3 340's for LCR all horizontal?

[Huffer]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to Ascend, I've never owned any or heard any before. From what I've been reading however they are very well regarded by almost everyone that I can find.

I'm moving into a new house in June and already starting to think about the great room. It's a typical layout, open to the eat in kitchen, windows on one side, fireplace and a TV mounted above, etc.

I know in-ceiling speakers would be the most "elegant" solution. But I really don't like what I read about their sound.

I have a few questions for you guys if you don't mind:

1) I'll have shelves on both sides of the fireplace, so I'm thinking of bookshelves there. I don't think however that the WAF is going to like the size of the 340's in vertical mode there. Does anyone use 340's on their side horizontally with a 340C centre? Is that overkill or would the 170's as mains really be enough? I should add this is really for TV and Movies. Not reference level loud either. I'll be adding a sub as well.

2) I'm not sure what I would do for the side speakers for 5.1. Obviously the 170's seem like the obvious choice, I'm concerned about how large they will look being mounted on the wall and basically in the middle of the room. That might not be doable. Any suggestions?

Thanks everyone!

[natetg57]

1. I'd consider the 170's for fronts, either vertically or horizontally.
2. The HTM-200s work well hung on the wall. You can use picture hanging wire between the two mounting screws on the back. In-wall speakers could work well as surrounds too.

[Huffer]

Thanks Nate. Would I be correct in assuming that the HTM's sound similar enough to the CBM and CMT's to be used together?

To be honest, in-wall's would likely be the best from the looks perspective. I just don't seem to find many good comments from people about either in-wall's on in-ceilings.

Any advice on in-walls?

Thanks!

[sludgeogre]

Thanks Nate. Would I be correct in assuming that the HTM's sound similar enough to the CBM and CMT's to be used together?

To be honest, in-wall's would likely be the best from the looks perspective. I just don't seem to find many good comments from people about either in-wall's on in-ceilings.

Any advice on in-walls?

Thanks!

Yes, all of Ascend's speakers are voiced for neutrality and the timber is relatively close. You get better performance as you go up the line, but they can certainly be used together. I use HTM's with my Towers and I'm happy with them as surrounds.

In-walls are tricky because there is a ton of compensation that has to be done to make the drivers work well in a giant baffle and in a sealed enclosure (usually). Triad makes really great custom installed in-walls, but they're mega expensive. In-ceiling can sound alright, but if you're putting mains in a ceiling you completely lose soundstage and imaging, it turns into a flat sound to my ears, because it's no longer sending the music directly to your ear, it's trying to bounce it around the whole room.

Magnepan makes on-wall speakers that are pretty fantastic, but also much more expensive.

[N Boros]

I guess I have a different take on things. Just the mention of a "great room" would be enough for me to try to push for the 340s if you can. The extra output over the 170s might be needed. I can't speak to using the 340 center horizontally as your mains too. But, from what I understand Dave reworked the crossover so that it can be used in the horizontal position. So it likely does a better job at minimizing the comb filtering issues than many of the competitors using that MTM configuration. I think that having good horizontal dispersion is more important with the mains than the center. For example, if you care about sounds out of the right speaker sounding good for a person sitting on the leftmost seat on the couch, then good horizontal dispersion is something to look for. That is a wider angle than from the center.