Ascilab C8C Active Speaker Review

[Scrutable]

The room is about 11x17 with an 8' ceiling, one side with a double doorway one side solid wall, two sides double windows. Everything was quick and dirty using the WiiM defaults and an iPhone17.

(I just looked and now see why the >4K is so wacky.)
RoomFit params -
Target Curve: B&K. EQ Freq 30-4000, Max Gain 10.0, Min Gain 10.0, Max Q 10.0, Non--Boost Mode Off, Built-in Mic Compensation On.

 

[slaweks]

@slaweks Alas my testing indicated that is not the case. Per the docs, the green blinking means booting. It will not stop until you select a preset. Standby is solid red. My setting is for P1 and "RCA Analogue." It now blinks for only a short time then goes solid green (Ready).

Yes, booting, but I saw it happening say 10 secs after the music stopped. And selecting input stopped this behavior.
See also https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...e-about-to-launch.54794/page-175#post-2533222

 

[kma100]

I’ve had C8Cs installed since Wednesday, first on little <1’ step stools and then on 20” stands. I have a few comments.

The tweeter axis in the first position is slightly low, and in the second it is just below ear height (32” vs. ~35”). I am using RCA cables, WiiM Ultra, and Spotify lossless over WiFi.

I used P1 (minimum latency) presets due to using the speakers for TV sound also. P2 is said to be better hifi sound but I didn’t hear much difference.

First of all, this is a truly outstanding speaker, by far the best I’ve ever heard. It does everything well in mid field (7’ish, 4’ from the front wall, toed in) and I mean it sounds perfect. The bass is so clean, loud, and deep I had to check if room correction or the subwoofer was engaged (neither). In a more typical listening situation (about 1’ from the front wall, 10’ equilateral, no toe) the cardioid pattern cannot fix the room modes miraculously on its own. In my smallish living room, without room correction the bass is prominent when it’s closer to the wall. With WiiM auto correction engaged it is great again and I will be diving into Hypex filters and speaker positioning as the next steps. But based on my experience I recommend if possible keep them a few feet away from the wall and toed in.

I didn’t measure the dB or distortion, but when the speaker is as loud as I can stand I didn’t hear any problem at all. It wasn’t even breathing hard. I have never heard a speaker so well behaved at high volume.

There is zero hiss or audible noise of any kind.

The amp does get warm but it is by no means hot. The warmth is partly because the Hypex algorithm is very sensitive and even inaudible noise will keep it from going into standby. I am still figuring this out in the software and it is a chore. I imagine over time it could affect amp life.

Hypex Filter Designer software is unfortunately a requirement. Amir alludes to it above, but it is not optimal. It’s really only acceptable for audio geeks - think REW. It uses a DOS-like interface, is PC-only, and uses only a (supplied) USB-mini cable. For an amp of this reputation and cost I expected much better, like the terrific WiiM interface. After some initial head-scratching it is working and functional.

Overall I am ecstatic to have these wonderful speakers and to be an early adopter. The C8C sound when placed and tuned to the room is unbelievable.

You mention the speakers are 4 feet from the wall. Why not closer given the benefit of cardioid? Or are you concerned about SBIR?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

If you can afford these, they are Edge of the Art for almost any reasonably sized room. Don't seem to really go all the way down to 20 hz, and won't play as loud or as distortion free as you could expect from adding two high end Arendals or SVS SB 3000's, but still nearly perfect performance for the package. They seem to be better performers than even the D & D 8c's and Kii 3's above 50 hz or so. Even distortion levels below 100 hz seem reasonable for all but the highest volume levels. Perhaps a really synergistic combination might be something like these guys, a pair of SB 3000's, and a miniDSP Tide 16 which has Dirac Art controlling room reflections up to 200 hz. Taken together with the near constant directivity the C8C's exhibit down to 200 hz, that could be a nearly ideal synergistic combination. IDK how Cardioid below the Schroeder frequency will do much to control the myriad of room reflections, but ART's active room resonance control technology might work wonders there.

Between the tariffs and the price hikes, these went from $5000 pr to $6400 pr. IMHO, that price increase will unfortunately make these "a bridge too far" for many audiophiles. Perhaps if there is some tariff relief in the near future, they might be brought into the price range of more audiophiles who would love to give them a good forever home.

As always, Amir, a truly excellent review. Thank you.

 

[AudioJester]

I have 5 subs in my 5x6m 5.5.2 HT setup with Dirac ART controlling things. ART was transformative magic in that space.
I have 2 10inch subs in the back if my car.

The point iam conveying is I like powerful full range bass- and the C8C delivers this on its own! I see no need for subwoofers here.

Has me wondering why I ordered the BX8C and what I am going to do with them lol

 

[slaweks]

I have 5 subs in my 5x6m 5.5.2 HT setup with Dirac ART controlling things. ART was transformative magic in that space.
I have 2 10inch subs in the back if my car.

The point iam conveying is I like powerful full range bass- and the C8C delivers this on its own! I see no need for subwoofers here.

Has me wondering why I ordered the BX8C and what I am going to do with them lol

Perhaps like me, you hate the idea of bookshelves on stands?

 

[ayane]

Ascilab, you're absolutely knocking out of the park with these speakers. Kudos; you're pushing the envelope of what is possible at reasonable prices. Seriously looking forward to your upcoming models as well.

Spoiler: Meme

 

[dukeside]

I want a passive version with all Purifi drivers. Looks amazing!

 

[staticV3]

I want a passive version with all Purifi drivers. Looks amazing!

An all Purifi version of the C8C is in the works, but it too will be active, to work with their bass extender modules.

The only passive all-Purifi Ascilab speaker so far is the S6B Passive.

 

[amirm]

Per the docs, the green blinking means booting.

The documentation is confusing in that you also get blinking green as the unit tries to find an active source. If you force an input, then this should not happen.

 

[EJ3]

I’ve had C8Cs installed since Wednesday, first on little <1’ step stools and then on 20” stands. I have a few comments.

The tweeter axis in the first position is slightly low, and in the second it is just below ear height (32” vs. ~35”). I am using RCA cables, WiiM Ultra, and Spotify lossless over WiFi.

I used P1 (minimum latency) presets due to using the speakers for TV sound also. P2 is said to be better hifi sound but I didn’t hear much difference.

First of all, this is a truly outstanding speaker, by far the best I’ve ever heard. It does everything well in mid field (7’ish, 4’ from the front wall, toed in) and I mean it sounds perfect. The bass is so clean, loud, and deep I had to check if room correction or the subwoofer was engaged (neither). In a more typical listening situation (about 1’ from the front wall, 10’ equilateral, no toe) the cardioid pattern cannot fix the room modes miraculously on its own. In my smallish living room, without room correction the bass is prominent when it’s closer to the wall. With WiiM auto correction engaged it is great again and I will be diving into Hypex filters and speaker positioning as the next steps. But based on my experience I recommend if possible keep them a few feet away from the wall and toed in.

I didn’t measure the dB or distortion, but when the speaker is as loud as I can stand I didn’t hear any problem at all. It wasn’t even breathing hard. I have never heard a speaker so well behaved at high volume.

There is zero hiss or audible noise of any kind.

The amp does get warm but it is by no means hot. The warmth is partly because the Hypex algorithm is very sensitive and even inaudible noise will keep it from going into standby. I am still figuring this out in the software and it is a chore. I imagine over time it could affect amp life.

Hypex Filter Designer software is unfortunately a requirement. Amir alludes to it above, but it is not optimal. It’s really only acceptable for audio geeks - think REW. It uses a DOS-like interface, is PC-only, and uses only a (supplied) USB-mini cable. For an amp of this reputation and cost I expected much better, like the terrific WiiM interface. After some initial head-scratching it is working and functional.

Overall I am ecstatic to have these wonderful speakers and to be an early adopter. The C8C sound when placed and tuned to the room is unbelievable.

Thank you so much for this information.
I can't put anything more than 1"foot from the wall behind it. The largest room in this house (the living room) is only 1/8th larger than the smallest bedroom in my previous home.
6 to 8 feet apart is plausible. The programing is not plausible.
Thank you for the information.
I'll wait.
(If I had my previous place [with a large, semi-open plan living room & cathedral ceiling {8 foot high on the left side & 12 foot high on the right]}), it might have been worth trying.
Either way, once again, my audio budget is used up again (already) for this year.
So, we'll see what the situation is next January.

 

[AudioJester]

The documentation is confusing in that you also get blinking green as the unit tries to find an active source. If you force an input, then this should not happen.

The other weird thing is both speakers dont start playing at the same time with auto signal detect and AES connections. There is a 2-3 second delay between them - the stranger thing being the daisy chained speaker starts playing first!

 

[EJ3]

Default (measured) on-axis and power average slopes are not very compatible with directivity spectrum. Frequency range with close to constant directivity index should have negative on-axis slope to get suitable slope for PIR and SP. Suitable slope targets for conventional multi-ways are mentioned in 'Multiple Regression Model for Predicting Loudspeaker Preference...' by S. Olive. PIR slope of -1.0 i.e. -0.69 dB/oct. is good 'factory default' target also for concepts closing to constant directivity. Ideal CD has the same slope for on-axis and power averages such as PIR and SP. Slope of 0 dB/oct. would produce too thin sound as CD with low overall directivity such as DI=5...10 dB. Stronger overall directivity with much larger LF radiators are able to challenge this rule of thumb, but probably doesn't enable 0 dB/oct. Has not enabled in practice so far ime.

This EQ produces more suitable slopes with C8C. General tilt of ca. -0.37 dB/oct. and reducing LF power due to omni bass should help overall balance to far field. Near field is different case.
View attachment 516224
Result as spinorama.

View attachment 516216

Another problem is that directivity changes from omni (DI=0) to cardioid (DI=4.8) from 68 Hz to 200 Hz. That is kinda unavoidable with tiny cardioid speakers, but it happens too rapid and too high. Cardioid covering also mid and upper bass (40...160 Hz) is helpful in practice (without multi-sub or flush-mounted half space system).

Maybe get a couple more subs first, then?

 

[EJ3]

this is awesome

But the learning curve seems to be very steep!

 

[Gomdor]

but ART's active room resonance control technology might work wonders there.

Here are my C8C 2.0 channel measurements using Dirac ART.

 

[JustJones]

The other weird thing is both speakers dont start playing at the same time with auto signal detect and AES connections. There is a 2-3 second delay between them - the stranger thing being the daisy chained speaker starts playing first!

Do they have to be daisy chained?

Edit: When I had Dutch and Dutch 8c I used one of these. Little neater cable routing. Set left speaker and right speaker. Not sure if the C8C need a termination plug like the 8c?

 

[IngMishael]

Here are my C8C 2.0 channel measurements using Dirac ART.

View attachment 516287View attachment 516288View attachment 516289

tremendous

 

[Russ_L]

Wow. Ascilab knocks it out of the park again. Way to go guys. A close friend and long time audiophile recently passed (at 85). He owned Kii 3s that I listened to many times, most impressive. Can’t wait to audition the C8Cs.

Russ

 

[Maiky76]

Here is my take on the EQ.

Please report your findings, positive or negative!
For the score rational your journey starts here
Explanation for the sub score
The following EQs are “anechoic” EQs to get the speaker right before room integration.
If you able to implement these EQs you must add EQ at LF for room integration, that is usually not optional… see hints there.

The raw data with corrected ER and PIR:

Score no EQ: 7.3
With Sub: 8.1

Spinorama with no EQ:

• SOTA
• Waveguide ON/LW discrepancy?

Directivity:
Better stay at tweeter height
Horizontally, better toe-in the speakers by 10/15deg and have the axis crossing in front of the listening location, might help dosing the upper range. explanation here

EQ design:
I have generated two EQs. The APO config files are attached.

• The first one, labelled, LW is targeted at making the LW flat
• The second, labelled Score, starts with the first one and adds the score as an optimization variable (here).
• The EQs are designed in the context of regular stereo use i.e. domestic environment, no warranty is provided for a near field use in a studio environment although the LW might be better suited for this purpose.
• One can model the EQ with Vituixcad by using the DSP "Generic" setting with 96000Hz sampling rate.

Score EQ LW: 7.1
with sub: 7.8

Score EQ Score: 7.7
with sub: 8.5

AsciLab C8C APO LW EQ 96000Hz
March092026-103546

Preamp: -1.90 dB

Filter 1: ON HPQ Fc 22.3 Hz Gain 0.00 dB Q 1.14
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 2120.3 Hz Gain 0.57 dB Q 1.35
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 4644.5 Hz Gain -0.94 dB Q 2.58
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 14522.3 Hz Gain 1.26 dB Q 0.46

AsciLab C8C APO Score EQ 96000Hz
March092026-103546

Preamp: -2.00 dB

Filter 1: ON HPQ Fc 22.3 Hz Gain 0.00 dB Q 1.15
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 1083.6 Hz Gain 0.55 dB Q 6.00
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 4810.3 Hz Gain -1.25 dB Q 2.29
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 11025.5 Hz Gain 0.59 dB Q 6.00

Spinorama EQ LW

Spinorama EQ Score

Zoom PIR-LW-ON

Regression - Tonal

Radar no EQ vs EQ score
Does Not EQ
No improvements?

The rest of the plots is attached.

 

[Scrutable]

@kma100 Sorry missed your post earlier. The speakers are currently in a living room friendly position on each side of a long credenza about 1 foot from the front wall. In that position they emphasize bass (probably SBIR reinforcement) and need correction. The cardioid effect does not work that well below a certain frequency. The BX8C is said to improve cardioid down to 40Hz, but without it room correction is needed.

They were 3-4' from the wall temporarily when I still had the old speakers installed. In that position right out of the box they sounded excellent. So my conclusion is that near the front wall it is beneficial to do a little bass management, whether it be EQ, treatment, or positioning.