Ascend 340 vs. Polk Monitor 70

[ClutchBrake]

Anyone ever done a direct comparison of the two? A friend of mine is in the market for some new speakers and is building a piece at a time. He likes the Monitor 70s but also trusts my recommendation of the 340s. I am confident in the 340s but would like for him to hear from someone that has heard both speakers.

Any info would be appreciated.

[S_rangeBrew]

I did a A-B comparison of the Polk Monitors to Ascends and to JBL Northridges.

The Polks were harsher than the JBLs, but more detailed and sensitive. I prefered the JBLs, though.

As for comparing them with the Ascends... there really was no comparison. They are out of their league. The Ascends are more detailed, but not harsh. When you compare the 1" fabric tweeter on the Ascends and the Polks, the Ascend one has a much finer weave to it. The Polks tweeter looks like it is made out of a burlap bag. The Ascend's cabinet is better too.

I think the Ascends are about 25% more expensive than the Polks, though, so the Ascends should be better!

I compared the HTM-200s with the Monitor 30s. I think the comparison is valid for the speakers you are talking about though. I would suspect the 340s absolutely destroy the Polks, except for the low-end, which you should be using a subwoofer for anyway.

There you go....

[ClutchBrake]

Thanks. I just sent my friend a PM with the information from you and CraigT. Haven't heard from him in a couple of days so I don't know if he is still considering Ascends. I really hope he is.