audibleconnoisseur
01-29-2007, 07:01 AM
Hello Ascend crew!
I got my speakers in Friday, installed Friday, testing to begin this week. They unpack easy, set up easy, and yep... sound good right out of the box! :)
Very good packing and everything in there nice and tight. Double boxed 340's and single boxed 200's with thick foam inserts to protect speakers. No damage and no flaws. :) BTW, if you are testing for surround placement and or height, you can use the boxes to set the surrounds on for placement -just a thought but they came in handy for me when I did this!
Good quality brakets for wall mounting leave you with a plethera of options for angles (within brack limits) to postion speakers where you need them. I strongly suggest that you find a stud and use it! Don't try to hang these using only sheetrock or even the heavy duty sheetrock inserts and then screws, even the included directions read this way! If you can't center or locate a stud where you need one, I would suggest that you find one or get creative and cut a hole in the wall, insert a 2x4 with your own hands and then do a repatch job - you don't want these falling on your head (or your guests)! :(
Ladies and gents, these speakers are built well and are quite solid with some good weight to them so either get the Ascend stands or some quality, STURDY stands that don't rock when you bump them. I have an entertainment system that I built for them so there are no problems here for me! The center is another 340 on it's side with a few minor mods, so it is quality as well and it helps image the tv and persons speaking well. I may consider double bracing my shelf (even though it really doesn't need it) so that over time there is NO sagging or warping (I have a 48" wide shelf of 3/4 MDF that is 18" deep). I have actually installed my HTM200's into my walls since they are closed box design so there are no worries about rear ports or clearance needs. FYI, these fit nicely when put into the walls if you are handy with some tools and have the time and patience to do so. They also will be almost another foot (when considering bracket install) back installed this way over using the brackets so there is better soundstage and room for you and your guests to pass by. Besides, a quality install can really make the room look MUCH nicer than a simple braket mount solution or rear/side stands. I will have a few pictures tomorrow of the install for you to see (if you are interested - I actually have mine rotated and angled down to the LP b/c of my corner-to-corner room layout) and they sound really amazing. These 200's image quite well!
More to come tomorrow and over the week. I will also be testing a few receivers so hopefully I can get that done over the week and weekend and have my thoughts here as well - if my wife doesn't make me stop the madness and be done with the project! :( The receivers are mainly for me to decide if I like one sound over another. I really like my Denon 1905 but if there is better sound for the Ascend speakers to my ears, I will find it!
Ciao for now and I hope to have more soon!
I got my speakers in Friday, installed Friday, testing to begin this week. They unpack easy, set up easy, and yep... sound good right out of the box! :)
Very good packing and everything in there nice and tight. Double boxed 340's and single boxed 200's with thick foam inserts to protect speakers. No damage and no flaws. :) BTW, if you are testing for surround placement and or height, you can use the boxes to set the surrounds on for placement -just a thought but they came in handy for me when I did this!
Good quality brakets for wall mounting leave you with a plethera of options for angles (within brack limits) to postion speakers where you need them. I strongly suggest that you find a stud and use it! Don't try to hang these using only sheetrock or even the heavy duty sheetrock inserts and then screws, even the included directions read this way! If you can't center or locate a stud where you need one, I would suggest that you find one or get creative and cut a hole in the wall, insert a 2x4 with your own hands and then do a repatch job - you don't want these falling on your head (or your guests)! :(
Ladies and gents, these speakers are built well and are quite solid with some good weight to them so either get the Ascend stands or some quality, STURDY stands that don't rock when you bump them. I have an entertainment system that I built for them so there are no problems here for me! The center is another 340 on it's side with a few minor mods, so it is quality as well and it helps image the tv and persons speaking well. I may consider double bracing my shelf (even though it really doesn't need it) so that over time there is NO sagging or warping (I have a 48" wide shelf of 3/4 MDF that is 18" deep). I have actually installed my HTM200's into my walls since they are closed box design so there are no worries about rear ports or clearance needs. FYI, these fit nicely when put into the walls if you are handy with some tools and have the time and patience to do so. They also will be almost another foot (when considering bracket install) back installed this way over using the brackets so there is better soundstage and room for you and your guests to pass by. Besides, a quality install can really make the room look MUCH nicer than a simple braket mount solution or rear/side stands. I will have a few pictures tomorrow of the install for you to see (if you are interested - I actually have mine rotated and angled down to the LP b/c of my corner-to-corner room layout) and they sound really amazing. These 200's image quite well!
More to come tomorrow and over the week. I will also be testing a few receivers so hopefully I can get that done over the week and weekend and have my thoughts here as well - if my wife doesn't make me stop the madness and be done with the project! :( The receivers are mainly for me to decide if I like one sound over another. I really like my Denon 1905 but if there is better sound for the Ascend speakers to my ears, I will find it!
Ciao for now and I hope to have more soon!