Which Ascend speaker is for me?

[statonj]

Hello all, I am looking to upgrade my current speakers for my home theater. My current speakers I feel are too small and do not fill the room very well and I am interested in perhaps trying either the 340 SE's or Sierra's. I really need a much larger sound stage. The Sierra's would be at the top of my price range so that rules out the yet to be released towers.

Receiver:
Onkyo TX-SR 705

Current speakers:
Energy RC-10 mains
Energy RC-LCR center

Sub:
Elemental Designs A2 - 300 Subwoofer

Listening preference:
100% movies

Room dimensions:
30 X 16

I'm not concerned with surrounds at the moment, just my front stage. I would also consider adding a nice 3 channel power amp (Emotiva, etc.) in the future and I will definitely be adding acoustic panels in the future. Your input as to which speaker would be a good fit for me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[kinggimp82]

Out of curiosity do you currently have a subwoofer in your home theater setup?

[statonj]

Oh I'm sorry, I left that out. I'll edit the post to include my Elemental Designs A2 - 300 Subwoofer. It's not any extra bass that I'm looking for, just more room filling mids and highs with a larger soundstage.

[Sam1000]

Oh I'm sorry, I left that out. I'll edit the post to include my Elemental Designs A2 - 300 Subwoofer. It's not any extra bass that I'm looking for, just more room filling mids and highs with a larger soundstage.

Given it's 100% movies, you might want to go with 340SE..
If you choose sierra, you will start listening to more music :p

[kinggimp82]

I would go with the 340se if I were you. Seeing as it is for 100% movies and you have a good subwoofer I don't think you would benefit much from the added bass extension of the Sierras. The 340's should give you the great midrange and highs you are looking for along with the output you need to fill your room. Your Onkyo should have no trouble driving the 340's quite loud. Unless you like listening and extremely loud volumes I don't think you'll need a three channel power amp.

[DougMac]

I know you said you're not interested in surrounds now, but here's one way of looking at it.

For the same money, you can get either Sierra L/C/R or 340 L/C/R, 170 side surrounds and 200 rear surrounds.

One thing I like about Ascend and Dave is their integrity. I emailed them before buying my setup. I explained my situation and instead of automatically recommending the TOTL Sierra's, Dave actually felt I would be just as pleased with 340's! That's why I'll come back to Sierra if I need more speakers or upgrade. The problem is, my Ascend combo sounds so good I'm in no hurry!

I'm hesitant to advise since I've never heard Sierras, but I can assure you that you'll be pleased with 340's. One thing I've read about Energy speakers is they run out of gas when asked to play loud. That won't be a problem with 340's, they easily play louder than I ever listen, and on some concert videos and the few action movies I watch, I crank it pretty high.

[moehop]

Get a pair of RC-50 from vanns for about $500 and move those RC-10 to the rear and be done

[statonj]

Get a pair of RC-50 from vanns for about $500 and move those RC-10 to the rear and be done


That is what I ended up doing after much thought on the subject. I wish I could hear the 2 brands of speakers back to back but I don't want to pay to ship anything back after demoing it. I appreciate the feedback from everyone.

[TomK]

Statonj,
I have the original 340s for the L/R and the 340 center. A pair of 240s for the surround. My room is very close to your size. A Yamaha receiver with 95 watts per channel drives the speakers. I have NEVER regretted buying the 340s. They will more than fill your room. And remember I have the old 340s. The new ones are even better!
Tom

[Kpt_Krunch]

One thing I've read about Energy speakers is they run out of gas when asked to play loud.

Really - where did you read that? The RC line is not 'forward' sounding like some speakers (think Paradigm Monitors) but they can play plenty loud and definitely DO NOT run out of gas.


Get a pair of RC-50 from vanns for about $500 and move those RC-10 to the rear and be done

That's a great price


That is what I ended up doing after much thought on the subject. I wish I could hear the 2 brands of speakers back to back but I don't want to pay to ship anything back after demoing it. I appreciate the feedback from everyone.

How 'bout this:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn26/Kpt_Krunch/IMG_0003.jpg

Pictured (from left to right): Polk RT800i's, Energy RC-10's, Ascend 340 Classics, Energy RC-70, Energy Veritas 2.2i (best bookshelf of the bunch by far - and by far the most expensive), Totem Hawk, Ascend CBM 170 Classic, and just sneaking in the Energy RC-LCR

I went with the RC-70's, not the RC-50's. These speakers are fantastic for music. Best way I can describe them is that the Ascends offer more of a detailed, forward sound. The Energy speakers offer the same details but in a more 3 dimensional sound. Also, back to that 'running out of gas' comment, the RC speakers cannot only go very loud, but do so without being irritating. I cannot play my 340's as loud as the RC's because it gets too annoying (btw - I'm not speaking sane levels here). With the RC's, you don't even notice they're on that loud until someone comes in to the room and starts talking to you (shouting actually) and you can barely here them. I guess 'smooth' would be another adjective I'd use for them.

And yes, I still have all those speakers (I have two surround setups, one in a bonus room, one in my family room, plus I have a dedicated 2.1 channel listening room with a tube amp, and next year I will be building a dedicated h/t room in the basement just for movies). This is a picture I took for insurance purposes, I had them all in my bonus room to do a bit of a mini-shootout for myself to decide what I was going to put where. Since this room is where I do my movie watching and multi-channel music listening, this is where I tested it. I also have in the room an SVS Ultra 13 Sub. That combined with the RC's I'm using.... lets just say there's lots of gas in the tank ;)

[curtis]

Yeah...the tweeter on the SE's make a significant difference over the classics at high levels...more refined and smooth. The woofers also play deeper and have a more open midrange.

[DougMac]

Really - where did you read that? The RC line is not 'forward' sounding like some speakers (think Paradigm Monitors) but they can play plenty loud and definitely DO NOT run out of gas.

I guess I made a couple of errors. First, I should have qualified the quote by pointing out the statement I read referred to Take Classic 5.1 system and that was the only nit in a very positive review. I should have also referenced the review. I've Googled to find it, but haven't located it yet.

Thanks for sharing your real world experiences, which are much more useful than my second hand observation. The OP's explanation of why he was looking at something other than his Energy speakers rung a bell and seemed consistant to what I had read.

[statonj]

I'd just like to follow up after having the RC-50's for a couple of weeks. These really did the trick, my theater has a very full sound now. I added an Emotiva UPA-5 and they really opened the soundstage even more. Wow Kpt, thanks for the comparisons, I feel like I made a good decision although I wonder if I should have sprung for the RC-70's. I did not do so because I felt that at that point, there would be a big diff between the RC-70's and the RCR Center.

[Kpt_Krunch]

I'd just like to follow up after having the RC-50's for a couple of weeks. These really did the trick, my theater has a very full sound now. I added an Emotiva UPA-5 and they really opened the soundstage even more. Wow Kpt, thanks for the comparisons, I feel like I made a good decision although I wonder if I should have sprung for the RC-70's. I did not do so because I felt that at that point, there would be a big diff between the RC-70's and the RCR Center.

It's funny you say that, as when I first heard the 50's (though I couldn't hear them side by side with the 70's) I actually had preferred the 50's to the 70's. I ended up buying the 70's though because the 50's weren't on 'sale' and I ended up getting the 70's (a little bit) for less than the 50's.

As for matching with the RC-LCR - I think you may have good point. Not that tonally the 70's don't match the RC-LCR, they do. But I did find when calibrating the system I had to turn up the LCR a few decibels higher than the RC-70s.

I know for the prices these speakers are being offered for now - IMO they're impossible to beat. Happy to hear they're working for you.

[Kpt_Krunch]

I guess I made a couple of errors. First, I should have qualified the quote by pointing out the statement I read referred to Take Classic 5.1 system and that was the only nit in a very positive review. I should have also referenced the review. I've Googled to find it, but haven't located it yet.

Thanks for sharing your real world experiences, which are much more useful than my second hand observation. The OP's explanation of why he was looking at something other than his Energy speakers rung a bell and seemed consistant to what I had read.

Yes, the Take Classic are the entry level (think HTIB) speakers that Energy has and like any HTIB set of speaker leave a lot to be desired. Those are really for form (size and how they'll fit in a decor) over function. In fact, I think the Take series would be fine if you were in a 600 sq foot condo and were putting them in a 200 sq foot room. They'd be enough to fill your room with sound but won't get you in trouble with your neighbors ;)