Wow.. CBM-170SE for RAAL tower owner

[ematthews]

I have owned the Sierra 2's and currently own and love my RAAL Towers. Just received a set of the CBM-170SE yesterday and I am floored by them. These are fantastic. Had I never owned the Towers I would have had no issues making these my main speakers. These are fantastic. They will be apart of my new small HT set up..
I have them running right now with a Martin Logan Grotto sub in my music room. All I did last night was unhook my Towers and make a slight adjustment to the setting on my Parasound P5 preamp. I have them both set to 80 on the sub/main controls.
Now there is a little mid left out on these compared to the RAAL towers and of course the highs are not as clean. However these come super close.
I would absolutely love to run the CBM's with the Rythmik Dual 8 sub to fill a little of the mid bass. Just amazed that you get this good of a sound at this cost. Ascend rocks!!!

[N Boros]

Now there is a little mid left out on these compared to the RAAL towers and of course the highs are not as clean. However these come super close.

That is pretty surprising to hear, that they come quite close in performance. I am still debating how to fill out my 5.1 setup, then likely expanding to 7.1 and adding some overhead speakers for immersive audio when the formats get sorted out.

Right now I have some Sierra 2s as my main speakers and I will add another for a center channel eventually, but the big question I have looming is what I should do for my left and right surround speakers. I like the idea of have Sierra 2s all the way around, but I'm not sure if it is really worth the added expense, since the CBM 170s as close in performance even as main speakers. While the differences in the main speakers might be more noticeable, I'm not sure how much they will jump out at me for side surround speakers. I know that I am not at all concerned about getting Sierra 2s for rear surround and eventually overhead speakers, so I might just get a pair of these CBM 170s and try them out in left right surrounds for a while. If nothing feels lacking then keep them there. If it does feel like something is lacking, then get some Sierra 2s or the upcoming Sierra Sats and move the CBM 170s to the surround back position.

[ematthews]

Don't get me wrong, there is a difference between the RAAL towers and the CBM. I just know that the CBM's are very good and I could live with them if I had never owned the RAAL towers. I would feel more comfortable owning either all ribbons in my set up or soft dome. I'm picky and could or would find a tone difference. Even if it wasn't there my OCD would kick in.

[N Boros]

I'm picky and could or would find a tone difference. Even if it wasn't there my OCD would kick in.

I have the same problem, which is why I was originally thinking ribbon tweeters all the way around would be a good way to go. Unfortunately, I am in the process of filling out a home theater. I still want more speakers, maybe end up with 7.1.4 at the end. I still want a couple of capable subwoofers. I still want a projector, too. And I don't have an unlimited budget. So I will likely be making some compromises. I think trying to save some money by trying the 170s as side surrounds might work for me. It seems like a good way to save money and probably not lose much in performance. I might not notice a difference, except for on a rare 360 pan all around me, or when I very rarely listen to some multichannel audio.

Hopefully my OCD doesn't get the best of me and I have to get the RAALs for side surrounds. I am more of a videophile than an audiophile, so I don't want to make any compromises in terms of video, if at all possible.

[ematthews]

Go with the CBM for sides and surround then. I don't think in a movie you would hear to much fault.. I am the other way around and less critical on my HT set up. Super picky on my 2.1 audio system.

[N Boros]

Go with the CBM for sides and surround then. I don't think in a movie you would hear to much fault.. I am the other way around and less critical on my HT set up. Super picky on my 2.1 audio system.

I guess I have a different kind of setup. I am using one setup for both music and home theater. I have free reign over the room a room in my basement. A speaker setup in my living room would be much more compromised in terms of placement, etc., because my wife holds ascetics of things highly in that room.

[ematthews]

I guess I have a different kind of setup. I am using one setup for both music and home theater. I have free reign over the room a room in my basement. A speaker setup in my living room would be much more compromised in terms of placement, etc., because my wife holds ascetics of things highly in that room.

I understand. I really don't get a complete room in my house either. The reason I am redoing my HT set up is she wanted a complete wall unit in the living room. All I knew was my current towers and very large center channel wouldn't fit any more. I purchased a nice Polk sound bar and it doesn't do it for me. So now at least I am building a different set up. Hints why I purchased the CBM-170 book shelf units. I will have to get a slim line AVR as well to complete the 3.1 set up.. No rears etc for this system. I had a really good sound full Klipsch reference system with the huge Onkyo 805 beast of an AVR before. It sounded great.

[MusicHead]

If you are looking for a good slim form factor AVR, try to find a used Emotiva Fusion 8100. Not easy, but worth the effort. Other than that, probably only the Marantz NR series is a decent alternative.

Less power than the Fusion 8100, but the sensitivity of the CBM-170 will help with that.

[rsmt2000]

If you are looking for a good slim form factor AVR, try to find a used Emotiva Fusion 8100. Not easy, but worth the effort. Other than that, probably only the Marantz NR series is a decent alternative.

Less power than the Fusion 8100, but the sensitivity of the CBM-170 will help with that.

I replaced marantz NR1603 (50 watts) with a denon x4100 (125 watts) for my towers with RAAL. There is a HUGE difference. Not that it was bad earlier but the towers started singing when given the power:-). All this without running audessey xt 32. Just 2 speakers in stereo mode.

[MusicHead]

I replaced marantz NR1603 (50 watts) with a denon x4100 (125 watts) for my towers with RAAL. There is a HUGE difference. Not that it was bad earlier but the towers started singing when given the power:-). All this without running audessey xt 32. Just 2 speakers in stereo mode.

But there is also a huge differenze in size :-) The OP said he needs a slim form factor AVR. Not many choices there.

For people not minding Class D, the just announced Emersa linea frome Emotiva has 1RU height stereo pre or HT processor and stereo or multichannel amps. Plenty of power there in a compact package.