Ascilab A6B Speaker Review

[amirm]

Is there a minimum listening distance for these?

Not really. I listened to them at just 1 to 2 meters (6 feet or less) and they nicely integrated. Just had to be careful about ear height at that short distance.

 

[Nil Hartman]

I suppose I’m one of the few persons around here so far to own a pair. I haven’t spent as much time as I wish I had listening to them, but I can confirm everything in Amir’s review.

I’m a mastering engineer, in a very well treated small room, and I can tell they’ll be of immense value. I haven’t mastered anything yet with them, but did some very critical listening and I’m 101% sure working with them will be pure bliss.

For reference, I’ve spent years with Amphion monitors (loved them but needed lower extension) and Audeze HPs.
A6B are powered by an Hypex NCore amp and DAC is an SMSL D-6S.
I always favor low-ish SPL and nearfield placement.

 

[Bogda]

Very impressive measurements, looks like a perfect speaker for typical European flat.
On the other hand not the prettiest of speakers at least in black color. Without "Purifi wrinkles" this would be some of the most boring looking.
No info on drivers and cabinet size, recommended position relative to the front wall...
Are listening tests done mono or stereo?

 

[RandomEar]

It's wild to me (in a positive way) how small the gains are vs the F6B. Yes, you gain significantly lower distortion below 800 Hz and essentially a small subwoofer in added bass. But if you don't listen at elevated levels and maybe already have a sub sitting somewhere, the F6B are just superb value for money.

I commend @AsciLab for not "holding back" when optimizing the cheaper end of their product palette!

 

[amirm]

Are listening tests done mono or stereo?

Mine are always in mono.

 

[amirm]

No info on drivers and cabinet size, recommended position relative to the front wall...

See the second post in the thread. As to position relative to the wall, there is nothing unique about this speaker in this regard. Other than the fact that it produces deep bass so you best be able to measure and EQ that region.

 

[Bogda]

See the second post in the thread. As to position relative to the wall, there is nothing unique about this speaker in this regard. Other than the fact that it produces deep bass so you best be able to measure and EQ that region.

Yikes!

Mine are always in mono.

I remember reading your explanation why you do mono listening, however I think rounding it up with impressions of stereo listening would make it more complete for us readers.

 

[Raiju]

It was posted earlier. The youtube version is not very good so get the lossless version if you can:

The deep bass is very near to the start so quick to test. Keep your volume very low when you first play it as it could cause damage.

Thank you, yes I see what you mean.

You could also try Nala Sinephro, her (hi-res) music goes from like 1hz to 48Khz

 

[MaxwellsEq]

I have been on a mission to better correlate distortion measurements to audibility. Here, I could hear the start of very low frequency distortion at 96 dBSPL and heard the speaker nearly completely run out of excursion at 101 dBSPL. How can we better figure out from the graphs. Check this work in progress

This is interesting! Thanks for taking the time to seek better correlation between measurements and low frequency distortion audibility!

 

[Matt_Holland]

The real audible event happened at 101 dBSPL, not 96. At 96, it was just starting to be audible. In that comparison graph, I am commenting in general as I do with other review measurements.

Amir, did you listen in your large room? In the smaller rooms these speaker are likely to be used in where there could be modal bass re-enforcement in the 30-60Hz range, I suspect the bass will be overwhelming without PEQ cuts. In other words, no sub needed for many customers.

 

[kimmosto]

LW equalized to linear -0.14 dB/oct. which is LW slope target -0.2 in 'Multiple Regression Model for Predicting Loudspeaker Preference...' by S. Olive:

This reveals typical problems of "modern" 2-ways with too large and deep wave guide. Directivity has kinda two separate levels linked with quite steep slope at mid-range. Directivity of tweeter+wave guide is quite constant, and phase-matched overlapping at XO range emphasizes the effect. That is not natural DI behavior of actual instruments and vocals. Too horizontal off-axis responses don't support very well different distances in stereo listening without adjusting toe-in or distance between the speakers or electrical EQ. This is related to our physics - "off-axis responses" of ear. More linear or slightly increasing DI towards 20 kHz is more natural for instruments, ears tolerate better also radically different listening distances in stereo, and soundstage does not collapse and split to the speakers so easily. Deafness to that is one of the disadvantages of mono listening.

Review data should include impulse response as a file to 0, 10 and 20 deg off-axis in horizontal plane to enable modern FIR equalization including phase. Previous EQ was done with magnitude only and calculated minimum phase, which is just waste of resources and possibilities with multi-ways.

 

[capslock]

I was puzzled about the "Distortion somewhat audible at 96" vs "well above .. at 101" until I saw the legend atop the graph. The colors on these two sentences are inverted.

 

[Hayabusa]

It was posted earlier. The youtube version is not very good so get the lossless version if you can:

The deep bass is very near to the start so quick to test. Keep your volume very low when you first play it as it could cause damage.

Nice 33Hz

 

[LeffetheAudiophile]

Damn, these are looking to be absolutely sublime!
Might save up for these for my future home theatre!
They're currently listed on Audiophonics for about 3800€ for a pair but will be available in around june!

Thanks again for an awesome review as always @amirm

 

[Robbo99999]

These seem like really nice speakers! I do have one thought though - if these speakers are recommended to have a subwoofer for the bass at louder output levels then is there much point getting the more expensive versions of these products that have the purifi woofer if you're gonna be replacing that increased bass capability with subwoofer(s) anyway? Perhaps for a higher crossover of 120Hz then this an even more valid argument, with an 80Hz crossover perhaps becoming less of a valid argument but still arguable?

 

[Ajax]

@amirm

Firstly many thanks for a very revealing and interesting review. Obviously we are looking at SOTA speakers. A couple of questions.

1. The Topping LA90 amp only produces 41 watts into 8 ohms. Do you feel that these speakers would benefit from more power, especially in relation to reproducing frequencies below say 60hz?

2. If you did want to drive them at very high levels, say in excess of 96db, would it make sense to add a high pass filter before the LA90 amp so that the speakers are only trying to reproduce above say 40hz (or 35hz) as there are very few songs that would be affected. It would also take load of the amp.

3. Taking into consideration 1 & 2 would the Wiim Amp Ultra be a better choice of amplifier as it has twice the power (100 watts into 8 ohms) and using the Wiiim App a built in high pass filter (simply set the sub out crossover to 35hz but without a sub attached). I note that the Wiim is less expensive, but only has a SINAD of 100db compared to around 118db for the Topping, however, would that be audible?

Thanks in advance .... pls keep the reviews coming, they are much anticipated and appreciated.

 

[Chaos01]

That enclosure was made for our very first domestic sales. Currently the enclosure design is changed.

@AsciLab , it would be really nice to see a picture of the actual cabinet insides. Is the bracing the Same?

 

[Chaos01]

This is not a metric. It is a sweep of frequencies at multiple levels, uncovering non-linearities and instructing on ways to mitigate them.

Offline, I am working on a metric based but it is not ready yet.

@amirm Why no Multitone Distortion like Erin does? Would make review comparison better. Greetings

 

[AsciLab]

@AsciLab , it would be really nice to see a picture of the actual cabinet insides. Is the bracing the Same?

The bracing has improved than previous version. Two opposite passive radiators also be coupled together by internal bracing. Then the basket of the PRs becomes extended internal bracing that helps to reduce side wall(enclosure) panel resonance. You can see how clean the DI between 100 - 1000Hz. That means there is no second source like panel resonance which usually makes ripples in the DI at midrange band.

 

[daniboun]

@AsciLab , it would be really nice to see a picture of the actual cabinet insides. Is the bracing the Same?

This is what I asked in my previous post
The first batch of the enclosure was made from a material largely composed of Aluminium Hydroxide.... I wonder now about the final version ?? !

Post in thread 'Ascilab A6B Speaker Review' https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ascilab-a6b-speaker-review.69864/post-2535000