How is the bass on the CMT-340SE2?

[TheRealDDP]

Hello, I am planning on purchasing this for home theater,gaming mainly with some music listening.My room is about ~15m2(40m3), I can place the speakers from 0-100cm from the front wall, while not being as flexible with the side wall(max 30cm).Unfortunatly I cant purchase a subwoofer because it would annoy my roommates to much.I was searching for a great speaker in the 1000€ price category and found the cmt. It seems like (from the little reviews I coud find) and from the measurments that this speaker is peefect besides bass extension. But I think the 45hz +-3db might work pretty well for me, considering that I have only experienced ~70hz +-3db from my current bookshelf speakers. What do you think?

 

[kyuu]

Hello, I am planning on purchasing this for home theater,gaming mainly with some music listening.My room is about ~15m2(40m3), I can place the speakers from 0-100cm from the front wall, while not being as flexible with the side wall(max 30cm).Unfortunatly I cant purchase a subwoofer because it would annoy my roommates to much.I was searching for a great speaker in the 1000€ price category and found the cmt. It seems like (from the little reviews I coud find) and from the measurments that this speaker is peefect besides bass extension. But I think the 45hz +-3db might work pretty well for me, considering that I have only experienced ~70hz +-3db from my current bookshelf speakers. What do you think?

Welcome to ASR!

Where are you getting these specs from? From what I'm seeing, the CMT-340SE2 has an F3 of more like ~75Hz. F10 is maybe around 50Hz. It's a nice speaker, but I would say the bass will be fairly anemic on its own. If your roommates will be annoyed by any significant level of bass, that may be what you want however.

 

[TheRealDDP]

Welcome to ASR!

Where are you getting these specs from? From what I'm seeing, the CMT-340SE2 has an F3 of more like ~75Hz. F10 is maybe around 50Hz. It's a nice speaker, but I would say the bass will be fairly anemic on its own. If your roommates will be annoyed by any significant level of bass, that may be what you want however.

I saw it on Ascend Acoustics website that the typical in-Room Frequency is 45hz+-3db and I thought because Im placing them clos to the walls,it might match.

 

[AnalogSteph]

If in doubt, place them close to front wall (recommended minimum distance is about 1 port diameter) und reduce side wall interaction by giving them a decent amount of toe-in.

On paper, 71 Hz @ -3 dB doesn't sound like much of an improvement, although you didn't say how steep the decline on your current speakers is. On the Ascends it looks like 58 Hz -6 dB and 45 Hz -10 dB, so not impossibly steep.

I don't know whether I would call these "perfect", there is a pretty clear directivity mismatch between woofers and tweeter as one would expect given the driver dimensions. They're basically tuned for in-room performance instead of on-axis. In the vertical, you'd best stay within +/-20°, it's an MTM after all.

 

[TheRealDDP]

If in doubt, place them close to front wall (recommended minimum distance is about 1 port diameter) und reduce side wall interaction by giving them a decent amount of toe-in.

On paper, 71 Hz @ -3 dB doesn't sound like much of an improvement, although you didn't say how steep the decline on your current speakers is. On the Ascends it looks like 58 Hz -6 dB and 45 Hz -10 dB, so not impossibly steep.

I don't know whether I would call these "perfect", there is a pretty clear directivity mismatch between woofers and tweeter as one would expect given the driver dimensions. They're basically tuned for in-room performance instead of on-axis. In the vertical, you'd best stay within +/-20°, it's an MTM after all.

I cant find the exact number how deep my current speakers go but its listednto go 65-20khz not sure if anechoicly or in room and if its the f3, f6 or f10.Would you recommend another speaker?

 

[kyuu]

I cant find the exact number how deep my current speakers go but its listednto go 65-20khz not sure if anechoicly or in room and if its the f3, f6 or f10.Would you recommend another speaker?

I might recommend the JBL HDI-1600. Really great bookshelf. Much better bass extension as well.

Measurements for speaker JBL HDI-1600

www.spinorama.org

 

[TheRealDDP]

I might recommend the JBL HDI-1600. Really great bookshelf. Much better bass extension as well.

Measurements for speaker JBL HDI-1600

www.spinorama.org

Alright, thanks! Ill look into it.

 

[Heinrich]

What do you think?

Thankfully the maker shows a plot of the vertical dispersion. It asks the listener to stay within, literally, a few degrees on axis of the tweeter. Given the form factor that is hard to comply to in a general purpose use case. The dip in directivity at 3kHz might be an additional point of concern. In total I would expect a typical, for this type of design, sound signature, that some like, others not so much, eventually. The bass response could be equalized, though.

 

[staticV3]

@TheRealDDP

The biggest issue, as with almost every other MTM design, is the directivity mismatch and off-axis cancellation between the two woofers:


Sit 20° above or below the tweeter and the direct sound will be severely colored, as will the reflected sound (ceiling/floor bounce), no matter where you sit.

To mitigate, a ceiling absorber and thick carpet is highly recommended.

The bass extension is also nothing to write home about.

IMO, there are much better bookshelf speakers available within your budget, with better bass extension and no directivity mismatch.

WRT recommendations, could you tell us which country you're located in? It's a bit confusing that your budget is in EUR, yet your first choice is from Ascend which would mean hefty shipping and import charges to Europe.

Knowing your listening distance and existing audio equipment would be useful as well.

Do you have an Amp or AVR already? If not, then you should seriously consider active monitors.

 

[TheRealDDP]

@TheRealDDP

The biggest issue, as with almost every other MTM design, is the directivity mismatch and off-axis cancellation between the two woofers:
View attachment 451209 View attachment 451210

Sit 20° above or below the tweeter and the direct sound will be severely colored, as will the reflected sound (ceiling/floor bounce), no matter where you sit.

To mitigate, a ceiling absorber and thick carpet is highly recommended.

The bass extension is also nothing to write home about.

IMO, there are much better bookshelf speakers available within your budget, with better bass extension and no directivity mismatch.

WRT recommendations, could you tell us which country you're located in? It's a bit confusing that your budget is in EUR, yet your first choice is from Ascend which would mean hefty shipping and import charges to Europe.

Thanks for the reply! Im in Europe, germany. Max budget is about ~1200( could stretch it a little more if a speaker were to be that good).I thought the cmt would fit into 1200€(with tax and shipping).No equipment currently but this budget is solely for the speaker got about 500-800 more for the amp. But already found solid ones there, havent bought anything yet tho.I unfortunatly dont know what kind of sound I like.I have never heard expensive speakers before(nothing above like 300€ a pair).But if you want to recommend active monitors total budget is about 1800-2000€

 

[staticV3]

Thanks for the reply! Im in Europe, germany. Max budget is about ~1200( could stretch it a little more if a speaker were to be that good).I thought the cmt would fit into 1200€(with tax and shipping).No equipment currently but this budget is solely for the speaker got about 500-800 more for the amp. But already found solid ones there, havent bought anything yet tho.I unfortunatly dont know what kind of sound I like.I have never heard expensive speakers before(nothing above like 300€ a pair).But if you want to recommend active monitors total budget is about 1800-2000€

Do you have an Amp or AVR already? What's your listening distance?

 

[TheRealDDP]

Do you have an Amp or AVR already? What's your listening distance?

Dont have an amp or an AVR.Listening distance is 2m, the speakers also being 2m apart. Total budget: 1800€-2000€(little more if a speaker is that good) for amp+speaker/active speaker.

 

[Heinrich]

Dont have an amp or an AVR.Listening distance is 2m, the speakers also being 2m apart. Total budget: 1800€-2000€(little more if a speaker is that good) for amp+speaker/active speaker.

KEF R3 (maybe pre owned, non meta shines w/ grille on), and Fosi V3 amp. Spares a bit to be spent on other life changing adventures.

 

[AnalogSteph]

And don't forget the various traditional German brands either (Canton, Heco, Elac etc.). For example, you could get Canton Ergo 690 DC or Townus 90 floorstanders within the budget, which would be a different kettle of fish altogether. Buying speakers from a US maker would be like proverbially carrying coal to Newcastle (or owls to Athens, as the saying goes en Allemagne).

 

[staticV3]

Dont have an amp or an AVR.Listening distance is 2m, the speakers also being 2m apart. Total budget: 1800€-2000€(little more if a speaker is that good) for amp+speaker/active speaker.

Are you considering a surround sound setup in the future? Or purely Stereo/2.1 if your roommates feel generous.

 

[TheRealDDP]

Are you considering a surround sound setup in the future? Or purely Stereo/2.1 if your roommates feel generous.

Purely stereo, no room for 5.0 sadly and a subwoofer is something I could only use very rarely so again unfortunatly no.I do have room for a 3.0 tho if that makes a difference

 

[staticV3]

Purely stereo, no room for 5.0 sadly and a subwoofer is something I could only use very rarely so again unfortunatly no.I do have room for a 3.0 tho if that makes a difference

In that case, I'd do WiiM Ultra + UMIK-1 + active monitors.

For the monitors, I'd shortlist the Adam T8V and Kali LP-8v2.

 

[TheRealDDP]

In that case, I'd do WiiM Ultra + UMIK-1 + active monitors.

For the monitors, I'd shortlist the Adam T8V and Kali LP-8v2.

But wont monitors sound very boring like will they be fun still?

 

[Heinrich]

But wont monitors sound very boring like will they be fun still?

Ja, sometimes. I like this question! Led Zeppelin, that hard core blues/rock band. With all distortion and uneven frequency response and bad directivity speakers, it feels still good and right "on point", fine noise. But with a monitor spec'ed speaker the meticulous work at the mixing desk comes out and shines. It's another kind of fun, to me it's more interesting; same with AC/DC who, over monitors, sound like a puppet show, which has some nice appeal in itself.

Problem is, if you want to squeeze out more excitement, which direction to take. What is good for one, might be very bad for the other.

 

[TheRealDDP]

Ja, sometimes. I like this question! Led Zeppelin, that hard core blues/rock band. With all distortion and uneven frequency response and bad directivity speakers, it feels still good and right "on point", fine noise. But with a monitor spec'ed speaker the meticulous work at the mixing desk comes out and shines. It's another kind of fun, to me it's more interesting; same with AC/DC who, over monitors, sound like a puppet show, which has some nice appeal in itself.

Problem is, if you want to squeeze out more excitement, which direction to take. What is good for one, might be very bad for the other.

Hmmm very interesting!How would they sound for home theater the monitors?