[jund]

I am planning to move from my beloved ascend cbm 170s to the floor standing revel f12s.( I have read good stuff regarding these).I have heard them once but was not enormously impressed as I was expecting to. They were driven by lexicon all the way from the cdp to the amp. My ascends on the other hand are being run by a jolida jd 100 cdp paired with a nad 321 bee. I listen mostly to light jazz to jazz vocals and some pop music.

My question is if it is worth jumping from the ascends to the revels with the present set up I have and music preference.? Will there be a huge improvement in sound quality which I am trying to maximize? I know it may be unfair to compare there speakers due to their price difference.And this is one of my dilemna, are the revels worth to spend $1400 to replace the $400 ascends I already have?

Any opinion will be much appreciated!

 

[PULLIAMM]

Why would you move from something you describe as "beloved" to something that you heard and were "not impressed"?

 

[Tarpon]

If you weren't impressed the the Revel F12s then maybe a move from the Ascend 170SE to the Ascend 340SE and a small sealed sub like those from SVS or Onix would be a better choice for you. You might look at the Revel's measurements here and the 340SE measurements here. Also, those Revels are 6 ohm; will your NAD handle that without issue?

 

[jund]

bump

 

[droht]

This seems like some kind of trick question, where you have me totally agreeing with Pulliamm's post. If you feel there may be something better for you than the Ascends then by all means seek it out. Why you would consider buying something that you have heard and were not impressed by? There are hundreds of options to choose from. If you don't want to invest that time then I agree 100% with Tarpon: Order the 340SEs.

 

[Tex-amp]

There are a few 340SE owners in the Houston area. Go to the Ascend Acoustics forum and ask for an audition.

 

[jund]



Quote:
Originally Posted by droht /forum/post/0


This seems like some kind of trick question, where you have me totally agreeing with Pulliamm's post. If you feel there may be something better for you than the Ascends then by all means seek it out. Why you would consider buying something that you have heard and were not impressed by? There are hundreds of options to choose from. If you don't want to invest that time then I agree 100% with Tarpon: Order the 340SEs.

I would love to get the 340's and be done with it, but this time , I am looking for speakers that may come in "wood/looks wood" finish which ascend does not offer. And earlier I came across with focal jm lab chorus 726 speakers( wood like finish) for half of what they usually sell (since they are coming out with new models). I was impressed by these more than by the revels, so I may try to audition them at home to see how they perform with my system.

 

[droht]

You got me there jund - Ascends are surely "basic". Can't argue that speaker should and can look good. Auditioning at home sounds like a good approach.

 

[astrallite]

You can always get vinyl in any color from Parts Express and do it yourself, or pay for a better finish from Ascend.

 

[ravingndrooling]

Keep your Ascends J. You, yourself said you were not impressed with the Revels over the Ascends. Are there better sounding speakers out there, YES, but at what cost? The speakers I sold before I got the Ascends cost at least twice as much, and am very happy I got rid of them. I love my Ascends and until I HEAR something better in my room, they will be staying. As was suggested, go buy some vinyl or maybe even some veneer.

 

[Tex-amp]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ravingndrooling /forum/post/0


As was suggested, go buy some vinyl or maybe even some veneer.

Ascend will sell you a bare MDF cabinets that you can have veneered.

 

[DMD123]

I have listened to the Revel F12's and have to say I did NOT like them. They did not have a detailed top end (treble) which makes them seem really overly smooth. I like the details in the upper range, thus my choice of speaker right now are JBL Studio series. I do find these have a little too much detail so I'm looking for something a little bit softer but not as soft as the Revel F12. I did like the Performa series of Revels but way too much $$$ for me.


I am looking at the Ascends 340's myself as a replacement and have to say they are butt ugly looking, but if they sound as good as everyone says I will likely enjoy them. If the 170's are so "beloved" why get new speakers? If you really want an upgrade why not the 340's? I just think the F12's are too expesive for what they are (a glorified Infinity Beta 50). For the money I would be looking at Vandersteen 1C's which blow away many speakers out there in the $1000 range. I just dont have a room layout that lets me place these right.


Let your ears be the judge, dont let professinal reviews tell you what you should like, go out and demo some more speakers and enjoy yourself!

 

[jund]

I really like my ascends but I do want to move to towers because I know I am loosing some on the bottom end with the 170's, and I do not want to add a sub( which is probably the easiest solution to this dilemma). So thus my inclination to look for tower speakers with as good value as my 170s and with aesthetic totally as important.


As on my prev. post, I came across the focal chorus 726s, which are half price,that impressed me(looks pretty good) and I thought sounded better than my ascends.I did the auditioning though at the store and with different gears, so my next plan is to demo them at home . Anybody has any comment regarding these speakers? Anybody heard these along side the 170s or even the 340s(Which I do not have)?

 

[wje]



Quote:
Originally Posted by astrallite /forum/post/0


You can always get vinyl in any color from Parts Express and do it yourself, or pay for a better finish from Ascend.

The vinyl from P.E. looks good --- but, can be hard to work with on speaker cabinets. With the rounded edges on the Ascends, the job could be a pain in the a$$. I tried the P.E. vinyl on a pair of Onix X-LS speakers. I consider myself quite a patient person, but that vinyl was some tricky stuff.

 

[JohnR_IN_LA]

Revel, sound-wise, you cannot go wrong with.


They are universially thought of as good/great speakers.

 

[muzz]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jund /forum/post/0


I really like my ascends but I do want to move to towers because I know I am loosing some on the bottom end with the 170's, and I do not want to add a sub( which is probably the easiest solution to this dilemma). So thus my inclination to look for tower speakers with as good value as my 170s and with aesthetic totally as important.


As on my prev. post, I came across the focal chorus 726s, which are half price,that impressed me(looks pretty good) and I thought sounded better than my ascends.I did the auditioning though at the store and with different gears, so my next plan is to demo them at home . Anybody has any comment regarding these speakers? Anybody heard these along side the 170s or even the 340s(Which I do not have)?

Nope, but There is a guy that auditioned alot of speakers in a kind of a "shootout"- NON SCIENTIFIC...'

Scientific means dick to me anyway, the SOUND is everything IMO..

He did NOT do the 726 at that time, he did the 806 bookshelves, and the 826 floorstanders, along with a few others, HIS results can be found here if you are interested:

OF course a sub will be needed, and should be part of any HT anyways.
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=2343

 

[wje]



Quote:
Originally Posted by muzz /forum/post/0


Nope, but There is a guy that auditioned alot of speakers in a kind of a "shootout"- NON SCIENTIFIC...'

Scientific means dick to me anyway, the SOUND is everything IMO..

He did NOT do the 726 at that time, he did the 806 bookshelves, and the 826 floorstanders, along with a few others, HIS results can be found here if you are interested:

OF course a sub will be needed, and should be part of any HT anyways.
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=2343

Thanks for pointing out the link to the review. I was having a recent discussion on Focal speakers. To purchase their lower-end speakers means that you'll get the Focal name, but not necessarily the sound that the other (read: $$) Focals can produce. Then again, not too many of us can drop $3 - 4K on a pair of bookshelf speakers.


It really seems like the Ascends can hold their own.