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Thread: The Tower Discussion Thread!

  1. #2421
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    Aug 2003
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    Manhattan Beach, California
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    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    Thanks for the kind words. Healing was going great until I tried to do a little wrestling and Jiu Jitsu with my son, who is a 4-year varsity letterman for wrestling and now in his 12th year of Jiu Jitsu competition.

    I'm old - lesson learned
    My brother and sister in law used to own a jiu jitsu school. In fact, my sister in law is/was one of the first female jiu jitsu black belts in the US, one of the female Dirty Dozen. She is #8 in this article:
    https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-cultur...jj-dirty-dozen

    Anyways, when my daughter was 8-9 years old, she took a jiu jitsu class with my sister-in-law. I learned quickly that I probably didn't want to wrestle with my daughter after her first month of classes.
    -curtis

  2. #2422
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    USA
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    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis View Post
    My brother and sister in law used to own a jiu jitsu school. In fact, my sister in law is/was one of the first female jiu jitsu black belts in the US, one of the female Dirty Dozen. She is #8 in this article:
    https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-cultur...jj-dirty-dozen

    Anyways, when my daughter was 8-9 years old, she took a jiu jitsu class with my sister-in-law. I learned quickly that I probably didn't want to wrestle with my daughter after her first month of classes.
    Wow - that is truly impressive Curtis. I showed this too Matthew - told him your sister-in-law could very possible kick his a$$ - to which he commented, "I strongly doubt it" ... Sounds like a challenge to me
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    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  3. #2423
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
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    46

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Having spent a lot of time listening to music during the lockdown, I'm convinced I can tell the difference between my Towers with grilles on and off. I thought the grilles were acoustically transparent. Could my ears be playing tricks on me?

    Anyway, I moved house a few times and had the opportunity to set up in different spaces and each time, despite the perceived differences, the Towers remain enjoyable.

  4. #2424
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    Mar 2011
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    NW Pennsylvania
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    696

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Quote Originally Posted by steelbolz View Post
    Having spent a lot of time listening to music during the lockdown, I'm convinced I can tell the difference between my Towers with grilles on and off. I thought the grilles were acoustically transparent. Could my ears be playing tricks on me?

    Anyway, I moved house a few times and had the opportunity to set up in different spaces and each time, despite the perceived differences, the Towers remain enjoyable.
    I couldn't find any reference but I thought I read that the grills might attenuate the highs a db or so. So, not crazy imo if you think you can hear a difference.
    Nate

  5. #2425
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    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Quote Originally Posted by steelbolz View Post
    Having spent a lot of time listening to music during the lockdown, I'm convinced I can tell the difference between my Towers with grilles on and off. I thought the grilles were acoustically transparent. Could my ears be playing tricks on me?

    Anyway, I moved house a few times and had the opportunity to set up in different spaces and each time, despite the perceived differences, the Towers remain enjoyable.
    100% acoustically transparent doesn't exist. Any material or object you place in front of a speaker will affect sound waves, it is just a matter of how much.

    That stated, the cloth we use is about as acoustically transparent as grille cloth can be. It will attenuate the highs by about 1dB starting at ~10kHz. I strongly doubt any human could hear this, but it is possible.
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    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  6. #2426
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    Dec 2011
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    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Probably my imagination then. Thanks for explaining.

  7. #2427
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    Jul 2020
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    5

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Hey Dave,

    Not sure if this was answered before, but are there any upcoming plans to "update" or improve the RAAL towers at all this coming year?

  8. #2428
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    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Quote Originally Posted by Toofy View Post
    Hey Dave,

    Not sure if this was answered before, but are there any upcoming plans to "update" or improve the RAAL towers at all this coming year?
    No plans for any changes to our towers at this time. As it stands, we run almost a constant backorder on the towers and as they say "why fix something that isn't broken"

    Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or concerns.
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    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  9. #2429
    Join Date
    May 2020
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    14

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    New Tower owner here. Have a pair of the Sierra Towers with RAAL tweeters in matte black.

    I had originally come across Ascend a few years back and scoffed at the idea of buying speakers from a manufacturer that only offered internet direct orders. At the time my budget was below the cost of the Towers and that affected my perception and thinking of exactly what companies such as Ascend could offer.

    Fast forward a couple years and I'd dabbled in the non-mainstream gear having purchased an SP14 tube preamp (since sold) and continued reading up on costs of various component manufacturing in relation to retail channel costs and my mind opened up to the idea of purchasing a pair of Ascend speakers. Another piece of gear that helped to change my mind was the Job 225 amplifier that I still own today. The Job 225 is actually made by Goldmund and really opened my eyes to how much of the added cost of components is marketing and markup.

    My previous speakers before this were Alta Rhea. Those were my first foray into ribbon tweeters and I was instantly hooked. All the perceived harshness that dome tweeters presented seemed to disappear when using ribbons. Thus the search was on for what the next step up would be. Admittedly I was very content with the Rhea's and felt that I could have lived with them for a very long time and never known if there was something out there that I could find even more enjoyment from. The Rhea's use Fountek ribbons and I knew their reference monitor the FRM-2 Celesta used a RAAL tweeter so I figured there must be some magic to the damn thing since the Celesta retailed for $13k. Seeing as how Ascend was offering RAAL tweeters at a much lower cost I figured "hey might as well give it a shot" considering the price Ascend offers speakers with RAAL tweeters at fits into my budget.

    My setup:

    DAC - NAD M51
    Amp - Job 225
    IC's - VH Audio copper (RCA), Cerious Graphene Extreme (digital coax)
    PC's - custom made
    Source - Bluesound Node 2
    Speakers cables - Tara Labs RSC Prime
    Subwoofer - Rythmik F12 w/ A370PEQ amp (for 80Hz HPF)
    Room - 15'x15' w/ rug and bare walls

    All I have to say is the Sierra Towers are definitely a step up in overall performance from the Rhea's. Due to the higher sensitivity of the Sierra's it took some time to dial in the volume on the F12 to find the right balance, but once the volume was adjusted to my satisfaction the increased resolution of the RAAL tweeter was blatantly apparent. The fact the Sierra's are 3-way versus the 2-way design of the Rhea no doubt also factors into the presentation.

    As others have mentioned elsewhere, the RAAL tweeter, or perhaps the presentation of the Sierra's, is more upfront and throws images into the room rather than behind the speakers. That took a little while to adjust to. I can't comment on the low end performance of the Sierra Towers as the F12 is acting as a HPF for >80Hz to the Job 225 which powers the Towers. After having purchased the Rythmik I really wouldn't consider a setup without a dedicated sub for the low bass frequencies. I had been a Rel fan for years and years and decided to give Rythmik a try after having read all the positive feedback on their gear and have been completely satisfied with no regrets about that decision.

    I had demo'd Focal Aria and Revel F206/F208 about a year back and wasn't especially impressed with either and kept the Rhea's. The short list of speakers that I'd be interested in purchasing beyond the Sierra Towers includes ATC, Joseph Audio and Aerial. For the money, the Sierra Towers with RAAL tweeters are a phenomenal value, just as other buyers have reported.

    One last note. I really wanted a pair in a black finish and didn't really care whether they were matte or black bamboo. The matte finish is very utilitarian. I'd personally spring for the black bamboo if given the choice again.

    Edit: I would not purchase the Towers if they are to be used without a good subwoofer to fill in the low end. The bass of the speakers is lacking for my tastes.
    Last edited by jeenam; 02-10-2021 at 05:14 PM.

  10. #2430
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
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    388

    Default Re: The Tower Discussion Thread!

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    No plans for any changes to our towers at this time. As it stands, we run almost a constant backorder on the towers and as they say "why fix something that isn't broken"
    Oh thank god! Yes, I agree! It's one of the reasons I went with Ascend. I appreciate a "do it right the first time" philosophy. I felt the same about SVS when I bought my last speakers. Some companies do incremental updates every other year it it seems and every time there's a "new and improved" you're left feeling like yours is the new "old n junky"...

    I think it's a testament to how good these speakers already are that they haven't needed an update. Barring some big leap in tech or design I don't think they need one.

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