Ascend Acoustic Ribbon Towers

[Pogre]

Woohoo! We got him back, Boys!

I'll tell ya, the tweets on the towers are huge compared to the Sierras. You can easily see wrinkles the thin strip behind the screen.

 

[John Parks]

They look so tiny compared to the Ultras!

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They don't sound tiny tho!

Did you get the Matte Black or the Satin Black Bamboo? Also, did they come with grills and are the grills magnetic now? The Ascend website is still showing the grill peg holes. A couple years ago, I asked Dave if it was possible to get a Sierra sans holes (my absolute least favorite thing about the pair I had) like the Luna, and he said it would be prohibitively expensive to do so. Just wondering if things have changed... In any case, the look great!

 

[Pogre]

 

[Pogre]

Did you get the Matte Black or the Satin Black Bamboo? Also, did they come with grills and are the grills magnetic now? The Ascend website is still showing the grill peg holes. A couple years ago, I asked Dave if it was possible to get a Sierra sans holes (my absolute least favorite thing about the pair I had) like the Luna, and he said it would be prohibitively expensive to do so. Just wondering if things have changed... In any case, the look great!

Matte black bamboo, they came with grilles, and to my surprise they are indeed magnetic grilles!

 

[John Parks]

Matte black bamboo, they came with grilles, and to my surprise they are indeed magnetic grilles!

Awesome - they look so much better now!

 

[Pogre]

Listening I've determined so far that these are more forward than the Ultras for sure, which I do like. They don't slam with you bass the way the Ultras can, but they don't seem to have any trouble pressurizing the room. Nice n smooth. They sound great with or without the subs and that's something I've had issues with the Ultras since I got them. I really think even tho my room is pretty big there still wasn't quite enough room for the Ultras to really do their best.

Last night I did start feeling a little fatigue set in, but I had them cranked up pretty good a couple times too. I have more time today so I might bust out the gear and do some sweeps. Maybe get my subs all dialed in again. I removed all processing before I reran room correction last night.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Sweet phase plugs!
They look awesome. FWIW, I think I’d go with the “new” CC instead of surrounds.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

Congrats! Glad to see you got both speakers. Now the fun begins!

 

[Pogre]

Sweet phase plugs!
They look awesome. FWIW, I think I’d go with the “new” CC instead of surrounds.

So... I could Google this, but since I have your attention...

I've never done any homework on phase plugs since I'm pretty sure I've never had speakers that use them. Are they there to help keep the drivers moving nice and evenly?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

So... I could Google this, but since I have your attention...

I've never done any homework on phase plugs since I'm pretty sure I've never had speakers that use them. Are they there to help keep the drivers moving nice and evenly?

The short version is there supposed to keep the sound waves from interfering with each other as they’re propagated from the drivers face. Basically to avoid cancellations/summations like in a room.

 

[Pogre]

The short version is there supposed to keep the sound waves from interfering with each other as they’re propagated from the drivers face. Basically to avoid cancellations/summations like in a room.

Thanks Bill. Not quite what I thought then.

Here are the charts they sent with the speakers.

I'm seeing a tilt to the upper end. That would definitely explain their more forward nature.

 

[Mpsafranski]

Pogre—in regards to the fatigue:

when I went from my Elacs to the ascends and did some spirited listening, I ended up with a headache that lasted a couple days. I didn’t notice anything while I was listening that sounded sharp, but I don’t get headaches and it came on an hour after listening.

I kept the volume reasonable for a couple weeks before cranking it again and I’ve not had a problem since. I chalked it up to my ears/brain adjusting. Based on nothing scientific just my anecdotal experience.
I hope the same happens for you.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

That little tilt might help these old ears!!!

Yeah, I think mostly people associate the phase plug with aesthetics, and in some cases it might be put there just for that reason, but I don’t recall them on any low end speakers so...

 

[shadyJ]

Pogre, does your AVR have a tone control? If so, take the treble down by a bit to see what happens.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

Pogre, does your AVR have a tone control? If so, take the treble down by a bit to see what happens.

You might be able to flatten the 11khz bump with manual alteration in Audyssey Freq. correction?

 

[shadyJ]

You might be able to flatten the 11khz bump with manual alteration in Audyssey Freq. correction?

The bump you are talking about occurs at 22kHz. After 10kHz, the tick marks on the horizontal axis come in 10kHz increments. Also I don't believe that Audyssey allows for manual adjustments.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

The bump you are talking about occurs at 22kHz. After 10kHz, the tick marks on the horizontal axis come in 10kHz increments. Also I don't believe that Audyssey allows for manual adjustments.

I'm pretty sure the Audyssey button under "dog whistle" tab could adjust for that? lol. Seriously, Audyssey has standard roll off pattern for highs or you can select flat option. Or you can draw your own roll off curve in the $20 Denon app for iPad and wirelessly load it back into the Denon 4500.

 

[Pogre]

I'm pretty sure the Audyssey button under "dog whistle" tab could adjust for that? lol. Seriously, Audyssey has standard roll off pattern for highs or you can select flat option. Or you can draw your own roll off curve in the $20 Denon app for iPad and wirelessly load it back into the Denon 4500.

Or the SR6011. I have options. I might indeed play with the app some today, soon as the wife gets out of the house. I got everything out and ready to go for dialing my subs in.

Let the fun begin!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I'm pretty sure the Audyssey button under "dog whistle" tab could adjust for that? lol. Seriously, Audyssey has standard roll off pattern for highs or you can select flat option. Or you can draw your own roll off curve in the $20 Denon app for iPad and wirelessly load it back into the Denon 4500.

Or use bypass!
Pogre does actually have the app, so I’m curious to see what he does here.
I might just leave it.

 

[John Galt]

Or the SR6011. I have options. I might indeed play with the app some today, soon as the wife gets out of the house. I got everything out and ready to go for dialing my subs in.

View attachment 36809

Let the fun begin!

Very interested to hear which Audyssey settings you end up liking, or if you even end up using Audyssey EQ. I’ve been changing settings for two months, and I’m still tweaking things. None of this is the fault of the Sierras, it’s the ‘fault’ of the new receiver I got at the same time and the associated Audyssey app....endless options now.