver (better than my Onkyo txsr-502 fer sure), so I doubt that is it as well. Couple of ideas:

p. 44 of the manual talks about an 'OptiResponse Equalizer'. If this is on, you might turn it off and see if that makes a difference;

You mention switching from movie to music mode, so are you using ProLogic II (Shows as "PLIIx" on the Onkyo) DSP? If so, you might see if it makes a difference if you instead use a non-DSP mode, like "Dolby D 3/2.1" or "Dolby D EX 3/2.1".

Do you use the test tone (p. 34) and an SPL meter to balance the volume of the speakers? Using a meter made a noticeable difference for me, and maybe it would do the same for you. Even better would be using the Avia disk instead of the receiver's test tones, though the improvement in performance is less noticeable.

- Mike

[Jorge_Burrito]

While these are all great suggestions, and Dave really is the person to talk to, it may be you just like the polk sound better. That is why you audition speakers, as not all speakers sound the same, especially in different rooms. Get the speakers that sound best to you.

[Jonnyozero3]

Get the speakers that sound best to you.

Can't agree with this more. Just make sure to give each option it's fair shake of time and effort

[badassfajita]

Are you listening to music or watching movies? The Polks are much bigger towers and should extend lower than the Ascends. If you have a cruddy sub like you said, your Polks probably help a bit to cover its suckiness for lack of a better term. The Ascends are going to sound more natural and clean though, especially with music. Movies are far less demanding than music. After you add that SVS or HSU to fill in the ultra low end, you may like the Ascends more for movies as well.