Just swayed to the dark side

[dane_peterson]

Well, maybe not quite. But I am ditching Polk again, at least for a while.

I've just purchased five Ascend Acoustics monitors... all used, all for an excellent price.
(2) CMT-340 monitors and (1) CMT-340Center for $525.
(2) CBM-170 mini-monitors (rears) for $185 shipped.

This may leave me enough funds to fiddle with a 2-channel rig... that is if I can turn around my LSis for a fair price.

I also sold my Samsung 50" the other day, as it was buzzing like crazy. Picked up a used Panasonic 50"... no buzzing, and it's the sweet professional model with removable input cards. SO much more customizable than the Samsung... I expect to have the picture calibrated by the end of the night to AVS forum specs.

[Ron Temple]

Have you heard the Ascends Dane? To me, both times I've listened they sound so neutral I couldn't get excited about them. Not to say they weren't impressive, they were. Just not my cup of tea. Hope you like them.

[steveinaz]

I have always wanted to hear those speakers...give us the scoop when you get done auditioning. The frequency sweep on the bookshelves are some of the flattest I have ever seen; of course sans deep bass.

[MikeC78]

Congrats Dane!!!

Nice display, I have the 8UK and absolutely love it!

[dane_peterson]

Ron, I'm still getting everything connected. I haven't listened to them before, but wanted a "budget" setup for my home theater so I could focus my attention more to my 2-channel for a while. They'll be used almost exclusively for home theater, so hopefully they'll do the job adequately.

I'm gonna throw in a Bluray in a minute, and see what I think.

Thanks for the comments, guys. Just got these beasts on my 28" tall stands... they might be a little TOO high. Extremely tall bookshelves. But they should pair decently with the HSU. The finish even matches! ;)

[markmarc]

I know my writer, Clarke, was incredibly impressed by the 340's. the key with them is making sure to take the time for proper placement. Once done, they their quite stunning.

[Ron Temple]

Dane, I'm not trying to rain on your choice. Both times I listened to them it was in a shootout and a pair of GR Research AV 1s and 2s that were just more involving. The 340ses and 170ses are incredibly detailed and balanced...you're going to like them...I did. Just not as much as the GRs which if built go for a bit more. Think Polk midbass and mids (RTi) with superior tweets...and don't listen to me, you may love them.

[dane_peterson]

No worries, Ron. My audio senses are still developing... I want to be able to discern the differences. If I notice what you're describing, then my ears must be growing up. And that's part of the satisfaction for me.

[wingnut4772]

The circle is complete.

[dane_peterson]

Just got done to watching/listening to Incubus's Bluray 5.1 PCM concert. Definitely not as impressed with the musicality of these as compared to the LSis. They just don't sound nearly as refined, and the flow between left/center/right isn't as seemless as with the LSis. Powering them through the Denon could play a role on this as well.

That being said, I still like them. I think they do make a very good home theater speaker, which is their primary purpose anyway. Maybe I'll hang onto the LSi9s as my 2-channel monitors after all. We'll see...

[dane_peterson]

Update. *shakes head* The changes continue. Ascends are all listed for sale on AVS; just sold the LSi9s and LSiC on eBay; and bought an Energy Connoisseur Series surround setup. Two C-7s, a C-C1, and two CR-3s.

I Always liked the Energy's when I sold them a few years back, so I'm going to give them a run for their money. Should compare pretty darn well to the Ascends, if not outperform. We'll see!

[Ron Temple]

Ok...I'll bite. What prompted this? Not satisfied with the Ascends...guess not ;). From all I've heard the Energy's are nice...betcher back with Polks in a month :p

[fatchowmein]

Update. *shakes head* The changes continue. Ascends are all listed for sale on AVS; just sold the LSi9s and LSiC on eBay; and bought an Energy Connoisseur Series surround setup. Two C-7s, a C-C1, and two CR-3s.

I Always liked the Energy's when I sold them a few years back, so I'm going to give them a run for their money. Should compare pretty darn well to the Ascends, if not outperform. We'll see!

Dane,
You move so fast you make my head spin. Seriously, it seems as though you're looking for a certain sound and you've just not quite hit audio nirvana or am I mistaken? Perhaps you're on the other end of the spectrum and you're looking for audio nirvana but you're not quite sure what it sounds like? Right now, you seem to be in speaker dating mode.

Not that it's a bad thing. ;)

[engtaz]

????????? shuffle shuffle shuffle

[Early B.]

Ascend to Energy -- is this a lateral move?

Just wondering because you compared the Ascends to the Lsi's when they should have been compared to the RTi series. So you may not be satisfied until you get speakers that are at least as good as the Lsi's, but preferrably better.

[tonyb]

If the idea was to move up from the LSI line,then,
Your going the wrong way!!!!:p :)

[VR3]

Look up Tyler Acoustics one day... :)

[dane_peterson]

Not that I wasn't satisfied with the Ascends... I just like mixing it up. I actually almost jumped on this Energy setup right before the Ascend thing went through. The seller dropped his price significantly for me the other day, and I couldn't pass it up. So the Energys are in the mail.
Bottom line, I can't afford true hi-fi right now. I am trying to not spend any more money on home audio until I pay off some debts, so the only way to try new things is to sell current equipment. There are SO many speakers out there, it's hard to say what all is a lateral move.
I won't be able to get back to LSi quality for some time. I simply can't afford both the speakers and the associated costs with them (amplification) So until then, I'll bounce around this price range. It truly is like dating. I almost wonder if it's not coorelated to my mild dating history...

As for Tylers... in due time.

[zingo]

Shuffling speakers is half the fun. Except then you have to explain to the female why you just sold a pair of speakers that you just bought so you can buy "basically the same thing". Women just don't understand the simple pleasures in life...

[Serendipity]

Shuffling speakers is half the fun. Except then you have to explain to the female why you just sold a pair of speakers that you just bought so you can buy "basically the same thing". Women just don't understand the simple pleasures in life...

I need to find a woman that's into audio...

[Early B.]

Bottom line, I can't afford true hi-fi right now.

You'd be surprised what you can afford right now. Here's an option -- when you're ready to sell the Energy speakers, trade "up" for a good pair of HT fronts, then buy the other speakers later. So by the time you're done, you'll have a helluva system.

[engtaz]

You'd be surprised what you can afford right now. Here's an option -- when you're ready to sell the Energy speakers, trade "up" for a good pair of HT fronts, then buy the other speakers later. So by the time you're done, you'll have a helluva system.

Very very good advice.

[reeltrouble1]

When it comes to box cabinet speakers under 10,000 or so its going to be POLK Products for me, so since I am not going to spend anywhere near that for speakers as I really have not heard anything better than what my POLK speakers do for me I am quite happy. Hooking up different Polk Speakers from vintage monitor, RTA, listening to my SDA models and then using the ribbons for a change for what they deliver is about all the nirvana I need for now.

Maybe some horns are in my future. The AvantGarde look interesting, would like to give those a listen.

RT1

[dane_peterson]

You'd be surprised what you can afford right now. Here's an option -- when you're ready to sell the Energy speakers, trade "up" for a good pair of HT fronts, then buy the other speakers later. So by the time you're done, you'll have a helluva system.

I've considered this very process several times. I've actually wanted to piece together a nice 2-channel rig for music, and then a cheaper HT rig for everyday TV watching and movies. When it came down to it, it simply cost too much. So I put some of my money towards bills and decided to just live with a mediocre HT rig (though I suppose both the Ascend and Energy setups would be far from mediocre for the average consumer)

My most recent consideration has been to run a phantom center, two 2-channel amps, and keep the denon as pre/pro. But even then, I'd probably want to get some Tylers or something, and that's a minimum of what, $1200 for the fronts, + the cost for amps and rears.
I've been spending lately no more than $1000 for all 5 speakers. And all of which can be run comfortably off the Denon.

I'm actually excited to do my first side-by-side comparison. The Energys will be here on Tuesday, and I doubt the Ascends will be gone by then. If I'm disappointed with the Energys, then maybe I'll just keep the Ascends until another good deal comes around. Who knows.

[dane_peterson]

Ascends sold, and now I'm parting ways with the Energy's. Not quite what I was looking for. I missed the pronounced midrange of the Ascends and LSis. Tweets were a tad bright on these Energy's. Nice system... just not my cup of tea.
Next up:
Onix Rocket RS850 Signatures

Took your advice and invested further into the mains. These should be a great foundation for an HT setup when I get around to it. And after I haul these beasts up 3 flights of stairs, maybe I'll be willing to stick with them for a while.

[tonyb]

Sounds to me like the Strata Mini's are right up your alley.

[RuSsMaN]

Forget the Strata Mini's and the Rocket line. Wait for the Alpha Line Source.

[dane_peterson]

Forget the Strata Mini's and the Rocket line. Wait for the Alpha Line Source.

Yah, if I'm pleased with the Rockets, I might try the Focus Line Source. But the way Onix puts off their release dates, it may be a while yet. I'm not going to hold my breath.

[reeltrouble1]

The shame of it all..........

You know you miss your Polk's.

I would.

RT1

[dane_peterson]

Yeah, that's honestly the truth. Neither the Ascends or Energy's have even come close. But I suppose they shouldn't really... they're cheaper, and they weren't being powered by the Sunfire like the LSis were.

So I was doing some more digging around, and decided to pass on the Onix. Why? I dropped by SVSound. Their new MTS line looks VERY good. For $200 more, I could get a brand new pair of their towers, and I'm confident they would DESTROY the Rockets. Has anyone else looked at these things?