Need some feedback

[Jeff52]

Hello,
I'm contemplating the 340's and matching center with the pedestal stands, they will be be replacing my Athena F2's, good move, do you think? I just don't want to regret my purchase because of all the positive feedback with the Sierra's, so I need someone who has the the 340's to comment or someone who thinks the move to the Sierra's would be an even bigger SQ upgrade. I would imagine either choice would be an upgrade over the F2's? I also need to find some reviews for the 340 combo.Thanks for the time, I look forward to some comments.
Jeff

[GirgleMirt]

Depends on your usage. Short story, for HT, you could definitely save the dough and go for the 340SEs. If you're more into music then going with the Sierras might be worth the price of admission. The 340SEs are still very good for music, sold off a pair of 1600$ Totem Sttafs when I got a pair of 340SEs for a 2nd system... But the Sierras are a bit better overall, which is most noticeable with music, not so much with HT imho... And 340SE are more sensitive, so although I've never played loud enough to see for myself, the 340SEs might theoretically play louder than the Sierras... Which was a rather moot point for myself. The Sierras have better bass though, play lower, and bit better resolution/imaging. If you use a sub, bass doesn't really matter, and for HT, IMHO, the 340SEs are more than adequate and are more than enough for most. For the the anal audiophile though, Sierras are better...

Can't help for the Athenas as I'm not familiar with them... but given that they seem to be 500$ B&M floorstanders, I'd be quite surprised if the 340SEs weren't a significant upgrade...

[Jeff52]

Depends on your usage. Short story, for HT, you could definitely save the dough and go for the 340SEs. If you're more into music then going with the Sierras might be worth the price of admission. The 340SEs are still very good for music, sold off a pair of 1600$ Totem Sttafs when I got a pair of 340SEs for a 2nd system... But the Sierras are a bit better overall, which is most noticeable with music, not so much with HT imho... And 340SE are more sensitive, so although I've never played loud enough to see for myself, the 340SEs might theoretically play louder than the Sierras... Which was a rather moot point for myself. The Sierras have better bass though, play lower, and bit better resolution/imaging. If you use a sub, bass doesn't really matter, and for HT, IMHO, the 340SEs are more than adequate and are more than enough for most. For the the anal audiophile though, Sierras are better...

Can't help for the Athenas as I'm not familiar with them... but given that they seem to be 500$ B&M floorstanders, I'd be quite surprised if the 340SEs weren't a significant upgrade...


Thanks my friend for the honest reply, yes the Athena's are kinda B&M $500 speakers. I'm considering three 340SE's crossed over to an Epik Sub, I do 50 music and 50 movies and have decent sources and amplification, I'm really leaning heavily to the 340's since Dave said that there would be a holiday sale and package discount. Thanks again for the reply.
Jeff

[tjennings]

I have the 340 SE's across the front, use them equally for HT and high-rez surround sound listening (SACD / DVD-A) and I absolutely love them. People that come over to listen are blown away by the sound. I have an old Def Tech 15" sub in the corner of the room to help out with the lower end.

[Jeff52]

I have the 340 SE's across the front, use them equally for HT and high-rez surround sound listening (SACD / DVD-A) and I absolutely love them. People that come over to listen are blown away by the sound. I have an old Def Tech 15" sub in the corner of the room to help out with the lower end.

Hello Tom,
Thanks for the encouraging responce to the 340SE's as your front stage, this is also my plan, I will be crossing them over to the Epik Legend sub which has dual 12" drivers. I really appreciate your positive feedback with the 340's. It seems everyone has the Sierra's, so it is a definitely positive responce for you to say that you love them, that's the responce I was looking for. I just need to find the funds to purchase these speakers. Thanks again Tom, I have not seen many discussions of the 340's, it seems there are many more Sierra owners than 340's. I like the looks and bigger size and MTM configuration of the 340's. I also have High-Rez sources and will be driving the mains with an external amp preout from my Onkyo receiver, they seem to be easy load to drive and play at reference levels. Thanks again my friend.
Jeff

[stevecake]

I have two 340s in an 11x14 room, and use them for half music (FLAC from my computer), half HT (blu-ray). I bought them thinking I'd need to upgrade later on -- add a center channel, add a sub -- but it's a year later and I haven't added a thing. Really, these are amazing speakers. They image so well, I don't find myself missing a center channel at all. And they truly play low enough for most music (and a big chunk of HT) that they don't really *need* a sub. Sound quality is superb -- very easy to listen to, and never fatiguing.

If I were you, and funds were a concern, I'd forget about whatever package deal might be offered in the future. I'd buy a pair of 340s, and see how you like them. I am VERY confident you won't be returning them, but if you do, there is a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Then reassess: see how much more bass you really need (you *might* find the Epik is overkill), or see whether you can live without a center channel for awhile. Maybe adding some 170's or HTM-200s as surrounds would be a better incremental upgrade?

In other words, there's no reason to dive in all at once. It's good to have a plan, but a pair of 340s is a phenomenal foundation from which you can build the rest of your system. I LOVE mine.

[Lucas]

I can not comment on the Sierras, or the F2s. However, I can say that you will likely not be disappointed if you purchased a set of 340s.

I just wrote up my very nontechnical review in the review section of this forum, you might want to check out that section for a bunch of reviews from other people. However, they may be a little biased.:D

[Jeff52]

I have two 340s in an 11x14 room, and use them for half music (FLAC from my computer), half HT (blu-ray). I bought them thinking I'd need to upgrade later on -- add a center channel, add a sub -- but it's a year later and I haven't added a thing. Really, these are amazing speakers. They image so well, I don't find myself missing a center channel at all. And they truly play low enough for most music (and a big chunk of HT) that they don't really *need* a sub. Sound quality is superb -- very easy to listen to, and never fatiguing.

If I were you, and funds were a concern, I'd forget about whatever package deal might be offered in the future. I'd buy a pair of 340s, and see how you like them. I am VERY confident you won't be returning them, but if you do, there is a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Then reassess: see how much more bass you really need (you *might* find the Epik is overkill), or see whether you can live without a center channel for awhile. Maybe adding some 170's or HTM-200s as surrounds would be a better incremental upgrade?

In other words, there's no reason to dive in all at once. It's good to have a plan, but a pair of 340s is a phenomenal foundation from which you can build the rest of your system. I LOVE mine.



Steve, thanks so much for your input, I did not consider what you suggested. I really am not a fan of MTM centers, I use an Infinity Primus 162 now as a center and am very satisfied, and as you say the 340's image so well I could hold off on the matching center and assess the 340's performance and go from there. I think I just need to get the 340's as soon as possible, I have two other 162's as surrounds and will have my Athena F2's to play around with also. As far as my Epik sub price to performance is excellent, it's a sealed design and placement was fairly easy and also integration is seamless with what I have now, I could only imagine with the 340's. Do you suggest the matching pedestal stands? My room is similar 13' x 16'. I also have a stand alone Panasonic BD85 player and a PS3 slim as sources, also a Rotel CD player and Sota Sapphire 111 table, so I do a lot of music and movies, I have been searching a long time for mains and found the Ascend site and I believe my search is over, I did that with subs also and found Epik, that's a recent purchase thus the reason for restricted funds, but thanks for the suggestion to get a pair of 340's as mains and build from there. I'm really leaning towards the pedestal stands and would appreciate your thoughts on that. Thanks Steve.
Jeff

[Jeff52]

I can not comment on the Sierras, or the F2s. However, I can say that you will likely not be disappointed if you purchased a set of 340s.

I just wrote up my very nontechnical review in the review section of this forum, you might want to check out that section for a bunch of reviews from other people. However, they may be a little biased.:D

Thanks Lucas, I will do that.

[DaveHo]

I have 340's across the front with 170's for sides & rears. I "downgraded" from Paradigm Studio 100's,CC,ADP's,& 20's for my current Ascend setup. I ain't missing the Paradigms.

-Dave

[Jeff52]

I have 340's across the front with 170's for sides & rears. I "downgraded" from Paradigm Studio 100's,CC,ADP's,& 20's for my current Ascend setup. I ain't missing the Paradigms.

-Dave

Dave, wow now that's impressive, I already made up my mind to get the 340's across the front, I just need to find a way to fit them in my budget, I just purchased a new Epik sub this month with new BD player and PS3 Slim, so I'm a little strapped for cash. Dave did you purchase the pedestal stands and if so do you recommend them. Thanks for the reply, look forward to your opinion on the stands, I could probably build them but after figuring material cost and labor I don't think I could do it for much less than the $100 that Dave is offering. Thanks again.
Jeff

[DaveHo]

Yes, I have the Ascend stands. Very worth it IMHO.

-Dave

[Jeff52]

Yes, I have the Ascend stands. Very worth it IMHO.

-Dave

Thanks Dave again, that's one less thing to think about.
Jeff

[DougMac]

I'm not sure I can add much that hasn't already been covered, but I wanted to chime in as another satisfied 340 owner.

I've got 340's L/C/R with 170's as side surrounds and currently dormant 200's as back surrounds in my dedicated 16x20 home theater. In addition, I have an SVS PB 12-NSD sub. I'm very pleased with the 340's, and I think they handle music as good as they handle movies. Search for my review in the customer review section for more details.

If you don't have stands, I think the matching stands would be worthwhile. They'll place the speakers at the right height.

I share your concern about MTM centers, but I think the 340 center is an excellent execution of the design. It sounds great and seamlessly blends in with the L and R speakers. We just purchased "The Sound of Music" on blu ray and there are times the voice will be panned from the center to the left or right. There was no change in the timbre of the voice. If money is tight, though, I think running a phantom center is a very viable alternative.

I may eventually "upgrade" to Sierras, but I'm so satisfied with the 340's that it will be a while. My improvement path right now is to replace my 5.1 NAD AVR with no HDMI with a 7.1 AVR. I'll then replace my SVS sub with a Rhythmik sub and use the SVS in another part of the house. Then I may consider Sierra's, probably the new floorstanders.

[Jeff52]

I'm not sure I can add much that hasn't already been covered, but I wanted to chime in as another satisfied 340 owner.

I've got 340's L/C/R with 170's as side surrounds and currently dormant 200's as back surrounds in my dedicated 16x20 home theater. In addition, I have an SVS PB 12-NSD sub. I'm very pleased with the 340's, and I think they handle music as good as they handle movies. Search for my review in the customer review section for more details.

If you don't have stands, I think the matching stands would be worthwhile. They'll place the speakers at the right height.

I share your concern about MTM centers, but I think the 340 center is an excellent execution of the design. It sounds great and seamlessly blends in with the L and R speakers. We just purchased "The Sound of Music" on blu ray and there are times the voice will be panned from the center to the left or right. There was no change in the timbre of the voice. If money is tight, though, I think running a phantom center is a very viable alternative.

I may eventually "upgrade" to Sierras, but I'm so satisfied with the 340's that it will be a while. My improvement path right now is to replace my 5.1 NAD AVR with no HDMI with a 7.1 AVR. I'll then replace my SVS sub with a Rhythmik sub and use the SVS in another part of the house. Then I may consider Sierra's, probably the new floorstanders.



Thanks Doug for chiming in, muchly appreciated. I'm also using a legacy receiver with no HDMI, but I use the analog pre ins and outs. My BD player has 7.1 analog outs input to my receiver, so I'm not lacking for the lossless audio codecs. As you say money is tight and will be considering a pair of 340's for now, I do a lot stereo listening and will give the 340's a try, the weak link is my speakers at this time, I'm happy with my Onkyo as a pre-pro for now with outboard amps driving my speakers. It is really hard for me to imagine the 340's sounding as good as everyone says on this forum for the asking price, it seems they are a no brainer. I put a lot of emphesis on my sources and neglected my mains which are Athena F2's with Infinity primus rounding out the rest, my last purchase was an Epik sub and I think the 340's as front stage would make some very interesting listening. Dave offers 30 day guarantree, so I relly have nothiong to lose. Thanks again
Jeff