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AsciLab speakers are about to launch

masterhw said:
Is there any information on whether the active/cardioid models' XLR input is digital (AES), analog, or both?
I've not been able to find any indication, so perhaps it is not decided yet. That is an acceptable answer as well.
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IIRC they use Hypex Plateamps and those offer both.
 
masterhw said:
Great, it even appears these support FIR filtering now. I have some reading up to do. A "headless" HT setup with these and a Nuprime H-16 would be interesting if you can wrangle the room correction.
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Making a multichannel system with one of those plus some actives is extremely enticing. Unfortunate that the Nuprime doesn't offer HDMI 2.1. One could always run everything to the TV and just use eARC for the audio, I suppose.
 
masterhw said:
Great, it even appears these support FIR filtering now. I have some reading up to do. A "headless" HT setup with these and a Nuprime H-16 would be interesting if you can wrangle the room correction.
Click to expand...
That's my idea too (AsciLab or Genelec) but I wouldn't know how to handle a digital source (DAC) and differentiate between stereo or multichannel listening.
 
AsciLab said:
We are currently focusing on the production of F6B and C6B. Once we have some production capacity to spare, we also plan to re-release the C5B. The design has been fully completed, and the necessary components are prepared, so we expect to start sales around August.

It can be used without any issues even when placed horizontally, as long as the listening position is within a 30-degree angle from the speaker. For a more conservative approach, keeping the listening position within a 25-degree angle is recommended.
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This should help
 
Can someone do comparison between other brands and models? Is there any sound demo of the soeakers?
 
funkera91 said:
Can someone do comparison between other brands and models? Is there any sound demo of the soeakers?
Click to expand...
You have the measurements: why do you want a comparison aka subjective review of the speakers? It's pointless for several reasons (not your room, not your subjective experience etc.). On YouTube you can find some videos demoing AsciLab speakers, but they won't show how the speakers would sound in your room and won't allow a subjective evaluation either....

So again: What's the point?
 
funkera91 said:
Can someone do comparison between other brands and models? Is there any sound demo of the soeakers?
Click to expand...
AsciLabs are highly well-engineered speakers that hit technical targets. In that sense they are like those from Neumann, Genelec Ones, Dutch & Dutch, Kii, certain JBL speakers, and some others. It's not important to list all of the contenders. All have radiation patterns aiming towards constant directivity. All have relatively flat on-axis sound, with few resonances and low distortion. There will be importsnt differences in how much output each speaker can produce cleanly, which is a good place to start on picking speakers, outside of more mundane and simple stuff like active vs. passive and size and aesthetic choices which matter just as much. I'll leave that to you.

The main audible differences will be to do with energy distribution in the radiation patterns. Exactly what these differences mean for what you end up hearing I can't say. We haven't yet learned to interpret data in that level of detail. I can just tell you how to look at the data we have. And, remember, in this category of speakers, they sound similar to each other in broad strokes.

Take the A6B and then extrapolate to other Ascilab models or other brands as necessary.

These are such excellent speakers that I am going to skip the spinorama plot. Some may find it better because it features certain precise averages of curves that are really useful if you understand the context and background. But if you aren't familiar then it will take a long time to explain the general principles. I think the most revealing and intuitive presentation of the measurements is in the horizontal contour plot (also called a polar map) normalized to on-axis.

Graphs and Measurements for AsciLab A6B Passive

www.spinorama.org www.spinorama.org

The first question concerns the width and evenness of the pattern. Using the -6dB off-axis trace, it's about 60 degrees to either side. -6dB is a useful figure because it's where the sound drops to half the strength of the on-axis sound. This will determine how much the speakers will illuminate your room, metaphorically speaking. The wider the pattern, the more room involvement, the more envelopment. There seems to be a tradeoff between envelopment and imaging precision. I think 50-60 degrees is a nice medium. Below that the sound becomes more beamlike, above that more diffuse.

The second is how low the pattern control extends. For the A6B, at around 760Hz, it flares to 110 degrees before becoming omnidirectional at 400Hz. This is probably the biggest differentiator of nominally similar speakers. Smaller ones flare in the low 1kHz region. Bigger ones flare in the low hundreds of hertz. ****** speakers have uneven patterns and random resonances that are usually omnidirectional or much wider than the controlled portion of the pattern. Cardioid speakers use acoustical summation to create controlled patterns that otherwise only large speakers show.

The third is the least interpretable. It is to do with each trace, designated in 3dB steps, and the trends over angle. This shows a low of controlled chaos and small differences between each speaker. It's not very productive to focus on this stuff, I find. The AsciLab speakers show a slight increase in width around 10kHz, and more energy in 8-10kHz and 15-20kHz. What that means I can't say. You can go on in this manner, finding differences in various frequency ranges. It's not helpful beyond identifying engineering priorities. I think we need some very strictly controlled listening comparisons by competent people with a lot of the top contending speakers in the same room to figure this out for sure. Ideally in an experimental setting, but if not that formal then a good attempt aiming at that.

The vertical version of the same shows that the Ascilabs are in a rare group of non-coaxial speakers with optimized response. The cancellations are not very significant, and the area of even coverage is fairly wide.

Here's a comparison with the Genelec S360A, which is otherwise excellent.

Easily compare loudspeakers measurements

www.spinorama.org www.spinorama.org
 
AsciLab said:

Passive Line - C6B - Ascilab

C6B
ascilab.com ascilab.com

Hello guys.
Our C6B is available now.
There aren't many stocks currently yet.
So don't hesitate to order ;)
Click to expand...
I assume the answer is no, but is it possible to get the C6B with a black tweeter like the F6B? Are they different tweeters or just different colors (I had thought the only difference between the two models was the woofer). I want the better C6B but I think the F6B looks better in all-black.
 
bergfe said:
I assume the answer is no, but is it possible to get the C6B with a black tweeter like the F6B? Are they different tweeters or just different colors (I had thought the only difference between the two models was the woofer). I want the better C6B but I think the F6B looks better in all-black.
Click to expand...
They use different tweeters. In the C6B it's aluminum-ceramic, whereas the F6B is just aluminum. I'm assuming the ceramic is white and doesn't come in alternate colorways.
 
totti1965 said:
@AsciLab: Will there be a complete MTM Cardioid Series - like C6C, A6C or F6C?
An AsciLab C6C could easily be my next speaker!
Thank you!
Click to expand...
There were some in their development list...
Screenshot_20250723_114649_Chrome.jpg
 
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