Hello from Indy.

[darkpoet25]

Hello everyone. For a while I was kicking around the idea of getting a set of Axiom speakers to upgrade from my current Athena AS-C1 and AS-B1's. After reading various threads on blu-ray.com and avsforum.com, I was seeing some say they were 'bright' speakers. Which if they are anything like the new V.7 Paradigm Monitor line, to me that isn't a good thing, as they were overly harsh sounding with the volume turned up. As well as not performing very well with Yamaha AVR's(I have an RX-A700, which I do not plan on replacing). So I did some more research and reading the various speaker threads on both of the above mentioned sites(I'm a member at blu-ray.com), I read about this company, which has me leaning towards making my purchase with Ascend instead. I have quite a decent sized movie/music collection, 125 blu ray's, around 40-50 dvd's and about 500 cd's. Seeing all the positive remarks towards the Ascends, I have decided to try a pair of the CBM-170's. If I like what I hear then I will order the 340 center channel and possibly a pair of either the CBM-170's or HTM-200's for surround's. As for the area where they will be used, I have a 700sq foot apartment, which is why I am going with bookshelf speakers as opposed to towers. I also have Velodyne VX-11 subwoofer along with a DIY sub riser. I have a few SACD's and a couple of DTS/DVD-A discs, and was wondering if the 170's would be a good choice for the surrounds for listening to mulit-channel music or if the 200's would be better. Look forward to interacting with everyone here and making some new friends.
Cliff

[billy p]

Hello everyone. For a while I was kicking around the idea of getting a set of Axiom speakers to upgrade from my current Athena AS-C1 and AS-B1's. After reading various threads on blu-ray.com and avsforum.com, I was seeing some say they were 'bright' speakers. Which if they are anything like the new V.7 Paradigm Monitor line, to me that isn't a good thing, as they were overly harsh sounding with the volume turned up. As well as not performing very well with Yamaha AVR's(I have an RX-A700, which I do not plan on replacing). So I did some more research and reading the various speaker threads on both of the above mentioned sites(I'm a member at blu-ray.com), I read about this company, which has me leaning towards making my purchase with Ascend instead. I have quite a decent sized movie/music collection, 125 blu ray's, around 40-50 dvd's and about 500 cd's. Seeing all the positive remarks towards the Ascends, I have decided to try a pair of the CBM-170's. If I like what I hear then I will order the 340 center channel and possibly a pair of either the CBM-170's or HTM-200's for surround's. As for the area where they will be used, I have a 700sq foot apartment, which is why I am going with bookshelf speakers as opposed to towers. I also have Velodyne VX-11 subwoofer along with a DIY sub riser. I have a few SACD's and a couple of DTS/DVD-A discs, and was wondering if the 170's would be a good choice for the surrounds for listening to mulit-channel music or if the 200's would be better. Look forward to interacting with everyone here and making some new friends.
Cliff

Hey Cliff...welcome...
I have the as-b1/b2's sitting in my basement they were my very first speakers.... I also own some Axioms and had the Sierras 1's(but now I have the towers) and comparing them(Axioms) to the Monitors would be a very good comparison...imho.

I might be in the minority here but I don't find my 22's as "bright" as often claimed by others but rather forward(I don't consider bright as being a bad thing...) in nautre. They lack the required resolution or dynamics in the midrange and the detail up top to be a revealing speaker. Comparing the sound of Ascend vs. Axiom...I'd say the Ascend have the upper hand in all those areas as they're the more telling speaker. Throughout my listening sessions they never once sounded congested or compressed..always sounding crystal clear...keeping their composure no matter what voulmes I was listening at.

Enjoy your new cbm170's(duh...not Sierras) and I hope this gives you some idea on what you should come to expect with your Ascends..

Regards, Bill..

[Dark Ranger]

Seeing all the positive remarks towards the Ascends, I have decided to try a pair of the CBM-170's. If I like what I hear then I will order the 340 center channel and possibly a pair of either the CBM-170's or HTM-200's for surround's. As for the area where they will be used, I have a 700sq foot apartment, which is why I am going with bookshelf speakers as opposed to towers.

Hi Cliff!

Welcome to the Ascend forum!

I completely understand the space issues. Rest assured, any of Ascend's speakers offer both impressive sound quality and output capability.

I also have Velodyne VX-11 subwoofer along with a DIY sub riser. I have a few SACD's and a couple of DTS/DVD-A discs, and was wondering if the 170's would be a good choice for the surrounds for listening to mulit-channel music or if the 200's would be better. Look forward to interacting with everyone here and making some new friends.
Cliff

For your multi-channel music, do you prefer full-range surround channels or do you apply a crossover?

The HTM-200 SE offers more flexible placement options than CBM-170 SE, due to smaller size and sealed enclosure. 200s should have a higher WAF, too, if that is a factor in your decision. Actually, I own a pair of 200 SEs in a 2-channel bedroom system. They are amazing speakers for the price and would be a knockout surround speaker.

Here's my suggestion: if you want to run full-range surround channels and don't care about cabinet size, then go for the 170s. Otherwise, the 200s will be more than capable as surrounds, especially if you're using an 80Hz crossover on those channels.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall a post by someone (curtis?) a while back saying that he was going to switch out his 170 surrounds with 200s. The smaller size of the 200s was more appealing. I'm having trouble locating the post at the moment, oh well.

EDIT: found it! See this post: http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/sho...9035#post39035

The post immediately above was asking a similar question about multi-channel music.

HTH

[darkpoet25]

Hey Cliff...welcome...
I have the as-b1/b2's sitting in my basement they were my very first speakers.... I also own some Axioms and had the Sierras 1's(but now I have the towers) and comparing them(Axioms) to the Monitors would be a very good comparison...imho.

I might be in the minority here but I don't find my 22's as "bright" as often claimed by others but rather forward(I don't consider bright as being a bad thing...) in nautre. They lack the required resolution or dynamics in the midrange and the detail up top to be a revealing speaker. Comparing the sound of Ascend vs. Axiom...I'd say the Ascend have the upper hand in all those areas as they're the more telling speaker. Throughout my listening sessions they never once sounded congested or compressed..always sounding crystal clear...keeping their composure no matter what voulmes I was listening at.

Enjoy your new cbm170's(duh...not Sierras) and I hope this gives you some idea on what you should come to expect with your Ascends..

Regards, Bill..

It's funny you mentioned the Athena's as your first speakers, as they are my first too. Thank you for your comparison with the Axiom vs. the Ascends. While I don't consider 'bright' necessarily a bad trait in a speaker, it does have different meanings to different people after all, what I heard with the Paradigm's I audtioned was overly bright and nearly fatiuging after a several minutes. Your description of the Ascends sounds just what I think I am looking for in new speakers. I like the clarity of the Athena's and it seems like I would be happy with the Ascends. Hello Jacob, as for the HTM-200's, I may consider going with them for surrounds after seeing the CBM-170's in person. A lot of people who have them tend to like them from what I've been reading. Thanks for the replies guys, I may have found the speakers I will be upgrading to.
One question I forgot to ask: I know that some speakers require a 'break in' period. How many hours if any are considered a break in period for them CBM-170's?

[billy p]

It's funny you mentioned the Athena's as your first speakers, as they are my first too. Thank you for your comparison with the Axiom vs. the Ascends. While I don't consider 'bright' necessarily a bad trait in a speaker, it does have different meanings to different people after all, what I heard with the Paradigm's I audtioned was overly bright and nearly fatiuging after a several minutes. Your description of the Ascends sounds just what I think I am looking for in new speakers. I like the clarity of the Athena's and it seems like I would be happy with the Ascends. Hello Jacob, as for the HTM-200's, I may consider going with them for surrounds after seeing the CBM-170's in person. A lot of people who have them tend to like them from what I've been reading. Thanks for the replies guys, I may have found the speakers I will be upgrading to.
One question I forgot to ask: I know that some speakers require a 'break in' period. How many hours if any are considered a break in period for them CBM-170's?

I've owned Energy and Athena's and I know API(being owners of both brands) liked to recommend speaker break in. Other mfg's do not! Some believe it to be a marketing ploy...others believe that perceivable changes really can and do occur? I'm more of the mind set it's better to give the new speakers some playing time at low to moderate volume before you crank out the tunes to aviod any unforeseen harm and for your own piece of mind....

Good luck and report back your thoughts...Bill

[darkpoet25]

I've owned Energy and Athena's and I know API(being owners of both brands) liked to recommend speaker break in. Other mfg's do not! Some believe it to be a marketing ploy...others believe that perceivable changes really can and do occur? I'm more of the mind set it's better to give the new speakers some playing time at low to moderate volume before you crank out the tunes to aviod any unforeseen harm and for your own piece of mind....

Good luck and report back your thoughts...Bill

Ok that's what I was thinking. I've visited some companies sites like Focal and Totem who recommend around 75-100 hours for the speakers to 'warm up'. I don't usually listen at reference levels anyway so I should be okay on that front. It's just a matter of scraping together the money to make my purchase.

[Dark Ranger]

...I know that some speakers require a 'break in' period. How many hours if any are considered a break in period for them CBM-170's?

There is no official break-in time, but the general consensus here seems to be around 50 hours. Speaker break-in is measurable, especially considering T/S parameters; however, it is more apparent on woofers than tweeters.

Personally, I don't worry about it. Often times, the measuring equipment is more sensitive than our ears, so whether one can actually hear the effects of speaker break-in is debatable. As for "damage" caused by forfeiting a break-in period, I haven't seen any hard data that can prove this. In my opinion, speaker manufacturers would be affixing warning labels and disclaimers on their products if this was a real issue.

If you're used to allocating break-in time, run 'em for 50 hours. Otherwise, just sit back and enjoy the music.

[darkpoet25]

After doing some digging up online, the size difference between the Athena's and Ascends isn't too big. The AS-B1's are 13-3/4" H, 7"W, and 9-1/2" D, the AS-C1 is 17-3/4"W, 7"H, and 9-1/2"D. The CMT-340SE center is 7-1/2"H, 21"W, and 10.5"D, while slightly bigger than the AS-C1, there is more than enough room on my tv stand for a perfect fit. Which is to be expected seeing as the AS-C1 has a pair of 5-1/2" speakers vs. the 6-1/2" speakers in the 340. The CBM-170SE's are 12"H, 9"W, 10"D, while nearly two inches shorter in height the 2"'s of wider space shouldn't be too much of difference.(After ordering a pair of these, I will do a side by side comparison as far as dimensions go) Finally the HTM-200SE's are 11"H, 6-1/2"W and 6-3/4"D, a fairly big difference in size compared to the 170's. After my initial order(not sure when that will be, I'm not in a major rush. Besides, paying the bills comes first after all), I will place one of the 170's where one of my AS-B1's is used as a surround speaker to see how well they would work there. If size is an issue I'm sure the 200's would do fine as surrounds. The only problem I forsee myself having is the waiting period after making an order for them to arrive.

[darkpoet25]

Okay, so I recently got my tax refund, and am almost ready to order my pair of 170's. A couple of questions before I do however. I see there are some 170's B-Stock for sale, I know performance wise they will be fine, but as far as cosmetically speaking, would any blemish be THAT noticable? Do these ship out faster than if I were to buy a pair brand new? I know that it would save me around $41 going with the B-Stocks over new, but was just wondering what to expect. Also, will there be a sale anytime soon? I know there was a holiday sale that ended not too long ago, but if a sale is coming up for spring/summer I may wait until then to pull the trigger so to speak.

[paulphoosreal]

Hello from Nappanee.I am a past resident of Indy and know most of the outlets there.The Ascends will be a major upgrade over the Athenas.In fact, it won't even be close.I am a Cedia installer and have my own business.I am familiar with the Athena line and as you know,they are no longer made.I would strongly,VERY strongly suggest,that if their is any way you can swing it,go for the Sierra 1's.I currently run a Yamaha Aventage 800 with my Sierra Nrt's and they are the best speakers I've ever heard under $3k.As I'm moving back to Indy I have put off my purchase of the new Sierra Tower.
As soon as I'm back into my house,they are my 1st purchase and I can hardly wait.Believe me when I say Ascend,specifically Dave and Dina are fantastic people who know their product and are completely upfront with you.I've heard most every "high-end" speaker on the market courtesy of the Cedia and CES shows.Their is nothing out there that is remotely close to the Sierra1's,whether the base or Nrt version in their price range or even much higher.If you want:
Clarity,neutrality,dynamics and an honest full range sound then I suggest that you put Sierra 1's at the top of your list.I would be glad to answer any of your questions and you are welcome to hear the 1's in Nappanee or in 3 mos.when I return to Indy via Noblesville.I've kept the technical aspects and measurements out of this piece of advice for fear of confusing you.I supplement the 1's with an Outlaw Compact 1 sub crossovered at 60hz.
The less costly Ascends are superior speakers in their own right,but,if you really value "musical integrity",go with the Sierra in IMHO.Hope this helps in some way and doesn't add to your questioning on how to move forward in obtaining Good Listening.