Status Acoustics Granite Bookshelf Speakers Preview

[fuzz092888]

There is a common misconception that active is always better in general. There are pros and cons of each perhaps worthy of an article in itself.

I think you're right. Time to hit the gym to help burn off all the treats tonight

There are definitely pros and cons to each and an article on that would be terrific.

Sounds like a good plan, unfortunately I'll be working tonight, but I did already get my workout in so all's well

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Sorry but I don't subscribe to that myth. Active crossovers aren't always better than passive. In fact, there are advantages to using fully passive crossovers if the very best parts are used and implemented properly. The absolute best speakers I've ever heard in my life have been fully passive designs. I've heard some great active speakers to but not on my top 3 list of what I feel was the best sound reproduction I've ever heard.

Well, there are certainly potential advantages to active crossovers, but so far the only feature that seems to produce tangible results is flexibility in setting bass levels to suit different rooms and tastes. Even the most sophisticated active devices, like DEQX with all of its capability in optimizing phase and minute control over crossover slopes, haven't produced audible benefits over a good passive crossover. Frankly, I'm as surprised as anyone over this outcome. I expected to be out of business years ago.



















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[fuzz092888]

Well, there are certainly potential advantages to active crossovers, but so far the only feature that seems to produce tangible results is flexibility in setting bass levels to suit different rooms and tastes. Even the most sophisticated active devices, like DEQX with all of its capability in optimizing phase and minute control over crossover slopes, haven't produced audible benefits over a good passive crossover. Frankly, I'm as surprised as anyone over this outcome. I expected to be out of business years ago.

Personally, I never really thought that there would be audible benefits to active. To me, the benefits, like you said, are in being able to tailor the response to taste and to even customize the slopes, points, and other filters to maintain the desired "sound" in a much wider range of rooms and placements.

I would think a unit like a DEQX or a miniDSP 4X10HD would be invaluable to a designer and builder for experimentation with different drivers and crossover points without having to build or tinker with the passive crossover until you'd settled on a final design. That is, unless you've got some pretty good computer software and a ton of experience.........so maybe you don't need anything like that after all

 

[Darkwing_duck]

There is nothing wrong with the Ascends cabinet or speaker in general. They make excellent stuff, perhaps some of the best values from ID speaker companies. They use real quality components and no psuedo-science like some of their competitors.

However, the cabinet construction of the Ascends product is more comparable to the box version of the RBH 61-SE/R which sell for about $1900/pair:
Bookshelf: RBH SX-61/R Bookshelf Speaker

The Granite version of this speaker is on another level from traditional box products, thus part of the reason for the enormous price difference.

Gene I dont think you get what I am saying....

Type of cabinet made by RBH:
Cabinet/Color: ... Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)/Standard Satin Black Oak or Sandalwood,
or 30 Different Custom Veneer Finishes

Ascend Acoustics:
Exclusive V-LAM™ construction featuring vertically laminated bamboo.

How are they comparable? Ontop of that, Ascend proved using spectral decay plots that the bamboo material was very much indeed inert. More so than MDF....so this goes back to what I said originally, wouldn't bamboo have been a better and cheaper host? Im just saying....Granite speakers sound ( no pun intended )VERY fragile! What if you have 10 crazy kids that like to run around your entire house?

 

[fuzz092888]

Gene said they were comparable. How is that saying they're the same?

It's an aesthetic choice as well as a choice based on what the material can provide acoustically. Would bamboo have been cheaper? Sure. Would it have fit in with their design goals? Obviously not or they would have chosen it.

Gene I dont think you get what I am saying....

Type of cabinet made by RBH:
Cabinet/Color: ... Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)/Standard Satin Black Oak or Sandalwood,
or 30 Different Custom Veneer Finishes

Ascend Acoustics:
Exclusive V-LAM™ construction featuring vertically laminated bamboo.

How are they comparable? Ontop of that, Ascend proved using spectral decay plots that the bamboo material was very much indeed inert. More so than MDF....so this goes back to what I said originally, wouldn't bamboo have been a better and cheaper host? Im just saying....Granite speakers sound ( no pun intended )VERY fragile! What if you have 10 crazy kids that like to run around your entire house?

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Personally, I never really thought that there would be audible benefits to active. To me, the benefits, like you said, are in being able to tailor the response to taste and to even customize the slopes, points, and other filters to maintain the desired "sound" in a much wider range of rooms and placements.

I would think a unit like a DEQX or a miniDSP 4X10HD would be invaluable to a designer and builder for experimentation with different drivers and crossover points without having to build or tinker with the passive crossover until you'd settled on a final design. That is, unless you've got some pretty good computer software and a ton of experience.........so maybe you don't need anything like that after all

All good design software programs come with emulators that allow you to listen to a given passive crossover through the computer sound card and out through an amp to the speaker under design. You can toggle back and forth instantly among 5 or 6 different crossovers and hear which sounds best. So I'm not sure us passive dudes are at a disadvantage in that respect.

 

[fuzz092888]

All good design software programs come with emulators that allow you to listen to a given passive crossover through the computer sound card and out through an amp to the speaker under design. You can toggle back and forth instantly among 5 or 6 different crossovers and hear which sounds best. So I'm not sure us passive dudes are at a disadvantage in that respect.

I meant to say there would NOT be an audible difference.

I didn't know the software would do that, but it makes sense that good software would.

 

[Darkwing_duck]

Gene said they were comparable. How is that saying they're the same?

It's an aesthetic choice as well as a choice based on what the material can provide acoustically. Would bamboo have been cheaper? Sure. Would it have fit in with their design goals? Obviously not or they would have chosen it.

I never said the same! I said how are they comparable

 

[fuzz092888]

I never said the same! I said how are they comparable

Lets not pretend you didn't edit your post.

 

[Darkwing_duck]

Lets not pretend you didn't edit your post.

LOL! I didnt edit my post at all. You can check for the edit tag yourself

 

[Darkwing_duck]

Lets not pretend you didn't edit your post.

LOLLLL! Fuzz you reported my post because I told you I didnt edit my post ( which I really didnt btw ) ? Thats VERY shallow man....

Oh well, my posts are up for everyone to see anyways...maybe someone will agree that I didnt deserve to be reported!

 

[fuzz092888]

LOLLLL! Fuzz you reported my post because I told you I didnt edit my post ( which I really didnt btw ) ? Thats VERY shallow man....

Oh well, my posts are up for everyone to see anyways...maybe someone will agree that I didnt deserve to be reported!

It's not reported, that would be the little triangle with the exclamation mark inside at the bottom of the post box. What I did was negative rep you, which is the little star/badge thing. What that does is take away reputation points, although judging by the bar under your screen name and the member community list, it didn't really matter anyways