CBM-170 SE initial impressions

Santa brought me a pair of 170s for Christmas (okay, it was my wife--don't know how you can verify it but let me know). I'm a former audio engineer and have worked with lots of great gear including plenty of monitors--from the classic NS-10M to giant Westlakes and lots in between. But over the years I moved around a lot, started a family, etc., and my music became more portable, digital, and poor quality. That changed just over a year ago, when I got Steven Wilson's blu-ray 5.1 remix of Yes' Close to the Edge--I've been a man obsessed ever since.

I now have about 50 surround sound audio discs in various formats--I was playing them all through a Vizio HTiB I got to see if I liked the format--and now I'm beginning the upgrade path to a "real" system. Here's my current gear:

AVR: Yamaha HTR-3066
Fronts: Ascend Acoustics CBM 170 SE
Center: N/A (I'm saving up for a 200)
Surrounds: 10-yr old **** Acoustimass 3
Sub: Dayton 10"

Impressions: Not knowing what to expect, I thought the 170s might sound like a blend between the old NS-10Ms and maybe my friend's nice Audioengines that he was playing some Devandra Banhart on for me recently--I expected them to be a bit clinical and neutral, but maybe with a little of that Audioengine warmth on the low end (I don't know why, I was totally just making it up in my mind).

What I've found so far is that the 170s have far more depth, a bigger and more exciting soundstage, and yet can still disappear better than just about any other speaker I've personally experienced. Although I'm not a ****-basher, the difference between the 170s and **** is striking--there's just no comparison (and the **** cost more, even back in 2005). But they work pretty nicely together, and until I can save up for a pair of 200s (or the sierra sats?!) I'm fine with them where they are.

Back to the 170s: they haven't fully broken in yet, but I've already put about 20 hours of Music/Movie/TV listening on them. My surround discs are coming alive with details I never suspected: some of my favorite surround discs are Talking Heads "Remain In Light" (Eno!!); Flaming Lips "Yoshimi"; Yes "Relayer" and Who "Quadrophenia"--I can't fully express yet what brilliant little musical devices these speakers are, and how surprisingly full and commanding they sound--not at all what I was expecting from a bookshelf speaker, having been a floorstanding snob in my previous life who wouldn't have considered a bookshelf speaker 20 years ago.

Also, I wasn't impressed at first until I discovered the Yamaha defaulted the crossover to 200 Hz; following other reocmmendations I dropped it to 80 and everything just started humming. I ran the YPAO and found that made a nice balance.

I don't know if this is helpful or not, but I'm so glad I talked my wife into getting me these to try out...she's digging them too, but she's even happier that I'm so happy. Thank you, Dave and Ascend...you have won over another (very happy) customer.

(I just noticed that one brand I mentioned is reduced to **** -- rhymes with "nose"--was it something I said? :cool:)

Great review and it is so nice to see our 170's get some of the loving they so well deserve. With so much hype regarding our Sierra-2, it's important to recognize the speaker that put us on the map, so to speak.

So happy you are enjoying them and yep, while the 170's offer some of that classic NS-10 sound for mixing, the 170's offer so much more and are actually extremely enjoyable to listen to (much unlike the NS-10's ;) )

Thanks again!

Thanks, Dave--my esteem for these speakers keeps going up. They are absolute beasts! So happy to be part of the Ascend fan club :)

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Originally Posted by surroundnewbie

Thanks, Dave--my esteem for these speakers keeps going up. They are absolute beasts! So happy to be part of the Ascend fan club :)

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And we are happy to have you join us :)

Oh, and I just ordered my 200 Center, a little sooner than I had expected :rolleyes:

Surroundnewbie,
I also went form those "nose-rhymers" (901s) to the original 170s and found I was rediscovering music. Once my hearing got worse (age), I found the clarity was paramount.

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Originally Posted by pegleg

Surroundnewbie,
I also went form those "nose-rhymers" (901s) to the original 170s and found I was rediscovering music. Once my hearing got worse (age), I found the clarity was paramount.

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Thanks pegleg, that's a big part of my interest too--quality A/V is increasingly important to me as I age. I'm excited to evolve to ribbons in the coming years too, but I'd rather do it in stages as I retrain my ears. I love how the 170s make a virtual center by themselves...so expansive and impressive, they punch way above their weight class. The accolades are 100% deserved and accurate, imo.

This April is my birthday and incidentally it is also the month I will have my last mortgage payment. To celebrate (and to start spending the extra cash at hand ;) in something worthwhile ) I am going to get myself a pair of CBM-170 and most likely a HTM-200 for Center duty. Space-wise three HTM-200 for LCR would be more aesthetically pleasing, as I have to put the L & R speakers on (actually more "in") an enclosed shelf, but the CMB-170 seems to be a better sounding speaker and with more dynamic headroom for 2-ch music, which is my main priority.

I can't wait to hear how they will sing together with my Rythmik L12 sub. By the way, surroundnewbie and pegleg, I HIGHLY recommend the L12, at a little over $500 shipped it is an absolute steal of a sub for a small/medium size room (mine is 17x13x8) and if you prioritize music over HT. And if you are a bass freak (nothing wrong with that! :o) or you simply need higher output for a larger room, Rythmik have plenty of floor shacking, wall rattling options that will do quite well with music too.

The L12 is no slouch, I like a balanced sound, even in movies, and to my ears the L12 is perfectly adequate for HT duty too. If I really want to splurge I increase the sub level 3dB with the sub trim in my AVR and call it a day.

Congrats, MusicHead! What a great feeling that must be to pay off the mortgage. I have the 170s paired with a 200 center and absolutely love them...the 200 makes a fantastic center but the 170s are definitely my picks for LR. Space is an issue for me so I had to get the smallest center I could w/out sacrificing quality, and I'm thrilled to have found Ascend and taken the plunge. The 170s have such a full and satisfying sound, really that perfect blend of nearfield monitor precision and traditional tower oomph. I'd love to hear your thoughts when you've got them set up.

A Rythmik sub is definitely in my future upgrade plans...in fact, speaking of mortgages, my wife and I are considering building a cabin in the country for weekend getaways--I haven't told her yet that my enthusiasm is partly so I can move this HT setup up there and start building my RAAL & Rythmik system next :)