New Acsend owner.

[Wid]

And it's not me, it's my sister. I was given a budget of 2K by my sister to put a system together for her sans a display. I am an Axiom owner and was real close to ordering an Axiom system for her until I found the CMT-340 SE 5 channel special.

This is the speaker package I picked out for her. For a sub I'm selling her my eD A3-300 for a good price. The receiver is going to be the Pioneer VSX 520, bluray player is a Panasonic BD65, stands from RacksandStands and the cables from Monoprice.

With this we ordered the Harmony 700 remote.

It came in just a tad over 2K but it seems it should be a heck of a system for what was spent.

[curtis]

Hey Wid!

Good to see you here!

Looking forward to your impressions.

[Wid]

Good to see ya Curtis. It's been a good long while since the last time we talked.

[DougMac]

Welcome! I hope your sister enjoys her new speakers.

Since you own Axiom, once you hear the 340's, I wonder if you would compare the two and let us know. Someone here had both Ascends and Axioms on their short list, it might be helpful for someone who has heard both to give us an idea of their similarities and differences.

[Wid]

I can try but it will not be a side by side comparison. Some might not find that to be a valid way to compare the two.

[DougMac]

I can try but it will not be a side by side comparison. Some might not find that to be a valid way to compare the two.

Fair enough, I understand. Some general impressions would be interesting if you feel comfortable with that.

[Wid]

All the equipment was received this week so it was time to get things put together. To start, the Ascends were shipped extremely fast, same day. They (the 340s) were a bit larger than I expected, heavy buggers too. They are some very well built speakers.

Got them all set up and calibrated with rat shack meter and the receivers test tones. My sister put in a Josh Groban DVD at first. I tell ya those darn speakers sure do sound good, sharp, articulate with plenty of heft. They blended very good with the eD sub. Next we watched some Andrea Bocelli, while it did sound good I'm not much of a fan so I had her put in another DVD.

Now don't laugh but she put in a Celine Dion DVD. I've never listened to her and certainly don't own any of her material but I was really surprised how damn good this sounded. It had a lot of dynamics in it. Turned the volume up a bit and it really made those 340s shine.

I'm telling ya, these are some mighty fine speakers. I would be quite happy having them in my home, that's for sure. For the price she paid (spring sale) they are a steal.

Part way through the DVD I asked my sister if she was pleased with the set up? She told me they were far more than she expected. As a matter of fact she was crying with joy as she told me that. Sure made me feel good knowing I picked out all the gear.

My own expectations were quite high for the 340s and they came through with flying colors.

[DougMac]

Very nice report. I'm glad your sister is pleased. I'm glad you came out looking good from your recommendation.

Based on my experience, give them a couple of weeks of use and they'll really open up and sound even better!

[Robert7]

I am a believer in break in time for new electronics and speakers. Give them time and they will only get even better