I think I need to give some context to my posts above.
I live in an apartment where bass is a no-no. I've had the Sierra-1 Nrt, Sierra towers Nrt, CMT-340 SE, as well as the CBM-170 SE all set up as main speakers to my TV or projector at one time or another.
Of course, the Sierra speakers sounded the best overall with their more resolving drivers. However... I remember needing to ride the volume button to keep the big "booms" of movies from disturbing neighbors.
With the CBM-170 and CMT-340, I did not have to ride the volume button. In fact, I could turn them up to a comfortable listening level and leave it. No problem. I remember the CMT-340 SEs set up at my parents house with a Rythmik FV12 sub. When they went to bed, I simply turned the subwoofer off and ran the speakers full range. No prob! I thought that was neat.
Over the past several years, I've heard a similar complaint from many people. "I can't have speakers in my apartment. They're too loud!" "I bet your neighbors LOVE you." "It would wake up our kids".
(I know I'm talking to the choir director who is well aware of these things, but please bare with me here.) There is a use case of "minimal bass living situation" To me, this is where the CMT-340 SE and CBM-170 SE really shined in an unexpected (to me) way. I'm still in an apartment, and I still love the CBMs but it's time for an upgrade. (I see a pair of 2EX possibly in my future.) May need to EQ the bass under control during movies. I dunno yet.
I was just throwing the idea out there. CBMs or CMTs, but upgraded with bamboo, RAALs, etc. High efficiency, high power handling, super resolving sound. If you need more bass later, Rythmiks. Why else would anyone buy these upgraded CBMs? BONUS: Midrange-focused woofer with higher efficiency. (You know, for the eccentric audiophile-types like me lol
)
This just seems like a good idea to me, but! It may not be.
Anyway, just one customer giving his thoughts. Thanks for the great sound! (More Ascends coming in my future!)
P.S. Oh, and, I did run the CMT-340s full range, ALL DAY.