CMT 340SE /CBM 170SE 7.1 review

[vandy23]

After months of searching, listening and comparing I finally made a decision to go with the Ascend 340/170 7.1 set-up. Two weeks ago everything arrived and my brother and I eagerly began setting up the ultimate mid range home theater system. In concert with the Ascends, I purchased an Onkyo TX-SR806, an Elemental Design A5-350 sub, and an LG BD-370 Blu-Ray.

My home theater/family room is relatively large, measuring 14x23, with vaulted ceilings averaging 12+ feet. So there is a lot of cubic square feet to fill. Thankfully no problem thus far! I have the 340ses as my mains, and center and round it off with four 170ses for my rears.

For the last two weeks I have been listening to a variety of music and blu-ray content and all I can say is wow!! The Ascends are amazing! The highs are tight and the bass is full with no muddy boom at all. They simply offer a very detailed and tight sound that you would expect from a much higher priced speaker. In fact, during the Onkyo Audyssey set-up, it recommend that all the speakers remain at a full-range speaker level. A testament to what i believe is the quality build of these speakers. Of course I set my cross-overs manually to better reflect my tastes, but these speakers can obviously hold their own without a sub if one so desired.

If you are on the fence about speakers, I say fall over into Ascend territory and you won't be disappointed!!

[davef]

Hi Vandy,

Thanks so much for sharing your impressions and I am happy that you are enjoying the speakers!

Quick question, how do you like the LG BD-370? I am considering a Netflix enabled DVD player and it is a toss-up between the LG and Samsung.

[vandy23]

Dave,
So far i really like the LG. I have only streamed one movie thus far, but the one I did worked out fine. I have it hard wired via Ethernet so I am hoping I won't have many problems as far as hesitation goes. I was originally looking at the Samsung my self, but the more research I did the more I became concerned by so many negative reviews.

It was easy to set up and although it has all the major decoding on board I pass the audio through to my Onkyo which has thus far decoded Dolby True HD with no problem. Overall I would recommend it! Supposedly LG will be offering a net ware update that will include an on-demand type application that will include HD content.

Thanks again for the quality product!!

[davef]

Dave,
So far i really like the LG. I have only streamed one movie thus far, but the one I did worked out fine. I have it hard wired via Ethernet so I am hoping I won't have many problems as far as hesitation goes. I was originally looking at the Samsung my self, but the more research I did the more I became concerned by so many negative reviews.

It was easy to set up and although it has all the major decoding on board I pass the audio through to my Onkyo which has thus far decoded Dolby True HD with no problem. Overall I would recommend it! Supposedly LG will be offering a net ware update that will include an on-demand type application that will include HD content.

Thanks again for the quality product!!

Thanks... I keep going back and forth between the two. I have heard the Samsung offers better picture quality while the LG seems more reliable. Arghh -- I can't decide

[Mag_Neato]

Dave, The upcoming Oppo Blu-ray player is supposed to have incredible PQ and audio. It is a bit higher priced though. The early adopter program has them at $499, but will likely increase when they are officially released for general consumption.

[davef]

Dave, The upcoming Oppo Blu-ray player is supposed to have incredible PQ and audio. It is a bit higher priced though. The early adopter program has them at $499, but will likely increase when they are officially released for general consumption.

Thanks... I am a fan of Oppo but I am looking for a player that will also stream Netflix movies.