Would I really need a sub...

[sensibull]

Forgot to mention... room size will be approx. 12 x 22, but the speakers will be facing across the narrow axis and the seating probably confined to a space more like 12 x 14 or so. Thanks.

[Lou-the-dog]

Being as your not interested in wall rattling bass I'd definately say that you could easily forgo the sub. I ran without until Hsu released the VTF3 MkII and I was very pleased. Make sure your reciever is set to large and enjoy. The 340's go plenty deep by themselves. You can always add a sub later if/when the bug hits.

Randy

[metalaaron]

yep, definitely get the 340s if you're not going to purchase a sub.

i'd just second what lou said.

in fact, ascend offers a plan just for you...

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages...purchplan.html

cbm-170s

[sensibull]

Thanks for the feedback Lou and Aaron. Much appreciated.

[curtis]

My Parents have a pair CMT-340m's hooked up to an HK stereo receiver, in a 15x25 room...with a 12 foot ceiling. If you add the entry way, the overall room is 15x32x12. Without a sub, they sound great and more than fill the room. The speakers are in front of the 15ft wall.

-curtis

[sensibull]

Thanks for your reply, Curtis. I've been lurking on the Axiom, Onix, and AVS boards enough to recognize you as the resident Ascend aficionado. Would you be kind enough to give me a brief rundown of why you feel Ascend edges out those two other brands (at the same price points)? (I'm inviting bias, here, no need to preface everything with IMHO. There are few enough people who have actually heard all three brands, and if I'm not mistaken, you are one of them).

[curtis]

May I call you sense or bull? []

It is actually quite simple. I feel the Ascends are more balanced and accurate. Ascend takes the signal from the source, and reproduces it uncolored.

I have taken the CMT-340's to my local audio shop to compare to various speakers. The first time they were played, the shop owner and other sales reps were drawn into the room because of what they were hearing. The shop owner says "It sounded like a live performance from my office". He asked some questions, and as soon as I said they were internet direct and $500/pr....it was like the switch was turned off, and he replied "That's a pretty good speaker for $500". It was funny....that day we were comparing them to the Von Schweikert VR-1.

-curtis

[sensibull]

Well, that was short and to the point. Thank you. I sense no bull in you []

If I could ask just two more questions, and then I'll leave you in peace.

1. I read somewhere else on this forum that the 340s are a lot more placement picky than the 170s, and require some breathing room from the back wall and a decent sized room in front to really shine. If I understood you correctly, your parents have them playing across the 25' (or 32') space, but mine would be playing across the narrow axis of a 12' x 22' room. With 1' to 18" from the wall, and a couch against the far wall providing seating, that narrows the distance from the listener to something like 10' (placed as much as 10' apart). Would that space do justice to the 340s? Or might I be better off with 170s and a sub?

2. I understand you and your parents also have (or have had) HK receivers. I'm having a little trouble understanding the function of the A-Bus/RS-232 port thingie. I get that you can use it to power speakers in multiple rooms, with additional accessories. I also get that you can hook a computer to it and download new "firmware" so to speak, when available (to shorten the dropout mutes, while scanning a new source, for example). But is there any chance this would ever function like an ethernet port? In addition to getting new HT gear, I'm trying to solve the problem of a accessing a huge digital file collection (mostly lossles, full quality FLAC files) from my living room. (The Onkyo 801 has the port I need, but cannot read FLAC files.)

Bountiful thanks, once more, for your help.

[Lou-the-dog]

Sensibull,

Any chance that someday you might rotate your theater so you would be playing on the long axis or is this pretty much locked in as is?

Randy

[sensibull]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Lou-the-dog

Sensibull,

Any chance that someday you might rotate your theater so you would be playing on the long axis or is this pretty much locked in as is?

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Not in that particular house, but there's a good chance we'll be moving again in 3 years and hopefully at the next place I'll have a dedicated room. I can see where you're going... might as well get the better speaker, in case listening room size increases. I agree, just worried that the 340s would not sound right in a more confined space. I believe I read a post on here somewhere about them bouncing off smaller spaces and creating "increased reflections."

Just to be as specific as possible, the room will actually be L-shaped, with the 12 x 22 section forming the upright and leading into an (approx.) 8 x 12 dining room. Ceilings are not all that high (haven't moved in yet, so I can't be exact) -- maybe 8' or 9', but perhaps that additional jog into the dining room would give enough air all-around to make the 340s more feasible?