Mini-review Ascend ELX Ribbon Tower …

[Gyosa1]

Got em …

How’s the sound ?

note , purely subjective…..

Very , very similar sound compared to my Salk’s .. SuperCharged Song Towers

My Salks , I think , are some of the most articulate , detailed and precise speakers I’ve heard … they were only lacking in the deep-end a bit - but their bass was very accurate, albeit a tad lean .. the mid-range is really where they shine.

The ELX’s have the bass in spades.. no subwoofer needed at all ..they dig really deep ..

The Mids are a bit more coherent and clear - obviously a 3 way vs a 2 way but the airiness of the highs is still there - due to the same Raal..

As I suspected, basically , my Salks on steroids …

Only had a few hours to listen today , but very , very impressed so far …. I suspect the only Salk competition for them would be the BePure 2’s or Song 3 Encores at double the price …

So , yeah , I do love the signature sound of Salks
And these will do just fine …..

Cabinet is not as fine as the work Jim does on his Salks , but they’re still finished great - just not high-end furniture grade …NOT MEANT AS A DIG ON ASCEND .. if you had never seen Salks in person you’d be more than happy , the Salks are just on a whole ‘nother level , finish wise - but you’ll pay for it.

The bamboo cabinets appear to be very solid with no resonance when rapping them with your knuckles… magnetic grills - nice touch and mandatory in my opinion.

So , yeah , I’m impressed , especially given their price of @$5k or so….
Definitely punch well above their price point.

Anyone sitting on the fence with these - get them … and between the Titan or Raal tweeter - get the Raal .
The Raal is the best tweeter *I’ve* ever heard . I’ve never heard the Titan , but I’ve personally never heard any other tweeter that can compete with the Raal … it’s simply THAT good.

Nicely done Dave !

Edit - forgot to mention equipment …
Eversolo Dmp-A8 , Parasound A21 , Kimber Kable

Bk

 

[Chrispy]

Why on earth do you mention Kimber Kable as relevant audio gear is my first thought in considering your "evaluation". Seems you're easily distracted if anything. I'd think the Ascend is a very good speaker in any case, own several different models myself. I do wish I had obtained Salks before they shut down the business, tho.

 

[Flexecutioner]

Why on earth do you mention Kimber Kable as relevant audio gear is my first thought in considering your "evaluation". Seems you're easily distracted if anything. I'd think the Ascend is a very good speaker in any case, own several different models myself. I do wish I had obtained Salks before they shut down the business, tho.

These sort of straw man arguments give ASR a bad reputation. A member goes out of their way to provide a speaker comparison and you latch onto 2 words mentioning the cables in their system? If it said "Blue Jeans" or "no name cables" would it have changed anything about their subjective review? They never even claimed the cables improved the sound compared a different option, they simply mentioned it as part of their system. You might as well criticize them for owning the A8 instead of the A6.

OP, thanks for the review, and I'm glad you're enjoying your speakers.

 

[Chrispy]

These sort of straw man arguments give ASR a bad reputation. A member goes out of their way to provide a speaker comparison and you latch onto 2 words mentioning the cables in their system? If it said "Blue Jeans" or "no name cables" would it have changed anything about their subjective review? They never even claimed the cables improved the sound compared a different option, they simply mentioned it as part of their system. You might as well criticize them for owning the A8 instead of the A6.

OP, thanks for the review, and I glad you're enjoying your speakers.

Just pointing out if someone considers the cables are relevant that colors the entire proposal.....more indicates your opinions than mine.

 

[Gyosa1]

Why on earth do you mention Kimber Kable as relevant audio gear is my first thought in considering your "evaluation". Seems you're easily distracted if anything. I'd think the Ascend is a very good speaker in any case, own several different models myself. I do wish I had obtained Salks before they shut down the business, tho.

sorry about that amigo …
didn’t mean to strike a nerve there .
thought maybe the fact that I wasn’t using coat hangars or lamp cord may be relevant !



good thing I didn’t mention what interconnects I’m using - they’re pretty generic - from blue jeans cable …. Feel better ?

oh , and btw , I got the Kimber used form a friend - free - and it’s the cheap stuff .

and , no , I do not believe super expensive snake oil cabling makes a difference…..

i don’t think I mentioned, on even inferred , that the cables were “relevant”.

bk

 

[Chrispy]

sorry about that amigo …
didn’t mean to strike a nerve there .
thought maybe the fact that I wasn’t using coat hangars or lamp cord may be relevant !



good thing I didn’t mention what interconnects I’m using - they’re pretty generic - from blue jeans cable …. Feel better ?

oh , and btw , I got the Kimber used form a friend - free !

bk

No, your speaker wire isn't particularly relevant unless you made a particularly poor choice.....personally I build some of my cables and think Blue Jeans is nice but a bit overpriced. Fuck Kimber.

 

[Flexecutioner]

Just pointing out if someone considers the cables are relevant that colors the entire proposal.....more indicates your opinions than mine.

Some ad hominem bs as usual. Trying to make your argument about me doesn't validate it. I never said I think cables make a difference. I'm saying someone mentioning their cables doesn't invalidate everything else they've said.

Most here would argue that room dimensions and speaker layout are just as important for good sound reproduction as inherent speaker frequency response, but you didn't call them out on not describing their listening room or seating position, did you?

 

[Jim Taylor]

note , purely subjective…..

These sort of straw man arguments give ASR a bad reputation.

Only among subjectivists.

Jim

 

[Jim Taylor]

I'm saying someone mentioning their cables doesn't invalidate everything else they've said.

True ... but in this case, he didn't say anything. It's just subjectivist crap, and subjectivist crap is worthless. This is the same garbage that the "reviewers" on YT come up with, and it sounds just the same. It has no reference, it has no meaning, and it has no value.

Jim

 

[Flexecutioner]

Only among subjectivists.

Jim

OP never even made subjective claims about his cables! If anyone wants to comment on the fact that different speakers sound different to the OP in his room, be my guest, but latching onto things like this is embarrassing to the community.

 

[Gyosa1]

True ... but in this case, he didn't say anything. It's just subjectivist crap, and subjectivist crap is worthless. This is the same garbage that the "reviewers" on YT come up with, and it sounds just the same. It has no reference, it has no meaning, and it has no value.

Jim

Hey , I posted the measurements for each speaker !
objective , or not ?

the “reference“ was in regards to the Salks …

Maybe they’ll sound even better after the grille cloth breaks in after a couple hundred hours ….

LOL

bk

 

[Chrispy]

Some ad hominem bs as usual. Trying to make your argument about me doesn't validate it. I never said I think cables make a difference. I'm saying someone mentioning their cables doesn't invalidate everything else they've said.

Most here would argue that room dimensions and speaker layout are just as important for good sound reproduction as inherent speaker frequency response, but you didn't call them out on not describing their listening room or seating position, did you?

How do you get ad hominem out of that? Or do you personally sell this sort of bullshit wire?

 

[Jim Taylor]

OP never even made subjective claims about his cables! If anyone wants to comment on the fact that different speakers sound different to the OP in his room, be my guest, but latching onto things like this is embarrassing to the community.

Mentioning cables - or interconnects - is a tacit signal that they "make a difference". This follows the trendy fashion among the snake-oil subjectivist "reviewers" who mention every cable in every system, every interconnect and if they use any, every switch.

Unless they are some goofy, deliberately non-neutral, oddball construction, they don't make one whit of difference. The system will sound the same with $10,000 cables or steel coat hangers. The brand makes no difference, the model makes no difference, and the cost makes no difference.

Hey , I posted the measurements for each speaker !

Yes, you did ... and for that, we thank you! It goes along with the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words".

Jim

 

[Gyosa1]

Mentioning cables - or interconnects - is a tacit signal that they "make a difference". This follows the trendy fashion among the snake-oil subjectivist "reviewers" who mention every cable in every system, every interconnect and if they use any, every switch.

Unless they are some goofy, deliberately non-neutral, oddball construction, they don't make one whit of difference. The system will sound the same with $10,000 cables or steel coat hangers. The brand makes no difference, the model makes no difference, and the cost makes no difference.



Yes, you did ... and for that, we thank you! It goes along with the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words".

Jim

I agree , regarding cables , and said as much in my reply .

bk

 

[Flexecutioner]

True ... but in this case, he didn't say anything. It's just subjectivist crap, and subjectivist crap is worthless. This is the same garbage that the "reviewers" on YT come up with, and it sounds just the same. It has no reference, it has no meaning, and it has no value.

Jim

The most popular threads on ASR are based on subjective reviews from a member with $30k to burn.

How do you get ad hominem out of that? Or do you personally sell this sort of bullshit wire?

Ah yes, the only reason I could have for acknowledging your illogical arguments is if I have some sort of financial gain...? What a joke. I don't sell anything besides my personal gear when upgrading and I'd personally never buy/sell kimber, but my opinion on their product doesn't make your arguments any less ridiculous.

 

[Jim Taylor]

The most popular threads on ASR are based on subjective reviews from a member with $30k to burn.

The most popular threads on ASR are based on objective tests and measurements. Subjective comments may exist, or subjective comments may not exist. The point is that tests and measurements without any subjective comment have value. Subjective comments without any tests or measurements (IOW, no reference) have no value.

There are a great number of sites on the web, both print and video, that are subjectivist. Basically, they tell you nothing ... at least nothing of value. That's because subjectivism is not referenced to a standard. There is no subjectivist description that can be guaranteed to give you the same results as the person on the video or in the article.

Tests and measurements are guaranteed to give you the same results as they give me or Amir or anyone else, not only today but next month and next year ... and ten years from now ... as long as they are carried out in the same manner.

This is because one of the qualities of science - or scientific investigations - is what's called "reproducibility". Some people use a similar word; repeatability. That is one of the most obvious failures of subjective descriptions; they lack reproducibility. Not only is there no guarantee of reproducibility from one person to another, but there is no guarantee of reproducibility for the same person on another day; some things that are subjective change in a short period of time.

I'm sure @Gyosa1 is happy with his system. And I'm sure that he's proud of it. If I had a system like he has, I would be proud of it, too. But if I wanted to describe it to someone, I use methods that were reproducible.

That way, anyone, anywhere in the world, would have a common point of reference with my description.

Jim

 

[Krusty09]

This is stupid.

 

[kma100]

Agree. It's fine that he mentioned the cables. Doesn't invalidate his observations. Sometimes this site...sheesh....

 

[Phorize]

These look like very nice speakers, thanks for highlighting them.

 

[mj30250]

To a certain extent, I get it...continually battling the relentless and still-prevalent "high end" cable industry and their legions of fans is frustrating and fatiguing. But, this sort of open and aggressive display of hobbyist-PTSD is a bit wild and certainly unhelpful. This member mentioned nothing of the cables except that they simply exist. Please consider keeping your audiophile guns holstered over such trivial "signals" and encourage healthy participation. One sure-fire way to ensure that someone will not be interested in learning is to immediately make them feel foolish.

Anyway, just a note that the ribbon tweeters in the ELXs and Salks are similar but not the same. The ELXs use an Ascend-specific customized version of the RAAL 70-20XRAM.

Here's some NFS data for the towers:

Measurements for speaker Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Tower

www.spinorama.org

Have fun with the new speakers!