Audition of a 340 SE/170 SE setup in Detroit or Cleveland areas

[Xega]

I am moving into a new place and am looking for a set of speakers for a 5.1 system. I am a complete newbie in terms of home audio so I have been reading as much as possible over the last week and have gotten to the point where I feel that I just need to go out there and listen to the speakers before I try to decide on anything.

This is for an apartment with the system going in a 17x19 living room open to a 7x14 kitchen on one side, windows all along the opposite wall and opening to a hallway in the corner with 10 or 11 foot ceilings so it is a large sized room. From what I have read I am pretty sure I am likely going to have to get heavy curtains for the windows to help with the sound since they are very large and start at three feet above the ground and go pretty much to the ceiling. The system would be used for a mix of home theater, video games, and music (mix of rock, alternative, Indian music, and techno), the distribution for ht/games/music is 50%/20%/30%. The ht use will be mixed between digital cable, blu Ray from ps3, DVD, and from my
PC.

I am thinking about getting either the SVS PB10-NSD, ED A2-300 or SVS PB12-NSD. I will be moving to Cleveland at the end of June and could also audition speakers there.

For the speakers I am considering the following:

- Ascend CMT 340-SE mains + CMT-340 SE center + CMT-170 SE for surrounds $1,038.00 + $100 for stands + $70.00 shipping.

Is there anyone in either the Detroit or Cleveland area with a similar setup willing to let me hear these? I would be eternally grateful if you let me listen and taught me a little about home theater at the same time.

Also need advice on the receiver. I am considering onkyo 608 but am open to other companies as well, just don't know which models compare yet. A down side is the lack of audyssey multieq. Also thinking about pioneer, yamaha, hk, and marantz but unsure of which models to look at as I have just started researching that topic. Not sure how their auto room EQ products stack up in comparison to Audyssey.

[stevecake]

Just a couple quick suggestions that you may find helpful, based on a lot of time spent here and on the AVS forums, and from my own personal experience with my CMT-340SE HT/Gaming/Music setup.

* You might also want to consider Hsu subs, or maybe save up for a Rythmik. These subs are particularly great for music; a good criteria for a multipurpose system is to make sure music sounds good and the rest will follow.

* Denon receivers are known for their honest specifications and clean signal paths, and also feature Audyssey room EQ. I personally have an HK, which I love, but it isn't that full-featured -- it's very basic, very powerful, and more suited for music than HT.

* You can also consider one pair (or two) of HTM-200's for your rears if it helps with placement options (they're sealed) or budget wiggle room.

* Finally, if you can't find an audition, Ascend products are VERY safe to buy sight-unseen. If, for any reason, the 30 day satisfaction guarantee expires, they have extremely high resale value and sell out on sites like Audiogon very quickly. My suggestion is to start out with a pair of 340s in your new apartment and return or resell them if you don't love them -- at most, you'll be out like $50.

[debo]

I am moving into a new place and am looking for a set of speakers for a 5.1 system. I am a complete newbie in terms of home audio so I have been reading as much as possible over the last week and have gotten to the point where I feel that I just need to go out there and listen to the speakers before I try to decide on anything.

This is for an apartment with the system going in a 17x19 living room open to a 7x14 kitchen on one side, windows all along the opposite wall and opening to a hallway in the corner with 10 or 11 foot ceilings so it is a large sized room. From what I have read I am pretty sure I am likely going to have to get heavy curtains for the windows to help with the sound since they are very large and start at three feet above the ground and go pretty much to the ceiling. The system would be used for a mix of home theater, video games, and music (mix of rock, alternative, Indian music, and techno), the distribution for ht/games/music is 50%/20%/30%. The ht use will be mixed between digital cable, blu Ray from ps3, DVD, and from my
PC.

I am thinking about getting either the SVS PB10-NSD, ED A2-300 or SVS PB12-NSD. I will be moving to Cleveland at the end of June and could also audition speakers there.

For the speakers I am considering the following:

- Ascend CMT 340-SE mains + CMT-340 SE center + CMT-170 SE for surrounds $1,038.00 + $100 for stands + $70.00 shipping.

Is there anyone in either the Detroit or Cleveland area with a similar setup willing to let me hear these? I would be eternally grateful if you let me listen and taught me a little about home theater at the same time.

Also need advice on the receiver. I am considering onkyo 608 but am open to other companies as well, just don't know which models compare yet. A down side is the lack of audyssey multieq. Also thinking about pioneer, yamaha, hk, and marantz but unsure of which models to look at as I have just started researching that topic. Not sure how their auto room EQ products stack up in comparison to Audyssey.

I would welcome you to hear my Sierra's if you like, I no longer own a pair of 340se's.