Another Ascend Question...help!

[Mag_Neato]

I would say they are accurate, detailed and neutral! Compared to my old B&W 602's, they do not fatigue my ears the way those could. Movies(and music) should not tear up your ears with these.

MAG

[curtis]

Everybody's ears are different.

That said, my Ascends do not make my ears hurt. In fact, after over a year of ownership, I still can not get enough of them.

-curtis

[AgentCooper]

Good to know....I know everyone hears things differently. And as far as I've read I havent seen anyone saying that the Ascends are "bright" etc.

I'll probably try 'em out and go from there.

My living room is aprox 15' wide by about 25' long with a big opeing to the kitchen/dinning area...it has a vaulted ceiling that goes from about 8' to 12'....would the 170's up front with the 340 center and 170 surrounds fill that ok?

Or would I be better off with the 340's up front?

[curtis]

that's a big room.....depending on the configuration, I think all 340's up front would be the way to go.

Give a call to Ascend to discuss.

-curtis

[Lou-the-dog]

The 170's pack alot of punch but with a room that big I would be inclined to go with the 340 front. You could order a pair of 170's to try on for size and then if you find you need a bit more up front then order the 340's and then you've already got the 170's for the back. You're gonna like the Ascends for sure, me thinks.

Randy

[JohnnyCasaba]

AgentCooper,

Yeah that Matrix lobby scene can be torture on some speakers, but the thing I love about the Ascends is that they seem so well balanced, no one area of the audio spectrum stands out.

[Gregisme]

Would you guys still recommend the 340's even if he doesn't often listen at VERY high volume? I wonder about this often, as people commonly recommend the bigger speakers for the bigger room sizes.

In my current, basically non-existent system, I'm using pc speakers about 1/4 the size of the 170's in a room that sounds very similiar in dimension to AgentCooper's. These speakers get fairly loud as it is, albeit without much bottom or even mids to speak of. I would fully expect the 170s to KILL them in volume and overall presence. If so, that would be more than enough volume to play loudly even in a fairly large room dimension.

Unless, the reason for these recommendations have more to do with being able to play such bigger speakers as the 340s, and by virtue of the larger size, LESSEN THE LIKELYHOOD THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LOCALIZE WHERE THE SOUND IS COMING FROM, regardless of volume. (I'm not sure if "soundstage" is the apt term to use here, so take my capitolized description at face value, please).

Is this the more key reason for these recommendations, as opposed to the generic "they'll play louder" responses?

[curtis]

It is not so much that the 340 can play louder, but also the fact that it has a much wider dispursion.

-curtis

[Gregisme]

Oh, so does this have to do with having a larger "sweet spot", from which you'll have really good sound (and given the larger room dimensions, you very well may have more positions you will be listening from, thus, requiring more dispersion)?

Would that be accurate, or have I mischaracterized what you meant?

[curtis]

For me...it was a larger/bigger soundstage.

-curtis