Ascend Acoustics Owners' Lounge

[TurtlePaul]

But Dave said the SEAS diamond tweeters are better than Be, I wonder what the difference is though. I also have a pair of speakers with Be tweeters and I can say they are out of this world.

I have owned Ascend speakers. I respect what Dave has done with the business and in general the speakers are pretty good, he is knowledgeable and he has been willing to embrace new techniques over time like incorporating the Klippel Nearfield Scanner.

But he has never said anything bad about a speaker ever. Every time Ascend has a new speaker is is all the same flowery prose. Every speaker is an upgrade. I don't trust what his opinion, particularly on his own products. And most of his opinions aren't scientific based, so he has the same biases as everyone.

Again, no disrespect to Dave, but he loves his products like his children (or like a shrewd businessman) and it is hard to make honest conclusions based on his opinions.

 

[Mark609]

But he has never said anything bad about a speaker ever. Every time Ascend has a new speaker is is all the same flowery prose. Every speaker is an upgrade. I don't trust what his opinion, particularly on his own products. And most of his opinions aren't scientific based, so he has the same biases as everyone.

He's not only a highly respected, seasoned audio engineer, world wide, but he's a salesman. What would you expect him to say, "this here new LX sounds like crap! I failed, <sigh>"

Again, no disrespect to Dave, but he loves his products like his children (or like a shrewd businessman) and it is hard to make honest conclusions based on his opinions.

"Honest conclusions"? Since when would any savvy consumer make a conclusion based solely on a manufacturer's opinions, comments?

This community has seen Klippel measurements against measurements of his products, measurement/owner comparisons to some of the most pricey speakers in the industry (i.e. Kef), posted 100's of ownership "songs of praise" in audio forums, and you're trolling him based on his opinions? I've spent months reading forum ownership comments and never read a negative one with maybe a few "meh" comments on speakers from decades ago.

Icing on the cake is being able to arrange A/B auditions at their facility, 30 day satisfaction guarantee and a 5 or 7 year warranty.

Good luck!

 

[PristineSound]

He's not only a highly respected, seasoned audio engineer, world wide, but he's a salesman. What would you expect him to say, "this here new LX sounds like crap! I failed, <sigh>"

Acoustic engineer, audio engineer are the guys who do the mixing. Sorry the OCD in me felt the need to correct that.

"Honest conclusions"? Since when would any savvy consumer make a conclusion based solely on a manufacturer's opinions, comments?

This community has seen Klippel measurements against measurements of his products, measurement/owner comparisons to some of the most pricey speakers in the industry (i.e. Kef), posted 100's of ownership "songs of praise" in audio forums, and you're trolling him based on his opinions? I've spent months reading forum ownership comments and never read a negative one with maybe a few "meh" comments on speakers from decades ago.

Icing on the cake is being able to arrange A/B auditions at their facility, 30 day satisfaction guarantee and a 5 or 7 year warranty.

Good luck!

Ascend is one of the very few who actually publishes a suite of data. But at the end of the day, we are all responsible and accountable for our own purchasing decision, so it doesn't matter if Dave is a salesman or not (I personally think he's pretty upfront).

But the recent public Blade 2 Meta vs ELX RAAL shootout that he's doing is unheard of.

 

[TurtlePaul]

"Honest conclusions"? Since when would any savvy consumer make a conclusion based solely on a manufacturer's opinions, comments?

I was replying to someone who asked about Dave's opinions on diamond vs. Be tweeters. I am making exactly the same point, don't make a judgement based solely on manufacturer comments. Ascend has sold diamond tweeter speakers but they primary supplier, Seas, doesn't make Be tweeters.

 

[PristineSound]

I was replying to someone who asked about Dave's opinions on diamond vs. Be tweeters. I am making exactly the same point, don't make a judgement based solely on manufacturer comments. Ascend has sold diamond tweeter speakers but they primary supplier, Seas, doesn't make Be tweeters.

I personally don't take everything Dave say like gospel, because at the end of the day, he does need to sell speakers to pay the bills and keep his business running.

For example, Dave said that he believes the ELX RAAL can stand up to the most advanced speakers regardless of price. Maybe he really believes it, that is why he is doing a shootout with the Blade 2 Meta. But it's hard for me to buy in to that 1) the Blades are custom and bespoke from every part to every part and it was purpose designed strictly for performance 2) it's point source with a near perfect directivity pattern 3) it uses a waveguide by the nature of coaxial drivers 4) KEF is a behemoth with a tremendous amount of engineering resources to throw at their flagship product.

Though I believe what Dave say more than the average manufacturer. In the meantime, I look forward to the ELX vs. Blade shootout that will occur at the Ascend office soon.

 

[PristineSound]

Recent price increases on their ELX.

ELX RAAL increased $400 from when I brought them back in March.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

I will just say that my LX's replaced the ancient, much loved Spendor s100's about three years ago, and they do allow me to enjoy the music as much, without blocking the view of the telly!

 

[Guddu]

I have got Sierra-lx too, I guess it’s not largely popular in absence of 3rd party testing/review.
Many say that you have data provided but that’s true for all their products but still Sierra-1 v1 & v2 were sent for reviews.
Dave - any plans for external review for Sierra-lx?

 

[Wg916]

I have got Sierra-lx too, I guess it’s not largely popular in absence of 3rd party testing/review.
Many say that you have data provided but that’s true for all their products but still Sierra-1 v1 & v2 were sent for reviews.
Dave - any plans for external review for Sierra-lx?

Erin should be coming out with a review of the Sierra LX any day now (I sent him my three-month old pair).

 

[Guddu]

Erin should be coming out with a review of the Sierra LX any day now (I sent him my three-month old pair).

Wow…. This might end a fight between me and a friend…..
Thank you for sending it over to Erin.

 

[Mark609]

Am really enjoying my ELX/RAAL's I got about 3 weeks ago. Horizon/RAAL too. Damn glad I got in when I did!

 

[PristineSound]

Am really enjoying my ELX/RAAL's I got about 3 weeks ago. Horizon/RAAL too. Damn glad I got in when I did!

Amy regrets on the extra $ for the RAAL?

 

[Mark609]

Amy regrets on the extra $ for the RAAL?

I got the old price as I had paid in cash about 2 months ago. Paying in cash saved me some bucks regarding not having credit card fees. Worked out the deal with Dina.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

I have got Sierra-lx too, I guess it’s not largely popular in absence of 3rd party testing/review.
Many say that you have data provided but that’s true for all their products but still Sierra-1 v1 & v2 were sent for reviews.
Dave - any plans for external review for Sierra-lx?

Guddu, it does look as though reviews are in hand!

 

[Guddu]

Erin should be coming out with a review of the Sierra LX any day now (I sent him my three-month old pair).

Guddu, it does look as though reviews are in hand!

Erin did just mention in livestream that he will have to replace woofers into Sierra-lx, don’t know what’s wrong though.

 

[Wg916]

Well since Erin just mentioned it on his livestream, both of the LX woofers had a bump followed by a dip at around 2khz, according to his subjective analysis, Klippel, and gated measurements (for both speakers). As is customary for him, he reached out to Dave because he found it to be a bit off from Ascend’s own measurements.

Dave sent him replacement woofers, and Erin installed them a few days ago. From what I gather, might have been tolerance creep with that batch. Dave looked up by SN and ran some klippel tests of his own before he sent the woofers.

Really looking forward to the review, and my hopefully now in-spec speakers!

 

[Guddu]

Well since Erin just mentioned it on his livestream, both of the LX woofers had a bump followed by a dip at around 2khz, according to his subjective analysis, Klippel, and gated measurements (for both speakers). As is customary for him, he reached out to Dave because he found it to be a bit off from Ascend’s own measurements.

Dave sent him replacement woofers, and Erin installed them a few days ago. From what I gather, might have been tolerance creep with that batch. Dave looked up by SN and ran some klippel tests of his own before he sent the woofers.

Really looking forward to the review, and my hopefully now in-spec speakers!

Thanks, it only raises questions but I am sure there should be an explanation to this.
Did you pair not come with some measurements of it? I can only guess such dips and peaks would have captured in it if it was like that sunce it was finished!

 

[Wg916]

Thanks, it only raises questions but I am sure there should be an explanation to this.
Did you pair not come with some measurements of it? I can only guess such dips and peaks would have captured in it if it was like that sunce it was finished!

Agreed.

They did come with MLSSA measurements for each speaker. It shows the slightest low Q peak rise at the 2khz range (a fraction of a decibel) for both.

I dont want to get ahead of Erin here, so I won’t speculate what the issue or cause might be. I just felt compelled the respond because I didn’t want people to speculate that the woofer was somehow damaged during testing.

What I can say though is that after dealing with Erin, the dude is absolutely, 100% pro-consumer, and I’m glad I sent them to him for review.

I also want to add that peak or not, those speakers sounded great to me. But I’m kind of new to the hobby and likely need to develop my listening skills.

 

[Guddu]

Agreed.

They did come with MLSSA measurements for each speaker. It shows the slightest low Q peak rise at the 2khz range (a fraction of a decibel) for both.

I dont want to get ahead of Erin here, so I won’t speculate what the issue or cause might be. I just felt compelled the respond because I didn’t want people to speculate that the woofer was somehow damaged during testing.

What I can say though is that after dealing with Erin, the dude is absolutely, 100% pro-consumer, and I’m glad I sent them to him for review.

I also want to add that peak or not, those speakers sounded great to me. But I’m kind of new to the hobby and likely need to develop my listening skills.

Let’s wait for the review to be completed, may be Erin will explain what was it.
Sierra-lx indeed sound good.

 

[PristineSound]

Well since Erin just mentioned it on his livestream, both of the LX woofers had a bump followed by a dip at around 2khz, according to his subjective analysis, Klippel, and gated measurements (for both speakers). As is customary for him, he reached out to Dave because he found it to be a bit off from Ascend’s own measurements.

Dave sent him replacement woofers, and Erin installed them a few days ago. From what I gather, might have been tolerance creep with that batch. Dave looked up by SN and ran some klippel tests of his own before he sent the woofers.

Really looking forward to the review, and my hopefully now in-spec speakers!

Didn't you get a production line measurement with your speakers?

How does that production line measurement look?