Will Ascend ever update their website and/or logo?

[curtis]

I think DaveF answered that before...and the answer is yes for both. Hopefully soon. [:)]

-curtis

[jbliz]

curtis,

I saw that Dave said things would be updated soon, but it's been so long that I just had to put up a post to give him a hard time. I don't mean it in a bad way, I'm just excited and anxious to see the new website and logo (hopefully my logo).

John

[curtis]

always me me me.....hehehehe [:D] I think Dave just wants to do things right.....look at the CBM-170 and how it has stood against the test of time. OK..that was a marketing plug...but true.

I didn't submit a logo because I know my artistic skills are below average.....

Looks like we will know soon. Lets hope the site stays up!

-curtis

[davef]

Fabulous new site is coming.... but as Curtis said, these things take a bit of time. I expect it to be online and taking orders by May 1....


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[jbliz]

Uno de Mayo it is then...

I start painting the new HT and running speaker wire this weekend.

[jbliz]

The Ascend website is down. Maybe they are in the process of changing over to the new site today. I really looking forward to it.

[davef]

HI everyone,

As far as I know, the site (old site) is back up and running just fine.

The new site is well underway, while I don't think we will make our May 1 date, I can promise that it will be online within 2 weeks...

Have a nice weekend!


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[Ben_Wood]

Dave, I hate to state the obvious; but its been 2 weeks - where is the updated website? [?]

[bombadil67]

Guido, this is Frank, didn't da man say 2 weeks? Yeah boss 2 weeks. All right, lets get Sal and Louie and go down and "talk" to da man. Tell 'em to bring their tools, might need to do a little persuadin'. . .

[davef]

Hi everyone.

Well.. we are almost there :) In the immortal words of Bill Gates -- it will be ready when it's ready. A few shopping cart problems are causing us some grief but these should be resolved soon.

Seriously though, if you would like a sneak peak, send me an email requesting so.

Take care!


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[curtis]

Oh no!! Please don't compare yourself to Bill Gates.....or Ascend to Microsoft.

But just in case something happens....and you have Bill Gates like money....don't forget us. [:D]

-curtis

[Mag_Neato]

I can't wait to see the new logo in full website glory[:D]
As to the new logo....any guesstimates as to the physical
product's debut date?(Gotta have'em[8D])

MAG

[Ben_Wood]

David,sorry for the impatience over the debut of the new website and logo. I just need to remember that we want the new website to be as refined as the speakers it touts! [:D]

[davef]

Curtis,

If I had Mr. Gates' cash, or even 1/1000th, I don't think I would be posting on this forum.. nothing personal of course, I think I would spend every waking moment of my life with my 2 year old and on vacation (maybe more gym time as well!) I hope you would spend the time with your kids -and not working- if you had that kind of cash, of course, the forums would miss you!

Mag... still working on the logo design as far as what "type" we will use. Maybe a solid plastic tooled design or a plastic lens style. We need to use up our current stock of logos of course. Hate to dispose of thousands of logos that, although they look inexpensive, are certainly not inexpensive.

Ben and everyone else.. your patience is greatly appreciated and we are making headway.

Take care!


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[curtis]

Believe me...if I didn't have to work, I would be with my kids and leisure. I'd still listen to my Ascends ofcourse. [:)]

-curtis

[graphicguy]

Hello...I just wandered in here off the street and was glad to find this oasis in an otherwise sea of A/V sights bloated with "mine's better than yours" posts. I'm an avid HT and music enthusiast and have been an Ascend customer for more than a few years.

Sony WE610 60" LCD RPTV
Pioneer Elite 59TXi AVR
Pioneer Eliete 59AVi Universal DVD player
CBM 170 Front L/R
CBM 340c Center
HTM 200s Rear L/R and rear surround (6.1)
HSU VTF-3
Monster THX certified interconnects
DIY speaker cable (that's better than anyhing you'll find anywhere else)

[curtis]

Welcome!

I was hoping you would find your way here.

-curtis

[Dave G]

Hi, graphicguy. Nice to see you over here!

Dave

[jbliz]

Graphicguy,

Welcome. You have the 59TXi and the 59AVi!!! I'm jealous. Do you use that i-link for hi-rez audio much? I hear it's awesome.

What type of connectors did you use on your DIY speaker cables? I just fished a bunch of 12ga. wire through my new HT walls, and I'm planning on slapping some banana plugs and shrink wrap on the ends to make everything look nice and easy to connect. I just can't decide on which banana plugs to get. I haven't soldered much in my life, so i'm leaning toward some type of terminal crimp plug. Any suggestions?

But back to the topic at hand. My new theory is that a frequently visited website will not update, just as a watched pot of water will not boil. I've come to realize that it is my fault that the website is not updated because I keep checking so often. Therefore, for everyone's sake, I will refrain from visiting the ascend website for the rest of the weekend. If my theory is correct, I will arrive at work bright and early on Monday morning to find a beautifull new website to enjoy over my first cup of coffee.

John

P.S. my DIY speaker cables will be better than yours[:D]

[graphicguy]

Thanks, Curtis and to everyone else. Curtis has seen (?) me in another forum that I frequent quite a bit. I'm trying to get some "Ascend Acoustic" activity going on over there. I had no idea such a forum existed until I talked to David F and saw Curtis' post.

jbliz....I'm using banana connectors with "shrink wrap" also (great minds must think alike).. I know exactly what you went through. I spent plenty of hours making and then "snaking" speaker cables through walls. I found some very nice twisted pair cable through an A/V retailer who was going out of business and auctioning everything he had. It was bulk on a roll and looks like/feels like "Kimber Cable". I bought the whole roll (500') of it for $87. This stuff is thick and stiff. I'm sure what you have is as good, if not better. I'm using some "rat shack" banana plugs (not very esoteric, but the best they carry). I origninally went to this A/V auction hoping to pick up some high end electronics "on the cheap". I came home with nothing more than a (big) roll of cable.

Soldering isn't hard at all. Once you do a couple of connections, you'll zip through the rest. That said, I understand not wanting to start learning with a high dollar HT system. Monster makes some dandy banana plugs with "screw type" crimp terminators. I'm sure you can find them at Best Buy.

I love the 59TXi and 59AVi together. Yes, they are hooked together via i-link and the DVD player is hooked to my monitor via DVI/HDMI. I just got this setup a couple of weeks ago. Picture quality of my DVDs rival HD...no exageration. I was watching "The Miracle" last night. Great movie (even if you aren't a hockey fan) and the color rendition and detail were a sight to behold.

I play quite a bit of hi-rez/multi-channel recordings through it. It truly stuns me every time I listen. I didn't think it would make a huge difference, but I was wrong. I now have a "jitterless" digital stream. Plus, in both the AVR and the DVD player Pioneer uses the best DACs and decoders on the market that can be found in any gear from anyone. And since I don't have to use analog connections (and conversions), the wire snake pit behind the electronics has been dramatically reduced. I went from 10 cables (6 analog connections for SACD/DVD-A, 1 digital tos-link connection, 3 component video connections) to two connections (1 i-link for audio, 1 DVI/HDMI for video). The set-up really makes the Ascends "sing".

I spoke to David F. yesterday. He said the WEB site was just about finished. He also hinted that they have some surprises coming. Think 170s or 340s in high quality wood veneer. There are some new replacements coming fruther down stream. Although I couldn't get much more out of him, but I think these will be replacements for the 170s and/or the HTM 200s (my speculation).

Sony WE610 60" LCD RPTV
Pioneer Elite 59TXi AVR
Pioneer Elite 59AVi Universal DVD player
CBM 170 Front L/R
CBM 340c Center
HTM 200s Rear L/R and rear surround (6.1)
HSU VTF-3
Monster THX certified interconnects
DIY speaker cable (that's better than anyhing I can purchase elsewhere)

[jbliz]

Oh well, it looks like my theory was incorrect, back to the drawing board.

[davef]

Happy Monday to you all!

Just a minor correction to Graphic Guys post... It is certainly true we are working on wood grain finished cabinets (we have been for a long time already). However, we have NO PLANS at all to replace our CBM-170 or HTM-200. We are working on something new (we are always working on something) and if this new product is released, it is not intended as a replacement for any of our current products.

jbliz -- sorry to dissappoint you this Monday, I can tell you that there was a quite a bit of work done on the new site these past few days. I think we can be live on the 31 (1 week). Send me an email and I will send you a link to the temporary "work" server.

Take care!


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[jbliz]

Dave,

My employer thanks you for not having the website up on Monday. I'm sure I would have been alot less productive had it been up. Anyway, I'm not dissappointed, I can't really purchase the speakers until after June 22nd (the day I sell old condo). Come June 23rd though, a 7.1 ascend system will be all mine. Along with a Denon 3805, and a new 56" Tantus Samsung DLP, which it looks like I'll be waiting until September for them to release. Bummer that I'll be watching a 27" until then, but at least everything will sound awesome.

I sent you an email through the ascendforum, but I thought you just got tied up or something. What's your email address?

John

[Quinn]

Waaa! 6/1 no new site. I guess I'm going to have to breakdown and e-mail David for the temp link. I don't think I can wait much longer.

[jbliz]

Quinn, do you know dave's email? I sent him an email through this forum, but had no luck getting the temp link. Hopefully, the real deal will be up soon.

[Quinn]

sales@ascendacoustics.com should do it. I haven't broken down yet...

[davef]

HI guys,

Just about there :) All products and pages are loaded up. We are still tweaking the new shopping cart system.

Email me at davef@ascendacoustics.com for the temp link.


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[Mag_Neato]

TO quote Ted Knight;"Wellll.........we're waiting!"[:D]

MAG

[jbliz]

I'm sure Dave will be the happiest of all of us when this new website project is wrapped up.

[Mag_Neato]

Any updates Dave?(Been checking regularly!)

[jbliz]

Guess not.

[davef]

Funny... you should post that today, 10 minutes before my post :)

We just got our security certificate installed (takes some time because this is NOT a shared certificate) and other than a few online forms (which should be completed tonight).. we are LIVE! It will take a few days for the new IP address to propogate, at which time we will need to change a few site links.. however.. we are ready to go.

http://66.148.48.109/

Shopping cart is fully functional and quite nice. The "certificate error" that you will receive upon secure checkout will not appear once the new IP address is propogated. However, the checkout is FULLY secure right now.

Enjoy!


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[davef]

BTW,

On our systems here, the site is VERY fast!


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[Ed_A]

davef,
the site looks great!
The pictures of the speakers are SO much better than the old site. I mean, really. At first I thought Ascend might have changed the speaker.

Nice job.

[davef]

Thanks Ed...

We invested in some pro-lighting fixtures and took all new pics.

However, I am still not fully satisfied with all the pics. Something we will work on over time. What I am very pleased about is the speed, easy navigation, and level of detail of each product. Believe it or not, this site is over 80 pages! A lot of custom programming went into the shopping cart system. It was very difficult integrating the system advisor into the shopping cart system so that it adds the packaged system to the cart. We now have something like 500 different sku's for almost every realistic package you can create, available with any of the Hsu box style subwoofers.

While our new site may not be as nice as some (Aperion's new site is quite nice), the functionality, speed, and detail of our site is unmatched.


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[metalaaron]

i think it's coming along great.
maybe curtis can add a section w/ customer's pictures here?

[Ed_A]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by davef

What I am very pleased about is the speed, easy navigation, and level of detail of each product.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Very nice indeed.

I didn't see any new tags with the new logo. Is that something you'll be putting up on the Accessories section later?

[davef]

Aaron-

Do you mean post pictures on the site or on this forum?

Ed, new logos are not available yet. We are still working on samples and pricing and we must use up what we have (about 1000 more logos to go!)

When they do become available, it will be posted in the announcement section and replacements will be free of charge to all Ascend customers.


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[Quinn]

Nice!

[Lou-the-dog]

Yeah! I like it! And fast it is! Couldn't get the high-res pic of the new logo to download. Was just wondering if the badge was going to end up square or oval. Also, I think you should add Metalarron's June 15 post here to the customer testimonials (the one that ends with "...call the doctor, it's over baby.")

Randy

[Ben_Wood]

Great job David and crew! It was worth the wait. I have posted threads on Hometheater.com and Avsforum.com about the new website. And it even has my customer testimonial posted. Wow!

[davef]

Thanks Guys!

Yes... Aaron's testimonial is definitely one of the most memorable ever. We need his permission to post it of course (hint) :)




Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[metalaaron]

Dave - you have my permission. Always glad to help as you guys have been such a help in return. I'll post on audioreview in the near future. :)

Awesome news on the logos!

re: pictures
(i was thinking that maybe customers can contribute pictures of their in-home setups. maybe a separate Photos section where customers could send in pictures for ascend to review and post.)

[Jonnyozero3]

To Dave F. and Ascend, great job; The new website looks fantastic! I am impressed by your combination of wit, class, and honesty. Your new site is so good, I think its having a "**** effect" on me...I see pretty pictures and I want to buy your speakers more...hehe.

Seriously, congrats on a job well done - I can't wait to give you more of my money :)

Best,
Jon O. (Currently broke but saving up...those 340s WILL be mine...)

[Jonnyozero3]

Dave-

Oh! One more thing - on the "All Loudspeakers" Page, may I suggest that you make the speaker photos link (in addition to the text above them) to their respective product pages? I found myself clicking impulsively on the pics and being confused...hehe. Just an idea...

[curtis]

At least some good news!! I come home from watching the Lakers lose....and the new Ascend site is up!! I feel balanced again.

Aaron, I am working on getting the forum hosted somewhere else, hopefully with some storage so we can host pictures.

-curtis

[Gregisme]

I'm pleased tonight for 3 reasons:

1~ The Lakers lost and lost badly. Really, they didn't deserve to win this one after the way they coasted through the season. (sorry Curtis).

2~ The websites up (looks good) and so now all the whining can stop. [:D]

3~ The first two reasons were so good that they both spilled over into the third! [:p]

[nhan070]

Finally! It looks GREAT! And a surprise it is, basically covers most or all the items discussed on the forum!

[jbliz]

Man, the one afternoon I don't check to see if the new site is up, look what happens :) Isn't that the way it always is.

Dave, the site looks f'ing awesome (pardon my language). It was well worth the wait. Great pics, all the info anyone would need on each speaker, and it's loading up really fast. You really suprised me with the new finish options, I didn't see that coming at all.

Anyway, great job and thanks for tolerating my impatience over the past couple months.

John

[Mag_Neato]

Dave, Great job....much better and easier to navigate. Thanks for putting up with the good-natured ribbing! We Ascend fanatics just get a little cantankerous at times[:D]

Ed

[randyb]

I think the web site is great-looks good with no bull straight talk-great job Dave.

[frank]

great job very good looking new website I say hats off to dave

[Jonnyozero3]

&gt;You really suprised me with the new finish options, I didn't see that coming at all. &lt;

I wanted to echo this comment and say that those Silver or White CBM's are VERY classy. Frankly they look like VERY much more expensive speakers, and the colored grills are a great touch. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here...but what the hey :)

[Mag_Neato]

WOW! I got caught in the midst of a site update I think? Just as I was going to ask about the new logo appearing on this forum, it was being done as I tried to connect to the site. It seems there are a few changes as well, like an index and how you log on.

Ed

[bikeman]

Excellent job on the new website with some outstanding "grand opening" sales. Do any of you have any stategies or success stories that you'd like to share when it comes to getting your wife (or any SO) to agree that new audio will be a worthwhile investment? I have until August 31st (free shipping) to come up with something.
Let the humor begin. [:D]

David

[jbliz]

That's easy bikerman. Here's the angle I would take.

Say that you and your wife watch 4 DVD's per week. The addition of a Ascend acoustics speaker package will give you movie theater quality sound, probably better. Now if you were to go to the movie theater 4 times a week, that would probably run you $10 per ticket + $10 in popcorn and soda, let's call it $30 for each trip you and your wife make to the movie theater. At 4 times a week, that's $120 a week. At this rate, the top of the line Ascend Acoustics package ($1998) will pay or itself in a little over 4 months. Clearly, the ascend speakers will last way longer than this, so clearly this is a worthwhile investment. It will say you money in the long run, and bring the joy of movie theater quality sound into your home for the enjoyment of the entire family.

john

[Mag_Neato]

Curtis, how do members log on now, say to view another members profile or make changes to your own?

Ed

[curtis]

Ed...nothing has changed in the regard...it works the same, I just checked it.

Because the banner takes up more of the page now, you may have to scroll to the right to see the options. That's something that Smokey can fix when he is not BBQing.

-curtis

[Mag_Neato]

D'oh!!! That's what I get for keeping the window small....in addition to keeping a low profile at work[:D]

Ed

[Quinn]

I like the new skin. It took me a minute to figure out I hadn't clicked Ascend.


Bikerman- using Edmunds.com TruCost to own numbers. My car costs 50 cents a mile to operate. The closest theater to us is about 20 miles= $20 round trip. Two tickets at $9= $18. Popcorn, soda, candy= $15. Parking= $5. Babysitter= $25(taking the kids is about the same $) So as I see it it cost about $80 for us to see a movie.

Another tactic is showing her the biggest ugliest speakers you can find so she will be relieved when you pick up the Ascends.

[jbliz]

Hey!!! What happened to the new website?

[curtis]

Looks like it is down.

-curtis

[Jonnyozero3]

Boooooo I just went to check on the freq resp graph of the htm-200s. Booooo! :)

[curtis]

not sure how many of have dealt with a down website that was a revenue stream.....but it is NO FUN. With it being down for so long, I can only guess that it is a major problem.

I feel bad for Dave and what he must be going through. I have been there....and I do not want to go back.

-curtis

[davef]

Site is DOWN... Found out that the 2-week old server had a major hardware failure. To make matters worse, they did not yet install the backup system. In other words, site is down and wiped clean.

Of course we have the site files, but we did extensive customizaions to the shopping cart software, and, well, this will take some time to recreate. We will be LUCKY if we are back up and fully operational in 24 hours. Great Father's day gift, huh...




Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[curtis]

I feel for you Dave.

If you need a good hosting company, let me know.

-curtis

[davef]

Cutis,

Send me an email who you recommend. I am done with out current hosting company. I think I lost 5-years off my life and we are still down.


Good Sound To You!

David Fabrikant
www.ascendacoustics.com

[curtis]

Will do in the morning.

-curtis

[jbliz]

Wow!!! That really sucks Dave, I'm sorry to hear that.

I've had a couple of really bad experiences with hosting companies as well when I was first trying to host the website for my girlfriend's business. Stay far far far away from FeaturePrice!!! If they are still in business.

Anyway, if it makes you feel better, I'll be ordering my 7.1 Ascend acoustics package tomorrow night if all goes well at the sale of my condo. I don't mind ordering by phone.

Hope you get things straightened out soon,

John

[smokey]

Sympathies from me too, Dave. I'm about the laziest webmaster in the world and even I know what a pain it can be. Good luck with the new server/host.

-Smokey.

Thanks, the Management.

[jbliz]

speaking of making a phone order....what is the sales phone # for ascend?

[Jonnyozero3]

Dave,
I apologize for my levity earlier - I didn't realize at the time that this was such a big crash. You must be having a rough time, so please just ignore my ignorance. I hope you can get the site back up soon and get your isp problems all figured out. Best of Luck!

[tstout]

Dave,
Sorry to hear about the site. It was really cool while it was up -- a big improvement over the old one.

Saw that you got a placeholder graphic up for this morning instead of the broken links of last night. Just wanted to suggest that you might want to include some contact numbers and a short explanation up there as well to try to minimize the sales impact. Just because they can't get to the website doesn't mean that people won't still want to place orders. [:D]

Hope you're back up soon with minimal pain. Good luck.

[curtis]

The phone number for Ascend Acoustics is:

310-719-9786

-curtis

[Mag_Neato]

The site just came back online as I was posting in another thread.....go baby, go!!

Ed

[Tarron_D]

I have a question for Dave if he sees this. Do you think that you will ever put up some high quality pictures of your loudspeakers in a home type setting? I find that it is easy to see the size of a speaker through real life use type of pictures. And I think a closer look at the speakers would be cool too. The current pics are kinda small.