Originally Posted by
Belows
I’m curious whether Ascend has ever considered building what I would call a “retro” speaker similar in size and dimensions to the recently re-released versions of the JBL L100, Klipsch Cornwall and Wharfedale Linton. I ask because, as a child of the 70’s, I grew up with speakers of that size and style and think there are things you get from a 12”-woofer three-way that you just can’t get from today’s multi-driver towers. Plus, tower speakers are more difficult to fit into home décor outside of a home theater setting and for stereo listening often require a powered sub, which is even more of a décor challenge.
I think Ascend, with your expertise using the RAAL ribbon tweeter and your awesome bamboo cabinets would be in a unique position to produce something unlike anything anyone else would be able to match sonically or aesthetically. I owned a basic pair of ESS Model 9 speakers back in the 1970s, which I think were the first to use a folded-ribbon style tweeter (Heil air-motion transformer I believe it was called) and remember how good they sounded compared to similar speakers with traditional paper cone (in those days) tweeters. I can only imagine how a similar Ascend speaker with a RAAL tweeter would sound.
If you build ever build them, count me in as customer #1!