Ascend Acoustics Sierra Tower Specs

[Warpdrv]

You do if you have any sort of taste in fine looking products in your house...

Those JTRs would be fun to have for a bit, but there is no way in hell that I could or would want to look at them for any extended length of time...

Seaton was coming up with some tamed down versions of the Catalysts - that could possibly be nice enough to look at... Those Full Size Cats are just too freakin big for me.... and talk about OMFG loud - hurt my ears after the full onslaught they tossed out... I like loud but that was rediculous - ringing ears 2 hours after... Not Cool...

Im more then thrilled with my Sig for my purposes - they are about 90 - 95% of the SQ of the Salks - as I said I don't use them for critical listening... They will snap your neck plenty for wicked HT duty....

Play the "Open Range gun fight scene" at full volume sometime... I've scared enough people with the output - like being there in the fight..

 

[Nuance AH]

And I would agree that Warp knows the Ascend Towers will not hold a candle against the Paradigm Sig. S8's to kick 'em up for a big house party or HT, but put a Klipsch RF-7II up against a Paradigm Sig. S6 or S8 that would be a good shootout, and an Open House Party rattling the windows also, until the man shows up to Shut It Down!

Now, for a KEF R900 at Sens. = 90dB w/ 250W RMS w/ 12' Listening dist. will produce 105.7dB

Now, for a Klipsch RF-7II at Sens. = 101dB w/ 250W RMS w/ 12' List. Dist. will produce 116.7dB

Now, for Ascend Tower at Sens. = 92dB w/ 350W RMS w/ 12' List. Dist. will produce 109.2dB
(Notice I increased the Power into the Ascend to 350W RMS of Clean Power per Ascend specs.).

Now, for Ascend Tower at Sens. = 92dB w/ 250W RMS w/ 12' List. Dist. will produce 107.7dB

and the Winner is _____ ?

You posted this twice in two threads...

The Ascends are 89dB Sensitivity anechoic. 92 is the assumed in-room. Apples to apples man. Time to recalculate those figures.

 

[cschang]

You posted this twice in two threads...

The Ascends are 89dB Sensitivity anechoic. 92 is the assumed in-room. Apples to apples man. Time to recalculate those figures.

Good correction.

On top of that, you know and I know that dynamic sound can't really be calculated by looking at those specs.

 

[cschang]

You posted this twice in two threads...

The Ascends are 89dB Sensitivity anechoic. 92 is the assumed in-room. Apples to apples man. Time to recalculate those figures.

Good correction.

On top of that, anyone with experience knows that you can't really calculate how dynamic a speaker will sound by looking at specs.

Granted though, those Klipsch are pretty dynamic.

 

[Nuance AH]

Good correction.

On top of that, anyone with experience knows that you can't really calculate how dynamic a speaker will sound by looking at specs.

You said it man. Measurements and specs only get you so far.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Page was updated.

Sierra Tower Bamboo Loudspeaker

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Page was updated.

Sierra Tower Bamboo Loudspeaker

I'm impressed. Those measurements look like they came from Stereophile. Impressive amount of information. I like.

 

[cschang]

Information on the RAAL upgrade with measurements/comparison as well.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Page was updated.

Sierra Tower Bamboo Loudspeaker

Dream speakers for under $6000? Those would be it for me.

Very impressive!

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I'd love to hear them...I gotta talk someone close by into buying them.

 

[zieglj01]

I'm impressed. Those measurements look like they came from Stereophile. Impressive amount of information. I like.

And impressive dedication, from a speaker designer.

 

[Nuance AH]

They are awesome speakers, fellas. Always try to audition before you buy, but these are pretty darn sweet IMO.

 

[Volta]

man, I'd love to hear these

 

[Warpdrv]

They are awesome speakers, fellas. Always try to audition before you buy, but these are pretty darn sweet IMO.

I will second that info....

We ran through a good amount of material - we all concluded after listening to the S8's for a little bit, which we have all heard more then enough times that the focus would be on the Ascend Towers and the Salk SS's....

Running the Ascend towers for a good amount of time, and then the SS M7's, and then back to the Ascend's once again... the conclusion IMO matches those that had already voiced their opinions on the AVS thread....

Tweeters were the same, so nothing more needs to be said about that, but I preferred the more laid back mids of the
Salks, which for me tended to provide a bit more detail for some reason. But it certainly wasn't by a wide margin... The differences in price however are pretty significant and I would steer people towards the Ascend Towers for those on a more restricted budget, but for the custom work jim provides and those not limited to a budget my bookshelves are IMO pretty darn sweet... Without hearing the Salks before the Ascends - it may have swayed me to purchase those instead in espresso... (Not sure I could swing the size of the CC that goes with it though. Anyone got a pic of that thing they can post here...?)

I wouldn't hesitate for a second to recommend the Ascend Towers to anyone - they are truly that good for the money.

Great Job Ascend !!

 

[Nuance AH]

I wouldn't call the mids of the Salk SS7's laid back at all; the Ascends are just more forward. The SS7's actually had more presence and detail, but it is all a matter of preference when speakers are this good. Nothing touches the Ascend Towers and Salk SongTowers in this price range imo (the Philharmonics probably do, but i haven't heard them so I cannot say for sure).

 

[cschang]

Nothing touches the Ascend Towers and Salk SongTowers in this price range imo (the Philharmonics probably do, but i haven't heard them so I cannot say for sure).

I think liking the Philharmonics will be pretty subjective as well(as is everything ), just like the mids on the SS and Sierra Tower, since Dennis says they are fairly different from the Songtower.

 

[Nuance AH]

I think liking the Philharmonics will be pretty subjective as well(as is everything ), just like the mids on the SS and Sierra Tower, since Dennis says they are fairly different from the Songtower.

I'm sure they are. The mids on the SS7 are quite different too, as there is just more spaciousness and presence. I really liked what I heard at Patrick's and am hoping to get some of that extra openness and presence if I pull the trigger on the Phil's. I just don't know that my room will take to it until after I widen it (from 12 feet to 17). I plan on listening to the Phil's at AK Fest this year, but until then my top two speakers under $3000 are easily the Ascend Tower's and ST's, both with the RAAL, of course.

 

[Warpdrv]

I wouldn't call the mids of the Salk SS7's laid back at all; the Ascends are just more forward. The SS7's actually had more presence and detail, but it is all a matter of preference when speakers are this good.

Its always hard for me to put my thoughts into words, never been very good at all that speaker garble - but I will agree with this point 100%. The Mids on the SS's were just leaps and bounds better for me then the Ascends... Laid back wasn't my first choice in my first post on AVS. There was more of an expansive nature to the mids on SS's, extremely present and revealing in nature, in a word I would say "Perfect"

Ceramic Accuton on the SS's in comparison to the 5.25” mineral-filled polypropylene cone woofer of the Ascend... Here is where things really come in to perspective for me ----- These speakers measure extremely close, yet there is no way they have the same sonic signature. The Mids of the SS's are the Booze in my drink...

I'm pretty confident that choices had to be made in terms of final price determination for the Ascends - where it was a no-holds barred choice of drivers for the SS's... But for me the difference is more then recognizable.

Brandon spent most of the time with the 2 different speakers tucked back in the sweet spot - which was in the opposite corner of the room of the speakers, if you've seen the layout in my room, you'd get it... its a tight squeeze behind a coffee table and in front of a tree....

I honestly didn't take the time to go back there, didn't need to - to get my impressions of the differences in presentation, the only thing that spot got ya was the 3D experience of the sound staging of the 2 products... I'll rely on Nuance thoughts in that perspective. Sonic nature of the 2 different speakers was very revealing IMO from any of the spots on either the large couch or the love seat.

Again I will state - are the SS's worth 2+ times the price... ?
That is going to be a very hard pill for many to swallow...

 

[agarwalro]

If only they used magnetic grills, and it would be a perfect looking speaker too.

 

[davef]

If only they used magnetic grills, and it would be a perfect looking speaker too.

Regrettably, it is not possible since there is no veneer to cover the magnets. The cabinet is bamboo with various applied stains so if we drilled into the front baffle to insert magnets, there would be nothing to cover them and they would be visible.