Sierra vs Others

[curtis]

I'd be interested in comparing the new tower with other $2000-range speakers, such as the Salk Ellis 1801B.

Why not the Salk Songtower?

[davef]

Hi Curtis,

I understand that the CMT-340 SE is a 2006 design.

Just wondering, with the current offerings from all around, isn't the CMT (or the CBM) getting a little bit old?

Daniel

The 340 and 170 sell as well as they alway have and their longevity is actually a testament the perfomance they offer. Many of the truly great speakers had 10+ year lifespans.

I should also mention that in my professional opinion, there is actually less competition to them now then there was 5-6 years go. Manufacturing costs have skyrocketed over the last few years and you are simply not going to see the type of component quality that is offered in these speakers anywhere else...

[Mike^S]

Hi Dave, have you ever experimented with a Sierra-1 with the RAAL tweeter? How well would that work?

[davef]

Hi Dave, have you ever experimented with a Sierra-1 with the RAAL tweeter? How well would that work?

Hi Mike,

Hope all is going well!

We have been getting a lot of requests for this, at least one per day... I think at this point it is something we are going to have to investigate. Due to the depth of the RAAL ribbon we are using, it will not fit into the current Sierra-1 cabinet so a new cabinet will have to be designed.

[sonicboom]

The 340 and 170 sell as well as they alway have and their longevity is actually a testament the perfomance they offer. Many of the truly great speakers had 10+ year lifespans.

I should also mention that in my professional opinion, there is actually less competition to them now then there was 5-6 years go. Manufacturing costs have skyrocketed over the last few years and you are simply not going to see the type of component quality that is offered in these speakers anywhere else...

Hi all,

I just ordered a pair of CMT-340SEs. They are expected to arrive Thursday here in Maui, Hawaii where I live. They are coming as an upgrade from the CBM-170s. Will post my impressions when I hear them. Coming from the excellent sound of the CBMs, I really do not know what to expect.

However, being Ascend speakers, I'm sure they will be making an excellent impact upon the audio history of my home.

Daniel

[Mag_Neato]

Hi all,

I just ordered a pair of CMT-340SEs. They are expected to arrive Thursday here in Maui, Hawaii where I live. They are coming as an upgrade from the CBM-170s. Will post my impressions when I hear them. Coming from the excellent sound of the CBMs, I really do not know what to expect.

However, being Ascend speakers, I'm sure they will be making an excellent impact upon the audio history of my home.

Daniel

Awesome! And I don't just mean the 340's, but the fact that you are in Maui! Someday I will get to Hawaii.

Congrats on the new toys!!

[sonicboom]

The 340 and 170 sell as well as they alway have and their longevity is actually a testament the perfomance they offer. Many of the truly great speakers had 10+ year lifespans.

I should also mention that in my professional opinion, there is actually less competition to them now then there was 5-6 years go. Manufacturing costs have skyrocketed over the last few years and you are simply not going to see the type of component quality that is offered in these speakers anywhere else...

Hi Dave,

In the light of today's manufacturing costs and the present prices for which the 340 and 170 are being sold, had there been no performance parameters that were sacrificed in order to keep the speakers' prices where they are at now? In other words, are the 340 and 170 exactly the same (components and manufacturing practice) as they were since 2006?

Daniel

[davef]

Hi Dave,

In the light of today's manufacturing costs and the present prices for which the 340 and 170 are being sold, had there been no performance parameters that were sacrificed in order to keep the speakers' prices where they are at now? In other words, are the 340 and 170 exactly the same (components and manufacturing practice) as they were since 2006?

Daniel

I can't confirm the dates, but the 340SE, 170SE and HTM-200SE are exactly the same since their original introduction. There have been absolutely no changes to their components. I will say that our manufacturing costs have increased, on average, of about 35%... Even more so with HTM-200SE and CBM-170SE due to the rather shocking 1400% increase in neodymium.

We are a bit different than most other ID companies as I have 20+ year business relationships with most of our vendors and we typically purchase our drivers in 1000 piece quantities, which allows us to take better advantage of volume discounts. Without these resources at our disposal, there would be no possible way we could sell our products at the prices we offer.

[mikebiker]

Hi all,

I just ordered a pair of CMT-340SEs. They are expected to arrive Thursday here in Maui, Hawaii where I live. They are coming as an upgrade from the CBM-170s. Will post my impressions when I hear them. Coming from the excellent sound of the CBMs, I really do not know what to expect.

However, being Ascend speakers, I'm sure they will be making an excellent impact upon the audio history of my home.

Daniel

I received a front 3 of 340SEs late last year. I have found them to be very easy to listen to and I feel that I would have had to pay a lot more to find something better. I do appreciate the matching stands which place them at an ideal height and look great with the 340s. I will be ordering pair of HTM-200SEs for my surrounds. I was very impressed with the Ascend responsiveness in updating me with the status of my order of the 340s. The packaging of the speakers was very impressive to me and showed that Ascend wasn't going to skip on anything to make sure that I received the order in perfect shape.

[mikebiker]

I can't confirm the dates, but the 340SE, 170SE and HTM-200SE are exactly the same since their original introduction. There have been absolutely no changes to their components. I will say that our manufacturing costs have increased, on average, of about 35%... Even more so with HTM-200SE and CBM-170SE due to the rather shocking 1400% increase in neodymium.

We are a bit different than most other ID companies as I have 20+ year business relationships with most of our vendors and we typically purchase our drivers in 1000 piece quantities, which allows us to take better advantage of volume discounts. Without these resources at our disposal, there would be no possible way we could sell our products at the prices we offer.

Don't raise the prices of the 200SEs until AFTER I've done my order (which should be within the next week and include a sub)! That would finish up my 5.1 system and keep me very happy for the foreseeable future.