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Thread: 170SE vs HTD Level Three Bookshelf

  1. #1
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    Feb 2006
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    Thumbs up 170SE vs HTD Level Three Bookshelf

    I received Ascend CBM-170SE and HTD (Home Theater Direct) Level Three Bookshelf last week. During the holidays I've been comparing them with each other and with my old Wharfedale Pacific Pi30 floorstanders. All speakers are driven by my Panasonic XR57 with its treble set at -2 and speaker size set to "Large" without a subwoofer.

    (Edit: HTD Level Two added to the comparison.)

    I used only classical music for comparison. My standard for speaker choice is that their playback of stringed instruments and voice must be as close as possible to the tonality of real instruments. I was trained for classical voice music and still do it as a hobby and go to many classical music performances, mostly opera and chamber music. So I don't think that I'm comparing these speakers by highly subjective criteria since I know what strings and voice should sound like. I don't care about, say, how "deep and tight" the bass is, how "sweet" the treble is, how "warm" or "bright" the sound quality is, etc relative to other speakers. My standard is not unambiguous, but it is how well the speakers perform in reproducing the sound of strings and voice as closely as possible to the sound in my memory acquired from concerts.

    I personally think the most difficult instrument for a reproduction system to mimic is strings, especially violin in either solo or orchestra. It is also violin that can often be recorded poorly. It can sound harsh, dry, and thin at times. Yes, I know violin can by nature sound harsh and annoying and this characteristic can sometimes be exaggerated through a reproduction system. In my experience, violin sound is just right through my Grado SR225 headphones driven by my old Onkyo integrated amp's headphone amp section, which is above average IMO. So, I use these Grado headphones as a sort of reference in this comparison.

    Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE:
    Very neutral and transparent monitors. I finally found loudspeakers that provide faithful reproduction of strings. I've been enjoying my old Wharfedale's. They have been very pleasant to listen, but they add some coloration compared to my headphones. Actually they make every sound (especially female voice and wind instruments) "prettier" than real. I think this characteristic is due to their Butterworth crossover which "emphasizes" sound around their crossover frequency. I find this pleasant sometimes but not satisfying since I know it's coloration. In fact, the 170SE and the Wharfedale are similar in their SQ, but the 170SE's provide tonality that is closer to that of real instruments and very, very close to that of my Grado headphones. The Wharfedale's are capable speakers with delicate, non-fatiguing high and holographic midrange. But it turns out that I prefer the 170SE's. These Ascends provide things I liked on my old speakers and in addition produce more natural sound. Bass extension is not deep enough especially for full orchestral music, but no wonder considering these are small bookshelf speakers. In sum, they are very neutral and accurate monitors.

    HTD Level Three Bookshelf:
    Pleasant to listen, impressive bass extension/quality for a bookshelf, and nice treble extension, but it has a problem in its frequency response. This problem may make pop music sound very pleasant and provide exaggeratedly wide sound stage, but cause stringed instruments to sound very unnatural. Compared to the 170SE, they have a significant dip at around 2 kHz through 3.5 kHz (i.e., around crossover frequency). I measured this using my RadioShack SPL meter and Rives Audio Test CD 2---I compared frequency responses between speakers since in-room freq response in and of itself is useless due to room characteristics. This anomaly robbs violin of its "body" and leaves only its highs. So violin sounds unnaturally thin. Same thing applies to female voice. Important frequency information contained in female voice is not there. In short, these have very good build quality and perhaps are impressive in pop music reproduction, but are not adequate for classical music.

    HTD Level Two Bookshelf:
    Excellent bass for a small bookshelf speaker. Overall, this one has neutral tonality, much closer to my Grado headphone's than the Level Three. But still has the same kind of characteristic, a bit weak upper midrange response. For this reason, it presents more laid-back sound than the 170SE, but more forward sound than the Level Three. Sort of in-between quality of 170SE and Level Three. With respect to the laid-back and forward dimension, the 170SE has the most forward sound, then my Grado, next Level Two, then my old Wharfedale, and Level Three has the most laid-back sound. Although the Level Two has neutral tonal balance (even closer to the Grado than the 170SE), it is my least favorite of all the above speakers, because of its lack of clarity. Compared to the other speakers, its midrange is not clean (e.g., make female vocal sounding nasal).

    Below are my short evaluations on the speakers I compared, in the order of my preference:

    1. Ascend 170SE: Tonality is neutral but on a bit bright, forward side. OUtstanding clarity at ALL frequency levels. Excellent treble extension.

    2. Wharfedale Pacific Pi-30: Tonality is not very neutral, but very, very pleasing. Excellent midrange and treble clarity. Nice treble extension. Great bass quantity/extension.

    3. HTD Level Three: Very laid-back sound due to weak upper midrange response, but might be perceived "bright" since it has strong highs. Fair midrange and treble clarity. Good treble extension. Excellent bass extension/quality.

    4. HTD Level Two: Neutral, balanced tonality. Average midrange clarity. Nice bass for a small bookshelf.

    EDIT (4-7-2008):

    It's been over a year since I wrote a post here. Now I became a speaker DIY'er, and all commercial speakers I purchased are gone including Ascend CBM-170SE and Onix x-ls. As a DIY'er, I now have a different perspective and standards for evaluating speakers. At this point, if someone asks me to recommend most cost-effective and reliable commercial loudspeakers, I won't hesitate to pick Ascend Acoustics. I once preferred the Onix x-ls to the 170SE, but I can now re-evaluate them. A pair of CBM-170SE's was the most accurate and cleanest one among speakers I auditioned under $500 with respect to linear and nonlinear distortions. Its crossover is nicely tuned---for example, its baffle step compensation is just a right amout that can fit most people's listening environment.

    Dave, keep the good work! You certainly know what you're doing.

    -- Jay
    Last edited by Jay_WJ; 04-07-2008 at 01:20 PM.

  2. #2
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    Thanks for taking the time to write that up Jay.

    It sounds like your enjoying the 170's

    At what frequencies did you notice coloration of the sound?

    Thx,

    m
    Wasting $ on garbage is like challenging a dragon with a pocket knife....

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by muzz
    At what frequencies did you notice coloration of the sound?

    m
    I didn't measure anything of the Wharfedale's. A bump around the crossover point I mentioned about Wharfedale is my hunch based on my listening.

  4. #4
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    I was referring to the Ascend coloration.

    Did I read that wrong?

    EDIT: I went back and re-read, sorry, it does seem you are referring to the Wharfdales. My Mistake.

    Enjoy the 170's,I really enjoy listening to music again since I got mine.

    m
    Wasting $ on garbage is like challenging a dragon with a pocket knife....

  5. #5
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    Yes, I think you did. Maybe I wrote it in a confusing way.

  6. #6
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    Nope, not really, it was my mistake.

    Thanks Jay

    Gary
    Wasting $ on garbage is like challenging a dragon with a pocket knife....

  7. #7
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    HTD Level Two has been added to my comparison.

  8. #8
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    The Middies and Level 3's arrived today. If I have some time later tonight, I will fire them up.
    -curtis

  9. #9
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    On AVSForum, Jay updated the review to put the X-LS #1 and 170SE #2.

  10. #10
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    It all depends on personal preference. In terms of distortion-free clarity, I still think the 170SE is second to none in its price range. As for me I just preferred the x-ls' more laid back sound quality at some cost of clarity.

    - Jay

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