Acoustic music on my first CMB-170s
I guess an important aspect of a review is the background of a reviewer, so I'll start by letting you know I am new to the world of good speakers and I have never owned a high-end hifi system. I bought the CMB-170s to "revive" my teenage-years' audio system, a Technics SC-CH700. I do not know the audio jargon. I use them to listen mostly to acoustic music that is rather complex (e.g. Brazilian samba with 6 and 7-string guitars, percussion group of 8+ instruments, cavaquinho, and 4-10 singers).
I have been amazed by these speakers. They show with incredible definition the minutest details, which has allowed me to hear sounds of my favorite music that I had never heard. The low frequency sounds are very well defined on their note, and one does not hear a "bass cloud" at all. One can sometimes even hear the finger-tuning of fretless players!
The vocal harmonizations in boleros and Cuban sones are clear, with each voice well demarcated, allowing one to hear the singers' job of putting them together. As with larger choruses, it has been the closest listening experience to live performances with no microphoning.
I could go on and on with 3-guitar arrangements, winds, mid- and high frequency percussion, etc. But probably my point about the CMBs is already made. I am very glad about having discovered Ascend and having bought the CMBs. Also worth mentioning is that communication with David Fabrikant and Dina Lynn was excellent.
The only problem is that speakers are like wine. Once you try a good one, you don't want to go back to what you were used to. I'm hooked to good sound!
Cheers, and sorry if this review was too much from a musician's perspective rather than from an audiophile's one.
Quino
Re: Acoustic music on my first CMB-170s
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Quino do tamborim
I guess an important aspect of a review is the background of a reviewer, so I'll start by letting you know I am new to the world of good speakers and I have never owned a high-end hifi system. I bought the CMB-170s to "revive" my teenage-years' audio system, a Technics SC-CH700. I do not know the audio jargon. I use them to listen mostly to acoustic music that is rather complex (e.g. Brazilian samba with 6 and 7-string guitars, percussion group of 8+ instruments, cavaquinho, and 4-10 singers).
I have been amazed by these speakers. They show with incredible definition the minutest details, which has allowed me to hear sounds of my favorite music that I had never heard. The low frequency sounds are very well defined on their note, and one does not hear a "bass cloud" at all. One can sometimes even hear the finger-tuning of fretless players!
The vocal harmonizations in boleros and Cuban sones are clear, with each voice well demarcated, allowing one to hear the singers' job of putting them together. As with larger choruses, it has been the closest listening experience to live performances with no microphoning.
I could go on and on with 3-guitar arrangements, winds, mid- and high frequency percussion, etc. But probably my point about the CMBs is already made. I am very glad about having discovered Ascend and having bought the CMBs. Also worth mentioning is that communication with David Fabrikant and Dina Lynn was excellent.
The only problem is that speakers are like wine. Once you try a good one, you don't want to go back to what you were used to. I'm hooked to good sound!
Cheers, and sorry if this review was too much from a musician's perspective rather than from an audiophile's one.
Quino
Wonderful review - -and thank you for sharing your experience!
Re: Acoustic music on my first CMB-170s
Thanks for sharing, I wish more reviews were from musicians!
I use my system to listen to music, not music to listen to my system :-)
