Welcome to the forum, Brandon!
I was wondering the same thing 3 years ago when considering the 170's.
I was running B&W 602's and wanted to upgrade. The 602's could play loud, but the mids were lacking something, and the highs at times were ear bleeding. I would get fatigued from listening for extended times.
I figured for $300 including shipping(the deal at the time), if they were not better than the B&W's I could use them for surrounds or a secondary system.
They replaced the 602's. I have not heard the 340's, but if they improve upon the 170's you will not likely be disappointed. I know someone with BA's VR towers and felt something was missing in the sound. Dunno, maybe it was the room.
You always have Ascend's 30 day trial!
Ed
* Sierra-2EX's W/V2 crossover upgrade
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*World's Best Cables Canare 4S11 speaker cables