Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
I auditioned a D-Sonic at Dennis' place last year. He's only about 20 min from my office. Really nice sounding amp. I almost went with one. However, Dave had recommended a good class A/B amp with the RAALs; so, I went with a Rogue Atlas Magnum II tube amp. Drove my S2's (now in surround) really well and now using it to drive my Towers with RAAL (current Front LR).
That said, I may still pick up a D-Sonic to drive my Atmos and surrounds at some point. Dennis is working on a lower power multi-channel which would be great for ATMOS speakers, IMO. I believe he may also be looking at more than 7 channel models.
Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
FWIW, Dave uses an ADA PTM-6150 amp in the demo room.
Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
racrawford65
...However, Dave had recommended a good class A/B amp with the RAALs; so, I went with a Rogue Atlas Magnum II tube amp...
:confused: I'm guessing Dave's recommendation was for a solid state amp, not a tube amp. But if it's tubes you like, that's totally fine.
Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Beave
:confused: I'm guessing Dave's recommendation was for a solid state amp, not a tube amp. But if it's tubes you like, that's totally fine.
Don't recall if he specified solid state - I'd have to see if I still have the email.
Tubes Rule! (to quote Manley) :-)
Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
See this thread for comments on Class D with RAAL.
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/sho...ies-soundtrack
In his email, Dave didn't specify solid state or tube, just recommended a quality class A/B amp. Reasoning due to high frequency switching noise that's typically masked by dome tweeters but RAALs can, which could lead to listener fatigue for some; also how class D handle clipping.
This could change as the Class D technology improves. Further, some may not be bothered/fatigued by the switching frequency of current designs. For the latter, I didn't want to take the chance for my primary amp. YMMV
Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
I don't own any Ascend speakers yet, but I've been lurking intensely for the past 3 months. I've read everything on this forum and other forums that pertain to Ascend speakers. I attempted to join this forum about a month ago but I was unable to activate my membership. I emailed Ascend, and Dave F. manually activated my membership within hours of my email contact. Dina impressed me as well because she was willing to take as much time as I needed to get my questions answered. I'm sold on the idea that Ascend's goal is nothing less than excellence in all that they do. Dave F.'s professionalism, transparency, and integrity has sold me. Now it's down to the details as to exactly which speaker I will order, and the order date! Now I will tell you about my personal situation.
I innocently entered the AV hobby realm earlier this year when I purchased TV's, blue ray players, soundbars, etc. I wasn't really concerned much with high end audio until about 3 months ago. Then I stumbled across "Ascend" and the germ seed was planted that slowly grew into the conscious conviction that I "need" a quality audio system. Several ID companies were considered, but Ascend emerged from the pack as the winner for me. I was planning to purchase something soon, but I waited to tell my wife this past weekend. My wife has been lukewarm to my newfound hobby. Quite unexpectedly she immediately responded that the speakers would make a nice gift for my 65th birthday, which is in 6 weeks. I wholeheartedly agreed!
My office/mancave is a small sealed room (11x13x8),and has a wood frame subfloor construction covered with carpet, drywall, and is acoustically untreated. The mix is 50% Music, 50 % HT. My music taste is mostly classic rock with bands such as:
Dire Straits
Bruce Springsteen
Bob Seger
Pink Floyd
Moody Blues
Doobie Brothers
Leonard Skynard
The Eagles
America
Linda Ronstadt
Johnny Cash
John Cougar Mellencamp
Eddie Money
The Police
The Carrs
Grand Funk Railroad
Cream
The Band
Fleetwood Mac
I could go on and on. 95% are male vocalists. 80% is electric instrumentation as opposed to acoustic instrumentation. I have some music CD's, but most music is streaming from Youtube and Sirius Radio so far. I may invest in SACD's in the future.
I have a Sony Oled TV with a Leon passive soundbar at the present. My AVR is a 9.2 Denon x4500h with 120 wpc/ 2 channels. My bluray is a Pioneer lx500 which has a good DAC. I also have SVS PC-4000 and
SB-2000 subs. I have an Apple 4k TV. This is the system that the Ascend speakers will be mated with.
I'm in a small room, but we plan to head south in about 3-4 years to a retirement home with a dedicated HT theater/ music listening room which willl be a bit larger than my current mancave. I only have room for an LCR configuration at this time due to the small room. The speakers will be 5-7 ft. apart with me sitting about 7 ft. from the center point between them. I will be the only person watching/ listening to this AV system.
My initial purchase will be limited to about a $3k expenditure, but I may be able to add other speaker/s a few months later. My original thought was to purchase a pair of Sierra 2ex with stands and a Horizon Center with Raal tweeters. Am I a candidate for the NRT tweeter? If so, I could purchase both the Sierra towers with Nrt and the Horizon Center with Nrt in one big grab. If not, I would just purchase the Sierra towers with Raal and hope that the "phantom center" is satisfying enough for my HT usage. The Horizon with Raal would be added later.
Like I said, the decision to proceed has already been made. Now which set of speakers shall it be? The order will be placed in mid Dec. unless you have a Paypal option that offers a 6 month deferred payment plan, same as cash. In that case, I am ready to order now!!!
I haven't been able to make up my mind so far, so I invite Dave and the Ascend speaker owners to counsel me. By the way, I'm not an audiophile, but am an HT and Music enthusiast!!!
Don
Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Hi Don
Welcome to the forum.
Nice list of bands.
Any idea on how much bigger your room will be when you head south?
I originally had S2's as my LR in a 16x12x12 room (open on two sides to den and dining room). They sounded great and did fill the room quite well. I recently moved to Towers with RAAL (S2's went to surround duty). These were a step up -- especially the dedicated mid-range for music (I'm probably 95% music now). So, either S2-EX or Towers with RAAL should do you well.
I use the Luna Duo for my center. Horizon won't fit in my set up. As posted elsewhere on the forum, the Duo gives the Horizon a good run for the money.
Happy (early) birthday.
Robert
Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Is difficult for someone to decide what you need but i think the towers are still above the rest. One thing im sure is that the overall buit of the ascend sierra series is top notch and you would be paying extra for other manufacturers.
Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!
Another thing for sure with Ascend is their ability to image like crazy. Stereo and center image is hard to beat with Ascend! I have two pairs of speakers that compete well with Ascend but just not in this regard.