LIVE From the NY Audio Show

[parimento1]

Stopped by the NY Audio Show today and wanted to check out the displays. I listened to a number of speakers today and the only ones that I can say really floored me were the Wilson Audio Sasha, as well as the others from their line. They are scary good, but also come with an equally scary price tag . The Martin Logan flagship electrostatic series are simply amazing...I think it was the SLX or something like that. Listened to monitors from Harbeth and Spendor and was not too impressed. Was impressed by a company that is new to the US called MAD Audio. It is a British company that had some very good sounding small speakers, albeit maybe somewhat overpriced. Also heard the KEF blade and was not too impressed either, for the price. Although, the LS50 is an amazing little speaker for $1500. It is well-balanced, with an excellent midrange. Anyone else stop by?

[markie]

I've been to TAVES in Toronto and heard some nice systems. One of these days I'm going to bite, and Ascend is on my shortlist.

Which makes me wonder, does Ascend do shows at all?

Parimento1 what kind of front end do you have with your Ascend ribbon towers? I would think the towers would beat out less expensive offerings like KEF's LS50, even though that has certainly garnered rave reviews.

[parimento1]

Im driving the Towers with a Harman Kardon integrated amplifier (HK-990) and the matching CD Player. The KEFs LS50s are good for a monitor, they are pretty neutral and put out great bass for the size. Their midrange is excellent, as well. They are not a full range speaker though, but for a small apt system they are an amazing bargain...AMAZING.

[parimento1]

I would say that the only speakers I heard yesterday that really outshined the Ascend RAAL Towers were the Wilson Audio Sasha ($26900/pair) and the Martin Logan CLX Art ($25,495/pair). It should be noted that the Martin Logan's are electrostats and therefore is not really an apple to apples comparison to the Ascends. The other speakers, even ones costing thousands more, were not nearly as good as the Ascends. As usual Ascend offers great sound in a small package.

[parimento1]

On another note, if anyone cares, I got to hear a large assortment of headphones. I listened to the Audeze LCD-2 and 3, the Sennheiser HD800, Beyerdynamic T1, Stax SR-407 and 009, and the Grado PS1000. the Stax SR-009 were the clear winner with eerily realistic and neutral presentation and incredible detail. I thought that the HD800s were very close to a tie with the LCD-2 and 3, with the Audeze's bass being a little too bloated comparatively. The Beyerdynamic had some treble issues and the Grado were too bass and treble-centric. I listened to all of these headphones on woo-audio amplifiers, as that was the display. As far as fit is concerned, the Stax and Sennheisers' fit the best. the worst fitting by far, were the Audeze and Grado. The soundstage on the HD800s is head and shoulders above any of the other headphones, even the Stax.

[markie]

I would say that the only speakers I heard yesterday that really outshined the Ascend RAAL Towers were the Wilson Audio Sasha ($26900/pair) and the Martin Logan CLX Art ($25,495/pair). It should be noted that the Martin Logan's are electrostats and therefore is not really an apple to apples comparison to the Ascends. The other speakers, even ones costing thousands more, were not nearly as good as the Ascends. As usual Ascend offers great sound in a small package.

That's very high praise for the Ascend towers, thanks for your assessment. And I like your HK integrated, very good reviews on that!

I've heard that the Towers strike a perfect balance between home theatre and music. Would you agree? Have you compared the towers with other similarly priced speakers in your home? Thanks!

Mark

[parimento1]

The HK-990 is a beast and sound quality is fantastic (it was rated Class B Recommended by Stereophile)! The cosmetics are cheap and no frills, but it's what inside that counts and the internals are very high quality. I had an issue with the DAC on the first unit I got, but I sent it back and they sent me a brand new one, and it has been perfect ever since. The matching CD player sounds better than a few DACs that I've tried, so they also didn't cheap out, even though you can find the matching CD player, the HD-990, for about $400. I don't watch TV much and have only used it once or twice for home theater, but I love them for music, as you might have noticed lol. In my house I have tried the Polk Audio LSi 7 and LSiM 703s, Paradigm Studio 20s, Paradigm SE1, Revel M22, and Thiel SC4ST. The LSi7 had a bloated and wooly midrange and rolled off top end. The LSiM 703, was an amazing speaker and very dynamic and full bodied. Midrange and lows were great and full, but the highs were a bit overstated, not to the point of being harsh, but to the point where you can clearly pick out the tweeter- so integration was a slight issue. They did sounds amazing though, price notwithstanding. Paradigm studio 20s sounded much like the Polk LSi7s, but worse problems in the midrange, surprisingly. The Paradgim SE1s were good at the top and bottom, but the midrange was very laidback. The Revel M22 was way too bright and the midrange was clear, but too laid back. The Thiel's, at low volume, sounded the best out of all the speakers, it sounded like live music, the timbre was next to perfect and the voicing was spot on. But turn them up even a little bit and they sounded harsh, steely and grainy. I tested the B&W 600 and CM series at a store and found them to be terrible. I have no idea why they are considered the best of the best? Maybe they save their best for the 800 series?

That's very high praise for the Ascend towers, thanks for your assessment. And I like your HK integrated, very good reviews on that!

I've heard that the Towers strike a perfect balance between home theatre and music. Would you agree? Have you compared the towers with other similarly priced speakers in your home? Thanks!

Mark

[markie]

It sounds like you have a very discriminating ear! Trying out all those different speakers in your own house was evidently very much worth the effort. Very impressive.
You liked the Thiel's at low volumes, so I'm supposing the Ascend towers are pretty articulate at low volumes as well?

thanks,
Mark

[parimento1]

It sounds like you have a very discriminating ear! Trying out all those different speakers in your own house was evidently very much worth the effort. Very impressive.
You liked the Thiel's at low volumes, so I'm supposing the Ascend towers are pretty articulate at low volumes as well?

thanks,
Mark

Haha I wasn't blessed with good vision, but I was blessed with good hearing : )...The Ascends are pretty articulate at low volumes, but they really come into their own when you crank them up, and the best part is, that they never sound strained.