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Thread: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgrade?

  1. #41
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    360

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Quote Originally Posted by Wadia171i View Post
    I use Tidal Hifi and Audirvana and play records. Shop half price books and used record stores some of my best records cost 99 cents. Just the other day found and original pressing On prestige label Coltrane Bajia sound fabulous 10 bucks they had no idea what it was worth. . Tired of using stored music only have about10 thousand songs getting old listening to the same old thing.
    There's plenty of new and old music available to download in FLAC. No need to be stuck listening to the same stuff over and over again.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    21

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Quote Originally Posted by sludgeogre View Post
    You should check out his remix of Tears for Fears that is on HD Tracks. He really opens up the detail and dynamics in that old album. Really enjoyed it. It also comes with the original mix so you can hear the differences. I ended up just deleting the original album and keeping his versions. I hope that he gets to do some more remixing/mastering soon. ....
    He's done quite a few remix/master projects. I've really been enjoying some of his King Crimson, Yes, and Gentle Giant surround mixes.

  3. #43
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    457

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Quote Originally Posted by Jhnsmj View Post
    He's done quite a few remix/master projects. I've really been enjoying some of his King Crimson, Yes, and Gentle Giant surround mixes.
    Where can you get those King Crimson remixes? He did those years ago for a CD release, but I can't find a digital release anywhere!
    -Alex
    PS4/Nvidia Shield --> Emotiva XMC-1 --> Emotiva XPA-5 --> Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers and Horizon Center w/ RAAL tweeters (L/C/R), HTM-200 SE (Surrounds), 2x Rythmik F12 subwoofers

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    21

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Sorry, I only know of the discs. Surround mixes are on dvd and blu-ray.

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    81

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Quote Originally Posted by sludgeogre View Post
    Where can you get those King Crimson remixes? He did those years ago for a CD release, but I can't find a digital release anywhere!
    https://www.dgmlive.com (FLAC)
    Enrico Castagnetti @ Rythmik Audio
    Media Room: Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers w/ RAAL, Horizon w/ RAAL, Sierra 2s & Lunas | Rythmik F12SE (x2) + FV25HP | Emotiva XMC-1 | Emotiva XPA-3 & XPA-200 (x2) | Panasonic 820 | Bluesound Node 2 | Sony VW295ES | 92" Stewart ST100 |
    Desktop: Dynaudio BM5 mkIII | Rythmik L22 | Apogee Quartet | 27" iMac|
    Bedroom: B&W 685 S2 | Rythmik LVX12 | Marantz SR6013 | Sony 65Z9D |

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Posts
    22

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Quote Originally Posted by sludgeogre View Post
    I hope so as well. A couple of the best concerts I went to were Porcupine Tree shows. What an incredible performer, as well as his drummer, that guy was nuts.

    You should check out his remix of Tears for Fears that is on HD Tracks. He really opens up the detail and dynamics in that old album. Really enjoyed it. It also comes with the original mix so you can hear the differences. I ended up just deleting the original album and keeping his versions. I hope that he gets to do some more remixing/mastering soon. He's probably the most brilliant mind in music. No one else can write, perform, and record like he can.
    Wow a Porcupine Tree fan! I can't believe how many people I've turned on to tree. One of the best rock bands period. Great songs well recorded. Have you seen the video on YouTube of the Hatesong incredible drumming. Damn what a great band.

  7. #47
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    55

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Music Only Setup

    Sierra Tower w/ RAAL in Satin Espresso
    SVS SB13 Ultra Subwoofer
    Marantz SA-KI-PEARL SACD Player
    Sony HAP-Z1ES Network Audio Player/Music Server
    Mapletree Line 2C RM Tube Preamp
    Parasound Halo A21 Power Amp
    ATS Bass Traps and Acoustic Panels

  8. #48
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Posts
    220

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Quote Originally Posted by Wadia171i View Post
    Really I have never heard MP3 sound as good as cd which is what you are saying. On my system MP3 is compressed and dry sounding. No top end it is totally aweful I mean I can hear the difference night and day. Wish it did sound better I would just pay for Spotify and be done with it. I can hear the difference on my Riva Turbo X Bluetooth speaker MP3 is aweful for critical listening IMHO
    The human memory and ears are so fallible. The only way to be sure is to do an ABX test. Use a high quality playback program like foobar2000 to do a blinded ABX comparator test and prove to yourself that you can hear the difference. Unless you've done so, you cannot claim to hear the difference as the human auditory memory is fallible. The normal human ear cannot tell the differences in the high quality sound compression. Yes, I am insisting that an MP3 encoded in a high quality way (using LAME encoder at V0, V1, or V2 variable bit setting) is indistinguishable from the CD to almost anyone on a reference system. The only way to prove it to yourself is to perform an ABX comparator test between the FLAC file and the MP3. Crappy MP3s don't count. You need to encode it yourself with an error-free rip from a CD (using Exact Audio Copy) and LAME encoder... not relying on automated encoders from some other third party program.

    If you have excellent or "golden ears", you won't be listening to the music per se, but various subtle distortions in parts of the track that might sound different. Most files will are indistinguishable, but there is a rare bird once in a while that is easy to ABX because some portion of the track cause an obvious echo or distortion under compression. To my ears, LAME V2 setting is transparent on probably 99% of audio tracks (not distinguishable from FLAC) on reference headphones. I may have average ears. And by the time we're 40 years old, almost all of us have lost some amount of hearing. And 50? Hmmm..... even an experienced sound engineer who can claim that he can hear differences because he will have hearing loss on audiometric testing. There are many "golden ears" out there with an uncanny ability to discriminate subtle sound details. But in general, audiophiles consistently overestimate their own ability. I remember one especially picky audiophile in my office who had mild sloping to profound sensorineural hearing loss but still insisted on paying tens of thousands of dollars for speakers. Maybe his marked hearing loss allowed him to focus on low frequency distortions that might otherwise not have been audible to normal ears.

    https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,16295.0.html

    http://www.chrismyden.com/bestmp3guide.php
    Last edited by bkdc; 01-29-2017 at 06:50 AM.

  9. #49
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Posts
    22

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Quote Originally Posted by bkdc View Post
    The human memory and ears are so fallible. The only way to be sure is to do an ABX test. Use a high quality playback program like foobar2000 to do a blinded ABX comparator test and prove to yourself that you can hear the difference. Unless you've done so, you cannot claim to hear the difference as the human auditory memory is fallible. The normal human ear cannot tell the differences in the high quality sound compression. Yes, I am insisting that an MP3 encoded in a high quality way (using LAME encoder at V0, V1, or V2 variable bit setting) is indistinguishable from the CD to almost anyone on a reference system. The only way to prove it to yourself is to perform an ABX comparator test between the FLAC file and the MP3. Crappy MP3s don't count. You need to encode it yourself with an error-free rip from a CD (using Exact Audio Copy) and LAME encoder... not relying on automated encoders from some other third party program.

    If you have excellent or "golden ears", you won't be listening to the music per se, but various subtle distortions in parts of the track that might sound different. Most files will are indistinguishable, but there is a rare bird once in a while that is easy to ABX because some portion of the track cause an obvious echo or distortion under compression. To my ears, LAME V2 setting is transparent on probably 99% of audio tracks (not distinguishable from FLAC) on reference headphones. I may have average ears. And by the time we're 40 years old, almost all of us have lost some amount of hearing. And 50? Hmmm..... even an experienced sound engineer who can claim that he can hear differences because he will have hearing loss on audiometric testing. There are many "golden ears" out there with an uncanny ability to discriminate subtle sound details. But in general, audiophiles consistently overestimate their own ability. I remember one especially picky audiophile in my office who had mild sloping to profound sensorineural hearing loss but still insisted on paying tens of thousands of dollars for speakers. Maybe his marked hearing loss allowed him to focus on low frequency distortions that might otherwise not have been audible to normal ears.

    https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,16295.0.html

    http://www.chrismyden.com/bestmp3guide.php
    Interesting I'm not saying I have ge I will do the test sounds like fun. I guess most of the MP3 I've heard is third party rubbish. I'll give it a shot. I've always said I don't care how it was done just want it to be involving and sound good. I have some Orleans that actually sounds good on MP3

  10. #50
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    1,390

    Default Re: What other equipment do you use with your Ascend speakers? What is your next upgr

    Mixed Music / 5.1 Home Theater system
    Sierra 2's LCR
    Rythmik E15HP
    Def Tech bipolar surrounds
    Anthem MRX510
    Emotiva UPA7
    Amazon FireTV
    Oppo 103D
    VPI Classic 1 with Soundsmith Carmen
    Manley Chinook phono pre-pro
    XBOX 360
    LG OLED 65E6P

    Slowly upgrading to 4K / Atmos.. next step is probably the Oppo 203,

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