Ascend CBM-170 SE Speaker Review

[BDWoody]

No, I used those to upgrade my Sierra-1's. There's more than one way to buy crossovers and I didn't acquire those from Madisound (obviously). I just wanted to assuage those losing sleep over my xover issue. The open hostility is not appreciated, not a good look, and hopefully will not be tolerated at ASR like it is other places.

Not seeing open hostility, although your own posts come pretty close. Not sure why the attitude, but you can dial it back a bit.

Thanks, but I really wasn't asking for opinions.

This is an open forum. Opinions are what you are going to get.

 

[tw 2022]

Actually, it hasn't. When I was swarmed over at AVS by the g-squad (someone else's characterization by PM) I never indicated that. So, please speak for yourself.


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sorry , i read your conversation ( with Dave from ascend) at avs... it seemed pretty clear that you weren't doing crossover and/ or cabinet mods.. my apologies , i stand corrected...

 

[beagleman]

Personally, I think their on axis response looks pretty decent. They very look nicely made, well finished, and don't cost the earth.

The fact that they sound a bit bright compared to those hideous Pioneers is a good thing- the BS22s are rotten, with their signature "someone threw a wet blanket over the speakers" sound.

Found this older review just to see the "results", as I just recently heard the CMB-170's at a friends house, and oddly can not agree more.

I have heard the Pioneer 22's and they are semi dull sounding, but found the Ascent 170 SE in all honesty to sound quite neutral, with perhaps only a tiny tiny bit of brightness but mostly when up close. ...but far less than speakers I think we all agree truly sound "Bright" in caps.

Not saying they were the "Final word" on sound, but for the price, and made in USA, hard to really find many faults.

 

[beagleman]

Understood, but those Sierra-2EX crossovers are designed to "see" Sierra-2EX drivers only and only within the Sierra-2EX cabinet. I want to make sure you understand this. It is very precise, even a change in baffle size, or driver to driver spacing requires crossover changes. This is critical with a speaker like the Sierra-2, because the high pass and low pass filters do interact with each other and it is possible that simply swapping in a different woofer could result in lowering the crossover point which could end up causing unwanted frequencies to reach the ribbon tweeter, possibly resulting in damage.

Obviously, you have a great interest in speaker design and I encourage you to continue experimenting. There are many good books out there that you can learn from with regard to crossover design and how to best match and "pick" off-the-shelf drivers to reach the performance goals you are after for your design. The ability to take proper measurements is critical though, and without that - even though to your ears something might sound better, expectation bias is real. Since you believe in measurements, I had previously offered to measure one of your modified speakers on our NFS free of charge (you are responsible for shipping) - that offer still stands. Companies often pay up to $2K for this type of service.... Wouldn't you like to "see" the performance of your creation?

Having dabbled in actual speaker "Design" back in the 80s in the very competitive retail and FAILED realm, and later DIY, there is NOTHING more eye opening and revealing, but consequently more of a drastic "Let down" to see ones own creation, be it retail or DIY get brought into reality.

 

[WOLFAGRAM]

With most of my speakers I place a thick floor cushion on the floor in front of the speakers for listening sessions. There is difference however it is generally subtle. I don't do anything with the ceiling but in the future I might. If you have high ceilings or vaulted ceilings this is much less of factor.

When listening to music on my Wharfedale's, which sit on stands some 30 cm from both sides of my TV, I cover the TV screen with a thick blanket. The difference is very subtle with acoustic/organic music and a bit more pronounced with rock/metal/electronica.