HT Receiver with Ascend questions

[Lord Nikon]

Novel here...please be patient

I'm sort of rehashing an old issue I had, perhaps two-tiered issue. Initially back in 2005 or so I purchased the classic L/R CBM-170's. I had them hooked up to a HT Technics receiver I purchased in 1998. I wouldn't call it high end or even middle of the road. The 170's sounded amazing, punchy, bass so defined I could feel it. Then I upgraded my cabling to optical input from Tivo opposed to the Red and White typical stereo cables. The sound was even more amazing than before.

So then I go off the cliff and purchased a CMT-340c and a Yamaha HTR-5760 receiver. This is where things went poorly in my opinion. Immediately I noticed a huge drop off in bass from the 170's and the 340c was very harsh on my ears, I'll call it "bright" for now. So I was like hmmm, maybe I need to turn the BASS up on the receiver and run YPAO (didn't run it yet at this point). Perhaps that's why they aren't sounding the way they did before the change. The bass never sounded the same and the brightness from the 340c was difficult to listen to no matter the media I listened to.

I had noticed remarks about the tweeters were addressed in the SE editions of these speakers. I sold my Ascends off and purchased Mirage floor standings. To be honest, I put them on my Technics receiver and it sounded better than the Yamaha too. Same type of qualities were gone. To this day I miss my Ascends and hence why I am here researching again.

The Technics is in my bedroom running some Polk R30's and they sound good. The Mirage are on the HT system downstairs with the Yamaha. I don't have much experience with various receiver bands and the characteristics of them. All signs point to the speakers being neutral and the Yamaha not sounding the way I want. If anyone has any experience with either of these receivers or can recommend a better selection under $300 that would pair nicely with Ascend's let me know. Onkyo, Marantz and Denon are on my radar.

Any and all suggestions and recommendations welcomed.

-Donny

[curtis]

Whether true or not, the Yamaha receivers have had the reputation of being "bright".

As for which receiver, I would evaluate the features you want, and choose accordingly from those three brands.

[Lord Nikon]

Thanks Curtis. My requirements -- feature wise; are very simple now-a-days. Most seem to have a YPAO or audyssey type of option. My TV, Tivo, Blu-Ray all have wireless...not sure this is even a requirement but most receivers seem to have it. I prefer a warmer sound from my receivers opposed to the sounds I am hearing from my Yamaha. Are there any plus and minuses traditionally, between those 3 brands -- features aside?

[curtis]

I am not up on receiver feature sets, so perhaps someone else can chime in.

One thing, the TV, TiVo, and Blu-Ray having wireless capability will mean little, if anything, the receiver.

[surfcane]

What is your price range/budget? upper limit?

[Lord Nikon]

I'd have to say $375-400 max. I have a guy on craigslist that is selling a 8/10 condition Denon AVR-4806 for $400 and another guy with an AVR-4306 for $275. They only do 1080i pass through and my TV is 1080, but there are ways around that....I know accessories for less has AVR-1912/13 and 2112ci/13ci for this price range. Obviously other options are welcomed, that's just from short research I did today.

What is your price range/budget? upper limit?

[rsmt2000]

FWIW, marantz receivers are always said to be warm and musical. Depending on the speakers you are trying to drive check out the marantz 150x and 160x series on accessories4lessDOTcom.

[Lord Nikon]

Ascend speakers of course!

FWIW, marantz receivers are always said to be warm and musical. Depending on the speakers you are trying to drive check out the marantz 150x and 160x series on accessories4lessDOTcom.

[rsmt2000]

Ascend speakers of course!

I meant within ascend itself. I am driving my towers with RAAL with a marantz 1603 ( only 50 watts ) but you may want to get marantz 500x at least to get more watts..

[Lord Nikon]

I plan on pushing one of the bookshelf models, unsure of which one yet. Perhaps the CBM170se or 340's, not sure I can swing Sierra-1's Do you find the 1603 adequate when pushing your towers? My listening is 70% Home Theatre and 30% Music.