I figured it was time to start a thread dedicated to just the Ascend Towers. They have yet to be given a formal name, and once they do, we can update the thread title to reflect the change.
The towers will be coming soon and I hope to have the first pair
Mid - proprietary 5.25" (roughly) with gold phase plug. Could also be a bit larger, closer to 6.5"....unsure as of now. Pics look deceiving.
Tweeter - Seas Proprietary Nrt (neo ring tweet) 29mm dome. -3dB at 28kHz (taken from sierra-1 Nrt measurement)
2 Woofers - similar driver found in the sierra-1(custom / proprietary) but tweaked for use in a larger enclosure
Rear ported - port plugs from sierra-1 will work and help accomodate placement options
Size - 7.5" wide, 43" high, 10.5" deep (based on pre-production models)
Cabinet construction - Bamboo, same VLAM construction as Sierra-1. Finish options are still TBD but a High gloss black (very similar to the current Piano black) will be offered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pioneertop /t/1290568/official-ascend-acoustics-tower-thread/1230#post_22791503
. Sweet...but don't forget calibration is not bible.....you may have to go back in and do some tweaking to your own taste....to get the sound you like....
Quote:
Originally Posted by pioneertop /t/1290568/official-ascend-acoustics-tower-thread/1230#post_22791503
. Sweet...but don't forget calibration is not bible.....you may have to go back in and do some tweaking to your own taste....to get the sound you like....
You might be able to (at least the Audyssey Flat EQ?).
- You calibrate with Audyssey, then go to "Manual EQ", there should be an option/button to auto transfer/paste your Audyssey Flat EQ settings into the Manual EQ. Then tweak from there.
- Or, some systems let you see the Audyssey EQ settings, so you can write them down and enter them into the Manual EQ settings manually.
Well, sure, you can increase x-over frequency, but that and channel level is pretty much all you can do without defeating Audyssey. If that is all that was meant by " tweaking to your own taste", then I stand corrected. Decreasing it or changing speaker size would not be a good idea without re-calibrating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdg4vfx /t/1290568/official-ascend-acoustics-tower-thread/1230#post_22792920
You might be able to (at least the Audyssey Flat EQ?).
- You calibrate with Audyssey, then go to "Manual EQ", there should be an option/button to auto transfer/paste your Audyssey Flat EQ settings into the Manual EQ. Then tweak from there.
- Or, some systems let you see the Audyssey EQ settings, so you can write them down and enter them into the Manual EQ settings manually.
I guess here we get into the question of how wise this is to do. Converting Flat EQ settings to Manual EQ still only gives you a simple 9 band EQ and you lose DEQ.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kisakuku /t/1290568/official-ascend-acoustics-tower-thread/1230#post_22793165
... I guess here we get into the question of how wise this is to do. Converting Flat EQ settings to Manual EQ still only gives you a simple 9 band EQ and you lose DEQ.
We are happy to offer this but due to some significant modifications and the need to fully re-test ad certify the speakers, it is best handled at our facility. Give us a call or send us an email and we would be happy to further discuss.
With Sierra towers and horizon (w RAAL) front speakers and equally nice speakers in the back, would it make any sense to use a pair of micro speakers for the side surrounds? I'd like to move to 7.1 and have the speakers just for some sense of direction (music from the sides) but I don't want to introduce speakers that will just ruin the rest of the sound quality. The issue is that there is really no way to put speakers on the side. Though if I get those micro speakers (like the Sony golfball speakers or energy etc etc) I could stick them on the wall - they'd only be a few inches from someone's head but with the smaller drivers I'm hoping that wont be too much of an issue.
For front speakers with towers I would suggest the Sierra-1's instead of the 200's. The tonal match would be better especially with a speaker facing your ears rather than behind you (direct radiations vs reflections).
Good point...they are pretty heavy to mount unless you do stands...which take a lot of space. What about the 179's? I was thinking of using them as side and rear surrounds and maybe wides.
I'm pretty confident with their ability to hold the Sierras firmly in place, and I'm in earthquake central here in Southern California. I put adhesive felt pads over each of the clamps so I really don't think marking them will be an issue (although I can't say for sure as I haven't removed them since I mounted them). They're rated for 50 lbs each although that's probably a bit generous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveR1952 /t/1290568/official-ascend-acoustics-tower-thread/1260#post_22835026
Good point...they are pretty heavy to mount unless you do stands...which take a lot of space. What about the 179's? I was thinking of using them as side and rear surrounds and maybe wides.
Hi, I recently purchased a pair of Sierra Towers (w/ RAAL) and am going to complete my 5.1 setup (also recently picked up a Power Sound Audio SV-30). I will be adding a custom Horizon center (also with RAAL), but I wanted to get some input as to what fellow Sierra Tower owners are using for their surrounds. It seems that my options are either a pair of Sierra-1s or CBM-170SEs. I pretty much do all of my music listening either 2 channel or 2.1, so I would skip the RAAL on the Sierra-1s if I went that way. Obviously a subjective question, but I'm looking for some opinions as to whether the $500 price difference between the Sierra-1s and CBM-170SEs is worth it for the surround speakers? Thanks for any input.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mpo1977 /t/1290568/official-ascend-acoustics-tower-thread/1260#post_22986381
Hi, I recently purchased a pair of Sierra Towers (w/ RAAL) and am going to complete my 5.1 setup (also recently picked up a Power Sound Audio SV-30). I will be adding a custom Horizon center (also with RAAL), but I wanted to get some input as to what fellow Sierra Tower owners are using for their surrounds. It seems that my options are either a pair of Sierra-1s or CBM-170SEs. I pretty much do all of my music listening either 2 channel or 2.1, so I would skip the RAAL on the Sierra-1s if I went that way. Obviously a subjective question, but I'm looking for some opinions as to whether the $500 price difference between the Sierra-1s and CBM-170SEs is worth it for the surround speakers? Thanks for any input.
in the next week or so will be buying the sierra towers with the nrt twetters and the horizon center just would like to know how much of a upgrade would i get with the ralls for the horizon or should i just stick with the nrt has anyone got the towers with nrt and horizon with ralls. thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by swallan /t/1290568/official-ascend-acoustics-tower-thread/1260#post_22999595
in the next week or so will be buying the sierra towers with the nrt twetters and the horizon center just would like to know how much of a upgrade would i get with the ralls for the horizon or should i just stick with the nrt has anyone got the towers with nrt and horizon with ralls. thanks.
I went through a similar decision last year when I purchased the Ascend Sierra Towers/Horizon with RAALs and spent many hours going over and over this. It really depends on your usage, likes, budget and personality.
My use is almost entirely home theater with very little music. I was very focused on making sure I purchased a speaker with easy-to-follow dialogue at low to mid-level volume for movies. Dave strongly recommended going with the Horizon center with RAAL ribbon upgrade. This ribbon tweeter is a very detailed and smooth (non-fatiguing) tweeter. It offers intelligibility at all listening levels. That combined with the dedicated mid driver of the Horizon and you have what is a really good center speaker. The other big advantage of the ribbon is that is has extremely wide and linear horizontal dispersion which adds to dialogue clarity and a natural sound both on and off axis. To date, the Horizon has performed exactly as Dave stated to me. I've not had to play this game of turning up the volume to hear dialogue and turning down the volume during action scenes of which I've experienced in the past with a Def. Tech monitors system (nothing against Def Tech). Bane's dialogue in The Dark Knight Rises is clear as day, much clearer than in the movie theater that I went to to see the movie over the summer. Every word was audible and understandable behind the mask.
For movies usage, Dave also recommended going with the standard towers (NrT domes) for the left and right speakers. He stated the overall timbre remains the same when panning from left to right and the soundstage is seamless. So you have an owner of a speaker company recommending a solution where $700 additional revenue is forgone for what he believes is the right solution for a customer.
I decided against his recommendation and went with all RAALs across the front. Dina chuckled at me because my my decision was not what with Dave recommended. While listening to speakers during my search I feel in love with planars, however, didn't want to deal with some of the reported headaches such as very fickle placement issues and additional investments to drive less efficient speakers (i.e. Magnepans). I felt the RAAL ribbon would get me closest to the benefits of planars without some of the issues I read about and experienced. I also envisioned I would eventually spend more time listening to music (has not happened to date) and figured a good system for music would also be advantageous for movies as well (good sound is good sound), Yes, I was concerned about the dynamic range of the Sierra towers with RAALs for movies, however, I've not found this to be an issue at all. I have a Denon 4311CI driving my 5.1 system (no external Amp) and have not had any issues cranking up my volume during movies when I want to. There's been no distortion at higher levels.
As for my budget, I was ok spending the extra dough on the RAALs and as for personality, I believe I would second guess myself over and over if I didn't go with the RAALs due to my interest in planars. Hope this helps. I'm sure regardless you will enjoy the Sierra Towers/Horizon.
What is everyone using for surrounds? Seems strange that the surrounds drop down to a dome tweeter ...but the tower has NrT tweeter as default. No option to even use a Raal for surrounds. Not sure if that isn't over kill..but still you want your sound stages to match if possible.
I know surrounds dont really need to match your fronts but still nice to have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbie01 /t/1290568/official-ascend-acoustics-tower-thread/1260#post_22999784
What is everyone using for surrounds? Seems strange that the surrounds drop down to a dome tweeter ...but the tower has NrT tweeter as default. No option to even use a Raal for surrounds. Not sure if that isn't over kill..but still you want your sound stages to match if possible.
I know surrounds dont really need to match your fronts but still nice to have.
Check out the Ascend Community forum. I believe Dave mentioned today in a post that he's made custom Sierra-1s with RAAL for customers. I currently use the CBM-170s for surrounds, mounted to my side walls. Thinking about going to a 7.1 system later this year. Possibly adding surrounds on stands to the sides of my couch and will consider a more musical system with potentially ribbon bookshelves. We'll see what develops.
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