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Thread: Ascend home theater

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    Quote Originally Posted by sludgeogre View Post
    It really depends on your room, your taste, and your speakers. Because Ascend speakers play so darn accurately, they can manage pretty well on their own. I have two F12 subwoofers that push out some serious output, though, so my Sierra Towers get set to small by my processor. If your room is pretty big and your subwoofer lacks the output to energize the full room, your speakers may be doing a better job of playing down low, and might integrate just fine with large settings. It's really hard to tell unless you're in the room, hearing the system. In acoustic treatment threads I've seen guys do all sorts of crazy tricks and setups, you can make a lot of different things work.

    In the end, just play around with it and settle on what sounds best. If you can't tell much of a difference, run them large and just enjoy their delicious output. Those speakers are so room filling and powerful it doesn't surprise me that they sound that great running full range.
    Thanks for your suggestion. I have 2 subwoofers HSU VTF-MK3 and a Mirage Omni S12. I went to the Audyssey website per Choombak's suggestion and found a lot of useful information there. Audyssey recommends using the small setting with 60 - 80 Hz. I will give that a try, but also switch back to large for comparison. I also discovered some useful information regarding subwoofer adjustments and microphone placement during the measurement phase that I will give a try.

    My space is pretty large, but has almost an "L" shape. The basement space is finished and serves multiple purposes as a family/entertainment space. I don't have any acoustic treatments.

    Without any adjustments, the system sounds really good, but I find myself wondering if I'm getting all that the components have to offer. Ahh, the search for audio nirvana.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    132

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    Hey MrLawrence. Here is a good resource on bass management:

    http://www.acousticfrontiers.com/gui...-optimization/

    There is also a great podcast/YouTube live stream that has wonderful home theater advice where you can send in any question and get a very well informed answer:

    http://www.avrant.com
    https://youtube.com/user/mrnomas
    Last edited by Johnny_Mac_III; 06-03-2016 at 05:12 AM.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    116

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny_Mac_III View Post
    Hey MrLawrence. Here is a good resource on bass management:

    http://www.acousticfrontiers.com/gui...-optimization/

    There is also a great podcast/YouTube live stream that has wonderful home theater advice where you can send in any question and get a very well informed answer:

    http://www.avrant.com
    https://youtube.com/user/mrnomas
    Thanks! Much appreciated.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    116

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    I not sure if you intended this thread to be a place for members to post their Ascend HT, but maybe that's what it will become. Here's our basement area. I adjusted the exposure on the photos as the space can seem dark.

    340's front, 170's side, 200 rear.

    I'm extremely pleased that I was able to mount the rear surround's on the ceiling. I used mounts designed for under cabinet LED Tv mounting. The mounts swivel left to right, and tilt providing a full range of motion. The mounts are designed to support 18 lbs and I was able to secure them to the joist. I had to cut an opening in the mount to accommodate the speaker wire. I was fortunate that the ceiling joist run parallel to the TV screen. This allowed me to fish the speaker wire to the speakers through a series of convenient openings above the drywall. It all turned out very tidy.

    The ceiling is about 7' 10" high, so the speakers are a bit more than 36" above ear level. Not optimal, but I wanted to keep adequate clearance for walking traffic under the speakers.

    I performed a partial Audyessy calibration (I did not include the subwoofers), then watched Iron Man 3. Despite the height of the rear speakers the initial listening results are spectacular.

    I decided to go with a small setting for all of the speakers with the fronts crossed at 80Hz.

    I'm confident that there's room for improvement, and I have a lot to learn about the finer points of audio setup. For now, though, I can't see needing to purchase any speakers for a very long time. Well maybe another HSU sub to replace the Mirage Omni.
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    Last edited by Mr.Lawrence; 06-04-2016 at 10:17 AM.

  5. #15
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    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    side 170's

    When these arrived, I was surprised by the size. The 170's are actually wider than the 340's. I was expecting a shortened version of the 340's. Not at all a problem since clamping speaker stands are sufficient.

    My speaker stands (formerly used to support the 200's) could not handle the heft of the 170's. So i secured the left stand to a piece of 3/4" plywood roughly 24"x24". That did the trick. For the stand supporting the 170 on the right, I mounted it on 3/4" plywood 24"x36". My Mirage subwoofer now sits on top of that board adding additional stability.
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    Last edited by Mr.Lawrence; 06-04-2016 at 09:33 AM.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    rear 200's

    The pièce de résistance... These little beauties are amazing. Clear and precise in such a small package.

    Big thanks to Dave F. for providing guidance for mounting these enclosures. I spent a lot of time trying to come up with a solution to get the mount and placement I was after. As it turns out, I ended up sacrificing one of my HTM-200's (I had 3) on the alter of experimentation. In the end, though, his suggestion was simple and effective and left me feeling a little embarrassed for over thinking the task.
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    Last edited by Mr.Lawrence; 06-04-2016 at 09:51 AM.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    7,034

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr.Lawrence View Post
    rear 170's
    Looks great!

    Did you try the HTM-200SE's in a vertical orientation?

    What mounts are you using?
    -curtis

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
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    457

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    Looks really fantastic! I'm very interested in a link to the mounts you used for the HTM-200 SE's.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    Thanks Curtis.

    I did not. I decided early on that I wanted to have as much clearance for those walking under the speakers as possible. I did follow your suggestion to keep the tweeter in the lower position, though.

    See mounts in my response below.
    Last edited by Mr.Lawrence; 06-04-2016 at 09:52 AM.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    116

    Default Re: Ascend home theater

    Thanks sludgeogre. They are available through multiple resellers with various names. I got them through Amazon Prime. http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Cabi.../dp/B00153U1Z0

    I used an angle grinder to cut an opening in the back. Much easier than I thought it would be.

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