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Thread: The Tower Discussion Thread!

  1. #2321
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Posts
    7

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    I have only had my sierra towers with RAAL for a couple of days, but I have a few preliminary observations which might help those considering a future purchase.

    1) It's scary and a bit weird to buy a speaker without listening to it. After all, there are lots of speakers whose sound is either too dull or too strident. Too tubby or too thin. Too narrow or too veiled. Specs only tell part of the story and even the plots that Dave F. provides only give a layman like myself something techy to look at. I don't know exactly how what I'm seeing translates into real sound. All that being said, the ascend tower sounds exactly as I was hoping it would sound. The highs are airy and light, round and spacious. This is my first RAAL tweeter and I can hear what the fuss is about. The high end is clear without being harsh and the soundstage is so diffused that you can't pinpoint where the tweeters are. The sound is simply in front of you. The midrange is clear defined with just a touch of warmth. No syrup here. No fuzz. Just clear, well-defined mids that make strings and horns come to life. Voices sound natural and the overall sound is detailed yet smooth with a balance that keeps everything in proportion. It's a lovely speaker to listen to...and the sound is what I was hoping it would be. Zero disappointment.

    2) Right now, I am powering the towers with a 15 year old Onkyo receiver (70/90watts into 8/4 ohms. SNR 100db for line sources, THD of .08, very basic DAC). Despite the rather average specs of my gear, the sound is beautiful. The higher i push the volume the more the speakers show their quality. It's addictive and even though I knew the speakers would be efficient, I was pleasantly surprised by just how good they make my old components sound. These speakers are not fussy or hard to make sing. I can't wait to see what happens when I add a good DAC and some better amplification.

    3) The speakers are very nice looking. Elegant but unobtrusive given their slim design. The new magnetic grills are very nice looking, but overall I think I prefer them off and the lack of holes really makes the driver presentation even more attractive. The build quality is excellent and I love knowing that this is real bamboo and not simply wood-looking vinyl over MDF. These are not dramatic looking speakers. They don't particularly stand out, which I like. They blend in tastefully and the finish is beautiful...like a fine piece of furniture

    Is there anything i don't like? The RAAL tweeter lovingly reproduces the high pitched pops and clicks in my albums more than my older, less revealing speakers did. Of course, the album sounds better too..but the pops are more noticeable.

    One very OCD thing...the speakers come wrapped in felt which is secured with shipping tape. It's difficult to remove the tape without stretching or damaging the felt. You can cut carefully through the tape, but it's difficult to do this cleanly at the top and bottom where the felt is folded and taped over. I wish the felt had been sewn into a sock that slipped over the speaker so it could be easily reused. I would gladly pay Ascend extra money for a sewn sock or bag to use when re-boxing the speakers. Other than that, I have loved every minute with them.

    The next step is hardware upgrades. Better amplification. A better DAC. A CD Transport. Plus more hours listening to break the speakers in more. I will report back as the project progresses...but this I can tell those who are interested or on the fence. I am fairly particular when it comes to what I think of as "good sound" and these speakers deliver. I am very pleased in the product, and in the support I've received from Dina during the process. The RAAL towers are definitely something special and Dave F. has done a magnificent job of creating a speaker which rivals or bests anything I've heard in its pricerange and even beyond. They're the real deal.
    Last edited by drandall; 10-22-2019 at 04:39 PM.

  2. #2322
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    1,390

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Nice write-up/review, drandall.

    As to pops/clicks on albums, are you cleaning them? Won't remove all the pops/clicks, but I find it does help a lot (I use an ultrasound cleaner followed by rinse/vacuum). I also have a Sweet Vinyl Sugar Cube coming which is a real-time pop/click remover for those stubborn albums which aren't replaceable (or too expensive to replace). I've read several positive reviews on it, so figured I'd give it a try

  3. #2323
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Posts
    7

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    i am using a velvet brush and fluid, along with an anti static brush on my albums...but nothing more advanced than that. I have thought about a proper record cleaner but haven’t done much investigating. the sweetvinyl sugar cube sounds interesting!

  4. #2324
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    1,390

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    I used to use the same cleaning method as you. Found it to be just ok.

    A few years ago when I got back into vinyl more seriously I went with a more advanced cleaning method. Wanted to really get the grooves clean and dirt/etc. off the vinyl.

    I originally bought a 3D printed machine (just a turntable to spin albums manually, vacuum head, and fittings to connect a shop vac). Used that for a month or so and found it to be a pain and not do a good job. Considered a Spin Clean but no way to vacuum dry. Got a VPI HW16.5, which does a really great job.

    Later, I added a DYI Ultrasound Cleaner. At 2500+, the commercial ones are too expensive, IMO. The DYI cost me around $500 (vinyl stack, 6L Ultrasonic cleaner off of Amazon (or Ebay), and filtration set up from parts bought off Amazon and locally.

    Cleaning fluid is very important if just hand washing. I've read good things about the AudioIntelligent cleaning fluid, although have never tried it. Tergitol (spelling) is another good cleaner - believe this is what is used by National Library for archiving vinyl - you can get that on Amazon (search Tergi-kleen). I use this. Just mix ~20 drops in a gallon of distilled water. This is what I use in my Ultrasonic, along with about 0.2 ml Hepastat 256 (only found it on Quill.com and smallest size was a gallon -- so should last for eternity).

    My cleaning process is ~10 minutes in Ultrasound (~3 revolutions/10 min), 3 distilled water rinse/vacuum on the HW16.5, and then using a PC De-ionizer/de-stat (Amazon or Ebay for under $100) to blow about 30 seconds/side. Furatech also makes a deStat, but it is rather pricey (over 300 when I looked).

    Good thread on the VPI forum about cleaning records... http://vpiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2289

  5. #2325
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    SouthWest of Cleveland
    Posts
    1,924

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    It's all coming back to me why I never went down the vinyl path......$$$$$
    Ed

    * Sierra-2EX's W/V2 crossover upgrade
    * (2) Rythmik F12's
    * Parasound Halo P6
    * Audio by Van Alstine DVA-M225 Monoblock Amps
    * MiniDSP 2x4HD For Sub calibration
    *World's Best Cables Canare 4S11 speaker cables

  6. #2326
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Loveland, Colorado
    Posts
    54

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Quote Originally Posted by Audiator View Post
    ...

    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?

    ...

    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
    Hi Don,

    I'm not here to counsel you, but to pass along my experience, since there are a few similarities. By the way, I'm not an audiophile either, but am a music enthusiast first, and HT second.

    I also listen to classic rock, including a majority of the artists you listed.

    I retired in 2014 at age 65 and after that my 1990s equipment started to fail, so I started replacing things a little at a time.

    When it came time to replace LCR speakers, I also read the forums and decided on Ascend. I was replacing tower speakers, so I knew I wanted the Sierra Towers but combined with a Horizon center, the cost was getting higher than I wanted to spend. I predominately listen to music and really wanted the RAAL in all 3, but I also wanted to keep the cost down, so decided the basic black matte finish and Nrt tweeters were the way to go. Since I read so much about RAAL and how great it was with music, the little voice in my head started questioning my decision. After a couple of emails with Dave and a conversation with my wife, in March 2016 I purchased black matte Sierra Towers and Horizon all with RAAL and I've never questioned that decision. Our classic rock (and HT) sounds great on this combination, as well as blues, R&B, classical and many others I listen to. The towers sound great by themselves (drandall gives a very good description above), but in my opinion combining them with the Horizon takes the sound to another level, and because of this I usually listen to music with Yamaha's 9ch stereo setting or Dolby Surround. But to address your "phantom center" question, there have been times when listening in 2ch stereo that I swear the center channel is on also. So this might work for you for HT.

    I'm not saying that any of the other Ascend products shouldn't be considered. What I am saying is that you should get what you want, so that the voice in your head doesn't pester you after your purchase. At my age, I doubt that I'll be purchasing any more speakers (well I may replace my surrounds with Ascends in the future), so I'm very happy that I got what I wanted.

    Good luck with your decision!

    Jack

  7. #2327
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Posts
    19

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Thank you everyone for your kind replies. They help to fortify my conviction that I should get the very best for me!

    Robert- I have no idea as to future room size. I would think that a room about 14x18 would be a good size in which to set up a 7.2 or even more with elevation speakers. I'll have to do some research on optimum room size and speaker configurations during these next few years.

    drandall- thanks for your detailed review.

    Jack- Your post tipped me over into full blown conviction to get what I want with no regrets! I can see myself being content with the Towers and Horizon w/ RAAL, and then adding speakers in the future dedicated Theater room. Who knows, if finances permit, then add another set of Towers as side/surrounds? I already have the illness, and I haven't even made my first speaker acquisition yet!!! Like you I'm not getting any younger. It's sort of like a bucket list item.... Check

    Don
    Last edited by Audiator; 10-23-2019 at 05:40 PM. Reason: some afterthoughts

  8. #2328
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,538

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Welcome to the forum Don.

    We share very similar tastes in music and many of these bands (especially Dire Straits, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd) are what I use as listening tests for all of our speakers....

    You will get some excellent recommendations and feedback here on our forum and if I can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate.
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  9. #2329
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Loveland, Colorado
    Posts
    54

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Quote Originally Posted by Audiator View Post
    Who knows, if finances permit, then add another set of Towers as side/surrounds?

    Don
    Don, that's another area where we're alike. I currently use 1990s Polk towers (RT2000p) as my surrounds and have wanted to replace them with another set of Ascend towers....I know it's overkill, but that's just me. Our home is 28 years old and we've been doing updates for several years, which hasn't freed up any funds for new speakers. So maybe next year.

    I hope your new Ascends satisfy your audio itch!

    Jack

    PS - I'm listening to Hans Zimmer Live in Prague (ATMOS Blu-ray) as I'm typing this. Don't know if you have this, but it is worth a listen on the Ascends with a good subwoofer or two. It's like listening in the audience. Pretty cool!

  10. #2330
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Posts
    19

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Dave- I'm really looking forward to hearing our favorites through the Ascend speakers! The waiting is excruciating.

    Jack- Yeah, sometimes I'm prone to overkill as well, or is it a matter of brilliant minds think alike. I'm going to have to get that blu-ray. I have seen others rave about that concert as well.

    Don

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