Why I bought Ascends
Hello all. First post.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday I decided it was time to upgrade my home theater setup, so I began the world wide search for "good" quality and "affordable" hardware. Back in my younger days, I was a pretty serious "budget" audiophile - I had a lot more interest than money. But I've been out of the game for a number of years and needed to brush up. So I've spent the past couple of months prowling the web, reading reviews, and checking specs. There was a lot I needed to catch up on.
Two weeks ago, I put the final piece into place and ordered a seven piece set from Ascend: 340 mains, 340 center, and 200s for surround. I couldn't be happier even though they haven't shipped yet. I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival. This is the first time that I've made a major purchase sight unseen and sound unheard - but I seriously doubt I will be disappointed.
As an added bonus, I had the privilege of having Dave take my order. When he gave me his name, I asked if he was "the" Dave - he replied that he was. I was impressed, so I thought I would post here to explain why I chose Ascend.
1. I'm impressed with the engineering. I started my career as an aeronautical engineer (I do software work now) and I have an appreciation for good engineering. You can spot good engineering when the manufacturer goes beyond telling you how great their product is and explains why they chose the particular nuts, bolts, and screws. Dave has provided a lot of information here about the how and why of his speaker designs. Every system is a compromise between desire and deliverables, so knowing the builders design goals and compromises goes a long way in evaluating the deliverables.
2. The "buzz" was overwhelming. I didn't start out looking for particular speakers because I knew a lot had changed since I last looked hard. I spent several hours (nearly every night) prowling the various audio/video forums and information sites looking for the buzz. I started with the names I knew from the old days, Infinity, Polk, Boston Acoustic, Klipsch, DCM, Acoustic Research, and **** (yeah, **** - I'm replacing an AM10 system). As I search and read, I picked up the buzz on four new names - Hsu, SVS, Ascend, and Axiom. Part of that was due to their internet marketing efforts, but most was good feedback. In particular, I noted that Ascend and Hsu were mentioned together - again, partly due to marketing, but mostly not. The thing I paid particular attention to was that I could not find a single negative comment about the Ascends. There was some less than glorious praise, but nothing truly negative. There's always a "halo" effect for new buyers of any product; i.e. "I bought it, it's expensive, it's GOT to be good" - but I wasn't sensing any of that. And trust me, I read virtually every comment posted on this forum. There's a saying in business - "if a customer is happy, he'll tell two people that he knows well, if he's unhappy he'll tell everybody." I wasn't seeing any unhappy customers.
3. I like the attitude. If the Ascends had been twice the price, I could still afford it, but I probably would have bought something else. Ascend delivers what many people believe to be an excellent product at a "fair" price. No frills, no flash, no glitter, no inflated values. They sell function, not form - and I wanted function. In addition, they seem to make every effort to ensure that you get what YOU want, not just what they have to sell.
So that's why the Ascends are on the way.
The Theater:
50" Toshiba 50H81 HDTV
DirecTV H20 receiver
Zenith DVB318 DVD (upconverting)
RCA VR612H VCR
Pioneer VSX-815 AV Receiver (7.1x100)
Proton AA1150 Amplifiers
Blue Jean cable interconnects (on order)
Ascend 340M, 340C, 200x4 (on order)
Hsu VTF-2 MK2 Sub