Ascend Acoustics Seirra-1

furrycute

furrycute

Banned
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html

The Sierra-1 is Ascend's new high end bookshelf. The cabinet is constructed from 3/4" thick laminated bamboo. That's right, this is a first for the industry, using bamboo instead of the usual MDF.

The tweeter is a soft dome custom made by SEAS of Norway for Sierra-1. The woofer is a custom made 5.25” long-throw injection molded mineral-filled polypropylene woofer, which can bring the bass response down into the low 40Hz range.

The speakers look gorgeous, especially with the piano black gloss. And the specs look very impressive for a bookshelf sized speaker, 39Hz - 22kHz ± 3dB.

Does anyone have these speakers? And what are your thoughts?
 
J

Joe Schmoe

Audioholic Ninja
At one time, I was considering those. They are power-hungry, though, and would therefore require a new amp (my 40 watts/ch is less than their recommended minimum.)
 
MUDSHARK

MUDSHARK

Audioholic Chief
The company also permits a 30 trial. I found the company very responsive to questions and first-rate in every way. For myself, after one year I am very pleased with their performance in the family home theatre. They do perform better with a good amp as mentioned.

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/

Bear in mind this is a forum of Ascend supporters and will not be as objective as AH
 
avaserfi

avaserfi

Audioholic Ninja
The lower priced CBM-170 actually looks to measure a little better, based on measurements performed at the NRC.

http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/ascend_cbm170/
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/speakers/ascend_sierra1/

This does not include the 170SE measurements, which I believe should surpass the original 170 in linearity and distortion.
There is one large caveat to this statement. The Sierra-1 has a cabinet with significantly lower resonance as compared to the CBM-170 which would typically result in higher preference for the Sierra-1 comparing to the CBM-170.

If one wanted to modify a preexisting speaker or looking for a low cost high quality design the CBM-170 would be a superb choice, but with the end of purchasing a speaker for simply use the Sierra-1 is the best in its price class as far as I am aware as is the CBM-170.

Please note both these speakers are extremely linear and would likely be perceived as harsh. This is actually a positive trait due to the ability of these speakers to be coupled with a high quality DSP such as the Behringer DCX2496 such that an individual could custom tailor virtually any desired response.
 
MUDSHARK

MUDSHARK

Audioholic Chief
You are cetainly right about the harshness in a ceramic tile room. Some rugs and furniture helped but the neutraility did require some room acoustics. I also trialed the 170-se for thirty days and would have kept them if not for the introduction of the Sierra. Great value in my estimation. The Sierra's put out bass totally unexpected for such a small speaker.
 
WmAx

WmAx

Audioholic Samurai
You are cetainly right about the harshness in a ceramic tile room. Some rugs and furniture helped but the neutraility did require some room acoustics. I also trialed the 170-se for thirty days and would have kept them if not for the introduction of the Sierra. Great value in my estimation. The Sierra's put out bass totally unexpected for such a small speaker.
Of course, getting a proper DSP management system, such as a Behringer DCX2406, would allow you to idealize the response to your preference. It is not optional, if ideal response is the goal. In addition, use the DCX to integrate stereo subwoofers; regardless of the bass response of that small 5.25" mid-woofer - it will serve you far better as only lower mid-range/upper mid-bass device - handing of LF to far better suited devices.

-Chris
 
jaxvon

jaxvon

Audioholic Ninja
There is one large caveat to this statement. The Sierra-1 has a cabinet with significantly lower resonance as compared to the CBM-170 which would typically result in higher preference for the Sierra-1 comparing to the CBM-170.
I was thinking about this after I posted. Unfortunately, Soundstage! does not include accelerometer measurements with their loudspeaker reviews.
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html

The Sierra-1 is Ascend's new high end bookshelf. The cabinet is constructed from 3/4" thick laminated bamboo. That's right, this is a first for the industry, using bamboo instead of the usual MDF.

The tweeter is a soft dome custom made by SEAS of Norway for Sierra-1. The woofer is a custom made 5.25” long-throw injection molded mineral-filled polypropylene woofer, which can bring the bass response down into the low 40Hz range.

The speakers look gorgeous, especially with the piano black gloss. And the specs look very impressive for a bookshelf sized speaker, 39Hz - 22kHz ± 3dB.

Does anyone have these speakers? And what are your thoughts?
Boy nothing gets past you. You are at the cutting edge of audio knowledge. :rolleyes:

Maybe if you'd stop bashing other ID companies you would have known about these speakers sooner.
 
furrycute

furrycute

Banned
If this forum weren't so flooded with these so called AV123/SVS shove down your throat "recommendation" threads, then perhaps I would have come across these speakers a lot sooner.:rolleyes:

And oh, back at you, if you've got nothing positive to contribute, then just don't.


Boy nothing gets past you. You are at the cutting edge of audio knowledge. :rolleyes:

Maybe if you'd stop bashing other ID companies you would have known about these speakers sooner.
 
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emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
I picked up a pair of these two months ago or so and have really been enjoying them. They're very smooth and not fatiguing at all. While the bass isn't perfect and you would certainly be better served having subwoofers(s) taking care of that, I'm using them solo in a small room and they've been satisfying my need for bass for all but a few records. Overall I'm very happy with them at this point, but as always I'll see how I'm doing in a year.

As far as how much power you need to drive them, I'm sure Dave F (the owner of Ascend) will tell you that depends on your room size and amplifier but they have no trouble performing on my 50 wpc NAD amp.
 
ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
Nothing wrong with AV123 or SVS, even though I have had both in my house and didnt keep either:D I have never had Ascends in my house but have heard and loved them...
If this forum weren't so flooded with these so called AV123/SVS shove down your throat "recommendation" threads, then perhaps I would have come across these speakers a lot sooner.:rolleyes:

And oh, back at you, if you've got nothing positive to contribute, then just don't.
 
WmAx

WmAx

Audioholic Samurai
Nothing wrong with AV123 or SVS, even though I have had both in my house and didnt keep either:D I have never had Ascends in my house but have heard and loved them...
Let me babble for a moment.

The Ascend Acoustics company is really very interesting. I have researched available credible 3rd party measurement databases extensively, and no one else that I can find offers the specific combination of neutral on/off axis response and linearity and sensitivity, as compared to the Ascend CBM-170 and Seirra 1. Though, it is interesting that the higher priced model has inferior driver/crossover set in measure, but still excellent, and in the end probably perceptually better due to the superior cabinet construction material(s) used. In any case, what other 2 way speaker brand/model is verified to be of the same over-all quality as the Ascend units at subject here for near the same price range?

You mention the AV123 speakers. I have never seen credible evidence that these have anything special in regards to performance. The one AV123 unit(Strata Mini) that NRC measured(in the SoundStage measurement database) did not even come close to matching the measured performance that the AV123 website showed. The actual NRC measurement results were considerably poorer than the factory provided measurements. So, I certainly can not begin to trust (the very limited) measurements provided by AV123.

-Chris
 
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Sheep

Sheep

Audioholic Warlord
If this forum weren't so flooded with these so called AV123/SVS shove down your throat "recommendation" threads, then perhaps I would have come across these speakers a lot sooner.:rolleyes:

And oh, back at you, if you've got nothing positive to contribute, then just don't.
Whole lot of irony right there. You know most consider bashing a brand negative.

SheepStar
 
furrycute

furrycute

Banned
Sheep, since most of your rantings are in a roundabout way kind of amusing, I will just read them, have a laugh, and then move on.

The CBM-170SE does look enticing, especially since it's less than half the price of the Sierra-1. Is there anyway to dampen the cabinet resonance by doing some simple mods? Will that improve the sound?
 
WmAx

WmAx

Audioholic Samurai
Sheep, since most of your rantings are in a roundabout way kind of amusing, I will just read them, have a laugh, and then move on.

The CBM-170SE does look enticing, especially since it's less than half the price of the Sierra-1. Is there anyway to dampen the cabinet resonance by doing some simple mods? Will that improve the sound?
You can do simple mods and improve the sound. Or you can do extensive mods and end up with a near absolute transparent monopolar mid/treble module.

The simple mod wold be to remove the driver, remove the acoustic dampening material, and then apply 1/4"-1/3" in Dynamat or similar material to all walls. Just layer it up until you get to this thickness range. Now, install a highly effective acoustic dampening material such as high density rockwool board or fiberglass board(OC705), 2" thick on all walls, with 4" placed on the back wall directly behind the driver. You will have some mild loss of lower bass response, and an improved mid-range with higher clarity.

The extensive mod is to use a router and cut off the back of the cabinet and use install a highly braced constrained layer wall system. I can go into specific detail if you are interested -- but if you decided to do this exactly to my specification -- you could have a reference quality mid/treble module. If you did the extensive mod, then paired these up with high quality stereo subwoofers and a DCX2496 loudspeaker management DSP, you would have a monopolar monitor that would be performing objectively in many ways comparable to some of the better speakers in the +$10,000 USD range.

-Chris
 
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ParadigmDawg

ParadigmDawg

Audioholic Overlord
I really only mentioned that they have been in my house, if you read between the lines there would likely be a reason they didnt make the final cut but there is still nothing wrong with them:D, I mean they are pretty and all...
Let me babble for a moment.

The Ascend Acoustics company is really very interesting. I have researched available credible 3rd party measurement databases extensively, and no one else that I can find offers the specific combination of neutral on/off axis response and linearity and sensitivity, as compared to the Ascend CBM-170 and Seirra 1. Though, it is interesting that the higher priced model has inferior driver/crossover set in measure, but still excellent, and in the end probably perceptually better due to the superior cabinet construction material(s) used. In any case, what other 2 way speaker brand/model is verified to be of the same over-all quality as the Ascend units at subject here for near the same price range?

You mention the AV123 speakers. I have never seen credible evidence that these have anything special in regards to performance. The one AV123 unit(Strata Mini) that NRC measured(in the SoundStage measurement database) did not even come close to matching the measured performance that the AV123 website showed. The actual NRC measurement results were considerably poorer than the factory provided measurements. So, I certainly can not begin to trust (the very limited) measurements provided by AV123.

-Chris
 
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