Ascends matched with Emotiva?

[theophile]

Newbie here at Ascend and was inquiring about what I have and what I'm looking at!

Well, after looking at Axioms, AV123, Hsu, Era and Dana for L-C-R and surrounds, I'm strongly leaning toward a complete Ascend setup consisting of the CMT-340-SEM's fronts, CMT-340 SEC center and the HTM 200's for the side surrounds.

My HT room is 4800cf great room (20x22x11), is lively (wooden floors) and filled with decor for entertainment & acoustics (in that order)! I'll be pushing this setup with the Emotiva LMC-1 pre-pro and the LPA-1 amp. I watch\listen to about 90% HD movies and 10% music. I already have an Axiom EP500 sub so I'm well covered there.

I lean toward classical, jazz, R&B and vocals for music but am a little concerned that the Ascends could be too bright in my room with either movies or music? Would their treble balance side more with say, Axioms (forward & bright), or more towards AV123's (laid back & warm)???

Has anyone had a similar setup (speakers-electronics) in a similar room? I'll cross over the mains and center at 60hz. We (SHMBO & I) enjoy our audio levels at reference movie theater amplitutdes and wonder if this speaker setup can play cleanly to 85db av. w\100+db on peaks and stay smooth, unstrained and extended without compression?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Ted

[Gov]

I have the same speaker set up with the LPA-1. It is a great combination, you will be very happy!

[audibleconnoisseur]

It is plenty of sound and has plenty of ability. I have run it to 112 dB @ 1m and can say it plays clean and clear and there is no way you can continue to stand in that room for long without truly doing damage to your senses and ears. I have coupled it with the HSU VTF2.3 and the combination is simply outstanding, loud, precise, clear and can fill my 2400sqft home nicely. If you have any wooden floors, it will sound louder! You should be satisfied quite nicely ;)

[HTMAN]

It is plenty of sound and has plenty of ability. I have run it to 112 dB @ 1m and can say it plays clean and clear and there is no way you can continue to stand in that room for long without truly doing damage to your senses and ears. I have coupled it with the HSU VTF2.3 and the combination is simply outstanding, loud, precise, clear and can fill my 2400sqft home nicely. If you have any wooden floors, it will sound louder! You should be satisfied quite nicely ;)

Nice info. guys! I currently own the Emotiva UT combo and am seriously considering the 340's up front with 170's in the rear. It's nice to hear they will match up well. Of course, I've heard that they both have a very neutral sound so maybe it makes sense to pair them up. :)

[theophile]

For the responses!

I'm sure the 340's\200's will work well in my room setup, outputing plenty of accurate and articulate audio! :D

Curious though, has anyone experienced "lobing" with the m-t-m design, as in off-axis frequency response nulls\peaks? :eek:

Ted

[curtis]

Curious though, has anyone experienced "lobing" with the m-t-m design, as in off-axis frequency response nulls\peaks? :eek:

I have not, and you likely wound not experience any lobing until you are 15-20 degrees off axis.

[theophile]

I'm trying to get ahead on the install (wiring\shelving) of a new 5.1 SS system, in particular the fronts L-C-R, and am curious what you might suggest!

After 9 months of searching, I finally found an Entertainment Center that fits my big 67" DLP. Actually, I had to shim the left\right piers 1\8" on either side to get it to squeeze in, but it really does fit the display...Like a Glove!

Here's a pic with the new home entertainment center in place along the 20' wall. With the double doorways, there's 2' on either side for corner placement of the mains. As the center speaker will be mounted on top the EC, shelving in the corners (to be installed at the same height 7') to support the mains could help project the sound-stage above the room decor (couch)!?

However, I wonder how the L-C-R fronts would sound-stage with all 3 set on top the entertainment center for a total spread between the mains of about 9'? This would be simple and easy, but do you think the idea of corner room shelf placements for the mains would work\sound better for this room? My listening\viewing position is about 18' away. Neither scenario will be a great solution for music, but should work well for movies (95%).

Anyway, the rest of the room can be viewed by clicking on the posted image!

http://aycu36.webshots.com/image/26675/2002743670519735086_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002743670519735086)

Any comments or suggestion would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Ted

p.s. Please, no "cube" flaming...they just came with the house...ready to upgrade my audio-In a Big Way!

[Blake1214]

Hi Ted,

I'm using the Emotivas UT combo with the Sierras. I do not find them bright at all. I have procelain tiles all around and my rugs have not arrived yet so things do tend to get bit loud (echos) when the volume is turned up. They are very natural when it comes to music reproduction. I'm sure you'll be very satisfied with them.

[drewface]

Reviving an old thread since it is in line with my question...

Emotiva has some upgrades/additions to their product line coming out soon, and I am considering replacing my yammy with their new XPA-5 amp (200Wx5) paired with the LMC-2 pre/pro which is coming in April.

I noticed that the 170SEs have a max power rating of 200W, and the 340SEs not much higher at 240W, so would this amp be pushing it a little too much, or would I be OK? I know it's overkill for what these speakers need, I just want to make sure it won't be too much for the speakers to handle.

thanks!

[merrymaid520]

drewface,

From my understanding, the more power you send to the speaker, the smaller chance one has of the amp clipping and blowing the speaker. I dont think you can damage a speaker with a powerful amp unless of course you crank the volume to insane levels. People always say less power is more dangerous to a speaker than too much:)

I am no expert, but thats what I have heard through the years.

Later,

Brandon

[Gov]

Reviving an old thread since it is in line with my question...

Emotiva has some upgrades/additions to their product line coming out soon, and I am considering replacing my yammy with their new XPA-5 amp (200Wx5) paired with the LMC-2 pre/pro which is coming in April.

I noticed that the 170SEs have a max power rating of 200W, and the 340SEs not much higher at 240W, so would this amp be pushing it a little too much, or would I be OK? I know it's overkill for what these speakers need, I just want to make sure it won't be too much for the speakers to handle.

thanks!

The XPA-5 was WAY overkill for the Ascends. Get the LPA-1 it is plenty to drive the Ascends to insane levels if that is your "cup of tea" :D

[jvillas]

Hi drewface, I would tend to agree with Gov.
Of course there is nothing wrong with using such a powerful amp (200x5) with the Ascends. I would take caution at initial turn on of system, and switching sources, where volume levels can change dramatically.

For me with my modest 2 channel system 170ses at 115x2, I always check my volume level prior to turn on.

[drewface]

thanks for the replies, guys.

merrymaid, i, too, had heard that having more power is generally safer than too little, but with the xpa-5 having a power rating so close to ascend's "maximum continuous power" rating, i wanted to know if i'd run the risk of having too much for them to handle.

as for the lpa-1, i've held off going that route so far since its power isn't much more than what my current receiver offers, and is actually less for the 6th and 7th channel if i ever decided to use them. plus, while reviews on the lmc-1 (the old pre/pro i would have gotten with it) are generally favorable, i have seen some concerns with it, and it just didn't offer all the features my yamaha does. there is an lpa-2 in the works, also, which will be 125Wx7, so maybe i'll wait for that. it would be cheaper, too, but a longer wait... blasted upgraditis!

anyways... i guess i'll have to do some more research on the subject before making a final decision, and try to get out of the "MORE POWER!" attitude that we're all too familiar with... :D

[davef]

but with the xpa-5 having a power rating so close to ascend's "maximum continuous power" rating, i wanted to know if i'd run the risk of having too much for them to handle.

Hi drewface,

With these high power amps, overdriving one of our loudspeakers to the point of damage would be very unlikely, provided the speakers and amp are being used under "normal" conditions. (home usage for casual listening, as opposed to commercial usage). Honestly, at these high power levels you would damage your hearing before you damaged the speakers... Many years ago, just for fun and curiosity, I ran an original pair of CBM-170 (classics) off of a Balanced Audio Technology amplifier. This amp was a 2-channel BEAST, over 100 pounds, and was being used to drive Revel Ultima Gems. My audiophile friend and I turned the BAT amp to FULL VOLUME in an attempt to damage the speakers. We could only handle this for about 5 minutes before we turned the volume down (we both had our hands over our ears). It was painfully loud... The speakers were not damaged. (Not too sure about our ears :p ).

I tell most listeners to never worry about having too much power. At the point where the speakers could suffer damage, the volume level would be so extreme that you would be compelled to turn it down well before there was damage. The component quality in all of our loudspeakers is quite a bit "over-the-top" and damaged woofers and tweeters is extremely rare.

…No worries with any of the amplifier models you are considering :)

[drewface]

thanks, dave! i did a little more in-depth reading on matching amps and speakers this weekend, as well as searching these forums to see if anyone else was using 200W/channel amps (i found a few mentions of it), and sort of got the idea that i'd be fine with the xpa-5. i was actually going to shoot you an e-mail today asking about it, but now there's no need to.

looks like i've got an upgrade in my near future... :D

[Gov]

thanks for the replies, guys.

merrymaid, i, too, had heard that having more power is generally safer than too little, but with the xpa-5 having a power rating so close to ascend's "maximum continuous power" rating, i wanted to know if i'd run the risk of having too much for them to handle.

as for the lpa-1, i've held off going that route so far since its power isn't much more than what my current receiver offers, and is actually less for the 6th and 7th channel if i ever decided to use them. plus, while reviews on the lmc-1 (the old pre/pro i would have gotten with it) are generally favorable, i have seen some concerns with it, and it just didn't offer all the features my yamaha does. there is an lpa-2 in the works, also, which will be 125Wx7, so maybe i'll wait for that. it would be cheaper, too, but a longer wait... blasted upgraditis!

anyways... i guess i'll have to do some more research on the subject before making a final decision, and try to get out of the "MORE POWER!" attitude that we're all too familiar with... :D

Over your current receiver, the LPA-1 or XPA-5 will only do better at near reference levels when playing a movie that calls for dynamic sounds. Either amplifier will be an improvement there. At more normal levels, the amplifiers will give you no noticable improvement over your Yammy. I assume you are running the Ascends small and crossed over? Don't get hung up on the 200 vs 125 watts on the Emotiva's. Save your money and get an LPA-1 or LPA-2 when it comes out. Trust me, you will not need that extra 75 watts between the two.

[drewface]

Over your current receiver, the LPA-1 or XPA-5 will only do better at near reference levels when playing a movie that calls for dynamic sounds. Either amplifier will be an improvement there. At more normal levels, the amplifiers will give you no noticable improvement over your Yammy. I assume you are running the Ascends small and crossed over? Don't get hung up on the 200 vs 125 watts on the Emotiva's. Save your money and get an LPA-1 or LPA-2 when it comes out. Trust me, you will not need that extra 75 watts between the two.For the moment, i am actually running my main 340s as large since i don't have a sub. My reason for upgrading now isn't that I want more power out of the amp, but more a desire to go with separates vs the all-in-one av receiver, as well as open up some more audio/video inputs (yammy has 2 component in/1 out, whereas the new Emotiva pre/pro will have 4 hdmi in/1 out plus whatever component options it will have) and support for the newer sound codecs. the amp upgrade is just coming along for the ride...

i still have some time to decide on my amp purchase, but as of now i'm leaning towards the xpa-5, as i don't plan on expanding to a 6 or 7 channel setup, it's an amazing price for what it offers, and it is a much shorter wait than the LPA-2 :D

[curtis]

When I first went to seperates, I went the "used" route with the amp.

There are some great used amps available at great prices.

Just food for thought.

[Gov]

For the moment, i am actually running my main 340s as large since i don't have a sub. My reason for upgrading now isn't that I want more power out of the amp, but more a desire to go with separates vs the all-in-one av receiver, as well as open up some more audio/video inputs (yammy has 2 component in/1 out, whereas the new Emotiva pre/pro will have 4 hdmi in/1 out plus whatever component options it will have) and support for the newer sound codecs. the amp upgrade is just coming along for the ride...

i still have some time to decide on my amp purchase, but as of now i'm leaning towards the xpa-5, as i don't plan on expanding to a 6 or 7 channel setup, it's an amazing price for what it offers, and it is a much shorter wait than the LPA-2 :D

If this is the case and I am reading you post right, all the more reason to just go with an LPA-1 as your amplifier 125watts X5 to go along with Emotiva's new processor. Remember, the Ascends are a very easy load and do not require a lot of power to be driven.