I got my speakers in Friday, installed Friday, testing to begin this week. They unpack easy, set up easy, and yep... sound good right out of the box!
Very good packing and everything in there nice and tight. Double boxed 340's and single boxed 200's with thick foam inserts to protect speakers. No damage and no flaws. BTW, if you are testing for surround placement and or height, you can use the boxes to set the surrounds on for placement -just a thought but they came in handy for me when I did this!
Good quality brakets for wall mounting leave you with a plethera of options for angles (within brack limits) to postion speakers where you need them. I strongly suggest that you find a stud and use it! Don't try to hang these using only sheetrock or even the heavy duty sheetrock inserts and then screws, even the included directions read this way! If you can't center or locate a stud where you need one, I would suggest that you find one or get creative and cut a hole in the wall, insert a 2x4 with your own hands and then do a repatch job - you don't want these falling on your head (or your guests)!
Ladies and gents, these speakers are built well and are quite solid with some good weight to them so either get the Ascend stands or some quality, STURDY stands that don't rock when you bump them. I have an entertainment system that I built for them so there are no problems here for me! The center is another 340 on it's side with a few minor mods, so it is quality as well and it helps image the tv and persons speaking well. I may consider double bracing my shelf (even though it really doesn't need it) so that over time there is NO sagging or warping (I have a 48" wide shelf of 3/4 MDF that is 18" deep). I have actually installed my HTM200's into my walls since they are closed box design so there are no worries about rear ports or clearance needs. FYI, these fit nicely when put into the walls if you are handy with some tools and have the time and patience to do so. They also will be almost another foot (when considering bracket install) back installed this way over using the brackets so there is better soundstage and room for you and your guests to pass by. Besides, a quality install can really make the room look MUCH nicer than a simple braket mount solution or rear/side stands. I will have a few pictures tomorrow of the install for you to see (if you are interested - I actually have mine rotated and angled down to the LP b/c of my corner-to-corner room layout) and they sound really amazing. These 200's image quite well!
More to come tomorrow and over the week. I will also be testing a few receivers so hopefully I can get that done over the week and weekend and have my thoughts here as well - if my wife doesn't make me stop the madness and be done with the project! The receivers are mainly for me to decide if I like one sound over another. I really like my Denon 1905 but if there is better sound for the Ascend speakers to my ears, I will find it!
Ciao for now and I hope to have more soon!
Last edited by audibleconnoisseur; 01-29-2007 at 07:03 AM.
Hey buddy, you out there? Break in is almost complete... would you like to come by and comparison test the A/V receivers? I had another guy that was interested but I think he is out of town this week but would be free the first week in February. Let me know if you are interested. I might do a little on my own and see what I come up with as well. I love my Ascends Leon! Hey, I have the HTM200's mounted up in the wall now so you can hear them as well if you are able to come by. Sounds really good. Need that SEAS tweeter in the 200's and then we would be getting closer to sonic nervana!
Hope to speak with you soon ~
Last edited by audibleconnoisseur; 01-29-2007 at 12:11 PM.
I would like to hear the elite for sure and the others to compare sounds of all. As far as I know Feb works for me. How is the new sound and is everything working the way you want it to?
Things are working out well. I got them Friday, isntalled the front sp that same hour and set the surrounds on the boxes to break them in. I took Saturday to open the walls and install them there. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I will post up here tonight or tomorrow with the shots of the work and finished product. Basically I have them in the walls that were behind the couches. One is 9' up above the pictures on the wall where the stairs are and the other is 9' up above the middle window, slightly off center b/c there was a stud in the middle
I have them angled down about 45deg and 1/2 is protruding from the walls on each side. I framed them in with 3/4 x 1/4 molding that I painted same as room color. A little touch up to do yet, but they sound REALLY good there. Best I can do with my area for now! 5.1 sounds really good though as they image down and out well so the sound sourrounds the listener and you can really tell what is going on behind you. I need a really good 5.1 surround test cd or movies to hear more if you have any ideas.
I should finish breaking them in with about 30+ hours this evening so I can really put some amps to them and see how they can sing! I can't install my 6.1 b/c it seems the Denon I have wants an external amp or receiver to power those other two channels. I will experiment futher - this is another reason I am looking at a different receiver! I will try to reach the other guy to see if we can set up a Feb date to listen together. You are welcome to come sooner if you wish. He has 340SE's as well so that would be three pair. Will be interesting to see if there is a difference in each of ours given the time we have had them and break-in period
Yes, that would be a great idea to see if they sound different. I am sure it is my room but with the receiver I have, it is setting my left speaker up quite differently from the center and right speaker. Oh well, still sounds good so I leave it alone. Do you still have the Pio and 2807, or did you get something different? I am interested in hearing both.
i have both and will be getting the hk 645 as well if i can have the time. they are about to be opened up later the week or next week. i wanted to try to get about 10 hours on them before i listen for real.
try an spl in your room and you can set them all to what you want from there. a lot of people don't like the auto setup b/c it messes things up, i wonder!?
i will be taking and posting up pics tonight of the new setup so you can see as can others. NOT THAT YOU ALL CARE, but i am proud so just wanted you to see how others set things up and you can use this idea or not depending on your situtation!
Just testing to see how the pics look for you guys
Here are some of the tools used in the overall preparation, install and finished product! NO, I did not use all of these tools. They were for a few other things I am working on in the family room and around the house this weekend.
Last edited by audibleconnoisseur; 01-30-2007 at 06:30 AM.
I took about 10 shots to hopefully show the work and some of the detail. Please note I still have to finish up the fine detail and also some of the paint is still drying so it may be more shiny than other spots. FYI, we are still painting our home so if you see a few other unpainted spots... that is all me!!!
Also, the wires you see here... all gone and tucked away!!
Last edited by audibleconnoisseur; 01-29-2007 at 05:15 PM.
Update from shootout and purchase
