Opinion on Speakers for HT

[dwaleke]

I recently moved into a new house and bought a new 5.2 home theater setup. I went with the BIC Formula series FH-6T towers for L/R and surrounds and the matching FH6-LCR center with (2) Bic Acoustech PL-200 subs. I've tried various different receivers and amplifiers along with speaker locations and I'm not completely sold on the overall sound from this setup. My girlfriend says I'm crazy.

The center of my home theater setup is a HTPC running MythTV and XBMC playing Bluray rips bitstreaming TrueHD and DTS-HD to my receiver.

I will be driving everything with an Onkyo TX-NR818 and an Emotiva XPA-5 amp.

80% TV/Movies and 20% music.

My room is 20 long x 15 wide x 9 high. The back wall has a 10 foot opening in the center to my kitchen and the right side wall has a 10 foot opening to my foyer. The left side wall has two windows and a fireplace. I sit 14 feet away from the TV.

I've done a bunch of reading and I'm thinking I narrowed down my speaker selection to one of these:

1) Emp Tek Setup - Black Friday Sale

E55Ti Towers - Front L/R
E56Ci - Center
E5Bi Bookshelf - Surrounds
E5Bi Bookshelf - Front Wide speakers

$1047 Shipped

2) Ascend Acoustics Setup

CMT-340 SE - Front L/R (with matching stands)
CMT-340 SE Center
HTM-200 SE - Surrounds
CBM-170 SE - Front Wide speakers

$1568 Shipped


Both companies allow you to try their stuff for 30 days although the Ascends will charge you shipping both ways. I have ordered both sets and figured I would ship back the ones I don't like. I wasn't too crazy paying $1600 for speakers but I've only read good things about the Ascend speakers. The Bic 5.0 speakers originally cost me $669 (minus subs).

If you could pick what would you go with? In your opinion is the Ascend setup worth spending the extra money on? Any thoughts on adding front wide and height speakers? Looking for any advice you can offer. Thanks!

 

[nioveratus]

I have never heard the Ascends but I have the EMP's and I am very happy with them...my room is bigger than yours and they prove more than enough to fill it up with good sound..tbh I would have gone ahead and change the subs...the EMP 1010I are on sale for $299 and I think they will perform better than the ones you have,regardeless they would match very nicely(WAF) with the rest of your speakers..

 

[Grador]

If you've ordered them both, then our opinions really aren't worth very much. Listen to them and decide what is best for you, they're both excellent choices.

 

[ousooner2]

Sub'd to this thread for sure! Granted this will only be one persons OPINION, but still great to hear the comparison. Make sure you level match them and listen to the same content on each more than just 1 time to see what you might be missing/not missing.

I was going to go with the Ascends also, but the extra money I saved by going with the EMP setup will go towards a nice sub.

 

[ImcLoud]

I say the Ascends sound better, but the Emps are such a good deal at that price, I would probably go that way since its only for a theater... Im not a huge fan of the e55's but lots of people like them that paid full price, so that has to mean something...

 

[TLS Guy]

I would probably go that way since its only for a theater.

I think HT is actually one of the biggest challenges facing a speaker designer. HT is certainly no longer the poor relative of home audio.

As I have stated elsewhere there are many AV sources that challenge loudspeakers in ways they have never been challenged heretofore.

 

[lsiberian]

I think HT is actually one of the biggest challenges facing a speaker designer. HT is certainly no longer the poor relative of home audio.

As I have stated elsewhere there are many AV sources that challenge loudspeakers in ways they have never been challenged heretofore.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Movies are were most people experience great orchestral music these days. Why would you give it less than the best?

That said Ascends are good speakers.

 

[ImcLoud]

I think HT is actually one of the biggest challenges facing a speaker designer. HT is certainly no longer the poor relative of home audio.

As I have stated elsewhere there are many AV sources that challenge loudspeakers in ways they have never been challenged heretofore.

I meant, as far as sound. I don't watch a movie and pay extreme attention to the sound reproduction like I do when listening to music... its just a movie, as long as the speakers are not bright and the sub is loud- I'm happy.. With music I tend to be more critical and pay more attention to the sounds....

 

[dwaleke]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback so far.

The Emp Tek setup will not ship until the 2nd week of December. I got an email from Dina and she said the Ascend speakers should ship within 3-5 days with a 2 month backorder on the matching stands. If I absolutely love the Ascend setup I might cancel my order for the Emp Tek stuff to save time and effort. We'll see.

I'm thinking of getting a new sub to go along with the new speakers. Outlaw Audio LFM-1 EX is on sale right now and from what I have been reading I don't think there is anything out there that can beat it at its sale price. Was looking at the FV15 or the VTF-15H, but I could get (2) LFM-1 EX for the price of one FV15.

 

[lsiberian]

I meant, as far as sound. I don't watch a movie and pay extreme attention to the sound reproduction like I do when listening to music... its just a movie, as long as the speakers are not bright and the sub is loud- I'm happy.. With music I tend to be more critical and pay more attention to the sounds....

I understand your position which is widely held, but I think you take the better speaker period. 200 bucks more for something you will have for 10 years is well worth the extra cost if it's a better product.

That said cost doesn't equate quality either. Both are excellent options.

 

[lsiberian]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback so far.

The Emp Tek setup will not ship until the 2nd week of December. I got an email from Dina and she said the Ascend speakers should ship within 3-5 days with a 2 month backorder on the matching stands. If I absolutely love the Ascend setup I might cancel my order for the Emp Tek stuff to save time and effort. We'll see.

I'm thinking of getting a new sub to go along with the new speakers. Outlaw Audio LFM-1 EX is on sale right now and from what I have been reading I don't think there is anything out there that can beat it at its sale price. Was looking at the FV15 or the VTF-15H, but I could get (2) LFM-1 EX for the price of one FV15.

Not to take away from Ascends, but the Infinity Primus speakers are certainly worth a look at 80 bucks a pop.

For subs I suggest 2, just make sure you get two good ones. You could get a single great sub and add a 2nd one down the line too.

 

[dwaleke]

Just a quick update.

I picked up (2) Power Sound Audio XV15 subwoofers and got all the speakers in house.

I'm not an Audiophile and I don't know how to exactly describe how the speakers sound. But I'll take a stab at a first impression. So far I'm surprised how different the Emp Teks sound compared to the Ascends. The Emps seem to roll off a bit at the high end and overall sound much more laid back. The Towers blend with the subs much more than the 340s do. I am driving everything with an Onkyo 818 receiver and Emotiva XPA-5 amplifier. I listen to the Ascends at about -4.5db THX sound level when watching movies. With the Emps the volume seems lower and that I find I want to turn the volume up 3-4db higher than the Ascend (Audyssey level sets in between to about the same level for both sets). It seems like I feel action movies much more with the Emps. The Ascends seem to have more clarity up top and perhaps are brighter than the Emps. The HTM-200 is a really bright speaker compared to the 340s and pretty much everything else I've heard (outside of horn tweeters). With those in the back I find I want to turn the level down 2dbs or so. I don't get that feeling with the Emp bookshelfs. I'm thinking the 170s would make for a better surround speaker, but I'm also thinking of trying bipoles for my surrounds.

This is just a first impression of listening for a couple hours. I have a lot more listening to do this next week.

EDIT: I have been comparing everything with various parts of Transformers 1, 2, and 3 (bluray). My setup is 90% movies, 10% music.

 

[bigjsd]

The EMP's look to be a little less efficient than the Ascends at first glance which could be the reason they don't sound as loud and you want to turn them up. How is the sound compared to the BIC's you previously owned? Just out of curiosity, if you had room for towers why didn't you give the BIC PL-89's a shot as your main's to go along with the PL-200's? I have the Klipsch RF-3's and absoltuely love the clarity of horn based speakers for HT and even music, although there are better choices for pure music only set-ups. I recently heard the PL-89's at a holiday party and was amazed at how good they sounded for such a value-priced unknown brand. Dare I say they may have sounded better then my Klipsch? Nah but they were just as good for probably 1/2 the price I paid 7 or 8 years ago.

 

[dwaleke]

The EMP's look to be a little less efficient than the Ascends at first glance which could be the reason they don't sound as loud and you want to turn them up. How is the sound compared to the BIC's you previously owned? Just out of curiosity, if you had room for towers why didn't you give the BIC PL-89's a shot as your main's to go along with the PL-200's? I have the Klipsch RF-3's and absoltuely love the clarity of horn based speakers for HT and even music, although there are better choices for pure music only set-ups. I recently heard the PL-89's at a holiday party and was amazed at how good they sounded for such a value-priced unknown brand. Dare I say they may have sounded better then my Klipsch? Nah but they were just as good for probably 1/2 the price I paid 7 or 8 years ago.

I prefer the sound of both the EMP Tek speakers and the Ascends compared to the Bic speakers. The Bic towers are not bad overall if you are a fan of speakers with horns. I bought them based on reviews and figured since I was using them mostly for movies that was the way to go. But overall I'm not a big fan.

What I am finding out is a lot of my problem is my room. Open floor plan, fireplace, windows, etc. All room correction tools (Audyssey XT32, XT, YPAO, MCACC) struggle to get things right. I put too much faith in them initially. I'm finding out that running without a custom EQ (flat) is producing a better result is most cases. I just picked up a Emotiva UMC-200 and have been playing around with it. So far this has produced the best sound with the Ascends and the rest of my setup. I am actually leaning toward keeping the Ascends when before I was leaning towards the EMP Teks.