These are well put together speakers. All the components are high quality. For example, the woofers have cast aluminum baskets, something I've never seen on a 4" driver! They are also hand assembled and tested in the USA. That means something to me. As for sound quality, they are better than the other speakers I put them head to head against. Very clear, without being harsh. I like many types of music, from jazz singers to speed metal. These speakers really stand out with good vocals, like Nora Jones or Sade. As for the speed metal... the two 4" woofers let them get loud enough for me, but you know 1 woofer wouldn't have cut it. Most speakers this size in this price range only have 1 4" woofer... not enough. Another strength is that these are sealed speakers. No worries about putting them too close to a wall, and they are small enough to hang on a wall with no issues. Also, Ascend is a great company to work with. You can actually talk to the owner!

They only go down to 80hz, so for most people, investment in a subwoofer is required.

I compared the Ascend HTM-200s to a couple of other bookshelf speakers before I purchased them, and they held up quite well.

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I compared this head to head with some Polk Monitor 30s and JBL Northridge E20s. The Polks were very harsh compared to the JBLs and Ascends. The Ascends were more detailed than the Polks, yet easier on the ears. The Polks went back in the box very quickly. The JBLs had a smooth sound, but not as detailed as the Ascends. On loud rock music, the difference was not noticeable, the JBLs did well. However, on Jazz music, the Ascends were much better. The HTM-200s use the same tweeter as the vaunted CBM-170s, and its a good one. I was able to find the JBL E20s on line for about $60 each, which is half the price of the Ascends. If rock music and home theater was my only goal, the JBLs would have got the nod. The extra detail and much higher quality workmanship for the Ascends was worth it to me, however.