ascend acoustics feedback

[clarence2society]

so some of you all saw my other post and helped me to get to this point...

i thought i was 100 percent decided but here i am weighing things out...
originally i was between svs hsu and then ascend came in the picture and i would say i am 98 percent sure this is the route im going....
i am going to best buy to hear prime sats anyway and pb sub 1000. just to know i did
if i like it i will take up svs on a trial with bookshelf system perhaps and try it a couple weeks see if i dig it....

i am def decided on hsu vtf 2 mk5 sub 100 percent....

so to my point i just wanna hear from ppl who own or have spent time with ascend and have experience with them

basically i want to hear all that can be said for them all around since i cannot hear them first....

please share your opinions and experiences.. thanks.... i almost leaned to hybrid 2 hsu which would be a bit cheaper but warranty and timbre and reviews of ascend all have me saying spend the extra hundred....

lets hear about ascends....

C ill be doing 340 LR
htm 200 rears or possibly 170s. . but small space i can get 170s later for 7.1 sides

 

[everettT]

Many members own or have owned them, and none that I'm aware of had anything negative to say about them. At the price point, they are one of the go to setups.

 

[clarence2society]

they seem really solid... wish i could hear them risk free and ascend def has better warranty than hsu.... another selling point for me..... btu performance is more imprtant
i cant wait to hear some experiences and knowledge..

 

[sholling]

I used to own Ascend 340s and they were really good for the money. They aren't output monsters but in the right sized room they'll make you good LCRs if ordered that way. I still have their upgraded Sierra 1s (as LCRs) in my master bedroom.

I haven't heard Dr. Hsu's speakers in years but the sound signature of his early versions kind of reminded me of Klipsch, however that may have changed in the last 8-10 years. I've always liked his subs a lot for music but less so for action movies. Again, his ported subs may be digging deeper than they did 8-10 years ago which was the last time I dropped by Hsu Research.

 

[clarence2society]

yeah the vtf 2 mk5 has two ports and can be run sealed or single double ported ltos of options thats why im going with it...
should these not be big enough later down the line resale value is amazing esp with tranferable warranty which most ppl dont do.

 

[sholling]

Usually the best thing to do is diagram the space, including ceiling heights, and of any spaces open to your room and send it with total estimated cubic footage and how low and loud you want the sub(s) to play. I'd send it to both Hsu and SVS and see what they recommend.

 

[clarence2society]

svs said roll with pb1000 for my room... i plan o na second sub when we get new place in a yr or so.... and its slightly more money....

im surprised not much feedback on ascends.. i really wanna hear ppls experiences damn it ha

 

[KEW]

Ascend is a well designed speakers ... as is Hsu.
We can point you in the direction of good speakers for your budget, but cannot know what would be your favorite.
The differences between the better products in a specific price range can be hard to choose between.
In a perfect world, you would audition both in your home for 2 weeks or longer to decide which is your preference!
I honestly believe you would be very happy with either,
I can tell you that my impression of the 340 was that it is a somewhat forward sounding speaker - not enough to cause fatigue, but enough to have a little extra presence! I would not consider that an issue at all, but if you are looking for a "laid-back" speaker, the 340 is leaning just a touch the other way! I have not heard Hsu!

BTW, good call on the Hsu! As long as the size is not an issue, the tuning flexibility is worth a lot to ensure you can tune it to your room. The PB1000 does not offer much ability to tune the sub, IIRC!

 

[clarence2society]

exactly kew!!!

biggest selling point on the hsu sub. versatility and balls hahaha
ive read pb1000 can sound weak.

also heard of hsu being forward as well.
its actually cheaper for the hb1 hc 1 setup than ascend by 100, no concern....

im pretty much set on ascend at this point... really just would be good to hear from ppls personal experiences

im ok with some forwardness esp after the club i work in killing my hearing and being 41 yrs old...
im mainly curious what ppl have to say about balls on the loud side with ascend i guess..... turned up or tuned in for HT... or both.... ya know....

its almsot a repeat post but this is really just me wanting to hear ppls experience.

oh kew i scored an x2400h for 389 with 20 percent off dads day on ebay wha wha......

coulda gone ;sony dn1080 for 30 less but i took denon for resale value... half price woot.... still gonna get 4400h for living room i n september

 

[lovinthehd]

When I first started reading about Ascend I had that concern about internet direct but all the positive comments I read in a few forums helped me put that aside. Don't know if that helps, but I haven't been disappointed by any of them and I still own and use them (almost all of them, two of my 200SEs are currently idle). I did buy my Sierra-1s used after buying the others from Ascend, and pretty much wasted no time in contacting that guy and getting to his house He had them still setup and I had brought some cd's...listened to them for about 5 minutes before I was putting $$ in his hands and packing them up

 

[clarence2society]

i also decided a strategic move for future.... 170s are too big for LR surround but im gonna get them anyway... as they are on sale for 298 and htms are 298 anyway not on sale.. so later ill just get htms for that and move the 170s if i so desire

 

[clarence2society]

LTH

i have read some ppl saying they like 340s better in a few posts than s1

ill be goign that route for costs not any other reason or id go to s1s

 

[lovinthehd]

i also decided a strategic move for future.... 170s are too big for LR surround but im gonna get them anyway... as they are on sale for 298 and htms are 298 anyway not on sale.. so later ill just get htms for that and move the 170s if i so desire

They are kinda chunky but I do use them as LR surround in the bedroom anyways....when I used them as LR surrounds in my larger rooms my bigger challenge was the type of mounts, they were a bit heavy for the ball/clamp style (ended up using these).

 

[lovinthehd]

LTH

i have read some ppl saying they like 340s better in a few posts than s1

ill be goign that route for costs not any other reason or id go to s1s

The 340 is a model I haven't tried....would go for S2s if I bought Sierras again....

 

[clarence2society]

right on and clamps.. GENIUS! hadnt seen that yet i was shopping sanus or whatever

 

[sholling]

I quite liked the Acend's CMT-340 SEs (which are currently on sale for $499/pr) and the matching CMT-340 center when I owned them. They were simply too big for my bedroom so I returned and replaced them with Sierra-1s. S1s dig a bit deeper (a non-issue with a sub) and reach a bit higher highs than most of us can hear by our 40s, 50s and 60s while the 340s have a bit higher sensitivity making them easier to drive.

8-10 years ago I found Hsu's HB-1 speakers a bit too in your face for my taste. Again that may have changed in the intervening years but at the time I was told that's how he likes speakers to sound. I don't recall hearing their CCB-8 series.

If you happen to be visiting southern California soon you can make a day of it and visit both company's showrooms (by appointment only). They are only about 40 miles apart, roughly 1-2 hours in socal traffic.

 

[clarence2society]

I wish that was possible I'm in South Florida Fort Lauderdale Miami West Palm area Tri-County I wish I could find somewhere down here

 

[KEW]

i also decided a strategic move for future.... 170s are too big for LR surround but im gonna get them anyway... as they are on sale for 298 and htms are 298 anyway not on sale.. so later ill just get htms for that and move the 170s if i so desire

If I was buying surround speakers right now, I would take advantage of this sale and buy these JBL Arenas (regularly $200/pr) at $80/pr and put the money saved into the mains.

https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Bookshel...p/B01EYJZYQ2/?tag=dealnewscom&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Why?
Very good speakers (aside from absent bass) for $40 each!!!
Surrounds are not near as important as the front speakers.
These use the wave-guide technology developed for the JBL M2 which (based on my experience with the LSR305's) makes positioning the speakers a very forgiving task, and, usually you have very few spots where you can put the surrounds due to doors, windows, etc.
Aside from bass, I'd bet these give up very little (if anything) for sound quality against the 170's. Basically, you are not paying for the bass you would not use for surround speakers!
These are less than 8 pounds each, and 5" deep and designed for wall mounting and have the brackets built into the back (more money saved to go elsewhere) with no port (acoustic suspension design) to leave space for. Between this and the wave-guide technology, you will be able to just stick these on screws in the wall in the best position you have available (relative to the listening position) and never look back.

 

[clarence2society]

Again you and I are on the same page, kew. I literally just left Best Buy 3 minutes ago and I was saying that to the guy at at Magnolia. I stopped and just to hear the SVS and I wanted to get an idea of what their soundstage is kind of like even though all they have is the satellites. They do put out a very clean sound pretty detailed from what I could hear wasn't my style of music. However if I had to say even though I'm new to this I would call them a little on the bright end. I think I would like my highs a little more laid-back than that. The SVS satellites did sound very good though and that was a 400 square-foot room if I had to guess. I wouldn't mind saving a little money on the rear speakers. Better yet that would be a lot of money being saved. what about using different readers in Timber matching or does it not matter at that point

 

[sholling]

Perfectly timbre matching surrounds isn't a big deal - it's the front three that need to be perfectly matched. BTW the I'm told that the Ascend HTM-200 aren't a perfect match either.