Aperion Verus Grand and Ascend Sierra Tower

[FirstReflection]

Except, Ascend is not yet offering that beast of a center you're thinking of .

Oh but they are!

Ascend Sierra Horizon Center (RAAL tweeter upgrade optional)

It just isn't listed on their main website yet But it's available when you click on "Buy Ascend Now".

If you've got the right setup for it, and you can afford it, that RAAL ribbon upgrade is quite the nice treat

 

[davidtwotrees]

....I live in the Caribbean and the return policy won’t work for me. So anyone that I buy will be final.

I think some have missed your no return statement, Fowl. Glad to hear you are on the mend. I should also mention that when people mention Philharmonic, in order to get a veneered cabinet you need to order the Phil 3's which are $3k.

I have no experience with either speaker. I do however own an Aperion sub in cherry. The fit and finish is first rate. It does what I expected an 8 inch sub to do. Customer service was excellent. So, in my experience with the company, Aperion was a nice fit.

 

[Nuance AH]

I think some have missed your no return statement, Fowl. Glad to hear you are on the mend. I should also mention that when people mention Philharmonic, in order to get a veneered cabinet you need to order the Phil 3's which are $3k.
.

You don't need to get the Phil 3; you can just have custom cabinets built by Dennis' cabinet guy (or maybe Jim Salk) for a price increase. If I were to get Phil2's that's what I would do.

 

[cschang]

Oh but they are!

Ascend Sierra Horizon Center (RAAL tweeter upgrade optional)

It just isn't listed on their main website yet But it's available when you click on "Buy Ascend Now".

If you've got the right setup for it, and you can afford it, that RAAL ribbon upgrade is quite the nice treat

And there is more info in the Ascend Forum as well...

People actually have them...
Sierra Horizon (Sierra Tower Center) - Page 18 - Ascend Acoustics Community

 

[Fowl]

I appreciate the response guys, I may just go with the Ascends and toss in the Raal upgrade and hope for the best. I went an read quite a few post on the Ascend site an they were raving about the Raals. What do you guys think?

There is no doubt in my mind that they should best the E55Ti that I currently have.

 

[fuzz092888]

I've read more than a few posts from people who love the RAAL, both from salk forums and from philharmonic forums. Even though I haven't heard it myself, with all the positive reviews I doubt you'll dislike it and theres no doubt in my mind that the lack of doubt in your mind is well warranted

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

There is no doubt in my mind that they should best the E55Ti that I currently have.

OK, wait, what's wrong with your current EMP E55Ti speakers?

 

[Fowl]

OK, wait, what's wrong with your current EMP E55Ti speakers?

Please don't get me started

I don't think they would come close to the Aperions or Ascends. I think they are good within their price point-though they were never my cup of tea- considering they are for$800 and not 2K+ like the Ascends with theRaal.

 

[fuzz092888]

I think it's a little unfair to say that they'll be better just because they cost more.

I know audioholics has very favorable reviews about both emp and aperion speakers and I would think they would at least hold their own against the ascends without RAAL.

For the money that Ascend charges for their RAAL upgrade, you start getting into price ranges where one could argue a bit. For 2 grand my money is promptly being sent to Dennis Murphy for a pair of philharmonic 2s or you could wait another few months and then decide between the Phil 3s and the supercharged song towers, among many other options.

Once you bump your budget up to that 2-3 thousand range, you open up a whole can of worms IMHO where you suddenly have 4-5 excellent speakers to choose from.

 

[Nuance AH]

Get the RAAL - you won't regret it.

 

[GranteedEV]

I don't know if any of these speakers will be to Fowl's preference.

He's looking for that in-your-face Paradigm soundstage.

 

[Nuance AH]

I don't know if any of these speakers will be to Fowl's preference.

He's looking for that in-your-face Paradigm soundstage.

Hmm... Why isn't he getting Paradigm Sigs then?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

OK, wait, what's wrong with your current EMP E55Ti speakers?

LOL, Looks who's talking about getting new speakers

ADTG ? What's wrong with your current KEF, REVEL, Likwitz, P363 or Phils 3 ?

 

[Fowl]

I think it's a little unfair to say that they'll be better just because they cost more.

I know audioholics has very favorable reviews about both emp and aperion speakers and I would think they would at least hold their own against the ascends without RAAL.

For the money that Ascend charges for their RAAL upgrade, you start getting into price ranges where one could argue a bit. For 2 grand my money is promptly being sent to Dennis Murphy for a pair of philharmonic 2s or you could wait another few months and then decide between the Phil 3s and the supercharged song towers, among many other options.

Once you bump your budget up to that 2-3 thousand range, you open up a whole can of worms IMHO where you suddenly have 4-5 excellent speakers to choose from.

I don’t think that because they cost more that they MUST sound better, that cannot be the case at all. However, based on what you are saying. Do you think that the EMP E55Ti, will sound Just as good as the Ascend Sierra Towers without the Raal upgrade? Or do you think that the E55Ti is just as good as the Aperion Verus Grand?

I have never heard either the Ascend or the VGT, but if I am to believe the reviews of Audioholics, and I do. I don’t think there is no way on this planet that the E55Ti could come close to any of the other two mentioned earlier, they are in two different leagues, in my opinion. I am not disrespecting the E55Ti, just being realistic.

 

[Fowl]

Hmm... Why isn't he getting Paradigm Sigs then?

I went to the Paradigm dealer here and I did not like them either perhaps something is wrong with my ears.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I went to the Paradigm dealer here and I did not like them either perhaps something is wrong with my ears.

I listened to Millenias and I didn't liked that much
I have an uneducated opinion about Paradigm - They in fact make very good speakers, unfortunately the really good ones cost [strike]arm and a leg[/strike] an arm

Measurement for Signature S8 - Starting at $5400/pr :SoundStage! Measurements - Paradigm Reference Signature S8 Loudspeakers (9/2004)

 

[Fowl]

I listened to Millenias and I didn't liked that much
I have an uneducated opinion about Paradigm - They in fact make very good speakers, unfortunately the really good ones cost [strike]arm and a leg[/strike] an arm

Measurement for Signature S8 - Starting at $5400/pr :SoundStage! Measurements - Paradigm Reference Signature S8 Loudspeakers (9/2004)

There is no doubt that they - Paradigm- make good or even great speakers.
I guess what is happening to me is that I had paradigm speakers that had a sound signature that appealed to me and now that they are gone I have not found a speaker that has duplicated that. So my search goes on.

Yes they do cost an arm and a leg. Will go and listen again tomorrow.

 

[fuzz092888]

I don’t think that because they cost more that they MUST sound better, that cannot be the case at all. However, based on what you are saying. Do you think that the EMP E55Ti, will sound Just as good as the Ascend Sierra Towers without the Raal upgrade? Or do you think that the E55Ti is just as good as the Aperion Verus Grand?

I have never heard either the Ascend or the VGT, but if I am to believe the reviews of Audioholics, and I do. I don’t think there is no way on this planet that the E55Ti could come close to any of the other two mentioned earlier, they are in two different leagues, in my opinion. I am not disrespecting the E55Ti, just being realistic.

Ascend, probably would beat the Emp, but I'm not sure why you think the Aperion would be so much better either. I have to confess I haven't heard any of the speakers being mentioned, I can only base my opinion on reviews and specs. However, that being said the emp and the aperion are pretty similar on paper and are in the same price range. Given the high praise Aperion has garnered from audioholics and owners, I would guess that the Aperion would probably sound better, but not head and shoulders above. However, thats just a guess.

As to the ascend, I would guess that the ascend beats both of the others pretty handily, RAAL or not, but especially with RAAL.

In the end this is all conjecture and amounts to exactly squat and besides the main point of the post you quoted was to say that if you are seriously considering the ascend with RAAL there are a few other options in the price range that should be taken into consideration.

 

[Fowl]

Ascend, probably would beat the Emp, but I'm not sure why you think the Aperion would be so much better either. I have to confess I haven't heard any of the speakers being mentioned, I can only base my opinion on reviews and specs. However, that being said the emp and the aperion are pretty similar on paper and are in the same price range. Given the high praise Aperion has garnered from audioholics and owners, I would guess that the Aperion would probably sound better, but not head and shoulders above. However, thats just a guess.

As to the ascend, I would guess that the ascend beats both of the others pretty handily, RAAL or not, but especially with RAAL.

In the end this is all conjecture and amounts to exactly squat and besides the main point of the post you quoted was to say that if you are seriously considering the ascend with RAAL there are a few other options in the price range that should be taken into consideration.

Sorry, but the Verus Grand Tower is over twice the price of the EMP. One VGT is $899 and a pair of E55Ti is $800. Yes they have both gotten praise from audioholics, but, within their price range.

I think the VGT should be quite superior to the Emp. But then again this is just my opinion as all of us have one.

 

[fuzz092888]

Ah, you are absolutely correct, I missed the "each" pricing both times and in that respect I am an idiot.

I'm not saying you can't have an opinion, but what facts is it based on? That's all I'm asking. I'd feel a lot more comfortable agreeing with you if you had heard both of them. A subjective opinion is worth something, but only when based on objective data or actually hearing the speaker.

But that is neither here nor there, because my main point is and has been that if you are thinking of the ascend with RAAL, there are some other great speakers in that price range with a RAAL tweeter that are definitely worth at least a quick look.