And here it is, the 340SE2!!!

[davef]

Dang Dave, this is exactly the kind of information I was looking for!! They are all important to me. I have to say right off the bat I'm surprised the 340SE2 finished last in the tonal balance/ accuracy. Let me ask you. If I was to get the 2EX V2 as my mains or even the LX; Can I use the Horizon as my center??

As great as the 340SE2 are, our Sierra line is a step up in performance.

Yes, you can use our Horizon with any of our other speakers, no issues there. That stated, first step is to decide on your mains. If you are going with 340SE2, than I would suggest 340SE2 center. If you are leaning towards Sierra-2EXV2 or Sierra-LX, I would recommend going with Sierra-2EXV2 center or LX center.

Please feel free to email me directly.

[TimW]

Received my 340SE2s on Monday and have been listening as much as possible since. Very impressed so far. These are not speakers that jump out at you at first with a 'show-room' style of sound. I'm talking about speakers with exaggerated bass and treble or in other words a permanent 'loudness' tuning. Despite the directivity differences between the woofers and tweeter, Dave has balanced the responses of this speaker to have a very neutral in-room response and you can hear it. To be cliché, these speakers just sound right as far as tonality is concerned.

The high efficiency rating of these speakers is no joke either. I run my speakers with a couple of 12" subs and had to turn up the gain of the subs while turning down the gain for the speakers considerably compared to the previous speakers I was running (Bay Audio Jam Monitors). I can play music as loud as I'd like without a hint of strain or compression. The amp doesn't run out of steam and the 340SE2s don't start to sound congested. With this being said, they do not have that high-efficiency highly-dynamic horn speaker sound. I had a pair of Klipsch KLF 10s that had that quality to them but they also had mediocre tonality and a limited sense of spaciousness or sound stage. I'm beginning to think that the dynamic sound you get from horn speakers has more to do with their directivity than their efficiency.

The thing that surprised me most about the 340SE2s is their imaging, sense of spaciousness, and the quality of cymbal sounds. They have better spaciousness and imaging then I ever got with the LS50s I used to own. To be fair to them, I was using them in a large and lively untreated room with a listening distance that was probably too far. My current listening room is medium sized and has some treatment. But still, I was never impressed with the LS50s because they sounded vague in the midrange and unnatural in the treble region. The 340SE2s just have a more focused midrange (possibly due to reduced ceiling reflections?) and better instrument separation/placement in the soundstage. It doesn't seem to matter how close or far I get from these speakers, the center image and hard panned instruments remain locked in place and clearly distinct. Best speakers I have owned in this regard.

The speaker I was most pleased with previously was the JBL Studio 530. Although these are horn speakers they don't have that dynamic horn sound. This may be due to their low efficiency or wide dispersion of the small 5" woofer if I had to guess. Anyway, I was superbly pleased with the tonality and clarity in the midrange of these speakers. Their soundstage wasn't very big but their imaging was precise. The problem was the low-mids lacked punch when the volume was turned up (even with a high subwoofer crossover) and the treble was frankly just bad. The treble was dry with no sense of air, reverberations didn't sound quite right, and cymbals sounded way off. I would describe cymbals as sounding plasticky on the 530s. The speaker with the best cymbal sound I had owned up to now was the Philharmonic Audio Affordable Accuracy Monitor Plus. The 340SE2 has the best treble quality of any speaker I have owned. Cymbals sound so natural, it's hard to imagine they are coming from something that isn't metallic. And high frequency harmonics and reverb just hangs in the air so sweetly, like an aura around the instruments. I feel silly typing that but it's what I hear when I listen to these speakers with my eyes closed.

One question for Dave just out of curiosity, why is this new version of your polygel woofers still shielded? It is my understanding that magnetic shielding is only used to prevent interference with CRTs. I know these are based on the original units so maybe that is why?

[merrymaid520]

Great feedback! I’m excited to get my pair tomorrow…weather permitting. -30 to -40 with windchill here in WI. Why do I live here?

[curtis]

Great feedback! I’m excited to get my pair tomorrow…weather permitting. -30 to -40 with windchill here in WI. Why do I live here?

Warm them up!

[corey99699]

I got mine Tuesday and I'm loving them so far, I rarely listen to music but that's the majority of what I've been listening to since I got them. I also have the JBL 530's and 520c, which is what these are replacing and I much prefer the sound of the 340's and the efficiency is great on these, not so much with the JBL's. I haven't even ran auto eq yet, waiting until I get my surrounds and atmos replaced with the htm 200's which will probably be this weekend. The magnetic grills are awesome too, first speakers I've had with them.

[davef]

One question for Dave just out of curiosity, why is this new version of your polygel woofers still shielded? It is my understanding that magnetic shielding is only used to prevent interference with CRTs. I know these are based on the original units so maybe that is why?

Wonderful review and thank you. So glad you are enjoying them.

This is a good question. To magnetically "shield" a driver, it requires the use of what is known as a bucking magnet. This is another magnet of equal strength that is adhered to the back side of the main magnet, but in reverse polarity such that it cancels the external magnetic field.

We tried both versions of the new woofer, with and without the bucking magnet (with no bucking magnet it does save us quite a few $$$). Losing the bucking magnet decreased sensitivity of the woofer by about 1dB, not much - but with 2 woofers, sensitivity would have dropped 2dB. I wasn't willing to take that sensitivity hit just to save some $$$.

[davef]

I got mine Tuesday and I'm loving them so far, I rarely listen to music but that's the majority of what I've been listening to since I got them. I also have the JBL 530's and 520c, which is what these are replacing and I much prefer the sound of the 340's and the efficiency is great on these, not so much with the JBL's. I haven't even ran auto eq yet, waiting until I get my surrounds and atmos replaced with the htm 200's which will probably be this weekend. The magnetic grills are awesome too, first speakers I've had with them.

Excellent! One comment, with the directivity optimizations this speaker has, if you can - limit auto-EQ to about 300Hz and below. Of course, if they sound better to you EQ'ing the full frequency range, nothing wrong with that either. Always go with what sounds best to you.

[TimW]

Wonderful review and thank you. So glad you are enjoying them.

This is a good question. To magnetically "shield" a driver, it requires the use of what is known as a bucking magnet. This is another magnet of equal strength that is adhered to the back side of the main magnet, but in reverse polarity such that it cancels the external magnetic field.

We tried both versions of the new woofer, with and without the bucking magnet (with no bucking magnet it does save us quite a few $$$). Losing the bucking magnet decreased sensitivity of the woofer by about 1dB, not much - but with 2 woofers, sensitivity would have dropped 2dB. I wasn't willing to take that sensitivity hit just to save some $$$.

Thanks Dave. Very insightful, I'm glad you chose efficiency over cost savings!

[bgaviator]

The 340s are intriguing to me because of their high sensitivity and size which would fit into my existing setup. Just worried about off axis center channel performance. My wife sits at about a 45° angle from center. I’m not sure if I’m making too big of a deal of this or not. The 200se speakers have an offset tweeter and closer woofers which Dave told me will help eliminate some of the lobing issues normally associated with MTM designs. But I like the looks of the 340s better and would like to have the larger woofer size. I wonder if any plans to upgrade the 200SE series?

The Sierras are a higher class of speaker, but I am discussing potentially using the 340SEs in my main HT (Home Theater) room which is larger, uses two subwoofers, and taking advantage of the 340SEs higher sensitivity and dynamics.

[bgaviator]

How would you rank the 200SE in this lineup?

The Sierras are a higher class of speaker, but I am discussing potentially using the 340SEs in my main HT (Home Theater) room which is larger, uses two subwoofers, and taking advantage of the 340SEs higher sensitivity and dynamics.

That old saying has no ground in modern loudspeaker technology. The only advantage a larger driver gives you is, in most cases, higher efficiency.

If you are looking for very high output levels

Horizon > 340SE2 center > Sierra-LX center > Sierra-2EX V2 center

If you are looking for best off-axis performance:

Horizon > Sierra-2EX V2 center > Sierra-LX center > CMT-340SE2 center

If you are looking for overall best tonal balance / accuracy

Horizon > Sierra-2EX V2 center = Sierra-LX center > CMT-340SE center

What performance characteristics are most important to you?