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#1 ·
My 3, 340SE's are here (central California).


The only indication of an "SE" is an oval sticker on the back that says "Signature Edition". I'm home for lunch so no time to plug 'em in yet.


 
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#3,081 ·

Quote:
Now I hear the fuss over these speakers, the image they create is amazing for their size although I don't think they're as detailed in the highs as I expected (but still in the beginning of running various material through them). I got a L/R stand set so am trying that, although I think I need to get them off the floor (one would need to sit smack center in front of a real fireplace), but maybe I can live without my usual pyro needs Also a bit of acoustics, aesthetics, too. I don't want to drill into 'em for a good ceiling/wall mount as much as I thought I wanted to either.

I think that's why some decide to upgrade to the NrT tweeter. Apparently, the highs are a little more defined and less laid back. I actually enjoy the somewhat laid-back character of the stock Sierra tweeter. I think you can order the parts from Ascend and do it yourself if so inclined.
 
#3,082 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by postrokfan /forum/post/21836105


I think that's why some decide to upgrade to the NrT tweeter. Apparently, the highs are a little more defined and less laid back. I actually enjoy the somewhat laid-back character of the stock Sierra tweeter. I think you can order the parts from Ascend and do it yourself if so inclined.

The center already has the upgrade. So far it seems to have been my source material so far being exposed somewhat for what it is. The better the material the better it's sounding.



Didn't know you could do the upgrade to nrt yourself.
 
#3,083 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by lovinthehd /forum/post/21837529


The center already has the upgrade. So far it seems to have been my source material so far being exposed somewhat for what it is. The better the material the better it's sounding.



Didn't know you could do the upgrade to nrt yourself.

They have instructions (with video) on the Ascend forum:
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=4526
 
#3,086 ·
Just posted this on the bi/di/mono/omni sticky but wanted to get some feedback from SE owners...


Setting up a dedicated HT (12.5' x 20') with two rows of seating (100% movies and HD programming). I ran into the surround (mono, bi, di, omni) problem due to the two rows, and I was wondering if this could be a posibble solution.


Decided:

AVR - Denon AVR 33312CI

L/C/R (x3)= CMT 340 SE behind an AT screen/false wall.

subs (x2) = SVS PC12 NSD


Problem:

was considering linking two mono pairs of HTM 200SE for surround at each row, And then having a another pair of HTM 200SE for rears. Then there was a discussion about problems linking the surrounds, and the clutter of 6 speakers that close to the rear wall.


Solution?

I have seen a lot of great reviews of the Mirage OMD5 but not much discussion regarding the Mirage OMD-R. I love the look of the OMD-R and am wondering if this will work mounted between the first and second row, and then useing the HTM 200's for rear surrounds to finish the 7.2.


Is the OMD-R a good fit fwith the Ascend set up?


Here's a sketch of the room with the screen wall pulled back. Please let me know what you think or what might be a better option.


Thanks,

Pat
 
#3,087 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat Sexton /forum/post/21841941


Just posted this on the bi/di/mono/omni sticky but wanted to get some feedback from SE owners...


Setting up a dedicated HT (12.5' x 20') with two rows of seating (100% movies and HD programming). I ran into the surround (mono, bi, di, omni) problem due to the two rows, and I was wondering if this could be a posibble solution.


Decided:

AVR - Denon AVR 33312CI

L/C/R (x3)= CMT 340 SE behind an AT screen/false wall.

subs (x2) = SVS PC12 NSD


Problem:

was considering linking two mono pairs of HTM 200SE for surround at each row, And then having a another pair of HTM 200SE for rears. Then there was a discussion about problems linking the surrounds, and the clutter of 6 speakers that close to the rear wall.


Solution?

I have seen a lot of great reviews of the Mirage OMD5 but not much discussion regarding the Mirage OMD-R. I love the look of the OMD-R and am wondering if this will work mounted between the first and second row, and then useing the HTM 200's for rear surrounds to finish the 7.2.


Is the OMD-R a good fit fwith the Ascend set up?


Here's a sketch of the room with the screen wall pulled back. Please let me know what you think or what might be a better option.


Thanks,

Pat



Although I am not familiar with the Mirages', if I were in your shoes, I would go pick up a pair of any dipolar or bipolar models from manufactures such as Definitive Technology, Paradigm, Klipsch, ect. No need to purchase 6 sets of surrounds when a good pair of dipoles can provide a killer ambience. Use a pair of direct radiators, such as the HTM-200se's, for the rear channels, and put the dipoles on the side walls. I honestly think that is your only option as I seriously doubt your receiver can handle 6 pairs of surroud channels. First off, it does not have the speaker inputs for that many channels, and secondly, you will be seriously sucking power out of your receiver with it trying to power all of those speakers. If you don't take my advise, then I recommend you also pick up a separate power amp. You want to do that anyway, though. Good luck!
 
#3,088 ·
I am not familiar with OMD-Rs but am currently evaluating OMD-5s in place of Ascends 170s and 200s for surround duties. OMD-Rs seem very different from OMD-5 so none of my observations may apply.


My initial impressions of the Mirages is not very favorable. The sound is too polite and washed out. Maybe I am too used to precise imaging of the Ascends and the sound of the mirages will grow on me over time. I will give it another week or so and switch back to the Ascends for comparison.


The Mirages seem to be very dependent on room reinforcement. In my room Audyssey never measured LF rolloff for the OMD-5s below 100hz ( HTM-200s consistently measure at 70hz) . My guess is the bass traps I have in the back kill any possibility of them getting close to the advertised specs. Just something to keep in mind.


My room size and dimensions are very close to yours at 12x23x8. While i too have two rows of seating, I rarely have them all occupied. My preference is to optimize for the MLP +/- 2 feet to the left and right.


In my experience one pair of HTM-200s nicely covers middle seats in both rows. It is likely to be more problematic for the side seats being too close to the speakers and that's where omni/bi/di - poles may have an edge.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat Sexton /forum/post/21841941


Just posted this on the bi/di/mono/omni sticky but wanted to get some feedback from SE owners...


Setting up a dedicated HT (12.5' x 20') with two rows of seating (100% movies and HD programming). I ran into the surround (mono, bi, di, omni) problem due to the two rows, and I was wondering if this could be a posibble solution.


Decided:

AVR - Denon AVR 33312CI

L/C/R (x3)= CMT 340 SE behind an AT screen/false wall.

subs (x2) = SVS PC12 NSD


Problem:

was considering linking two mono pairs of HTM 200SE for surround at each row, And then having a another pair of HTM 200SE for rears. Then there was a discussion about problems linking the surrounds, and the clutter of 6 speakers that close to the rear wall.


Solution?

I have seen a lot of great reviews of the Mirage OMD5 but not much discussion regarding the Mirage OMD-R. I love the look of the OMD-R and am wondering if this will work mounted between the first and second row, and then useing the HTM 200's for rear surrounds to finish the 7.2.


Is the OMD-R a good fit fwith the Ascend set up?


Here's a sketch of the room with the screen wall pulled back. Please let me know what you think or what might be a better option.


Thanks,

Pat
 
#3,089 ·
I can't even begin to describe how much I am enjoying the 170SE's.
Such a nice, clean, natural sound, with nice imaging and dynamics I was missing from the Athena's. Can't wait to get the 340CMT center and HTM-200SE's for surround use.
 
#3,090 ·

Quote:
I can't even begin to describe how much I am enjoying the 170SE's. Such a nice, clean, natural sound, with nice imaging and dynamics I was missing from the Athena's. Can't wait to get the 340CMT center and HTM-200SE's for surround use.

I have this exact setup in the living room and am very pleased. You are in for a treat.
 
#3,091 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by darkpoet25 /forum/post/21852331


I can't even begin to describe how much I am enjoying the 170SE's.
Such a nice, clean, natural sound, with nice imaging and dynamics I was missing from the Athena's. Can't wait to get the 340CMT center and HTM-200SE's for surround use.

You need the 340SE center right away. If interested drop me a PM, I am looking to unload one
 
#3,094 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark_1042 /forum/post/21868838


Can anyone comment on the performance of the CMT-340 SE's when used for 2.1 stereo. Where do you set your crossover? Any problems with being able to locate the subwoofer or do they do a good job in pulling the bass forward?

I quite often listen to stereo music without the center or surrounds. I cross over at 80 and can not tell that the sub is working. If I turn the sub off, I definitely can tell that it was working.
 
#3,096 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark_1042 /forum/post/21868838


Can anyone comment on the performance of the CMT-340 SE's when used for 2.1 stereo. Where do you set your crossover? Any problems with being able to locate the subwoofer or do they do a good job in pulling the bass forward?

Being able to locate the sub is a function of how high you cross to the sub, and the quality of the sub itself, not the speakers.


What do you mean by pull the bass forward?
 
#3,099 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by lovinthehd /forum/post/21869708


I recently picked up a set of L/C/R Sierra 1s, the center having been upgraded to the NRT tweeter. Should I upgrade the L/R to match? Thoughts? Bon mots?

How do you like the integration of the three speakers?


It is really a preference thing. For the best match, yes, upgrade the L/R. If you like it, and not too critical, then just enjoy.
 
#3,100 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeBiker /forum/post/21869433


I quite often listen to stereo music without the center or surrounds. I cross over at 80 and can not tell that the sub is working. If I turn the sub off, I definitely can tell that it was working.

Thanks Mike, I had figured people would typically be crossing them at 80 Hz.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cschang /forum/post/0


Being able to locate the sub is a function of how high you cross to the sub, and the quality of the sub itself, not the speakers.


What do you mean by pull the bass forward?

It was basically a question about crossover frequency. I see that the response curve begins to drop off around 80-90 Hz, so that seems like a good place to set the crossover, but I also wanted to know what people's personal experiences with them were. My apologies if the last line was confusing.


From what I've read bass begins to become directional at frequencies over 100 Hz, but I'm not sure if that's an accurate figure.
 
#3,101 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark_1042 /forum/post/21872018


It was basically a question about crossover frequency. I see that the response curve begins to drop off around 80-90 Hz, so that seems like a good place to set the crossover, but I also wanted to know what people's personal experiences with them were. My apologies if the last line was confusing.


From what I've read bass begins to become directional at frequencies over 100 Hz, but I'm not sure if that's an accurate figure.

Got it...no problem.


The -3dB point of the speaker is spec'd at 48hz, so a crossover to the sub is good at 60hz and above. Play around with it and see what you like.


Yes, generally speaking, sub localization starts around 100hz.
 
#3,102 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by cschang /forum/post/21873055


Got it...no problem.


The -3dB point of the speaker is spec'd at 48hz, so a crossover to the sub is good at 60hz and above. Play around with it and see what you like.


Yes, generally speaking, sub localization starts around 100hz.

Thanks cschang.



I actually don't own a pair (so maybe the owner's thread was a bad place to post
), I'm just looking to get a new surround set up, possibly with the SE's.
 
#3,103 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by cschang /forum/post/21869742


How do you like the integration of the three speakers?


It is really a preference thing. For the best match, yes, upgrade the L/R. If you like it, and not too critical, then just enjoy.

So far it sounds good, just hard to imagine what the difference might be with the L/R matching the C. Maybe I'll play around in mono or something to see what differences between the speakers are on the same material...
 
#3,104 ·
Hello, fellow Ascend Acoustics owners!



I've just purchased a pair of CMT340 SE speakers for mains, another CMT340 for center channel, and two pairs of CBM170 speakers for surrounds. After doing some research, I chose these over the Arx, Hsu, and SVS options, so hope that it was a good choice. Unfortunately, I am not in a situation where I can listen to each of the options, so had to go on professional reviews and the personal experience posted by others. I already have a pair of Hsu VTF-2 MK4 Subwoofers that I believe they will blend in with very well. These speakers will be replacing some Polk Monitor 60's and 30's, which will be moved to a system in another room.


Don't know when they will ship, but will report back after they've arrived and I've played around with them a bit.
 
#3,105 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ozar /forum/post/0


Hello, fellow Ascend Acoustics owners!



I've just purchased a pair of CMT340 SE speakers for mains, another CMT340 for center channel, and two pairs of CBM170 speakers for surrounds. After doing some research, I chose these over the Arx, Hsu, and SVS options, so hope that it was a good choice. Unfortunately, I am not in a situation where I can listen to each of the options, so had to go on professional reviews and the personal experience posted by others. I already have a pair of Hsu VTF-2 MK4 Subwoofers that I believe they will blend in with very well. These speakers will be replacing some Polk Monitor 60's and 30's, which will be moved to a system in another room.


Don't know when they will ship, but will report back after they've arrived and I've played around with them a bit.

I think you'll be more than happy, and with the two hsu subs, that will make one serious system. Enjoy!
 
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