Ascend acoustics off axis response

[matt houser]

Do the ascend acoustics CMT 340 SE’s have a good off axis response

 

[shadyJ]

Third-party testing doesn't paint as pretty picture. It depends on how you use it. If you use it laying down horizontally, the horizontal off-axis response is very bad, but that would be true of any MTM type center speaker. If you use it vertically, standing upright, the horizontal off-axis response is flawed but not terrible.

 

[mazersteven]

There are worse, there are better, but are there better at that price range, probably not.

 

[matt houser]

Third-party testing doesn't paint as pretty picture. It depends on how you use it. If you use it laying down horizontally, the horizontal off-axis response is very bad, but that would be true of any MTM type center speaker. If you use it vertically, standing upright, the horizontal off-axis response is flawed but not terrible.

 

[matt houser]

Shadyj pretty sure you were the one five years ago that recommended the system I have with the ascends and the HSU subs, and there has never been a day that has gone by that I don’t love my system, The one problem I do have is it seems to struggle in the high end specifically with electric guitars and female vocals, although I do realize this probably isn’t even the system itself and probably room problems which I’ve never addressed, I am set up an a living room so it’s tough to treat but if you have any recommendations, I love to listen around -10, is there anything I can do electronically to maybe tame the screeching of the system a little bit

 

[Hetfield]

Teach me something because believe me I am not smart enough to know this. I'm unfortunately a listen to the speaker and do I like it guy. What would you hear of a speaker wasn't quite flat? What to actually look for when actually listening to music or movies? I have RSL speakers and I think they are pretty "flat" or at least as flat/ colorless speakers I have ever owned but you tell me what to look for so I can hear it.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[mazersteven]

Shadyj pretty sure you were the one five years ago that recommended the system I have

Shady recommended Ascends

LOL

 

[TankTop5]

I had a thought of something and I’m sure they’re already looking at it but what if KEF put their new meta material on either side of the center driver/tweeter on the baffle to reduce reflections on the center channel?

 

[ryanosaur]

Teach me something because believe me I am not smart enough to know this. I'm unfortunately a listen to the speaker and do I like it guy. What would you hear of a speaker wasn't quite flat? What to actually look for when actually listening to music or movies? I have RSL speakers and I think they are pretty "flat" or at least as flat/ colorless speakers I have ever owned but you tell me what to look for so I can hear it.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

Elevated bass usually earns the descriptor of "warm." Elevated treble is perhaps politely described as "detaialed," but more commonly just called "bright."
The other sin you find is depressed mids which is most commonly seen in some B&W designs with a depressin in the FR usually centered around 200 Hz.

How much you hear is probably a matter of great debate. Especially up high. If you look at Ascend Acoustics, Dave seems to like voicing a bit of a rise above 10K in his Speakers. Considering they are often compared to each other, compare that to the Philharmonic and Salk Speakers which Dennis designs to be pretty flat across the full range.

 

[shadyJ]

Shadyj pretty sure you were the one five years ago that recommended the system I have with the ascends and the HSU subs, and there has never been a day that has gone by that I don’t love my system, The one problem I do have is it seems to struggle in the high end specifically with electric guitars and female vocals, although I do realize this probably isn’t even the system itself and probably room problems which I’ve never addressed, I am set up an a living room so it’s tough to treat but if you have any recommendations, I love to listen around -10, is there anything I can do electronically to maybe tame the screeching of the system a little bit

To be sure, I don't think the CMT340s are terrible speakers. As bookshelf speakers go, they offer a lot for the money. However, they could use some assistance with equalization. The main problem looks to be the rise centered at 1kHz. I would apply parametric equalization taking a wide band around 1kHz down by about 4dB. After that, maybe fool around with tone controls taking the entire treble range down about 2dB to see what that does.

What kind of AVR do you have? Do you know its equalization abilities?

 

[shadyJ]

There are worse, there are better, but are there better at that price range, probably not.

Depends on what you are looking for. The CMT-340s will certainly have a lot of SPL capability for a passive bookshelf speaker for the money. However, for the money, you can get a more linear passive speaker. The CMT-340 is not especially linear. Heck, the CBM-170 is significantly more linear. And if you go active, there are a lot of monitors that are more accurate for the same cost: Kali, JBL, PreSonus, ADAM.

 

[mazersteven]

You seem to look at monitors differently than I. Studio Monitors to me are used for near field listening, not for large rooms in an HT application. That is just based on my experience with Studio Monitors. Now if you have a smaller room yes you could use them in HD applications but they're also Limited in volume/spl.

 

[shadyJ]

You seem to look at monitors differently than I. Studio Monitors to me are used for near field listening, not for large rooms in an HT application. That is just based on my experience with Studio Monitors. Now if you have a smaller room yes you could use them in HD applications but they're also Limited in volume/spl.

That depends on the monitor. Some monitors are made for near-field listening, but there is nothing wrong with listening to them at further distances except for limited headroom in SPL. Other monitors are made for mid-field listening, and that is like 2+ meters. Many of the monitors with 8" woofers are aimed for this distance. That also makes them a great choice for home theater speakers. The Kali LP-8 was made explicitly to hit THX Reference levels at a 2.8-meter distance. This is very much overkill for near-field, and, as a matter of fact, they aren't the best choice for near-field monitoring.

 

[lovinthehd]

You seem to look at monitors differently than I. Studio Monitors to me are used for near field listening, not for large rooms in an HT application. That is just based on my experience with Studio Monitors. Now if you have a smaller room yes you could use them in HD applications but they're also Limited in volume/spl.

These monitors should work fine in a large room https://jblpro.com/en/products/m2

 

[shadyJ]

These monitors should work fine in a large room https://jblpro.com/en/products/m2

Are you sure? I heard that monitors only work well in small rooms?

 

[Hetfield]

Elevated bass usually earns the descriptor of "warm." Elevated treble is perhaps politely described as "detaialed," but more commonly just called "bright."
The other sin you find is depressed mids which is most commonly seen in some B&W designs with a depressin in the FR usually centered around 200 Hz.

How much you hear is probably a matter of great debate. Especially up high. If you look at Ascend Acoustics, Dave seems to like voicing a bit of a rise above 10K in his Speakers. Considering they are often compared to each other, compare that to the Philharmonic and Salk Speakers which Dennis designs to be pretty flat across the full range.

Very interesting, thanks for the explanation. Warm I could live with, bright to be equals harsh which is the complaint I hear most about Kilpisch or at used to.
My RSL speakers definitely don't sound bright or warm but at least that's to my ears. They seem pretty balanced.
Ascend I have really never heard a bad thing about. Dave seems to be a bit of prefectionist and honest guy in general.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[mazersteven]

You would think that more of the core members here would have those in their systems hmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[shadyJ]

You would think that more of the core members here would have those in their systems hmmmmmmmmmmm

At $20K a pair, it's a difficult expense to justify.

 

[ryanosaur]

Very interesting, thanks for the explanation. Warm I could live with, bright to be equals harsh which is the complaint I hear most about Kilpisch or at used to.
My RSL speakers definitely don't sound bright or warm but at least that's to my ears. They seem pretty balanced.
Ascend I have really never heard a bad thing about. Dave seems to be a bit of prefectionist and honest guy in general.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

Just to be clear, there is no shade being thrown at Dave F and Ascend. I've heard nothing but good things about him, his gear, and his company!
I think in the terms of how he voices his Speakers, the more polite description of "detailed" is what might be applied, if at all.
During my auditions, cancelling with Dave and Ascend is the one thing I wish I could redo. Not buying, necessarily, but getting down to his spot for an audition was a challenge... and after I heard the Phils, well, I didn't feel the need to prolong the quest.
Getting to hear is gear is one of the higher priorities on my list.

 

[Hetfield]

Just to be clear, there is no shade being thrown at Dave F and Ascend. I've heard nothing but good things about him, his gear, and his company!
I think in the terms of how he voices his Speakers, the more polite description of "detailed" is what might be applied, if at all.
During my auditions, cancelling with Dave and Ascend is the one thing I wish I could redo. Not buying, necessarily, but getting down to his spot for an audition was a challenge... and after I heard the Phils, well, I didn't feel the need to prolong the quest.
Getting to hear is gear is one of the higher priorities on my list.

No I agree, no shade to Dave or Ascend, no one has done that.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk