Well...the "mini unofficial shootout" occured last night (till about 2 a.m.). It was quite an odysee. First take will be how they sound in my system. 2nd will be the comparison with Klipsch and a "surprise" 3rd entry.

I took delivery of my 340s yesterday. It was a simple "swap out" of the 170 L/R and putting the 340s in their place. I ran MCACC of my Elite and was up and running in 10 minutes. Fronts were set to "large", rears to small, 80Hz crossover. First, let me say that the 340s do give off a "big sound". Soundstage is wider, deeper and as articulate as the 170s are, the 340s are even better. First thing I plugged in was the SACD version of "Avalon" by Roxy Music. Mercy! The recording is very well done to begin with, but the sonics by using 3 front 340s really opened up the front soundstage. I've never heard Bryan Ferry's vocals with as much of a "real" quality on any system. The multi-channel effects of this SACD have to be heard to be believed. I consider this more of a "delicate" SACD than some of the in your face types of recordings. All of that "delicateness" was reproduced to the point where I could seperately pick out each individual instrument without being directed towards which speaker was playing. No boxiness at all as Ferry's voice and the instruments just "projected" out into my room. I hadn't realized that the 170s sounded somewhat "boxy" until I heard what the 340s could do.

Next up was "Moulin Rouge" (don't tell anyone I own this). This DVD was mastered "hot". Lots of sound coming from everywhere. Qued up the "Can-Can" chapter. This scene has lots going on all over the place. Again, I never realized that the 170s had a somewhat "boxy" sound until I heard what the 340s could do. Best way to describe what I heard in this scene was that with all that is going on, I found myself hearing subtle "nuances" I never knew were there....like feet hitting the floor during dancing scenes, women's dresses "swoosh" as they were dancing. Amazing. Sound was coming from the walls beside, in front of, above and below where the 340s were situated.

In general, I would say that the 340s give a much more open sound and reach further into the mid-bass region. This is much appreciated. While the 170s integrate well with the HSU VTF-3, the 340s do it even better....giving a much more cohesive transition. I'd venture to say that the 340s sound as if they were reaching down to 20 Hz. I know that's not possible, though. The 340s can play "delicate" and still provide holographic, large and dynamic when the source material calls for it. A nice combination.

As luck would have it, my "Klipsch" friend called during my listneing session (part two coming).

Sony WE610 60" LCD RPTV
Pioneer Elite 59TXi AVR
Pioneer Elite 59AVi Universal DVD player
CBM 170 Front L/R
CBM 340c Center
HTM 200s Rear L/R and rear surround (6.1)
HSU VTF-3
Monster THX certified interconnects
DIY speaker cable (that's better than anyhing I can purchase elsewhere)