Ascilab C8C Active Speaker Review

[markstein]

I used a standard AES cable between my Genelec 8361a for years, and now another cable between my C8C -and never once have I had a drop out issue.

Is this really a thing?

Well, if we care about signal integrity (will jitter change?), I would not hesitate to add a 5 EUR terminator connector...

 

[AudioJester]

Well, if we care about signal integrity (will jitter change?), I would not hesitate to add a 5 EUR terminator connector...

Its not I dont care, but I have never had an issue with signal integrity?

 

[markstein]

Its not I dont care, but I have never had an issue with signal integrity?

Can you measure this?

Usually you notice it once there are dropouts. Without dropouts, the impact is unknown (increased jitter yes/no).

 

[AudioJester]

Can you measure this?

Usually you notice it once there are dropouts. Without dropouts, the impact is unknown (increased jitter yes/no).

Why dont you measure it seeing you think its a problem?

Looks like its not an issue with Hypex fusion amps or Genelec Ones. No one has reported a problem from what I could research.

Maybe something unique to the D&D and their amp setup?

 

[AsciLab]

We'd like to share this amazing result.
We measured the C8C+BX8C combo in our reference room.
Without any EQ, The in room response is amazingly great and there is no phase issue even at 3m from the speaker.

And thanks to room gain effect (pressure field) the clean sealed box roll off -12dB/oct can be extended to 0Hz in theory.
So the bass extension could be reached down to 4Hz in this room. In result, the in room step response looks like a textbook impulse. A single Square.

 

[staticV3]

View attachment 520183We'd like to share this amazing result.
We measured the C8C+BX8C combo in our reference room.
Without any EQ, The in room response is amazingly great and there is no phase issue even at 3m from the speaker.

View attachment 520186
View attachment 520185And thanks to room gain effect (pressure field) the clean sealed box roll off -12dB/oct can be extended to 0Hz in theory.
So the bass extension could be reached down to 4Hz in this room. In result, the in room step response looks like a textbook impulse. A single Square.

Best to reign in the y-axis range a bit.

With 100dB top to bottom, most every speaker looks amazingly flat and the C8C no longer impresses (as much)

 

[AsciLab]

Best to reign in the y-axis range a bit.

With 100dB top to bottom, most every speaker looks amazingly flat and the C8C no longer impresses (as much)

I usually 100dB scale for in room measurement while 50dB scale for speaker measurement

 

[829]

View attachment 520183We'd like to share this amazing result.
We measured the C8C+BX8C combo in our reference room.
Without any EQ, The in room response is amazingly great and there is no phase issue even at 3m from the speaker.

View attachment 520186
View attachment 520185And thanks to room gain effect (pressure field) the clean sealed box roll off -12dB/oct can be extended to 0Hz in theory.
So the bass extension could be reached down to 4Hz in this room. In result, the in room step response looks like a textbook impulse. A single Square.

Amazing. Could you please add the distortion graph; and photos of the setup in your reference room, to get a better picture of how the data translates?

 

[Bwaslo]

I usually 100dB scale for in room measurement while 50dB scale for speaker measurement

Might want to stretch out the time range for the step response, too. 5msec isn't a lot.

 

[AsciLab]

Here are the addition measurements.

 

[Reddoc]

View attachment 520383View attachment 520384View attachment 520381


View attachment 520385View attachment 520386



Here are the addition measurements.

this has to be the fastest / most responsive any manufacturer has ever been when asked for a different presentation of their graphical data- kudos to you, AsciLab

 

[markstein]

I am the lucky guy - just ordered the last pair of C8C from Audiophonics.

So I received the C8C today from Audiophonics. Both units were packed well, cardboxes wrapped with plastic foil to resist humidity. I was shocked during unpacking, as both boxes were pierced at different places - obviously UPS did not handle them appropriate. Nevertheless, the speakers are not damaged because of the very good packaging. Good work @AsciLab !

The finish looks flawless - only two little issues: the trim rings of the side woofers seem to be installed using adhesive tape and are not aligned flush with the housing. They are also not equally sticking out - a little bit crooked.
Then, almost 2/3rd of the magnets holding the front trim rings and grilles fell off... Minor thing but not nice @AsciLab

Edit: Also the power cords are too short (1.5m) They should be - at least - 2.5m each.

@AsciLab: How to obtain the firmware upgrade? Please excuse if this was answered already.

Subjective impression after a very first trial: Whow! I am glad I took the risk of ordering blind. What I am hearing - without eq - is really good! Did not do any measuring and bass correction yet, however, I would say these speakers are a different league than my KH310 and so far I did not find something with their sound quality that I disliked ;-)

 

[Coltr@ne]

Here are the addition measurements.

Good, but now go motivate your collaborators so that I can enjoy it soon.

 

[goat76]

I see that Audiophonics has yet again both the black and the white C8C in stock, as the last units. Are these perhaps returned units, even though they are sold at full price?

 

[829]

[...]

The finish looks flawless - only two little issues: the trim rings of the side woofers seem to be installed using adhesive tape and are not aligned flush with the housing. They are also not equally sticking out - a little bit crooked.
Then, almost 2/3rd of the magnets holding the front trim rings and grilles fell off... Minor thing but not nice @AsciLab

Edit: Also the power cords are too short (1.5m) They should be - at least - 2.5m each.

[...]

Regarding the side woofers, maybe the design changed a bit so to orientate them this way on purpose? At least there's a difference between the following posted photos.

But yes, the rest is not nice although I guess, could easily be fixed.

Nice speakers
I see it uses some Hypex Ncore inside. Just checked > Hypex FusionAMP FA253 (NCore NC252MP 2x250W + 100W DSP ADAU1452 DCC AK4454 192kHz)

Some pics :

View attachment 516089

View attachment 516092
View attachment 516096
View attachment 516095
View attachment 516104
View attachment 516105

With the grills on:

View attachment 519761

 

[Paul7777x]

I doubt I’ll be able to afford these any time soon, and I’m near enough certain I’d prefer the SPK16 anyway.

But, out of interest, I’d be intrigued to know how these would be expected to fare with a couple of corner subs, instead of Ascilabs big fellows for sticking underneath.

I’ve assumed Room correction, most likely Room Perfect; or otherwise Dirac.

 

[AsciLab]

So I received the C8C today from Audiophonics. Both units were packed well, cardboxes wrapped with plastic foil to resist humidity. I was shocked during unpacking, as both boxes were pierced at different places - obviously UPS did not handle them appropriate. Nevertheless, the speakers are not damaged because of the very good packaging. Good work @AsciLab !

The finish looks flawless - only two little issues: the trim rings of the side woofers seem to be installed using adhesive tape and are not aligned flush with the housing. They are also not equally sticking out - a little bit crooked.
Then, almost 2/3rd of the magnets holding the front trim rings and grilles fell off... Minor thing but not nice @AsciLab

Edit: Also the power cords are too short (1.5m) They should be - at least - 2.5m each.

@AsciLab: How to obtain the firmware upgrade? Please excuse if this was answered already.

Subjective impression after a very first trial: Whow! I am glad I took the risk of ordering blind. What I am hearing - without eq - is really good! Did not do any measuring and bass correction yet, however, I would say these speakers are a different league than my KH310 and so far I did not find something with their sound quality that I disliked ;-)

Thank you for sharing and sincerely sorry for the detached magnet. Please send us PM about your order information and address.
We’ll send you new grille and trim ring.

The side woofer trim ring is designed for maintenance, able to be detached without magnet to be flat as possible, if the magnet hole exists, the trim ring should be more thick and the baffle width should be wider than now. It leads more bad diffraction pattern. But also sorry for your inconvenience experience. We’ll find the better way.

 

[Coltr@ne]

@AsciLab Do you think it's useful to set a low-frequency high-pass filter to reduce distortion and allow for higher volume levels? If so, what frequency and slope is it when using the C8C alone and when using the BX8C? Thanks

 

[Scrutable]

@AsciLab @markstein I had the same problem with the magnets. They can easily be glued back on with a droplet of epoxy. If you are going to DIY this fix be sure to put the magnets onto the trim ring to be sure they stick and mark them - there seemed to be hidden magnets under the trim ring that will repel those on the grill if not properly oriented.

@829 the C8C design is the same as those pics. It is the large box on the right in the first pic. It is accurately portrayed in the other pics but from different angles. The BX8C is the larger box below the C8C in the pic of the tower-like speaker, and that is a rear view showing the amp compartment.

 

[829]

I guess the question is why the rings of the side woofers are not flush mounted with the enclosure. It looked differently on the prototypes.

Like on @Purité Audio's photo from this thread, it‘s sticking out quite a lot (does not look right). If customers encounter this, what should they do - push back in @AsciLab?