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8 Attachment(s)
The Tower Discussion Thread!
With our first set of towers being delivered today, I thought it was time to dedicate a thread to our exciting new loudspeaker.
I will do my best to post as much information as possible and answer as many questions as I am able.
But first a few pictures (sorry for the bad quality on this first set of shots)
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2 Attachment(s)
Measurements
Attached is an in-room frequency response measurement taken in our listening room. The microphone distance is 2 meters and the speaker is positioned 3 feet in front of the wall behind it.
A few important comments:
1. The two large dips (one at 70Hz and the other at 250Hz) are room reflections and should be ignored.
2. Note the incredibly flat frequency response and impressive high frequency extension. In our well treated listening room and at 2 meters distance, the high frequency response is -3dB at 27kHz. 1" and even smaller soft dome tweeters are typically at least -10dB at 20kHz @ 1 meter in-room - and as much as -16dB at 2 meters due to high frequency losses.
3. While the speaker has not been designed for deep bass, in-room and positioned so there is little bass reinforcement from the front wall, the speaker is -3dB at 34Hz. Anechoic bass response is -3dB at 41Hz.
4. Typical in-room sensitivity is 92dB at 2.83v at 1 meter. Anechoic sensitivity is 89dB at 2.83v at 1 meter.
5. Minimum impedance = 4 ohms with a nominal impedance of 6 ohms. The impedance response is smooth and free of any artifacts (wrinkles) which would indicate potential resonance problems, thanks in part to the bamboo cabinet and exceptional transducers :) In addition, the electrical phase angle never exceeds +/- 30 degrees which means despite the 4 ohm minimum impedance, the speaker will work well with most 8 ohm rated receivers.
And just a few more specifications:
Shipping weight = 57 pounds each (although this may change slightly as we are still finalizing the packaging details.)
Dimensions = 43" high x 7.5" wide x 10.5" deep
Loudspeaker power handling = massive! ;) (we have yet to reach the speaker's limits but I would estimate it to be about 350 clean watts)
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Those speakers are beautiful. What color is that considered?? Are you going to post some pictures with other colors that are avilable ? Are these the pictures of Brandon's speakers ?? Sorry for all the questions, but getting excited about what Brandon is going to say about them. I'm not sure if i missed what equipment he would be playing them on.
Thanks Rich
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Man, those look nice!! why do they have to look so nice...
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Re: Measurements
Dave,
Thanks for posting the pictures and specs. A few questions:
-Will they be offered in the natural bamboo (like the Sierra's)?
-Is there a center in the works? If not, what would you recommend people use for a matching center...Sierra Nrt?
-Do you have an approximate price or is that still being refined?
Thanks.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Reflections1
Those speakers are beautiful. What color is that considered?? Are you going to post some pictures with other colors that are avilable ? Are these the pictures of Brandon's speakers ?? Sorry for all the questions, but getting excited about what Brandon is going to say about them. I'm not sure if i missed what equipment he would be playing them on.
Thanks Rich
Rich,
For you and anyone else wondering what equipment I will be running these with:
Proceed amp3 for front 3 channels - 150w/ch at 8ohm, 250w at 4ohm
Parasound 2100 preamp with HT bypass & yamaha Rx-v2600 for movies
Squeezebox Touch (source)
Oppo 981 DVD player for SACD & DVD_Audio
Rythmik D-15SE sub EQ'ed very flat with Behringer FD
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Drool.....
also because I pretty much know how these will sound...
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
curtis
Drool.....
also because I pretty much know how these will sound...
Curtis - I recall you mentioned you heard a prototype? Have you heard this recent production model as well? Initial reviews were very positive.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kma100
Curtis - I recall you mentioned you heard a prototype? Have you heard this recent production model as well? Initial reviews were very positive.
Unfortunately, I haven't. My schedule has not allowed for it.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Drool........slober.....wipe chin......repeat!!
Ok, so those look really sexy. I hope someone close to me orders a pair so I can make a new friend!!
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
merrymaid520
Rich,
For you and anyone else wondering what equipment I will be running these with:
Proceed amp3 for front 3 channels - 150w/ch at 8ohm, 250w at 4ohm
Parasound 2100 preamp with HT bypass & yamaha Rx-v2600 for movies
Squeezebox Touch (source)
Oppo 981 DVD player for SACD & DVD_Audio
Rythmik D-15SE sub EQ'ed very flat with Behringer FD
Brandon: If I remember correctly you are using Sierra-1s (non-Nrt) as your surrounds, how do you have them placed - wall mounted or on stands? After few emails back and forth to Dave and advice from Cutris I might just stick with direct radiating/monopoles for my surrounds instead of dipoles and ideally would like Sierra-1s as surrounds if I go with monopoles to match new towers but not sure about the look of wall mounted Sierra-1s due to their depth.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
avsnoob10
Brandon: If I remember correctly you are using Sierra-1s (non-Nrt) as your surrounds, how do you have them placed - wall mounted or on stands? After few emails back and forth to Dave and advice from Cutris I might just stick with direct radiating/monopoles for my surrounds instead of dipoles and ideally would like Sierra-1s as surrounds if I go with monopoles to match new towers but not sure about the look of wall mounted Sierra-1s due to their depth.
You are correct. They are wall mounted using the Btech77 mounts. They make great surround speakers for Multi Ch music and Blu-ray movies.
See this thread for more info and pics....
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=3896
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
The midrange looks very similar to a Tangband full range driver.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
super sexy without the grills. that's gotta be how you rock it. i look forward to pics of them in natural, but i think it's piano black for me this time.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
UPS has gotta be there soon??!!!
:D
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
:eek:
Very nice and I will be the first to offer my home for some R&D listening time. :D
I have the very last picture from the first post as my external wallpaper on my phone. My previous pic was the Sierra 1 so I'm gonna have to pull rank and let the tower pic run the show for now...
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mag_Neato
UPS has gotta be there soon??!!!
:D
Update...
Me sitting here twiddling my thumbs nervously awaiting for the "brown truck" to arrive:) I have been told by my "usual" driver, an ETA of around 4-5pm Central time, not long now.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Central time? Rats!! I will be either getting ready for, or actually having dinner with my lady to celebrate 4 years of unwedded bliss!:D
I will definitely be checking in later this evening!:cool:
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mag_Neato
Central time? Rats!! I will be either getting ready for, or actually having dinner with my lady to celebrate 4 years of unwedded bliss!:D
I will definitely be checking in later this evening!:cool:
Congrats is in order to you! I can see it now, "Honey, let me go fill that wine glass for you" as you sneak into the office and view the "Tower Thread".
:D
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Wow... Congrats Dave on a very fine, classy looking speaker! The piano black finished bases also look great and seem to add quite a nice touch, really looks top notch...
Any ETA on the for sale date? How much is shipping going to run on these? Any guesstimates for shipping costs to Canada?
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
We have touchdown!!!!
Reporting back in 2 weeks......
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
merrymaid520
We have touchdown!!!!
Reporting back in 2 weeks......
:p
pics or it didn't happen!
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
merrymaid520
We have touchdown!!!!
Reporting back in 2 weeks......
2 weeks!????
That's not going to work!
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
merrymaid520
We have touchdown!!!!
Reporting back in 2 weeks......
2 weeks ... I was thinking more like every two minutes would be more like it :p
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
merrymaid520
We have touchdown!!!!
Reporting back in 2 weeks......
You have a great responsibility ...
30 minute updates should work.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Reflections1
Those speakers are beautiful. What color is that considered??
This pair is a very unique true piano black. What makes them unique is that they are 100% hand finished, hand buffed Made in the USA - and the finish is a polyester resin based piano black. Most piano black finishes (especially from Asia) are polyurethane. Polyester buffs to a higher sheen and is harder. The finishing on this pair was completed by an experienced guitar finishing company.
Regrettably, this is a very expensive option and will add $700 to the introductory base price of $1898/pair.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Reflections1
Are you going to post some pictures with other colors that are avilable ?
Yes, we intend to post pictures of the various finishes that we are able to offer.
As of right now, the standard finish options will be:
Natural
Espresso (with a satin sheen, not nearly as glossy as the Sierra-1)
Dark Cherry (with the same satin sheen)
High Gloss Black (not as perfect a mirror finish as the true piano black, which is nearly a perfect mirror)
Satin Black
Black Matte (this is a textured black matte paint, extremely durable and very attractive) It is the same finish that is used for M&K speakers
Because we are building these locally, we are able to offer various custom options (various veneers, different color paints such as white) for additional fees.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Reflections1
Are these the pictures of Brandon's speakers ??
Yep.... And I miss them :(
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Hi, Dave. How would the "true piano black" and "high gloss black" finishes on the towers compare to the "piano black" finish on the Sierra-1?
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
OK...it's been 90 minutes. Where did he go?
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
curtis
OK...it's been 90 minutes. Where did he go?
Technical difficulties with the new speaker wire not fitting into the binding posts on my proceed amp, problem solved now!
Almost there, needed a beer too!
:p
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
davef
This pair is a very unique true piano black. What makes them unique is that they are 100% hand finished, hand buffed Made in the USA - and the finish is a polyester resin based piano black. Most piano black finishes (especially from Asia) are polyurethane. Polyester buffs to a higher sheen and is harder. The finishing on this pair was completed by an experienced guitar finishing company.
Regrettably, this is a very expensive option and will add $700 to the introductory base price of $1898/pair.
Wait, so you have two gloss blacks? The "True piano" and the "high gloss black", with the True piano costing a whopping $700 more?
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
I already told my wife what next years state tax refund is going to!! She was so overwhelmed with excitement, she replied...."Whatever". I'm taking that as a definite "OK".
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ripcordaff
Wait, so you have two gloss blacks? The "True piano" and the "high gloss black", with the True piano costing a whopping $700 more?
That is correct... High gloss black is not "piano" black -- the difference being that piano black is a mirror finish, such that it will reflect back nearly every detail just like a mirror. High gloss black does not have the same degree of reflectivity, reflected detail is somewhat blurry.
A "Made in the USA" true piano black finish is nearly impossible to come by. It is extremely labor intensive and uses chemicals that require very specific environmental licensing, especially here in California. For example, I believe Salk charges $1400 for the option. The $700 additional fee we are charging has no added profit in it for us -- it simply covers the cost of the process and the additional handling required.
It was also our desire to manufacture the speaker cabinets here in the USA.
That being said, since piano black is a very popular finish and the $700 increase in price is hard to swallow, we are considering having our Sierra-1 cabinet maker produce piano black cabinets for us which will reduce the cost of this option dramatically. This will take several months though...
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ripcordaff
Wait, so you have two gloss blacks? The "True piano" and the "high gloss black", with the True piano costing a whopping $700 more?
and it looks like two less glossy blacks as well. Very interesting. Can't wait to see pictures and get cost details for the various options.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Well I have them up and running and only had a little bit of time to listen. I wont get into details until I have some serious time with them. So far, very impressive. What jumped out at me from the first track was the imaging, detail and timbre accuracy, then male vocals.
Dave....
They arrived safely and the finish is superb!
Stay tuned. I have all day tomorrow to do more tweaking and evaluations.
So far I'm:):D:p
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
merrymaid520
Dave....
They arrived safely and the finish is superb!
Thanks for the update, now I can breathe a bit easier :)
Let me know how the packaging stood up to UPS and if the foam wrap fully protected the finish.
Also, be sure to run them full range when you get the chance and let me know your thoughts on the bass response.
I agree, the imaging and detail is fantastic and many others have commented on how well they reproduce vocals. Don't be afraid to turn them up :D
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
davef
Thanks for the update, now I can breathe a bit easier :)
Let me know how the packaging stood up to UPS and if the foam wrap fully protected the finish.
Also, be sure to run them full range when you get the chance and let me know your thoughts on the bass response.
I agree, the imaging and detail is fantastic and many others have commented on how well they reproduce vocals. Don't be afraid to turn them up :D
No problem. Let me do a real thorough inspection of the finish tomorrow to make sure for you. Right now with my Parasound 2100 preamp they are running crossed over at 80Hz, my only option is this or full range. I will experiment with both, but will ultimately go with 80hz having the Rythmik doing the lows:)
More feedback to come tomorrow!
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
merrymaid520
No problem. Let me do a real thorough inspection of the finish tomorrow to make sure for you. Right now with my Parasound 2100 preamp they are running crossed over at 80Hz, my only option is this or full range. I will experiment with both, but will ultimately go with 80hz having the Rythmik doing the lows:)
More feedback to come tomorrow!
If you are going to use the towers with the D15, I strongly recommend a lower crossover setting. The mid-bass and punch of the towers is excellent and I had better results integrating the towers with a Rythmik sub at 50Hz. For most music, I preferred the towers without a sub.
Unlike the Sierra-1, because of the dedicated mid-woofer and it being in its own sealed enclosure within the cabinet, removing deep bass from the tower will not result in any noticeable improvement to the midrange.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
davef
If you are going to use the towers with the D15, I strongly recommend a lower crossover setting. The mid-bass and punch of the towers is excellent and I had better results integrating the towers with a Rythmik sub at 50Hz. For most music, I preferred the towers without a sub.
Unlike the Sierra-1, because of the dedicated mid-woofer and it being in its own sealed enclosure within the cabinet, removing deep bass from the tower will not result in any noticeable improvement to the midrange.
Based on my only 2 options within my preamp for music, would you recommend full range then over 80hz? With movies, I can select 60hz through my yamaha receiver so that won't be an issue.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
I say full range, but try both.
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Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
I think these towers are crying out for full range for music. I generally preferred my sierras full range (though do not have a Rythmik....yet) so I can only imagine how much better the towers will be.