do you have any sort of auto-eq implemented, or treble/bass adjustments?

it's my understanding that sibilance is always reproduced. i believe there is such a thing as excessive sibilance, and even not enough sibilance. a good or bad source can also make a difference. ever talked to someone who has a very sharp S to their voice? (usually a female) but, there are females w/o a very sharp S to their voice as well. i believe the types of sibilance the 170 and 340 reproduce will be different because, they are different. i believe that with the 170 davef sat out to create a speaker that measured very well and focused on vocal clarity. you're simply hearing a very good piece of hard work that does sound different than the 340.

i owned a different brand of speaker over a year ago. the series has metallic dome tweeters. the sibilance and listener fatigue bothered me so much over time that i turned the whole system off, missed several NCAA games, and even returned a few movies. i always thought listener fatigue was a myth, but i will say that experiencing it is quite unenjoyable. i sold the speakers. so, i guess i could say that i'm in love with my Ascends because of their balanced response and ability to reproduce a natural sound.

now, call this coincidence while talking about audio, but i just finished my chinese food and my fortune cookie said, "Relaxing music helps to make the right decision." Wow, I'm gonna keep this one!