Right Move.............??????

[speakerman39]

They will work fine even for permanent use. The surrounds do not need to have anywhere near the quality of the front speakers. The surrounds only handle sound F/X and ambiance 99.9% of the time.

-Chris

I see. So, then what advantage would I have by going with the 170's in the rear other than multi-channel music listening? I really don't listen to muti-channel music much. But, I do want to have good surround sound when watching a movie. Chris, do you think the RTi6's will stand out too much? Thanks so much for helping me out.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Guys, do any of you think my Polk RTi6's would suffice for my rears? My set-up is a 5.2 as there is no room for 7.2. Just trying to figure out how the RTi6's would mesh with the Ascend CMT-340's up front. I am fully aware that the Polks won't be timbre matched to the Ascends. If nothing else, would the RTi6's suffice for the time being? Thanks for helping.

Cheers,

Phil

Phil,

They defiantly would suffice for movies & TV. If you use 5/7CH stereo or listen to dvd-a or sacd I would want the surrounds timbre matched. Try it and tell us what you think.

SBF1

 

[speakerman39]

Phil,

They defiantly would suffice for movies & TV. If you use 5/7CH stereo or listen to dvd-a or sacd I would want the surrounds timbre matched. Try it and tell us what you think.

SBF1

Thanks Strong for your reply. To be honest, I have never listened to a SACD/DVD-A. I mainly want my rears for ambiance when watching a movie. The more realistic sounding the better. Sounds like my Polks may do the deed then. I will try it and see what happens. Really appreciate it guys.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[jamie2112]

Hey Phil I didn't know about this thread...Have you made a desicion?

 

[mazersteven]

Guys, do any of you think my Polk RTi6's would suffice for my rears? Just trying to figure out how the RTi6's would mesh with the Ascend CMT-340's up front. If nothing else, would the RTi6's suffice for the time being?

IMO they will do fine for HT.

 

[speakerman39]

Hey Phil I didn't know about this thread...Have you made a desicion?

Hey Jamie. Yeah, I have ordered the Ascend CMT-340 Mains and the CMT-340 Center. They should be arriving very soon. I have my Polks up for sale. However, I may use the RTi6's for rears until I have the money to get the 170's for my rears. Remember, I only have 5.2 and my ht room is very small. Dave has the 340 mains and the 340 center delivered for only $738. I just could not pass that up. So, I opted for these instead of getting a BR player right now. Besides, still kinda waiting to see what the new OPPO will sell for. Then, Sony reduces the price of the 350 by $100. That is so tempting.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[RacineBoxer]

Well, just today I pulled the trigger on some Ascend Acoustics CMT-340 SE Mains and the matching CMT-340 SE Center. Is going from Polk RTi6's, and the CSi3 to the CMT-340 SE Mains/CMT-340 SE Center an upgrade?

Lateral move. I'm sure you'll have plenty of excitement with your new toys though. IMO these $400-500 a pair bookshelf speakers are pretty comparble. You should've saved for the Sierra 1's if you wanted to make a step change in performance. All IMO of course.

 

[mazersteven]

Lateral move.

Why do you say that? What is your experience with the RTi's and 340's?

 

[speakerman39]

IMO they will do fine for HT.

Thanks Maz. I plan to give them a try and go from there. Appreciate the help.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[speakerman39]

Lateral move. I'm sure you'll have plenty of excitement with your new toys though. IMO these $400-500 a pair bookshelf speakers are pretty comparble. You should've saved for the Sierra 1's if you wanted to make a step change in performance. All IMO of course.

Well, one thing I am sure of-the 340-Mains will put out more sound than the RTi6's. This is the reason I wanted to upgrade. However, the Polk towers were more than I really wanted to spend. I also believe the 340-Mains will compare quite favorably to the RTi8's/RTiA5's. I wouldn't be surprised if the 340-Mains are as good or even outperform the RTi10's/RTiA7's. Lastly, I also have an issue with my CSi3 in that I wanted more sound. The CSi5 is still rather expensive. I got my 340-Mains and 340-Center for only $738 delivered! Dave, is practically giving them away. No way was I going to pass on that.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[mazersteven]

I wouldn't be surprised if the 340-Mains are as good or even outperform the RTi10's

Take it easy there Seabiscuit

 

[speakerman39]

Take it easy there Seabiscuit

You are right..........maybe a bit of wishful thinking perhaps. But, hey it never hurts to hope eh? Guess, I will know very soon.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[RacineBoxer]

My experience with the Polk is extensive and the Ascends I've heard on multiple occasions. My comment really has more to do with the fact I've listened to not only the speakers in question but another 10 or so bookshelfs in these price ranges recently and honestly, I'm seeing pretty comparable performance from brand to brand (obviously many sound "different"). So my comment about upgrading considers you have a pair of $400 bookshelfs and you are going to buy $500 bookshelfs to replace them. Ascend makes great stuff. If someone had $500 1-2 year old Ascend bookshelfs and wanted to replace them with $500 PSB (or Swan or AV123 or etc....) bookshelfs I'd say the same thing as I said above, that it'll be more lateral than "upgrade".

That said, given speakerman39's comments about wanting more 'sound' out of his speakers I'd guess he'll like the upgrade to Ascend with the higher sensitivity and extra woofers to fill the room.

 

[speakerman39]

My experience with the Polk is extensive and the Ascends I've heard on multiple occasions. My comment really has more to do with the fact I've listened to not only the speakers in question but another 10 or so bookshelfs in these price ranges recently and honestly, I'm seeing pretty comparable performance from brand to brand (obviously many sound "different"). So my comment about upgrading considers you have a pair of $400 bookshelfs and you are going to buy $500 bookshelfs to replace them. Ascend makes great stuff. If someone had $500 1-2 year old Ascend bookshelfs and wanted to replace them with $500 PSB (or Swan or AV123 or etc....) bookshelfs I'd say the same thing as I said above, that it'll be more lateral than "upgrade".

That said, given speakerman39's comments about wanting more 'sound' out of his speakers I'd guess he'll like the upgrade to Ascend with the higher sensitivity and extra woofers to fill the room.

Understood........and that is why I went with the Ascends. The Polk towers would have been just as much, but then I would likely need to replace my CSi3. Thus, getting the 340-mains AND the 340-center for what I would have just spent on Polk towers made good sense to me. If push comes to shove, I will just simply send the Ascends back and go from there. However, I want to give the Ascends some time before making my decision as they are supposed to be more neutral. May take some getting use to. Thanks for the info.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Alex2507]

They will work fine even for permanent use. The surrounds do not need to have anywhere near the quality of the front speakers. The surrounds only handle sound F/X and ambiance 99.9% of the time.

-Chris

How well does that statement hold up for multi-channel music?

Alex

 

[WmAx]

How well does that statement hold up for multi-channel music?

Alex

Depends on the music. For music that I care about, which only has ambient/spatial cues in the surrounds, to give a realistic perspective, again, the surrounds need not be anywhere near the quality of the main channels.

However, for those multi-channel recordings that attempt to you put instruments all the way around you(and I despise this type of recording), the surrounds should match the main channels speakers.

-Chris

 

[Alex2507]

Depends on the music. For music that I care about, which only has ambient/spatial cues in the surrounds, to give a realistic perspective, again, the surrounds need not be anywhere near the quality of the main channels.

However, for those multi-channel recordings that attempt to you put instruments all the way around you(and I despise this type of recording), the surrounds should match the main channels speakers.

-Chris

Would you be good enough to provide a couple of examples of each? (To increase my chances of being familiar with them or getting them.) I should really provide a list of what I do have (it's short) and ask you which you would consider to be what. (Later, if you're interested.)

Alex

 

[WmAx]

Would you be good enough to provide a couple of examples of each? (To increase my chances of being familiar with them or getting them.) I should really provide a list of what I do have (it's short) and ask you which you would consider to be what. (Later, if you're interested.)

Alex

I do not have titles of any specific music titles to refer to.

-Chris

 

[Rickster71]

Take it easy there Seabiscuit

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[speakerman39]

Update!

Well, the Ascends will be here tomorrow. I can NOT wait. Hope to get to spens a bit of time with them over the weekend. Perhaps, I can post about my intial impressions. Gosh, I am excited for a change!

Cheers,

Phil