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Thread: CBM -170SE Review

  1. #1
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    Talking CBM -170SE Review

    My first Ascend Acoustics review:

    Hello guys. I have been a lurker on this forum for a long time. But I can finally say I have become a true member to this community. My first set of speakers are the CBM - 170SE's.

    Coming from some old Polk Monitor 50's that I have had since college is truly an awakening. I have read on these forums how a good tweeter can transform your music and the CBM's have done nothing less than prove that point to me. I can hear things clearly now that were muddied by the Polk's tweeters; very fine aspects that really flesh out the type of music I really get into. Also, I have noticed that the bass coming from my sub (Aperion Bravus 10D II) seems much more uniform in the front soundstage.

    Tracks used to review:

    David Helpling & Jon Jenkins - For the Fallen:
    An ambient track. Builds up slow with a climatic and cinematic ending. This is where I can really hear the difference in the quality of the tweeters. There is such fine texture to the synth's. Almost to the point where the background sounds 3D.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_bKhuiDi4Y

    Coldplay - Midnight:
    The beginning percolating synths sound so clear. It's like I can pick out their true wave form. This song has a lot of bass so my sub is really doing a lot of work. But, the highs sound crystal clear. Chris Martin's voice sounds amazing. Like I am almost there in the control room of the studio. There is an extra vocoder effect added to the voice that I have never heard before and am hearing for the first time.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQeMxWjpr-Y

    Arcade Fire - Porno

    Again, the first thing that hits me is the clarity of the opening percussion. The snapping of the fingers dances around the front of the room. Never noticed that before. I remember when I first listened to this album that I wished I had heard it first on Ascend's. Now that I have listened to this song on the Polk's and then these...It really makes me appreciate the quality of the CBM's.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soo9hnLqXqY


    Other tracks used:
    Dead Can Dance - Return of the She King
    Crazy good vocal effects. Arcane music.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCv_fwvHr6M

    Glen Hansard - Maybe Not Tonight
    Classic Folk. Had to have guitars. I can hear the picks on the guitar. Something I never noticed.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgFTM4sdW70

    William Ackerman - Last Day at the Beach
    One of my favorites since I was a kid. I have listened to this song countless times. This is the first time that it sounds like I am in the studio with Will. I can't explain it...Although many of you have in your reviews so you know what I am talking about. I feel like this album by William Ackerman was recorded in a way where is you have OK equipment it sounds dirty or muffled. With the CBM's...It is amazing. The clarity is just mind blowing to me.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci_INfOXdOw

    Anyway, all I can say is that these speakers are great. The sad and funny thing is that I bought them for two reasons: A. I wanted to see if the Ascend's were as good as everyone on the web and a buddy of mine said they were. Some thing that I have found out is very true. And B., if they passed the test (which they most certainly have) they will be used as my surrounds in the future when I upgrade to the Sierra towers and Horizon w/ RAAL tweeters and another set for 7.1. Needless to say, I am very impressed with the quality here. IMO I love the industrial look of them. I love the sound that comes from them.

    I am excited for the day I put my order in for the Sierra towers and the Horizon. But, for now I am perfectly content with the upgrade.

    Thank you for reading.

    Ben

    Sources:
    Pioneer Elite SC - 65
    Oppo 93
    iMac - Optical output to SC - 65
    Wires - BJC Belden 5T00UP (Gray jacket, 10 AWG)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    NW Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: CBM -170SE Review

    Nice detailed review!
    Nate

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    373

    Default Re: CBM -170SE Review

    Great write up! Really nice to see a review of Ascend's less expensive offerings in addition to all of us Sierra and RAAL ribbon tweeter nutjobs

    I will be very keen to read your impressions once you get to the hear the Towers and Horizon RAAL. It can be difficult to predict how individuals will react. For example, I honestly don't think the improvement offered by the Sierra Series RAAL speakers is as drastic as the improvement going from your old Polks to the CBM-170SE. You went from non-linear speakers where there were literally some frequencies not even being produced, to linear speakers that at least produce all of the sounds in any given recording. That's going from "broken" to "correct". So that is a HUGE improvement.

    But going from the CBM-170SE to the Towers RAAL, there aren't "more" sounds to hear. There's nothing missing with the CBM-170SE. If anything, what you're getting with the Towers RAAL is "less" sound. And that's because the transient response of the Towers RAAL is even faster. So while the CBM-170SE produce a tiny bit of residual sound energy that isn't actually in the recording, the Towers RAAL stop and start almost perfectly with the recording with almost no residual energy at all.

    So will that excite and impress you as much as the difference in going from the Polks to the CBM-170SE? Very tough to predict! For a listener like me, I was just as excited by the difference in upgrading to my Horizon RAAL speakers simply because there WAS a difference. When you start getting up into the more expensive price ranges, there are a whole lot of instances where a ton more money doesn't really buy you any difference. Or if there is a difference, it's "a little better in this aspect, but not quite as good in this other aspect" sort of a trade off. So I was really impressed and excited by the Sierra RAAL speakers because, for once, spending more money got me better sound.

    But I've also heard from one or two people who started with very capable speakers similar to the CBM-170SE, and when they went to the Sierra RAAL speakers, it wasn't that they didn't hear any difference or improvement at all - they did - but it was just that the gap in price was larger than the perceived improvement. In other words, it was diminishing returns. And I have to say, I think that's fair. Compared to the dollar amount spent for the improvement you've heard in going from your old Polks to the CBM-170SE, there's really just no way that you'll hear a commensurate improvement in going from the CBM-170SE to the Sierra Series RAAL speakers. You're spending far more dollars for a much smaller gap in performance.

    But the flip side of that is when you go listening to what else is out there - particularly at multi-tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars price points. Basically, other than sheer output and essentially useless bass extension (due to the fact that the bass you actually hear is determined as much by your room as it is by the source of the bass sound waves to begin with, making genuinely "full range" speakers a rather useless endeavor), there's a point where it isn't just diminishing returns, it's no returns at all! Or it's what I said earlier - you get a little better in one aspect, but trade that off in another.

    So I've heard a lot of speakers. And what gets me jazzed about the Sierra Series RAAL speakers is that they essentially sound as good as anything I have ever heard at any price point. And they reach that level of performance for about the lowest price that I have come across.

    So even if you go from the CBM-170SE to the Towers RAAL and Horizon RAAL, and you end up saying to yourself, "y'know, these do sound a bit better than the CBM-170SE, but given the gap in price, it's nothing like the leap in performance that made the CBM-170SE so exciting vs. my old Polks," what will restore your excitement and remove any buyer's remorse what-so-ever is if you get the chance to hear speakers in those tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars price ranges.

    There's a level of realism (with good recordings) presented by the Towers RAAL that I personally think makes them worth every penny and then some. But you've already taken probably the biggest step there is in home audio - you've gone from "uncompleted" to "complete" sound reproduction. So from here on out, it's just refinement

    - Rob H.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: CBM -170SE Review

    You know, Rob, I thought that almost exact thing. Referring to the effect of diminishing returns. It will be some time before I upgrade to the Sierra's. During that time I can reflect. Though, your post made a lot of sense for me.

    Another factor is that in the near future my wife and I will be newly parents. That has considerable weight regarding the decision of which speakers I buy in the next year or so (again, influenced by your great post). That being said, and with my current love for the CBM's, I may very well go for the CMT 340SE's for the mains, get a F12SE, the extra set of CBM's, and forego the Sierra's RAAL's.

    Or...Get the Sierra 2's instead. So many choices!

    Ben
    Last edited by dtsequoia; 02-04-2015 at 11:39 AM.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: CBM -170SE Review

    Wonderful review!!! It is nice to see our 170's getting some much deserved love as much of the discussion these days is towards our Towers and Sierra-2.

    thanks!
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    590

    Default Re: CBM -170SE Review

    170's are fabulous speakers, I listened to them day and night(literally- fell asleep listening to them...and woke up listening to them) for awhile because I couldn't get enough.
    They got moved to SS duty when I got my S1's, and they didn't disappoint there either.
    The measurements that Dave and the institute did are pretty impressive IMO, I think folks need to take a closer look at the measurements taken before they discount this speaker.
    BTW, I like the look, never had a problem with them.....Sierras are just pertier!
    Last edited by muzz; 02-15-2015 at 03:44 PM.

  7. #7
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    Mar 2004
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    Default Re: CBM -170SE Review

    I recall when I first hooked up my pair of the non SE 170's to compare to B&W 602's(yellow Kevlar woofers & gold colored tweeter with plastic lens). My decision to keep the 170's and sell off the 602's was an easy one. Much clearer with better imaging. The only reason I sold the 170's was because I bought a pair of original Sierra-1's. The improvement over the 170's was evenly distributed over the full range. More detailed. You could "See" deeper into the material. The bass is obviously ridiculous for a speaker this size, but not just deeper but very articulate and textured. The tactile heft to the sound is another quality that stands out.

    Just my thoughts. The CBM-170 is outstanding in its own right, but the Sierra-X series is another worthwhile upgrade when the urge hits you.
    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

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