CMT-340 vs.SIERRA-1

[kinggimp82]

I currently own a pair of CBM-170 SE's and am thinking of upgrading to either the CMT-340 or SIERRA-1. I am pretty much 50/50 music and home theater use. I would think the 340s would be a nice upgrade from the 170s. But how much more of a speaker is the Sierra that the 340? Right now the 340s are in my price range while the Sierra's would be stretching my budget pretty thin. I would have to wait at least 4 months before I would have enough money for the Sierra's. Is the Sierra that much better than the 340 to justify the extra cash? When I upgrade I do not want to do so again for quite awhile. I would probably be happy with the 340's but do not want to regret not saving up a little longer to get the Sierra's. If somebody could compare the two for me that would be great. Any input would be appreciated.

[buddhadas]

I have both, but in different systems.
I use the Sierra's full range, no sub for music only, and love them.
I use the 340's for home theater, and am equally happy.
I tried the Sierra's for HT duty for a while, but found that I preferred the 340's for that route. I wish I could give you a brilliant reason as to why, but for me it just comes down to how each sounds with each set-up.


Jim

[Mag_Neato]

I never did a side by side between the 170's and the 340's, but I heard the 340SE's at someones' house. I had the non SE 170's at the time. For me, there was not a significant enough difference to make me want to switch. Granted they were not directly compared, but they were not much different other than they could play louder and maybe more dynamic. The Sierra-1 was a different story. A speaker with that much time and effort to produce had to have something special. So I bought one of the first pairs on blind faith and have not regretted it. I did the NrT upgrade late last year and it is, to me, even better.

I'd recommend trying to audition the 340's and see what you think. The in home trial is the best way to know for sure, but if someone near you owns them maybe you could listen to theirs.

[debo]

Hey I'm that someone's house Ed is speaking of...Hello ED.
I had the 340se's L/C/R and 170se's for surround and upgraded to the Sierra-1's for L/C/R and kept the 170se's for surround.
If you are 50/50 HT and music I would go with the Sierra's because for music the Sierra's are really worth the price.

[Mag_Neato]

Hey Jeff, how's it going?

I agree that for music the Sierra's are worth the cost. I had another 340 owner audition my Sierra's after I bought them. He said they were definitely an improvement. They let you "see" more into the music and the bass was amazing for their size.

[kinggimp82]

Hey I'm that someone's house Ed is speaking of...Hello ED.
I had the 340se's L/C/R and 170se's for surround and upgraded to the Sierra-1's for L/C/R and kept the 170se's for surround.
If you are 50/50 HT and music I would go with the Sierra's because for music the Sierra's are really worth the price.

Where do you crossover your Sierras for home theater use and for music? 40 hz?

[kinggimp82]

I am leaning more and more towards the Sierras. I've been reading quite a few professional reviews. The reviews are great. Seems like the Sierras will be a much nicer upgrade from the 170s then the 340s will be. Sounds like they will make listening to music that much better.

[S_rangeBrew]

Yes, I would suspect the 340SE's are more of a "dynamic" improvement to the 170s. That is, they get louder with the same amount of power. For high volume movie listening, this is important. I enjoy the fact that I don't have to worry about my 340SE's being dynamic enough, due to their high efficiency. I've never heard the Sierra's, and will remain blissfully ignorant, as I don't have the space or money for a second system!

[Galwin]

I have had both speakers. In my opinion, the Sierra's are a significant upgrade for music listening and well worth the investment. I think it is one of the best cost/performance values on the market. I can't imagine anyone not liking them. what they do for the cost is amazing. For just home theatre, the 340SE's would be all you need.

[kinggimp82]

Yes, I would suspect the 340SE's are more of a "dynamic" improvement to the 170s. That is, they get louder with the same amount of power. For high volume movie listening, this is important. I enjoy the fact that I don't have to worry about my 340SE's being dynamic enough, due to their high efficiency. I've never heard the Sierra's, and will remain blissfully ignorant, as I don't have the space or money for a second system!

If I was 70% home theater use instead of 50/50 I would probably just go with the 340s. But the fact that I listen to just as much music as I do movies has me leaning heavily towards the Sierras. They won't be as dynamic as the 340s but that shouldn't be a problem for me as I usually don't listen to movies overly loud. For movies I usually don't listen much louder than -20 on the avr. And a little louder for music. For music -15 is as loud as I go on the avr. Besides if they end up not being dynamic enough I can always invest in some monoblock amplifiers sometime in the future.