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AsciLab F6B Bookshelf Speaker Review

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 2 0.6%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 35 10.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 290 88.7%

  • Total voters
    327
Yes. Thanks to ASR we can compete with big brands.
Amir, ASR, its staff, current and former, and the restofus should feel a little proud that you say so.

And of course AsciLab should be very proud of its accomplishments.

Thanks for giving us the pronunciation the other day. All this time I've been saying it wrong. Probably to do with all those years of struggle I've had with computer character sets and encodings. I now think of it as aSciLab but I promise I won't type it like that again.
 
Hey so @AsciLab, any in-wall designs in the cards? :)
 
Yes. Fulfilment is definitely an option worth investigating especially as the offerings these services are quite sophisticated now.

Ascilab could also learn from Buchardt in terms of on-line marketing. It’s a pretty simple pay to play equation.
Easy to play, hard to master. ;)
I never knew common two ways speakers could have this clean vertical dispersion. :)(
There is nothing common about it, it takes serious engineering to get a waveguide to work this way, highly specific to the rest of the cabinet and the tweeter itself... you can't just slap a random tweeter in a WG, cross it at 1Khz, and expect it to perform like this... (I know that's not what you meant, but just because it's your usual 6.5" 2-way doesn't mean it's not doing things significantly differently.)
 
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Ascilab, Any chance it will be available in Indonesia since you use SB Acoustics? Maybe they want to become the retailer? :)
 
I just want to report that @amirm has managed to anger me (jk) for the first time: posting this review at 9 PM so that I would see it in the morning while I’m trying to get ready for work! The nerve! I have to work to pay for this stuff! If I’m late, I’ll lose my job. No job, no stuff.

Both of these reviews have made me look at the price multiple times because it doesn’t compute. It makes you think it’s the price for one. I think we can essentially check passive speakers off the list of problems to be solved. If you want broad dispersion, get Ascend; narrow horizontal dispersion with a wide vertical lobe, I think you know where to look. I’m sitting here just trying to justify this purchase to my wife. If anyone has any suggestions I’d appreciate it. My 12 yr old ADAMs are still perfect and I love them. I just have some fascination with passive speakers.
 
The main purpose of that shape is to put square in circle. The different curve at 45 deg can hides the corner edge diffraction. This is important to get smooth and constant directivity around 2~4kHz. If you use simple circle waveguide with same dimension, you can see easily diffraction around 2~4kHz.

Additionally, deep waveguide like ours usually makes throat diffraction occurring messy high frequency above 8kHz. The throat design with optimized phase plug makes wide dispersion without messy error in top frequency.
That is some advanced acoustic engineering, with a lot of science and likely a lot of trial and error as well.

Can't wait for your top of the line products.
 
Kali Audio SM5 passive outperforms the F6B in several key areas.
The SM5 costs $3398 per pair, while the F6b is $835. It might not be fair to compare the performance of speakers with a price difference of more than four times. Also, if the comparison discussion continues, it's highly likely to stray from the main topic of this thread.
 
They look nice, measure very good and are pretty affordable. I will probably get a pair and update the crossover with a GR Research one......
I'd appreciate it if you could share the results of the GR Research crossover upgrade, both before and after. I'm very curious to see them.
 
So based on Erin's and Amir's reviews. Is F or C better in terms of low distorsion?
I haven't compared the measurements, but would be very surprised, if the C's wouldn't play a bit louder (that is in the specs), go a bit deeper (this as well) and have lower distortion.
 
aww
Thanks for the detailed review of the AsciLab F6B. It’s clear the speaker offers impressive value and warm sound for its size and price. However, I’d argue that when precision and professional accuracy are the priority, the Kali Audio SM5 passive outperforms the F6B in several key areas.


The SM5 provides a flatter, more neutral frequency response crucial for critical listening, with better handling of high SPLs and lower distortion, enabling more reliable monitoring at loud volumes. Its efficient sensitivity allows pairing with a wider range of amps, making it more accessible and versatile.


Additionally, Kali’s directivity control and imaging deliver a wider, more stable soundstage, beneficial for mixing and mastering. While the F6B’s warmth and design are appealing, the SM5’s proven performance in professional settings makes it a superior choice for serious audio work.


It’s worth considering these factors alongside price to find the best fit for your listening goals.
I definitely won't argue against the Kali speaker. They are a good company that does good work.

But with the utmost sincerity, if you actually are prioritizing "precision and professional accuracy" above all else, you should have simply mentioned the Genelec 8361a and been done with it. Sure it's over $10k for a pair, but you weren't arguing for price performance.

And if you want to specify passive speakers, all you need to do is merely take a step up in the AsciLAB product line to get a better speaker. While they are out of stock at the moment, the top model from AsciLAB measures very VERY similarly to the Kef Reference 1 meta, which I would argue is about as good a passive bookshelf as has ever been made. You really need active dsp to do better, which is exactly what Genelec does.

As an audio professional who uses studio monitors (though admittedly not as much lately as I do more live sound and installation now), I disagree particularly with your point about directivity and projection. These Asci speakers have a significantly more consistent cone of projection compared to the Kali SM5. That's not really debatable either. The measurements are very clear and can be compared side-by-side. And I personally want my speakers interacting minimally with the room I am in, so I don't really understand why a wider projection in a near-field setup would be desirable especially when the inconsistent pattern causes noticable changes in the frequency response as you get off axis. That's the opposite of helpful when trying to do actual work.
 
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The cardioid actives are interesting.
The use of plate amplifiers.
I am waiting for the c5c ( or possibly a new name).
No sub required.
2025 q3 release probably won’t be achieved though.
 
@AsciLab I love the science-based approach to speaker design and you all have done a fantastic job here. A few thoughts on the current naming convention (C6B, F6B, S6C, etc.) that might help these products reach more people.

I understand the desire to buck industry trends, but there's a reason most consumer brands use tiered naming - it works. Whether it's BMW (3, 5, 7 Series), KEF (Reference > R > Q), or Apple (Pro > Standard > SE), customers instantly understand the hierarchy without needing a decoder ring.

The current system requires customers to memorize that S=Signature Purifi, C=Ceramic-Aluminum, F=Fiber, etc. before they can even begin comparing options. More importantly, why should a customer care whether it's fiber or ceramic? Without significant technical knowledge, these material differences are meaningless. The average buyer wants to know "is this better?" not "what's it made of?" - and the current naming forces them to research driver materials just to understand the product hierarchy. And, who is Purifi and why should I care?

Consider something like:

AsciLab Signature (current S-line)
AsciLab Caliber (current C-line)
AsciLab Foundation (current F-line)

Then you can give numbering to different models--though whether you tie it to woofer size is something that I think could be up for debate.

Technical details belong in spec sheets where enthusiasts can dive deep. But product names should communicate value proposition, not construction details.

The engineering is world-class. Let's make sure the naming doesn't get in the way of people discovering it!

@MatthewS Thank you for sharing your thoughtful insights on speaker naming. I really like the naming suggestions you provided.

In addition to the S and C lines, we also have an A line.
For this line, I’m considering the name “Apex.”

The A line features a Purifi woofer and a passive radiator, and we expect it to deliver the best measured performance in the 2-way bookshelf category—second only to the Signature (S) line.

AsciLab Signature (current S-line)
AsciLab Apex (current A-line)
AsciLab Caliber (current C-line)
AsciLab Foundation (current F-line)
 
Thanks for the review Amirm, and thank you AsciLab for a tremendous speaker offering tremendous value. Nice.
 
@MatthewS Thank you for sharing your thoughtful insights on speaker naming. I really like the naming suggestions you provided.

In addition to the S and C lines, we also have an A line.
For this line, I’m considering the name “Apex.”

The A line features a Purifi woofer and a passive radiator, and we expect it to deliver the best measured performance in the 2-way bookshelf category—second only to the Signature (S) line.

AsciLab Signature (current S-line)
AsciLab Apex (current A-line)
AsciLab Caliber (current C-line)
AsciLab Foundation (current F-line)
MatthewS’s invoice is in the post :D
 
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