Passion for Ascend speakers

[STRONGBADF1]

I have read what people who own or have heard the classic and se Ascend speakers and I have just one problem. I don't hear many passionate descriptions just the "neutral & accurate" that has alot of us very interested.

I would think if they were as accurate as the graphs and reveiws say they would convey the emotion the artists and engineers are trying to create very well and evoke more passion.

Are the personal reveiws just not that discriptive?

Are the Ascends Thin or sterile?

Am I missing something?

SBF1

 

[silversurfer]

If the recording artist and engineer were sucessful in capturing that "passion", I would suspect that a neutral and accurate speaker would evoke it.

 

[j_garcia]

They aren't thin, but they are what I would call analytical - they are very accurate and revealing, and just a tiny bit on the bright side of neutral. They convey everything, which means if you have a bad recording, that will come across immedately, and good recordings sound very good. I do find them very pleasing to listen to.

 

[silversurfer]

John, if I thought the GR's were a bit warm, would I still think the 340's were not a "tiny bit" on the bright side?

 

[STRONGBADF1]

If the recording artist and engineer were sucessful in capturing that "passion", I would suspect that a neutral and accurate speaker would evoke it.

Hi silver,

That's my point but nobody is saying it.

SBF1

 

[STRONGBADF1]

They aren't thin, but they are what I would call analytical - they are very accurate and revealing, and just a tiny bit on the bright side of neutral. They convey everything, which means if you have a bad recording, that will come across immedately, and good recordings sound very good. I do find them very pleasing to listen to.

Hey j,

Thanks for replying.

I understand the bad recording part (I think but I start another thead for that one) but when you have a good one do you feel compelled to analize or can you get "taken away"? I know that depends on the listener and type of music but...do you know what I'm getting at?

I know you very rarely "get emotional" when describing equipment but I can't get this picture out of my head of you sitting in your seat after a great peice of music in silence except the sound of a tissue being pulled from it's box...

Just kidding I don't even know what you look like...,
SBF1

 

[Tex-amp]

My experience is the Ascends add nothing and take nothing away. In other words garbage in garbage out. So your amp, CD-P, and source material make a difference the Ascend add no coloration.

 

[cyberbri]

I think the best thing I can say about them is that they sound so good, in my free time at home I would rather be sitting in the sweet spot listening to some music on them than on the Internet, writing a long "impressions" review of them like I did for my Acoustech H100 sub a while back. And I have been seeking out more good music to listen to on them, and I got a Denon 2910 so I could have access to more music formats.

Once I have had them longer, and get them really dialed in, get some room treatments, etc., I'll finally write a user review of mine. But for now, bring on the music!

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I think the best thing I can say about them is that they sound so good, in my free time at home I would rather be sitting in the sweet spot listening to some music on them than on the Internet, writing a long "impressions" review of them like I did for my Acoustech H100 sub a while back. And I have been seeking out more good music to listen to on them, and I got a Denon 2910 so I could have access to more music formats.

Once I have had them longer, and get them really dialed in, get some room treatments, etc., I'll finally write a user review of mine. But for now, bring on the music!

Hi cyberbri,

Looking forward to it!

So are you saying, with out saying it, "WOW these things make me tingle!"?

Are they very sensitive to placement or are you just squeezing every last bit out of them?

SBF1

 

[Nick250]

I find the "media" to be a hugh factor. I listen to mostly DVD Concerts and some are just dull and lifeless with no dynamic range. Billy Joel At Yankee Stadium and Carole King In Concert are some of the dull ones. Examples of great ones are Egales HFO and James Taylor Live at the Becaon Theater. I find the same with CDs, some good and some bad and I can never know until I get home and try them.

Nick

 

[cyberbri]

Hi cyberbri,

Looking forward to it!

So are you saying, with out saying it, "WOW these things make me tingle!"?

Are they very sensitive to placement or are you just squeezing every last bit out of them?

SBF1

Basically, yes. I am tingling, more or less.


For placement, I have never really put much thought into it. They do sound great at most places I put them. But I have been trying to real dial in the soundstage and get a solid center stage at all frequencies. One thing I have found to be good for testing this is the interviews with the 4 musicians in 2-channel stereo on the B&W demo disc. There is one woman, and three men with different tonalities to their voices. There is no other audio during these tracks, so I can test/tweak toe-in amount and placement by seeing how solid the center image is with stuff like this. If I sit down, start one up, and it's "BAM! that's coming from the center speaker!" I know I have it right. Some things sound great and solid at the center (a certain older movie I have with mostly dialog), while other material might not be so solid in the middle - I figure it's mostly material-dependent whether the center image is solid or not.

So they sound great anywhere. But if you want to get the most out of them, especially for music performance, it takes a while to really dial them in. But with a semi-dedicated room, symmetrical placement and room to move around and experiment, I think I would be doing the same no matter what speakers I had ended up with.

 

[Gatorchong]

Your first post reminds me just how I felt about Ascend's when I tried them out. They weren't the SE models now available, but I remember them as a speaker that never did anything wrong. Well balanced and neutral, but almost to the point where they didn't have a personality IMO. I notice the same when people talk about Ascend's as opposed to Sonus Faber or Axiom, there never seems to be quite the amount of passion in the description. They were very good speakers though.

 

[billy p]

I have read what people who own or have heard the classic and se Ascend speakers and I have just one problem. I don't hear many passionate descriptions just the "neutral & accurate" that has alot of us very interested.

I would think if they were as accurate as the graphs and reveiws say they would convey the emotion the artists and engineers are trying to create very well and evoke more passion.

Are the personal reveiws just not that discriptive?

Are the Ascends Thin or sterile?

Am I missing something?

SBF1

I like this thread because I've read all the reviews and most guys make these speakers sound like they walk on water. Well neutral and transparent can be said for dozens of speakers and garbage in garbage out dido!So all I can say is I will be looking for a speaker up-grade soon and only MY ears will affect my decision.

 

[Tex-amp]

Billy p- The Ascends will reveal many things in your music that your Athenas aren't picking up. If the emotion is in the recording you will hear it.

 

[billy p]

I wasn't saying the ASCEND'S where not of good quality,well built or anything of that nature.I do however remember when the ATHENA AUDITION line was frist released lots of accolade great speaker for the price set the benchmark for budget components etc etc.All I'm saying is that every few years someone makes a very good and inexpensive product and will be no different 1-2 yrs down the road.That said I do envy most of the sig's I see here

 

[Tex-amp]

The Ascend 170 has had 1 revision in 6 years and every new budget speaker stills get compared against it. Seems like a standard that hasn't been passed to me. Try to find another speaker under $1K that has SEAS tweeters.

 

[silversurfer]

Try to find another speaker under $1K that has SEAS tweeters.

The Ascend CMT-340SE.

 

[j_garcia]

Well balanced and neutral, but almost to the point where they didn't have a personality IMO.

That is a good way of putting it. I was impressed, but not completely blown away by them.

There are kits that use the SEAS drivers that are less than $1K but you obviously have to build them yourself... I've heard the SEAS tweeters in more expensive speakers, and they are very impressive in all the ones I've heard.

John, if I thought the GR's were a bit warm, would I still think the 340's were not a "tiny bit" on the bright side?

Yes. The GRs are warm, I actually thought too warm when I first got them (coming from Paradigm Monitors), but after a while of listening I found I much preferred that warmer sound. Comparing them to the Paradigm Studios, the Studios have a more dynamic midrange, but I prefer the Ascend's tweeter even more now than the previous version.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Billy p- The Ascends will reveal many things in your music that your Athenas aren't picking up. If the emotion is in the recording you will hear it.

Hi Tex-amp,

That's good to hear. I guess many who gravitate towards the Ascend speakers are just the more reserved in nature. Maybe...or these speakers are just that good to make the listener pay more attention.

SBF1

 

[WmAx]

Ideally, one wants the most neutral speaker. Unfortunately, the measurement methods commonly used in publications do not properly reveal panel born resonances that often occur in the 300-1000 Hz region. Assuming that the Ascend Acoustics unit has a good enclosure[or if you will spend $30 and take a few hours to make some easy modifications] with minimal resonances, I would recommend this over any other speaker in it's price range. If the speaker has 'emotion' or whatever term you want to adhere to it, is irrelevant: because of it's extreme neutral behaviour, you can use a high-grade equalizer[Behringer DEQ2496 for example] to alter the response predictably and achieve any 'signature' that you so desire -- much better than if you are using a speaker that is not starting out as a neutral system. Do not balk at the idea of using an equalizer; most speakers have a built-in equalization curve via the crossover used. You can have the power to customize the equalization curve to your optimal taste if you take a logical approach to the situation.

Note: based on the off axis response plots available, it is of my opinion that the Ascend will benefit substantially from some minor absorption of the first reflections on the side walls. However, the off axis response is not terrible, as it is from some speakers(which absolutely require heavy off axis absorption in order to sound good).

-Chris