Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: New Ascend convert, the 340SEs are incredible! Reviewed vs. Boston VR2 (long)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Newport News, VA
    Posts
    13

    Default New Ascend convert, the 340SEs are incredible! Reviewed vs. Boston VR2 (long)

    I have been a fan of Boston Acoustics speakers since 1991 owning ONLY their products in my cars and also in my home. I recently decided to upgrade my nearly 10 year old Compact Reference home theater bookshelves, and have been looking at the VR2 and VR3 for the past few months. Due to the popularity and positive reviews, I also have been considering speakers from Ascend Acoustics and av123. The BA CRs have always been on the bright side, sometimes hurting my ears when played at higher volume levels. I decided to order the Ascend 340SE front mains and center channel, and compare them to the Boston VR2 mains and VRC. I had both systems set up in my house at the same time, running on the same Yamaha RX-V995 100wpc*5 receiver with A/B switching capability for the mains.

    I replaced my existing BA CR8 mains and CR2 center with the VRs and there was a major, big-time, huge difference. Notice I said difference and not improvement. While the VRs did sound much better than my CR8's on some types of music, the overall sound was basically just more of what I already had: more treble, more mids, and more bass. The upper midrange and treble were very pronounced, and still hurt my ears when played at louder volumes or with most types of music. I listened to only the VR2 and VRC setup on TV, movies, and music for a full week while waiting for the Ascends to arrive. No doubt the sound was impressive, and I did hear things in the music that I had not heard before, but they were still not what I was looking for. In fact, I told my wife that I would not be satisfied keeping these speakers even if I had no other choices in mind.

    I was concerned that my high expectations for the Ascend speakers would impact my perception of how they sound. The reviews are so great, anything less than greatness would leave me disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised at their appearance when I first pulled them out of their packaging. Everyone talks about how terrible the cabinets look, but I actually find them appealing. I've also always purchased the black finish on the Boston speakers though, so YMMV. I hooked up only the Ascend mains for A/B comparison to the VR2s. The first song auditioned was My Immortal by Evanescence. My wife is typically not interested in my hobby, but she came running into the room and listened to the speakers with me. We were both amazed with how great they sound. We continued listening to various reference music, and determined that these speakers perform far better than I even anticipated!!! I began pulling out old CDs trying to find some type of music where they didn't sound great, but I did not succeed. The glowing reviews don't even do these speakers justice, they really do sound that great. Both my wife and I were also able to understand the pronunciation of lyrics that were muddled with other speakers, from bands such as System of a Down and Slipknot. Probably the most notable difference I found with regards to brightness/harshness was the A/B comparison of the Gretchen Wilson song "Redneck Woman". I could hardly turn the Bostons up before the sound became painful, but with the Ascends I was able to crank the volume very high and Gretchen's voice never became offensive. It was a pleasant experience! I really do listen to all types of music. I then replaced the VRC with the 340SE center and listened to some of my reference movies. Having three basically identical speakers across the front soundstage blends the sounds much better than the "timbre matched" BA combinations. Dialogue is much clearer, and I am now able to turn down the volume and still hear the dialog clearly. I will be upgrading my older Yamaha receiver to new components soon, and I look forward to the new features, ability to set a 60Hz crossover point across the front, and also increase in power. I'm considering Emotiva's LPA-1 and MMC-1 combination.

    I also posted in the AVS Forum's BA owner's thread that I returned the VR2s and VRC, and will be ordering a pair of Ascend Acoustics 170SE surrounds to complement the front speakers. I will most likely loan my 5.1 CR package to my father-in-law until he buys his own speakers. Final plans for me involve a DIY subwoofer and then room treatments, and I should be happy for at least another 10 years.

    Thank you for an amazing product!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Santa Ana, CA
    Posts
    10

    Default

    Very nice review. It only makes my future purchase that much more to look forward to. Congratz to you on your buy.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Minnesota, US
    Posts
    418

    Default

    Great write-up LS1...look forward to hearing the results of the upgrades to the rest of your system!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Oaktown, CA
    Posts
    226

    Default

    Congrats!
    Yup you should be mighty happy with the final setup.

    I've been so impressed and happy with all the Ascends that I've bought that I just ordered another set of 170's to day... for my office.

    And as a strange coincidental aside... they are replacing my very old Bostons!

    Gonna be good. Enjoy them!

    shane
    Yes Eve, I like to watch.

    My setup:
    http://www.fototime.com/5EF1F78FC789849/orig.jpg
    HT: 340SE's Front & Center - 340 Classic's Surround, SVS PB110-ISD.
    Office (2-ch): 170SE's

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Catonsville, MD
    Posts
    421

    Default

    that really was a fantastic review. very energetic about the ascends. reminds me of when i first got mine. thanks for sharing, and welcome to the boards.
    CMT-340SE2 Mains & Center, CBM-170SE Surrounds, Rythmik F15, Emotiva XMC-1, Emotiva XPA-5

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,538

    Default

    Hi LS1 Sounds,

    Welcome to the forum and thanks for the wonderful review! I am really pleased that the speakers turned out to perform better than you expected and that you find them attractive... Personally, I love the discrete look, as do thousands of others... I think we get a bad rap about the looks simply because they sound so good

    Enjoy!!! And please let me know if I can be of any assistance with anthing.

    Oh -- with your permission, please allow me to copy the review into our "reviews" section, this way it won't get buried once activity in the thread slows down.

    Thanks!
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Newport News, VA
    Posts
    13

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by davef
    Hi LS1 Sounds,

    Welcome to the forum and thanks for the wonderful review! I am really pleased that the speakers turned out to perform better than you expected and that you find them attractive... Personally, I love the discrete look, as do thousands of others... I think we get a bad rap about the looks simply because they sound so good

    Enjoy!!! And please let me know if I can be of any assistance with anthing.

    Oh -- with your permission, please allow me to copy the review into our "reviews" section, this way it won't get buried once activity in the thread slows down.

    Thanks!
    Hello Dave!

    Please feel free to copy any and all portions. I just ordered a pair of 170SEs yesterday afternoon to complete my 5 channel system, and can't wait to hear how they sound. So many people claim that the surrounds don't need to match the rest of the speakers, but I can verify that my BA CR7 surrounds are now turned WAY down because of how badly they detract from the 340SE front soundstage.

    Last night I enjoyed listening to Staind, Chapter V. Several of the guitar passages on this CD used to be uncomfortable for me to listen to on the Boston CRs and also on the VR speakers during their trial. Everything just sounds so smooth, balanced, and sweet now on the Ascends! My kids were already in bed, but I couldn't resist turning up the volume on several of the tracks. I recently auditioned several models in the Paradigm line using this same CD (among others), and while they were not offensive to my ears, they were too laid back for my tastes and I felt that they were missing something in their presentation.

    I really do have a hard time describing how great these speakers sound! My brother also owns the same 5 channel package with an SVS Ultra sub, and when we talk on the phone we can hardly even describe to each other how great these speakers sound. My father has also been a long-time owner of Boston Acoustics, and he is now very interested in the Ascends after listening to my brother and I speak.

    I also wanted to let you know that I have talked with James both times that I called, and he has been a pleasure to work with. Thank you for everything!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •