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Has anyone bought or heard Ascend Acoustics' 170VirtueCombo

post #1 of 10
12/19/10 at 5:39pm
Thread Starter 
Offered as a special combo and claimed to have an "underground audiophile" following?
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/Merch...170VirtueCombo
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post #2 of 10
12/19/10 at 6:22pm
virtue is a t-amp. it might as well be called an "underground following" since you dont see them reviewed often anymore. i bet the package sounds great.
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post #3 of 10
12/20/10 at 12:55am
I don't have a comfortable feeling there.
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post #4 of 10
12/20/10 at 7:13am
Thread Starter 
I didn't realize that the link I provided does not go to the descriptive text on the site which reads:

"We have put together a complete 2-channel audio system that offers stunning performance. As described by a customer of ours, there is a synergy to this system that goes well beyond simply looking at specifications or measurements.

This is a combination of components that have started to generate a large underground following for offering incredible stereo performance.

This complete system consists of:

(1) pair CBM-170 SE loudspeakers
(1) Virtue Audio TWO.2, 30 watts per channel integrated stereo amplifier
(1) 3 meter pair of Quadraphonic Express Speaker Cables"

Without knowing more about the amp type involved I doubt I'd have brought this question were it not for the reputation of Ascend Acoustics, it's lead character, and their loudspeaker model "Seirra-1".

Package deals usually give me the willies.
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post #5 of 10
12/20/10 at 9:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by krs View Post

I didn't realize that the link I provided does not go to the descriptive text on the site which reads:

"We have put together a complete 2-channel audio system that offers stunning performance. As described by a customer of ours, there is a synergy to this system that goes well beyond simply looking at specifications or measurements.

This is a combination of components that have started to generate a large underground following for offering incredible stereo performance.

This complete system consists of:

(1) pair CBM-170 SE loudspeakers
(1) Virtue Audio TWO.2, 30 watts per channel integrated stereo amplifier
(1) 3 meter pair of Quadraphonic Express Speaker Cables"

Without knowing more about the amp type involved I doubt I'd have brought this question were it not for the reputation of Ascend Acoustics, it's lead character, and their loudspeaker model "Seirra-1".

Package deals usually give me the willies.


For $658 (price from link above) you can do much better somewhere else.
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post #6 of 10
12/25/10 at 11:57am
I have a Virtue Audio TWO.2 and Piano M1 CD player and I love the sound. Excellent stuff and great people to deal with. I suggest you get an upgraded power supply, I use the 30/130 one they offer and it sounds great. They sound good out of the box and really, really good after 50 or so hours so a little patience pays.
Enjoy!!!
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post #7 of 10
12/25/10 at 1:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by krs View Post

Offered as a special combo and claimed to have an "underground audiophile" following?
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/Merch...170VirtueCombo

I'd lose the package, but still get the 170Se, very nice sounding speakers. Not so pretty though, textured, and sorta boxy looking.

I'd couple them to just about any affordable or used receiver or integrated. My friend runs them with some ancient or worthless unit, and it sounds great.
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post #8 of 10
12/26/10 at 6:10am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jostenmeat View Post
I'd lose the package, but still get the 170Se, very nice sounding speakers. Not so pretty though, textured, and sorta boxy looking.

I'd couple them to just about any affordable or used receiver or integrated. My friend runs them with some ancient or worthless unit, and it sounds great.
I went ahead and bought their Sierra-1's in a "B-Stock" deal, opting for their upgraded tweeter too, and like them a whole bunch with about ten hours in now. I guess they'll improve some with a few more hours but it's hard to imagine how they could get better.

I asked this question because I've experienced (in a friend's setup) the sort of subjective or indefinable magic that Ascend seems to be describing with their 'underground audiophile following" blurb.

Sometimes an unlikely combination will produce a sound that can't be found by just buying numbers in specs, and there IS a kind of magic in it.

The thing for me that raised this question is that I'd never seen such effects advertised before - I'd always considered that a "magic" result is more a matter of luck coupled with an accident of electronic symbiosis, or something. An experience or system that could not be duplicated if you try, and might not remain after a move or even a time of equipment disconnection.

I used to have an audiophile buddy who swore by his barometer - that the weather made his sound system, and he refused to listen to his favorite pieces of music when the barometer read higher than a certain point. Lucky for him to live in San Franscisco instead of San Diego or he might never have found his satisfactory sound.
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post #9 of 10
12/26/10 at 4:44pm
Did you get the amp??
I'm not affiliated with Virtue, except that I'm a very happy customer. If your getting the amp, I think you'll like it.
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post #10 of 10
12/26/10 at 5:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by krs View Post

I went ahead and bought their Sierra-1's in a "B-Stock" deal

Even better!
Quote:


Sometimes an unlikely combination will produce a sound that can't be found by just buying numbers in specs, and there IS a kind of magic in it.

Focus on listener position, speaker placement, then the room.

If you can, try to have significant space from speakers and boundaries, including the front wall if at all possible. Keeping yourself off the back wall is imperative, at least a few feet, if not, time to look at massive broadband treatments there. The starting point for listener position is to be in a lengthwise orientation, and have the ears 38% of the distance, doesn't matter front or back wall. While this is the best spot as far as the axial modes, this number may drop to as low as 33% with the inclusion of non-axial modes.

Quote:


The thing for me that raised this question is that I'd never seen such effects advertised before - I'd always considered that a "magic" result is more a matter of luck coupled with an accident of electronic symbiosis, or something. An experience or system that could not be duplicated if you try, and might not remain after a move or even a time of equipment disconnection.

Generally, flat response without distortion is the goal, the same goal for everyone, or it should be. Then, many of us prefer to have a rolloff of the HF.

Quote:


I used to have an audiophile buddy who swore by his barometer - that the weather made his sound system, and he refused to listen to his favorite pieces of music when the barometer read higher than a certain point. Lucky for him to live in San Franscisco instead of San Diego or he might never have found his satisfactory sound.

That's pretty funny stuff man.
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