Ascend Acoustics + SVS for office set up or?

[seewhatididther]

I have my desk in a small office that opens up in our living room thru double doors. I’m planning a desktop system that works well for nearfield and occasionally pump music over into the living room (to about 60 db at 14 feet). Office is 9x8 and my favorite living room chair is 14 feet from my desk. I realize it’d be better to have a separate living room system, but I’m on thin ice with the two PSA 18s I added to the basement setup.

Current plan:
- Ascend acoustics Luna V2
- SVS SB1000 Pro
- Wiim Ultra Amp/Streamer

Any smaller/different sub options I should consider? I’ve had a hard time considering a “sub” that only goes to 30 or 35 hz, so the Svs seems like a great compromise of size/frequency response and price.
Any concerns about the Wiim playing the relatively inefficient Ascend Speakers? Are there any more powerful class d amps I should consider?
Should I try to squeeze the larger Sierra-1 V2s onto the desk for the larger woofer and increased efficiency/volume? The rear port is not ideal given the desk they sit on will be against the wall. Or any other speakers I should consider for this application?

I have a tendency to overdo it/over spend, so let me know what you think. Thanks!

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

Ascend acoustics Luna V2
- SVS SB1000 Pro
- Wiim Ultra Amp/Streamer

I think that is a very good system. Front port speakers, sealed sub in a small room, a sub with some DSP options, Wiim with more DSP options. So you have a lot of flexibility.

The Wiim should have no problem powering things, given that 1 watt will give you 82db/1m anechoic and so more in room, which is more than enough to hit your target. Really, I would likely not want to put much more than 10 watts into the Lunas, since I assume the distortion would rise quite a bit after that.

Are you thinking RAAL tweeter or dome? For my room, 14' would be better served by the dome.... but if I can envision things correctly, I think you could do either for the far spot, and so I would likely go RAAL myself for what you are talking about. Others may give a more informed opinion on this, but I'd want the Raal for nearfield myself.

I do have the LXs, good speaker, but I do think they (and I asume other rear ported Ascends) need some distance from the wall. You can plug the ports though, if you want more speaker. But I don't think you need more speaker.

Love the natural finish, but the others are nice too. Solid cabinet, good company to deal with.

It seems like a well thought out system for your purpose. And one I would be quite happy with in an office + setting.

 

[Open Mind Audio]

Current plan:
- Ascend acoustics Luna V2
- SVS SB1000 Pro
- Wiim Ultra Amp/Streamer

Sounds great to me. Is the living room more for casual listening? The one scenario where I could see you definitely wanting a bigger amp (200W+) is if you have a main listening position in the living room (ie 14 feet away) that you use often, and particularly if you like to listen to classical music or music with a wide dynamic range. In that scenario, a Wiim preamp unit + separate amp (any of the well-rated ones from here) would be good. But if that's not the case, and you mainly listen in the office, your set-up is ideal.

Plus it's nice to have a simpler set up for the office, another plus for the Wiim Ultra Amp.

 

[Mort]

This is a great performing budget system that would go a long way. I love the RAAL tweeter myself but a little less nearfield.

I wouldn't change much. If you had another $750 I would strongly recommend the bmr monitor by philharmonic audio.

 

[seewhatididther]

The Wiim should have no problem powering things, given that 1 watt will give you 82db/1m anechoic and so more in room, which is more than enough to hit your target. Really, I would likely not want to put much more than 10 watts into the Lunas, since I assume the distortion would rise quite a bit after that.

Are you thinking RAAL tweeter or dome? For my room, 14' would be better served by the dome.... but if I can envision things correctly, I think you could do either for the far spot, and so I would likely go RAAL myself for what you are talking about. Others may give a more informed opinion on this, but I'd want the Raal for nearfield myself.

I was planning to do the Titan dome tweeter, partly for budget reasons (gasp) and partly due to the varried listening locations and distances of this being a multi-use setup

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Or any other speakers I should consider for this application?

Circa Spinorama [compare]

 

[seewhatididther]

Circa Spinorama [compare]

View attachment 516978

View attachment 516981

Can you say a bit more? I appreciate the help.
Also, these Ascilabs don’t seem to be in stock anywhere?
I’d also consider the Sierra-1 V2 if we’re doing comparisons, since they’re closer in size to the Ascilabs

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Primarily much better bass response with the Sierra-1 V2 vs the Luna (as one would expect).

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Also, these Ascilabs don’t seem to be in stock anywhere?

There's a reason for that (low supply vs high demand).

 

[Goran-P]

I have the Luna v2s with raal in my office, and love them. You will, too. I also have wiim amp ultra, it will work fine at your volumes. Your sub is good, also. But given your needs, esp for the living room, i would step up in speaker size if you can. All the three mentioned here (larger sierra’s, bmr and ascilabs) are great speakers, but if you do step up in size, maybe do same with amp. It looks like the ascilabs are available here: https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/passive-speakers-and-subwoofer/ascilab-f6b-black-p-20831.html

 

[ShadowBoxer]

I’d also consider the Sierra-1 V2 if we’re doing comparisons, since they’re closer in size to the Ascilabs

The Sierra-1's are 10.5 inches deep; quite large for a desktop (depending on the desk).

The Ascilab F6BS (sealed) are 6.0 inches deep, same as the Luna.

Sierra-1 is closer in size to the Ascilab C6B.

 

[ZolaIII]

Sierra 1 V2 vs Luna V2 Titan, same driver's different cabinet and port side. Rere port will do worse than front one but to the wall and on desk won't gona work even if you buy cardioids. Those are complete opposite to cardioids, very wide flare no wave guide but as they are small they won't be able to do more than 2~3 m distance even stressed out a lot with sub/sub's. They will still do it better than narrow flare studio monitors/cardioids.
Pull the table out of the wall, put speakers on good floor stands on sides of the table and absorber panels or accustic curtains behind them.
Regarding sub I would recommend Speedwoofer 12S in music preset over SVS.

RSL Speedwoofer 12S Powered Subwoofer

RSL Speedwoofer 12S

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

you will need better DSP then what you get from WiiM and quit frankly you can do better regarding power amplifier in same category (small cheap class D). It's not that even WiiM one will have problem regarding self noise or anything with speakers that are on low side regarding efficiency.
If it's conventional desktop (PC) might consider it doing DSP work and PCI-E audio card doing analog outputs, if not something like MiniDSP Flex is minimum I would go with still lacking regarding capabilities (high tap FIR, phase manipulation tools and so on). WiiM simply won't work as you will need to make a lot of level matching and need that independent for each chenel along time adjustments, because of your room (shape). WiiM Mini will be enough regarding streamer only and acting as digital transport (Toslink output to DSP unit). Good luck and cary on.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Sierra 1 V2 vs Luna V2 Titan, same driver's different cabinet and port side

The respective woofers are different sizes: 5.25 vs 4.5 inch.

 

[seewhatididther]

Is there any reason I shouldn’t go with the sb-2000 if it fits? The price and size are so close it’s tempting. But I usually listen at 60 db, will there be any benefit to the sb-2000? This is where I love to overdo it

 

[Mort]

Is there any reason I shouldn’t go with the sb-2000 if it fits? The price and size are so close it’s tempting. But I usually listen at 60 db, will there be any benefit to the sb-2000? This is where I love to overdo it

I would take the 12" driver over the 10" for $200 yeah. But if on a strict budget, the 1000 is no slouch.

 

[Goran-P]

Is there any reason I shouldn’t go with the sb-2000 if it fits? The price and size are so close it’s tempting. But I usually listen at 60 db, will there be any benefit to the sb-2000? This is where I love to overdo it

there is no 'overdoing' on sub size, IMO ... you can always lower the volume on a big sub ... but you can't increase it on a small sub without risk of distortion. Plus bigger usually means deeper, and for the times when you are using the set up outside of your office, you'll be happy you got the big sub.

 

[Goran-P]

The respective woofers are different sizes: 5.25 vs 4.5 inch.

the sierra's also spec a lower frequency response. Even with a sub, I think that always makes a system sound better. At the very least, it give you some more flex with crossover, DSP, etc. The big advantage of the Luns's, IMO, is the RAAL tweeter. If that doesn't matter to you and titan domes will work - and you have the space - I would think seriously about the Sierra's. But I have not heard them, so can't be sure. You should call Dave at Ascend. He'll help you walk through the options, pros, cons, etc.

 

[3125b]

The extremely narrow and uneven vertical directivity would bother me for nearfield use, moving just a few centimeters up or down (like leaning back) will completely change the sound.

 

[seewhatididther]

You guys are right. Sb-3000 is the winner

 

[Goran-P]

The extremely narrow and uneven vertical directivity would bother me for nearfield use, moving just a few centimeters up or down (like leaning back) will completely change the sound.

I use them every day, and this is not an issue. Normal head movements, leaning back, sound change is almost imperceptible. Standing up, its noticable, but not bad (to me). I think having a sub in place helps all of this.