Ive done lots of dd and i would like opinions/advice on speakers for my first system

[clarence2society]

Snake:
i found out the new models are starting to come out this month for denon the s and x series... 4500 of course will be september so price should drop in a matter of a couple months time... could be good i have also been looking for a small setup for the bedroom nothin fancy by any means im gonna try using my uncles old kenwood surrounds and sub for in there lol. but point being i found a yamaha rxv583 for sale near me and the lady is asking 250... that would be good to hold me over til the 4400 price drops or use in the bedroom now or then when i get it... was gonna bring that up anyway i may even get it for 200. not the greatest but its got some power and enough bells.
I havent read about ascend yet im bout to start reading up now....and checkin reviews. i thought bout rythmik for sure. gonna do a bit more of the same for that also... im in no rush right now im just mapping my way to the sounds hahaha.

BSA:
when you say not more accurate in what way do you mean? and as for the sub.... i already am planning that i would get it a twin with the coming of the new house. two of those would be killer i think. thats already part of my mindset for certain.... as for the rear speakers im really also trying to keep them looking decent on display.. wanna keep the gf happy also.... not SUPER important on looks but it will help. my number one is all around performance. the only thing im truly stuck on right now is the hsu sub.... though im open minded and about to research rythmik more than i have at this point..

ok so now we are moving in directions thank you guys very much and it is good to meet yall

i still keep eyeballing the svs , i wonder about those prime books and sats...... i know my other half likes the look but thats not what really matters.

im open to all suggestions... on LCR and Rears still not stuck on any 1 idea

 

[snakeeyes]

I think the sweet spot is around October or November for buying receivers. If you have any issues on the Yamaha just let us know. I have a 2060 and a 681. Also be sure you look at the dimensions of the subs. These are large boxes. Not sure how much space you have and the GF factor but a ported 12 would be a bit cheaper than a smaller sealed 15 like HSU ULS15.
Also maybe check out Kef speakers if that is more acceptable to the GF. They make a nice center channel as well.

 

[clarence2society]

i been looking at and reading reviews of ascend and from what im seeing most ppl say they either surpass SVS prime books and sats or kill them lol..

now after the ascend suggestions from you guys.. im looking that way... they sure as hell arent pretty but they seem to sound great with HT and Music..... those sierras are crazy expensive btu damn huge raving reviews and threads..... but thats out of budget for me for sure.....

gf is fine with hsu sub and she knows ill prob get a second andi explained they will most likely be in opposite corners of the room and she can decorate them however she would like to haha. shes down....

im lookin at the 170s and 340s and im like FECK which ones for what ha

this will soudn stupid but bi wireable crossover on 340 main se speakers.... hows that work..

 

[clarence2society]

ascend config and price

9CM34SBM2** Sale: CMT-340 SE mains​

1$498.00$498.00​

9CM34SBM1CMT-340 SE center​

1$298.00$298.00​

9CB17SBM2** Sale: CBM-170 SE pair​

1$298.00$298.00​

9TP24BM2Pedestal Stands /pr​

1$180.00$180.00
Loudspeaker Package Discount:($96.00)
TP-24 Stand Discount:($40.00)
Shipping: Flat Rate UPS Ground shipping:$136.00
Sales Tax:$0.00
Total:$1,274.00​

not sure on timbre matching im going to call them tomorrow.
now if i get 4 cbm 170 se the price drops to 1074
and then take 30 off for the front stands so 1044 shipped.... LCR and rears ....
hsu vtf 2 mk5 607 shipped

TOTALS: 340s = $1901
170s 340c = $1651

if i go hsu LCR and sub package thats $1184
then i need to decide on rears and add it to that.

hsu 5.1 package all in one $1524 total


looks like i have work and DD to do in the morning on this....

very impressive reading on the ascends for sure thanks for that one guys....

i feel like its narrowed down to these couple options.

 

[shadyJ]

ascend config and price


9CM34SBM2** Sale: CMT-340 SE mains

1$498.00$498.00​

9CM34SBM1CMT-340 SE center

1$298.00$298.00​

9CB17SBM2** Sale: CBM-170 SE pair

1$298.00$298.00​

9TP24BM2Pedestal Stands /pr

1$180.00$180.00
Loudspeaker Package Discount:($96.00)
TP-24 Stand Discount:($40.00)
Shipping: Flat Rate UPS Ground shipping:$136.00
Sales Tax:$0.00
Total:$1,274.00​

not sure on timbre matching im going to call them tomorrow.
now if i get 4 cbm 170 se the price drops to 1074
and then take 30 off for the front stands so 1044 shipped.... LCR and rears ....
hsu vtf 2 mk5 607 shipped

TOTALS: 340s = $1901
170s 340c = $1651

if i go hsu LCR and sub package thats $1184
then i need to decide on rears and add it to that.

hsu 5.1 package all in one $1524 total


looks like i have work and DD to do in the morning on this....

very impressive reading on the ascends for sure thanks for that one guys....

i feel like its narrowed down to these couple options.

IF you have room for a vertical center speaker, you might think about just using a bookshelf speaker as a center. They are almost always better center speakers than the traditional horizontal center speakers where you see a tweeter between two woofers. For Ascend, I would not use a CMT-340 center if I could help it, at least if it had to be used laying flat horizontally. For Hsu, I would try to avoid the HC-1 if it had to be used horizontally as well. A better center would just be an upright CBM-170 or HB-1 mk2. They would perform better and is less expensive. An exception to this is the CCB-8 which avoids the problems of conventional center channels.

If you want to save some money, I would go with some cheapie surround speakers. There are very inexpensive speakers out there that are good enough for surrounds. You might check out the Monoprice Ribbon speakers for surrounds, along with the Polk T15s. If you can mount bookshelf speakers that are a bit taller, absolutely look into a pair of the Dayton MK442 speakers- their performance for the price, when used in a vertical orientation, is outstanding. If you need something that is light, easy to mount, and stays out of the way, look into the Dayton B452-AIR speakers. Remember that the sound mix for the surrounds is very light duty compared to the front stage speakers. I have used all of the above mentioned speakers and I think they would easily suffice for surrounds in a budget system. HB-1s or CBM-170s are pretty much overkill for surround duty.

If it were me, I would get a front stage system of just three bookshelf speakers and just a couple inexpensive surrounds. Eventually I would look into getting a dual subwoofer system as well.

 

[snakeeyes]

Agree with shady. Try to get 3 upright 170s if you can fit one as a center vertical and plan on dual subs eventually. You might have to call them to split up a pair of 170s. The horizontal 170 center is the other option. The issue of horizontal is the lobing effect. I do see Ascend does sell a smaller speaker for surrounds but matching brands would mostly be not a huge issue unless you play 5.1 sacd or dvd audio or blu ray audio. I would also suggest getting the 3.1 and then 3.2 right first. Some Blu-ray discs do have some great content in the surrounds though so you should get to a 5.1 or 5.2 with some kind of surround speakers. Good luck!

 

[clarence2society]

Right on thanks guys ya know i could probably fit a 170 dead center the way we have things setup in this smaller space til we get the new house... Im gonna post a pic of our living room its a bit messy bout to get termite tenting thurs. Ugh. Ill show ya what the room looks like. I have seen a few ppl do that for center but i thought the output would be way less.

As for second sub it is def going to happen in new house with bigger room prob more open im sure

 

[clarence2society]

Here is the living room up close and from hallway view to see how kitchen n counter are open to it

 

[snakeeyes]

One ported 12 will be plenty in that space.

 

[shadyJ]

Right on thanks guys ya know i could probably fit a 170 dead center the way we have things setup in this smaller space til we get the new house... Im gonna post a pic of our living room its a bit messy bout to get termite tenting thurs. Ugh. Ill show ya what the room looks like. I have seen a few ppl do that for center but i thought the output would be way less.

As for second sub it is def going to happen in new house with bigger room prob more open im sure

The reason for traditional center speaker design is to keep the same level of output but put it in a form that can easily fit underneath a display or in a shelf. The reality is that aligning the woofers horizontally can wreck the sound at all angles that are not directly in front of the speaker. Regular bookshelf speakers are designed to sound good at a wide angle in front of them. Center speakers are really just bookshelf speakers that compromise the sound in order to gain a more convenient shape.

 

[clarence2society]

That makes sense. I wondered why ppl would setup that way... Here we go all new options lol.

 

[clarence2society]

Just called ascend all their speakers are timbre matched and i got a quote and what was suggested was LCR 340 SE and two cbm 170s for rears or ht 200 to mount on walls if need be for a lil less money....
Quote for 340 lcr n cbm rears
1096 shipped.
Not bad at all on sale..

 

[clarence2society]

so i spoke to ascend today and then i called hsu...

both service reps were amazing and friendly and knew about their systems. impressed with both.
the hsu with ccb8s all up front and hb1 in back and sub is gonna be over 2k $2090 shipped.....

not much for timbre on the hb1 with hc1 match up however dont feel its needed with those speakers. if i were to use hb1 for center and all surrounds with vtf 2 it is $1552 total
just lcr hb1s with vtf 2 sub will cost 1174 plus whatever rears i chose say 100 to 300 bucks. so 1200 to 1500 still.

the ascend surrounds in the order of cmt 340 se ,cbm 170s, or htm 200s would all be timbre matched which is a plus... and all reviews of these speakers is pretty amazing (as is hsu)
the cmt 340 se for LCR with either cbm 170 or htm 200 will be 1088 shipped. plus 609 for the vtf2 shipped..... total 1697. a bit higher but that timbre match is killer and ascend is on sale still for now.... ihave read killer musical and ht reviews for ascend and also their sound is less directional per say than hsu.. i will purchase stands after market or hell build my own. im handy like that.
either system is wife approved...
i have also read how killer the 340s are for lcr and smooth and accurate and well balanced.

we both dig the stands for the 340s and we can vinyl wrap em if we want to make them purtier.... pole stands for rears... no prob. and weighted with sand for both.
i could do a comparison but i think i will stay away from the WHAT IF bug and just go with my gut and research and advice from you guys as well.

final decision:
ascend 340 se LCR
ascend htm 200 REAR
hsu vtf 2 mk5 sub ---- upgrade to second sub down the line.
grand total of 1697 for speakers.

i am tryin to get a yamaha rxv583 for 200 right now which is a steal.. it will suffice for time being or go in bedroom now or later... it will hold me over for the price drop on the x4400h in september when the new models are released.

brings GRAND TOTAL to 1897 for now....

the timbre match and great reviews other than looks of the ascends instantly reeled me in. it took the cake from the svs ideas and hsu surrounds. hell i eve love the name....
customer service is a+ and price is very respectable as will be performance....

thank you to all you guys for helping out a stranger and a newb at the same time.
i truly feel this will be a great sounding system and as ascend said it will carry over nicely to a living room upgrade. hell they even said nice sub for sure. thats class.

so there it is guys 2 or 3 weeks later and brain exploding research it is decided.
i wont make a move til termites are done and jump on speakers first even if yammie falls through so i can get the advantage of this sale...
oh and ascend is fixing their website as we speak and new stuff to be released as well.
we had a laugh about their outdated site.

thanks again... im going to do the final round of ascend youtube vids and reviews and that going well. this will be my path. im very excited to join the ranks.

 

[snakeeyes]

That’s good they are updating their website. Congrats on the new system!

 

[clarence2society]

Didnt order yet but thats what will be. Sucks theres like zero ascend reviews for these speakers on youtube

 

[sterling shoote]

JBL Control 5's for mains & center, JBL Control 1 Pro's for all surrounds, balance of budget can go to JBL LSR310 active sub. You'll have very high quality, stereo or surround, for about $1200 to get 5.1, which you can expand with additional Control 1's. I can tell you for sure, to exceed the sound qualities of this system would require a massive speaker budget.

 

[shadyJ]

Didnt order yet but thats what will be. Sucks theres like zero ascend reviews for these speakers on youtube

That will be a great system. Don't worry about youtube reviews, they aren't normally very useful. I have seen measurements of Ascend's other speakers, and I understand their performance targets, so those are certain to be good speakers.