# Speaker Options: Arx vs Ascend vs Hsu vs SVS



## ozar (Feb 12, 2012)

Hope I didn't goof... but early this morning I purchased a pair of Ascend Acoustics CMT340 SE speakers for L/R mains, another CMT340 for center channel, and four of their CBM170 speakers for L/R surrounds, giving me a 7.2 channel audio system when connected to the two Hsu VTF-2 MK4 subwoofers that I already own. These speakers will be replacing my current Polk Monitor 60's and 30's, which will be moved to smaller home theater system in another room.

After doing lots of research, I chose the Ascend Acoustics over the Arx, Hsu, and SVS options based on speaker reviews from professionals and home users, and after reading all the forum comments that I could find about how these speakers compare. Unfortunately, I am not in a situation where I can listen to each of the options because there are no audio-video stores nearby, and it's a 90 mile round trip from where I live even to the nearest Best Buy, which probably wouldn't have them, either. I'm certainly not able to afford the shipping charges that would accumulate to have them all shipped in for in-home auditions, then return those that I don't like.

Don't know yet when they will ship, but will report back after they've arrived and I've played around with them a bit.


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
I truly think you will be quite happy with the Ascends. The fun thing about this hobby is that, especially with Speakers, there is excellent Resale Value should you wish to switch it up in the future. My personal Speaker Evolution began with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 7's that I purchased at cost. Thanks to that, I was able to actually make money when I sold them which then funded the PSB Stratus Silver i's I switched to next. And so on and so forth. My last switch was selling my Paradigm Studio 100 V2's (Mains and Surrounds) and Studio CC to offset a good amount of the cost of my current Martin Logan 5.2 array. Ascends likewise are very desirable Speakers that you will be able to get a good amount of your original investment back should you want to change things up in the future.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## ozar (Feb 12, 2012)

Jungle Jack said:


> Ascends likewise are very desirable Speakers that you will be able to get a good amount of your original investment back should you want to change things up in the future.


Thank for the info, JJ!

Hopefully, they'll work out very well, but if I should fail to like them, it would be nice to be able to recover a good bit of the money spent on them. Once the perfect speakers for me are found, I'm expecting them to last a good 10 years or more.


----------



## DougMac (Jan 24, 2008)

ozar said:


> Hope I didn't goof...


Sounds like you're suffering from a little second guessing. 

Buying speakers over the internet can lead to that, you always wonder if the other company's speakers are better. I considered Ascend, Hsu and SVS. I actually ended up buying a SVS sub, which is great. I think I would have been happy with their other speakers as well.

Here's what I bought, see if it sounds familiar: Ascend 340's L/C/R, 170s side surrounds and HTM 200's for rear surrounds. 

I've had them for two years now and I've been extremely pleased. I started with a receiver that had no EQ, then got one with Audyssey Multi-EQ. They sounded fine before, but the EQ really made them sing! I'm using them in a dedicated home theater.

We've had a number of friends over to watch movies and I constantly get comments about how impressive the audio sounds. As one friend, who went to BB and bought the most expensive offerings from Klipsch put it: "Now I have a serious case of speaker envy!"
I think the Ascends will sound different from the Polks. I believe the Ascends are more neutral. Give yourself a little time to get used to the sound. I don't believe in speaker break-in, but I do believe the Ascends really opened up after some playing time.

Let us know what you think.

Doug


----------



## ozar (Feb 12, 2012)

DougMac said:


> Let us know what you think.


Will do, Doug! They are due to arrive tomorrow, so I hope to get them connected and calibrated before the weekend is out. Then, I'll have to start watching all my favorite movies once again just to hear the new speakers sing their song...


----------



## ozar (Feb 12, 2012)

Oh, I forgot to mention that I very nearly went with the Hsu speakers since I already have the Hsu subs on hand.

In fact, I had the order form completely filled in for them and up on the computer screen along with another form totally filled in for the Ascend speakers. At the very last minute I pressed the submit button for the Ascend speakers, hence the reason for any after thoughts. I really would like to have auditioned all the above-mentioned options in my home theater room using my own equipment and movies, but couldn't afford all those return shipping charges. As it turned out, the Ascends ended up costing $1 more (shipped) than the Hsu speakers would have.

The current Polk speakers really do sound pretty good, but I'm hoping the Ascends will be much better!


----------



## DougMac (Jan 24, 2008)

ozar said:


> Oh, I forgot to mention that I very nearly went with the Hsu speakers since I already have the Hsu subs on hand.
> 
> The current Polk speakers really do sound pretty good, but I'm hoping the Ascends will be much better!


I almost went with SVS since I had purchases a PB-12 NSD, so I understand. I have not heard the Hsu's or SVS speakers. Both get great reviews, as does the Ascends. When looking at measurements, though, the Ascends seemed to be a little flatter.

I imagine the Ascends and the Hsu's would have a different sound, since the Ascend uses a dome tweeter and the Hsu uses a horn loaded tweeter. It would probably boil down to personal preference and I bet the differences wouldn't be overwhelming.

The bottom line is that I'm extremely happy with the Ascends, happy enough to not worry about what might have been.


----------



## TheLaw612 (Jan 17, 2012)

I think you will thoroughly enjoy the Ascends. They should blow the Polks out I'd the water in terms of detail and clarity. I wish I was in the position to purchase complete set up from Ascend. I've heard nothing but great things from owners and I'm sure you will join the ranks of satisfied Ascend owners.


----------



## ls1_sounds (Dec 14, 2010)

I ordered a 5.1 Ascend setup with 340SEs across the front and 170SEs for surrounds, and compared them in my home against some top choices from local stores. I compared the Ascends to bookshelf and floorstanding speakers, but all were played with a sub. The evaluation didn't take long, I was very impressed by the Ascends! I returned the other speakers and am still very pleased with my Ascends today.

The one thing I have found is that they are very accurate in their reproduction of the source material. Poor quality recordings, or low bitrate mp3s will be revealed as such.


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

ls1_sounds said:


> I ordered a 5.1 Ascend setup with 340SEs across the front and 170SEs for surrounds, and compared them in my home against some top choices from local stores. I compared the Ascends to bookshelf and floorstanding speakers, but all were played with a sub. The evaluation didn't take long, I was very impressed by the Ascends! I returned the other speakers and am still very pleased with my Ascends today.
> 
> The one thing I have found is that they are very accurate in their reproduction of the source material. Poor quality recordings, or low bitrate mp3s will be revealed as such.


Hello,
I am so happy that you are so pleased with your Ascends. They really are fantastic and Internet Direct Speaker Companies have such a huge advantage in regards to their business model. By not having a Dealer Network, Wholesalers, etc, they are able to provide insane value for the money.

The trick is finding ID Companies that are especially talented. This is a big reason why I am such a huge fan of HSU Research. Dr.Hsu attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which one of the finest Schools in the World.and holds many Patents incorporated into the design of his Subwoofers. I actually helped my best friend from UGA build a HT our Sophomore Year and got him to get the original VTF-2. Unlike today's VTF-2, this one had a Crinkle Finish and while sounding amazing, was a fairly spartan Industrial Design.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## ozar (Feb 12, 2012)

*Update:*

Okay, I've been playing around with the Ascend Acoustics speakers for 3 weeks now and do like them very much. However, I didn't get the huge boost in performance that I was expecting, especially considering that these speakers were just under 3 times as expensive (costs + shipping) as was the Polk setup described above (costs + shipping). Still, I'm keeping these and will put the Polks in another room as originally planned.

Sometimes, I don't notice improvements in performance as easily as I notice degradation in performance, so some day when I get some spare time, I might hook the Polks back up to this system and see if the performance drop is more noticeable to me.

Thanks to all for the comments!


----------



## hearingspecialist (Mar 15, 2010)

I would re-run your room correction and re-run frequently as you break in your drivers. You will be so surprised as to how much of an effect that has with brand new enclosures. Good speakers are just like good wine...better in time. One cool thing about room correction programs is that is does aid in breaking drivers in especially if done at a true 75db. What receiver do you have?:T


----------

