How should I upgrade my TST2 towers?

mannetti21

mannetti21

Audioholic Intern
I need some advice so I'm not left with buyers remorse or the upgrade bug in the next 12 months. I've been going through a ton of reviews and forum posts lately in search of some new speakers to replace my current odds and ends setup.

TheSpeakerCompany TST2 towers
TheSpeakerCompany TC2 center
Insignia NS-B2111 bookshelves for surrounds
Rythmik FV15
Onkyo TX-NR808

The goal is to build a 5.1 system around the Onkyo and Rythmik sub. Room size will be fairly small, 14x11 with 8' ceilings. Listening would be 60% movies/gaming, 40% music (acoustic pop, light rock, hip-hop). I've entertained the idea of selling the FV15 and instead using two smaller subs, or adding a 2nd FV15 (overkill), but that's something that can be done later.

Mini-review of the TST2's-
The TST2's have been just average over the last 5yrs. I got them new for less than $350/pair so it's hard to complain. I've had them in 3 different size/shaped rooms but something is missing. The best way I can describe this is different sounds don't feel distinct from each other. The words cluttered, and muddy come to mind. Secondly, it seems the upper bass - lower midrange doesn't have the kick that I'm expecting. Part of me thinks there is too much of a size gap between the dual 5.25" cones and the single 10" woofer to accurately reproduce that chesty kick-drum type of sound. Another part of me wonders if using an 80Hz crossover is essentially eliminating the 10" woofers from the equation and more or less leaving me with four 5.25" drivers as my fronts and the 15in sub. I've tried dropping the crossover to 70, 60, and 50, but as that "kick" sound improves somewhat as I drop the crossover lower, the overall bass becomes anemic. I've used multiple placements, different rooms, sub-equalization via Behringer DSP1124, and different crossovers before finally coming to the conclusion that the towers have to be the problem. In fact, out of sheer frustration with the towers/sub combo, I'm actually using the Insignia's with 80hz crossover in a 3.1 setup right now.




So with all that being said, my budget is hovering in the $1000 - $1500 range for 2 fronts and a center. I'm considering three Sierra Ascend CMT-340's. My first question is how much of an "upgrade", if any, would these be compared to my TST2's? Any thoughts how these would integrate with the Rythmik sub and room dimensions? I imagine they should be much easier to crossover compared to my towers. At $568/pr and with all the positive reviews I've been reading, they seem like a great value. Even more so when $1700 can buy matching fronts, center, and surrounds.

My concern is that I'm going to spend about $1000 for L/C/R channels and get either a nominal improvement in sound or no improvement at all, when I could spend $1500 or maybe a bit more and appreciate a much larger improvement. Or perhaps I'm not going to hear a drastic difference unless I spend in the range of $1000/speaker. Help me out guys! :confused:
 
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zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
I would think that it would be a big upgrade set for you, with the CMT-340 > also,
Ascend sells the Rythmik subwoofers - so that should be a sign to you, that they
they can blend good.
 
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