I just hooked up a pair on new HTM-200s. I plan on getting the 170SE/340SE when they come out next year. The HTM200s are replacing a pair of Pinnacle 5.2s. The Pinnacles were a garage sale find last year which replaced a pair of Inifinty RS-125 which were fine as rear speakers, but were lacking up front. I'm using an HK AVR 125 receiver. Svs sub.
My room is 90+% HT, 10% music, and I never really had a problem with the Pinnacles for HT. However, they were unlistenable for music. They are very, very bright, and distored uncomfortably at even moderate volume levels. At high volume levels, I felt like the paint was going to peel off the wall. Painfully harsh.
The problem is that my new HTM-200s really didn't seem to have much at the high frequency end at all. I didn't want them as bright & scary as the Pinnacles, but I expected that they would at least be very clear sounding. The good news is that I can play them much louder than I could stand to listen to the pinnacles. The bad news is that they sound only slightly better to me than the old Inifinitys. Very slight. More like I was telling myself they *had* to be better. Pretty sure I could not tell them apart if blindfolded.
I was testing using L/R balance, with an HTM200 on one side and the Infinity or Pinnacle on the other. And example of sample music was Pearl Jam, Evenflow. That signature guitar at the beginning was not really there like I was expecting to hear it, it seemed to be in the background. On the other hand, Jimi Hendrix's voice in Purple Haze sounded pretty good on the HTM-200. I didn't compare Jimi on the other speakers because he only sung thru the right speaker.
So, will the HTM-200s clear up a bit with use?
I really want to like these and be done with my HT room when the SE's arrive. I'd decided on Ascends a long time ago, was just waiting to save up for them.
(Oh yeah, I did attempt to check the FAQ in the fourm. It's empty, so I posted)