New Ascend convert, the 340SEs are incredible! Reviewed vs. Boston VR2 (long)

[LS1 Sounds]

I have been a fan of Boston Acoustics speakers since 1991 owning ONLY their products in my cars and also in my home. I recently decided to upgrade my nearly 10 year old Compact Reference home theater bookshelves, and have been looking at the VR2 and VR3 for the past few months. Due to the popularity and positive reviews, I also have been considering speakers from Ascend Acoustics and av123. The BA CRs have always been on the bright side, sometimes hurting my ears when played at higher volume levels. I decided to order the Ascend 340SE front mains and center channel, and compare them to the Boston VR2 mains and VRC. I had both systems set up in my house at the same time, running on the same Yamaha RX-V995 100wpc*5 receiver with A/B switching capability for the mains.

I replaced my existing BA CR8 mains and CR2 center with the VRs and there was a major, big-time, huge difference. Notice I said difference and not improvement. While the VRs did sound much better than my CR8's on some types of music, the overall sound was basically just more of what I already had: more treble, more mids, and more bass. The upper midrange and treble were very pronounced, and still hurt my ears when played at louder volumes or with most types of music. I listened to only the VR2 and VRC setup on TV, movies, and music for a full week while waiting for the Ascends to arrive. No doubt the sound was impressive, and I did hear things in the music that I had not heard before, but they were still not what I was looking for. In fact, I told my wife that I would not be satisfied keeping these speakers even if I had no other choices in mind.

I was concerned that my high expectations for the Ascend speakers would impact my perception of how they sound. The reviews are so great, anything less than greatness would leave me disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised at their appearance when I first pulled them out of their packaging. Everyone talks about how terrible the cabinets look, but I actually find them appealing. I've also always purchased the black finish on the Boston speakers though, so YMMV. I hooked up only the Ascend mains for A/B comparison to the VR2s. The first song auditioned was My Immortal by Evanescence. My wife is typically not interested in my hobby, but she came running into the room and listened to the speakers with me. We were both amazed with how great they sound. We continued listening to various reference music, and determined that these speakers perform far better than I even anticipated!!! I began pulling out old CDs trying to find some type of music where they didn't sound great, but I did not succeed. The glowing reviews don't even do these speakers justice, they really do sound that great. Both my wife and I were also able to understand the pronunciation of lyrics that were muddled with other speakers, from bands such as System of a Down and Slipknot. Probably the most notable difference I found with regards to brightness/harshness was the A/B comparison of the Gretchen Wilson song "Redneck Woman". I could hardly turn the Bostons up before the sound became painful, but with the Ascends I was able to crank the volume very high and Gretchen's voice never became offensive. It was a pleasant experience! I really do listen to all types of music. I then replaced the VRC with the 340SE center and listened to some of my reference movies. Having three basically identical speakers across the front soundstage blends the sounds much better than the "timbre matched" BA combinations. Dialogue is much clearer, and I am now able to turn down the volume and still hear the dialog clearly. I will be upgrading my older Yamaha receiver to new components soon, and I look forward to the new features, ability to set a 60Hz crossover point across the front, and also increase in power. I'm considering Emotiva's LPA-1 and MMC-1 combination.

I also posted in the AVS Forum's BA owner's thread that I returned the VR2s and VRC, and will be ordering a pair of Ascend Acoustics 170SE surrounds to complement the front speakers. I will most likely loan my 5.1 CR package to my father-in-law until he buys his own speakers. Final plans for me involve a DIY subwoofer and then room treatments, and I should be happy for at least another 10 years.

Thank you for an amazing product!

[Soundz Reborn]

Very nice review. It only makes my future purchase that much more to look forward to. Congratz to you on your buy.

[chas]

Great write-up LS1...look forward to hearing the results of the upgrades to the rest of your system!

[shane55]

Congrats!
Yup you should be mighty happy with the final setup.

I've been so impressed and happy with all the Ascends that I've bought that I just ordered another set of 170's to day... for my office.:D

And as a strange coincidental aside... they are replacing my very old Bostons!

Gonna be good. Enjoy them!

shane

[drewface]

that really was a fantastic review. very energetic about the ascends. reminds me of when i first got mine. thanks for sharing, and welcome to the boards.

[gagamaggot]

Did you also try any AV123 products? (You mentioned them in the original post.)

[LS1 Sounds]

Did you also try any AV123 products? (You mentioned them in the original post.)
I have not, but I am still interested in their speakers. However, the Rocket and Reference series are the only ones that I would be interested in which would be much more expensive than the Ascends for my current 5.1 setup and even more so for any future 7.1 system. I pretty much ruled out the X-Series after reading this review:

http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?t=18263&highlight=ascend

I am interested to hear about some of the av123 LSx designs coming out in the future though. Maybe in 10 years I will be able to shell out a lot more money for speakers, and have a house large enough to support speakers like them. :) They are one of the only other ID companies that I would consider, but currently I don't feel that they can compete with Ascends on a price vs. performance basis and I'm much more interested in performance than a pretty cabinet!

[shane55]

I don't feel that they can compete with Ascends on a price vs. performance basis and I'm much more interested in performance than a pretty cabinet!

Great statement.

I have never heard the Rockets, but you're probably correct about the price v. performance.

I too am much more interested in performance than 'looks', but I do take exception to the 'pretty cabinet' remark.;)
I think the Ascend black is perfect (and beautiful). I wouldn't want it any other way. :D

I don't want to see 'em, I just want to hear 'em.

cheers

shane

[gagamaggot]

<VENT>
Why does any question involving Ascend and AV123 immediately dissolve to statements about the enclosures! What about the SOUND?
</VENT>

I have searched in vain to find an assessment of the SOUND PERFORMANCE of the 340s and the RS450s or RS250s. That seems like a reasonable comparison IMHO. 340s w/ stands are $668 and RS450s are $799 w/ family pricing.

I have both speakers in my media room at the present and I will post the results here in a couple of weeks. Anybody in the Denver area that would like to hear them side-by-side should send my a PM.

[chas]

Sounds like an interesting comparison - you have the 340's, 250's and 450's?

[shane55]

[QUOTE=gagamaggot]<VENT>
Why does any question involving Ascend and AV123 immediately dissolve to statements about the enclosures! What about the SOUND?
</VENT>
QUOTE]

Whoa! Sorry... my bad. Went OT, I know. Just simply making a comment about what he said. More of an aside than an in-depth discussion.:o

shane

[curtis]

I have searched in vain to find an assessment of the SOUND PERFORMANCE of the 340s and the RS450s or RS250s. That seems like a reasonable comparison IMHO. 340s w/ stands are $668 and RS450s are $799 w/ family pricing.

I have both speakers in my media room at the present and I will post the results here in a couple of weeks. Anybody in the Denver area that would like to hear them side-by-side should send my a PM.
340SE's vs RS450's? Looking forward to reading your post. A couple of weeks? How long have you had them side by side so far?

[LS1 Sounds]

I too am much more interested in performance than 'looks', but I do take exception to the 'pretty cabinet' remark.;)
I think the Ascend black is perfect (and beautiful). I wouldn't want it any other way. :D

I don't want to see 'em, I just want to hear 'em.
I could not agree more! I really like the looks of the Ascends, and do not consider them ugly speakers at all. I think I buried this statement someplace in the novel above. :D

[LS1 Sounds]

<VENT>
Why does any question involving Ascend and AV123 immediately dissolve to statements about the enclosures! What about the SOUND?
</VENT>

I have searched in vain to find an assessment of the SOUND PERFORMANCE of the 340s and the RS450s or RS250s. That seems like a reasonable comparison IMHO. 340s w/ stands are $668 and RS450s are $799 w/ family pricing.

I have both speakers in my media room at the present and I will post the results here in a couple of weeks. Anybody in the Denver area that would like to hear them side-by-side should send my a PM.
I believe that the enclosure comments are typically made because the Ascends and the av123s seem to be the best performing speakers on the market for the money. The main differentiator between the two is often the looks of the cabinet, as this is a very important attribute for many perspective shoppers.

I also searched in vain for a comparison of the 340SE to the RS450 and would LOVE to hear your review! I would say that I was 60% interested in the 340SE and 40% interested in the RS450, even though I could find no comparisons. Please share your experience, I am eager to hear your review!

[gagamaggot]

[QUOTE=gagamaggot]<VENT>
Why does any question involving Ascend and AV123 immediately dissolve to statements about the enclosures! What about the SOUND?
</VENT>
QUOTE]

Whoa! Sorry... my bad. Went OT, I know. Just simply making a comment about what he said. More of an aside than an in-depth discussion.:o

shane

Shane,

My vent was not directed at you or anyone in particular and I apologize if it came across as such.

I was expressing a general frustration that so much is said about finishes instead of performance when these two brands are mentioned.

And it goes both ways...I get really irritated at the "fugly" comments about Ascends without a reference to any performance evaluation.

[gagamaggot]

340SE's vs RS450's? Looking forward to reading your post. A couple of weeks? How long have you had them side by side so far?

They have been side-by-side for one week.

My CD source is an Oppo 971 optically connected to an Emotiva LMC-1 with power from the Emotiva LPA-1.

Also, the room is acoustically treated with ATS Acoustics panels.

[shane55]

They have been side-by-side for one week.

My CD source is an Oppo 971 optically connected to an Emotiva LMC-1 with power from the Emotiva LPA-1.

Also, the room is acoustically treated with ATS Acoustics panels.

Nice setup. I just received my Oppo DV970HD for a similar use.:D

Look forward to reading your comparison.

shane

[curtis]

They have been side-by-side for one week.
And you are going to make us wait longer? No hints? :)

[gagamaggot]

And you are going to make us wait longer? No hints? :)

These observations are relative to each speaker and not absolute. Also, both speakers are crossed-over at 60Hz with a sub for low-end and all listening is at a consistent volume as measured with an SPL meter.

Initial impressions for me and a couple of other listeners are as follows.

RS450s: Bigger soundstage front-to-back and side-to-side. More forcefull and visceral sound. Rolled-off at the high-end.

CMT-340s: Soundtage is shallower and narrower. More accurate and precise sound, especially the top frequencies.

More to come, including the rational for a final decision.

[curtis]

Very interesting. I have read some interesting things about soundtage vs bass output, which coincide with your forceful and viceral comment. Have you tried different crossover points such as 80hz and toe-in/no toe-in?

Thanks a bunch for the tidbit!

[gagamaggot]

Very interesting. I have read some interesting things about soundtage vs bass output, which coincide with your forceful and viceral comment. Have you tried different crossover points such as 80hz and toe-in/no toe-in?

Thanks a bunch for the tidbit!

I have tried 80Hz crossover, and I really like the sound of the lower crossover point. Also, what are your experiences with toe-in and the Ascends? I have the same question posted at AV123 for the Rocket.

[curtis]

Toe-in is really room dependent, but generally I have found that less toe-in causes a wider soundstage, more toe-in is a more focused soundstage. The soundstage is a product of bass output and reflections.

I think DaveF has a post about it somewhere here.

Found it:
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showpost.php?p=19931&postcount=34

My guess is there is more output is the bass area with the RS450's giving the more forceful and viceral feel, and larger soundstage. It would be interesting to measure the bass output from 50-120hz in your room with each speaker.

[davef]

Hi LS1 Sounds,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the wonderful review! I am really pleased that the speakers turned out to perform better than you expected and that you find them attractive... Personally, I love the discrete look, as do thousands of others... I think we get a bad rap about the looks simply because they sound so good ;)

Enjoy!!! And please let me know if I can be of any assistance with anthing.

Oh -- with your permission, please allow me to copy the review into our "reviews" section, this way it won't get buried once activity in the thread slows down.

Thanks!

[LS1 Sounds]

Hi LS1 Sounds,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the wonderful review! I am really pleased that the speakers turned out to perform better than you expected and that you find them attractive... Personally, I love the discrete look, as do thousands of others... I think we get a bad rap about the looks simply because they sound so good ;)

Enjoy!!! And please let me know if I can be of any assistance with anthing.

Oh -- with your permission, please allow me to copy the review into our "reviews" section, this way it won't get buried once activity in the thread slows down.

Thanks!
Hello Dave!

Please feel free to copy any and all portions. I just ordered a pair of 170SEs yesterday afternoon to complete my 5 channel system, and can't wait to hear how they sound. So many people claim that the surrounds don't need to match the rest of the speakers, but I can verify that my BA CR7 surrounds are now turned WAY down because of how badly they detract from the 340SE front soundstage.

Last night I enjoyed listening to Staind, Chapter V. Several of the guitar passages on this CD used to be uncomfortable for me to listen to on the Boston CRs and also on the VR speakers during their trial. Everything just sounds so smooth, balanced, and sweet now on the Ascends! My kids were already in bed, but I couldn't resist turning up the volume on several of the tracks. :eek: I recently auditioned several models in the Paradigm line using this same CD (among others), and while they were not offensive to my ears, they were too laid back for my tastes and I felt that they were missing something in their presentation.

I really do have a hard time describing how great these speakers sound! My brother also owns the same 5 channel package with an SVS Ultra sub, and when we talk on the phone we can hardly even describe to each other how great these speakers sound. My father has also been a long-time owner of Boston Acoustics, and he is now very interested in the Ascends after listening to my brother and I speak. :)

I also wanted to let you know that I have talked with James both times that I called, and he has been a pleasure to work with. Thank you for everything!