Ascend cmt-340se vs Polk rti10 (1 Viewer)

[martok]

Hi,

I'm looking to purchase a pair of front speakers and have
narrowed my choices to the Ascends cmt-340se and the Polk
Audio RTI10. Both are around the same price when you
consider I'd purchase the stand from Ascend and
wouldn't need to do that with the Polk since it's already
quite tall. The polk has a bigger woofer and it's
frequency response lists higher as well as being quite a
bit larger than the cmt. However, the Ascend lists better
sensitivity and the third order crossover, whatever that
means as well as being very highly reviewed.

Just wondering if anyone has heard both of these and could
give an idea of how they compare.

Thanks

 

[Jacob C]

I listened to Polk rti series and Ascend. I bought Ascend. For me it wasn't even that close of a call. The other speaker I really liked was the Paradigm studio series and I honestly think my Ascends are a little better than them, especially the mids. I have the 170se btw not the 340se.

 

[John Garcia]

IMO, I listened to the RTi8s and liked them just as much as the 340SEs. The SEs do have cleaner midrange, but the highs on the Polks were actually a bit softer surprisingly. I'd most likely still pick the 340s, but the 8s were not that bad. I would say the 340s will give the Studio 20s a good run for their money - if it comes down to price, the 340s would win in my book too.

 

[ScottyH]

I have auditioned both Polk and Ascend.. Currently I own the 340se's F,L,C. I auditioned Polk Rti8's and Polk monitor 70's combined with the csi5 center.
IMO the Polks had a bigger soundstage, especially with the monitor 70's. I have a very large listening room so this was nice when i was up and around listening to music and such. The highs were not as nice and accurate as the Ascends though. The reason I stuck with the Ascends is I use my home theater for 80% movies and when I am sitting in the sweet spot watching a movie the ascends were the way to go for me.. However if i were sitting somewhere else in the room with the Polks then it would sound better than my ascends do in that spot right now.. If that made any sense .. IMO i would recomend trying out some Polks first from your local Circuit City or whatever dealer may have them to avoid shipping, try them out for a while, then audition the Ascends for a bit and see which one suits you best..
They are both amazing sets of speakers though! Good luck

 

[Ron Temple]

I've only heard the Ascends once and kept RTi8s for about a month, but IIRC, the Polks do have a larger more detailed soundstage, a more colored/dynamic sound, but lose control a bit in the upper ranges. Some content was too bright and could sound harsh. The Ascends while more nuetral never lost control. The Rti10s if powered correctly, are going to throw an even larger soundstage, better bass, and may give something up to the 8s in the mids.

As other's said, you might want to audition the Polks first. I liked the 8s very much and wouldn't have given them up for Ascends. Just too close. I did for something else however.