Here are my thoughts about my Ascend Acoustics 340M mains and 340C center after one week of ownership.

The speakers were well packaged and arrived in perfect condition. My initial impression was that they felt heavier and more substantial than I thought they would. They weigh more than the floor-standers they are replacing. I did not notice any flaws in the fit and finish of the speakers. There is nothing fancy about the finish of the speakers; they have a nice almost pro-audio look to them. It is obvious when inspecting the binding posts that they are of high quality and give a good solid thunk when you push the banana plugs into place. The materials all seem top notch.

The speakers have a very neutral sound to them. I don’t get the impression that they add or subtract anything from the sound but instead reproduce whatever is on the source material. For instance, FM radio sounded like crap because I could hear static that I couldn’t hear with my previous speakers but I live way out of town and don’t get good reception here. On the other hand I watched my new Phantom of the Opera DVD and got chills once or twice from the clarity of the sound. My jazz cd’s all sound great. I have more than once found myself listening to 5.1 sources in stereo because the 340m’s were imaging so well that I didn’t notice that the center channel wasn’t playing anything. (I don’t have rear speakers yet.) I can play these speakers much louder than my old speakers (which are supposed to have the same sensitivity) without them sounding strained or getting listening fatigue.

I was worried that buying $640 speakers (including the stands) would not be an upgrade from the $600 floor-standing speakers that they are replacing but I have found IMO these new Ascend speakers to be a large improvement.

Have I heard speakers that are better? Yes.
Were they in the same price range? Not even close.

In my case it was well worth the risk of eating the return shipping costs to try them out. I am very happy with my purchase. Also, the customer service has been great. It is cool to send an e-mail to a company and get a response from the President of the company.