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Thread: First impressions Ascend CBM-170 SE

  1. #11
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    Aug 2020
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    8

    Default Re: First impressions Ascend CBM-170 SE

    David,

    That was an awesome explanation of what I was hearing and experiencing. I really appreciate you solving the mystery to me those phenomenons. I trust my ears to what I'm hearing, but would never challenge proven science with them. I love the CBM-170 SE speakers for all the things I mentioned earlier. I guess I just prefer music to sound a certain way, even if it's not technically accurate. I did mention that I usually always adjust the tone controls at least a little to boost the bass and treble.

    I don't doubt that your speakers have plenty of research behind them, hence your success with the speakers.

    Bottom line: I think it will just take a little more time for my ears to get accustomed to very accurate monitor speakers. I admit I'm not used to that.

    More than that, it's refreshing to know that you are keeping the sound technically true, accurate, and authentic as possible to the music. In other words, I almost feel as if I have been scammed in a way by other speaker companies in that they will intentionally shape the sound in a certain way modifying the drivers or crossovers for more mass appeal. In other words, I would rather them take the approach you have taken by manufacturing a very accurate speaker and then leave it up to the end user to change the sound how they prefer it.

    The CBM-170 SE speakers are keepers, but even more so after your great explanation of what was going on. Because without your explanation, I would have felt like there's something weird going on with your speakers and that the phenomenon was trying to be swept under the rug because of some known anomaly.

    The thing is if I get used to the sound of the CBM-170 SE speakers accuracy over time, when I go back to listen to the other speakers I may say why do these speakers sound so unnatural and inaccurate? I'm going to have to adjust them to sound more like the CBM-170 SE. Because again, I listen to the Ascend flat and not so with the other speakers.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Stouffville,Ont..
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    538

    Default Re: First impressions Ascend CBM-170 SE

    Quote Originally Posted by twoengine View Post
    David,

    That was an awesome explanation of what I was hearing and experiencing. I really appreciate you solving the mystery to me those phenomenons. I trust my ears to what I'm hearing, but would never challenge proven science with them. I love the CBM-170 SE speakers for all the things I mentioned earlier. I guess I just prefer music to sound a certain way, even if it's not technically accurate. I did mention that I usually always adjust the tone controls at least a little to boost the bass and treble.

    I don't doubt that your speakers have plenty of research behind them, hence your success with the speakers.

    Bottom line: I think it will just take a little more time for my ears to get accustomed to very accurate monitor speakers. I admit I'm not used to that.

    More than that, it's refreshing to know that you are keeping the sound technically true, accurate, and authentic as possible to the music. In other words, I almost feel as if I have been scammed in a way by other speaker companies in that they will intentionally shape the sound in a certain way modifying the drivers or crossovers for more mass appeal. In other words, I would rather them take the approach you have taken by manufacturing a very accurate speaker and then leave it up to the end user to change the sound how they prefer it.

    The CBM-170 SE speakers are keepers, but even more so after your great explanation of what was going on. Because without your explanation, I would have felt like there's something weird going on with your speakers and that the phenomenon was trying to be swept under the rug because of some known anomaly.

    The thing is if I get used to the sound of the CBM-170 SE speakers accuracy over time, when I go back to listen to the other speakers I may say why do these speakers sound so unnatural and inaccurate? I'm going to have to adjust them to sound more like the CBM-170 SE. Because again, I listen to the Ascend flat and not so with the other speakers.
    Your last paragraph...pretty much sums it up. When I switched to the Ascend models....I was recommended to listen for about a week and go back to my previous speakers....that experience was very enlightening making me understand what I was hearing vs. what I perceived to preferred....going forward.
    Speakers 5.1.2: TitanTowers v2 & STC(RAAL v2), MA CP-WT&CT260
    Sub: Funk Audio 18.0 SantosRW

    Source: Denon X3800H, Oppo BDP 103D, UBK-90 4K & LG B9 65"
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  3. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,528

    Default Re: First impressions Ascend CBM-170 SE

    Quote Originally Posted by twoengine View Post
    David,

    That was an awesome explanation of what I was hearing and experiencing. I really appreciate you solving the mystery to me those phenomenons. I trust my ears to what I'm hearing, but would never challenge proven science with them. I love the CBM-170 SE speakers for all the things I mentioned earlier. I guess I just prefer music to sound a certain way, even if it's not technically accurate. I did mention that I usually always adjust the tone controls at least a little to boost the bass and treble.

    I don't doubt that your speakers have plenty of research behind them, hence your success with the speakers.

    Bottom line: I think it will just take a little more time for my ears to get accustomed to very accurate monitor speakers. I admit I'm not used to that.

    More than that, it's refreshing to know that you are keeping the sound technically true, accurate, and authentic as possible to the music. In other words, I almost feel as if I have been scammed in a way by other speaker companies in that they will intentionally shape the sound in a certain way modifying the drivers or crossovers for more mass appeal. In other words, I would rather them take the approach you have taken by manufacturing a very accurate speaker and then leave it up to the end user to change the sound how they prefer it.

    The CBM-170 SE speakers are keepers, but even more so after your great explanation of what was going on. Because without your explanation, I would have felt like there's something weird going on with your speakers and that the phenomenon was trying to be swept under the rug because of some known anomaly.

    The thing is if I get used to the sound of the CBM-170 SE speakers accuracy over time, when I go back to listen to the other speakers I may say why do these speakers sound so unnatural and inaccurate? I'm going to have to adjust them to sound more like the CBM-170 SE. Because again, I listen to the Ascend flat and not so with the other speakers.
    You are most welcome and I am glad my explanation made sense. It is often quite difficult to explain these things.

    More than that, it's refreshing to know that you are keeping the sound technically true, accurate, and authentic as possible to the music. In other words, I almost feel as if I have been scammed in a way by other speaker companies in that they will intentionally shape the sound in a certain way modifying the drivers or crossovers for more mass appeal.
    You shouldn't feel scammed, speakers are tools meant to be used to enjoy listening to music. It still comes down to personal preference as to what you or anyone else enjoys the most, and we all have different tastes. Audio would be a very boring hobby without so many different speakers to listen to.
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2020
    Posts
    8

    Default Re: First impressions Ascend CBM-170 SE

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    You are most welcome and I am glad my explanation made sense. It is often quite difficult to explain these things.



    You shouldn't feel scammed, speakers are tools meant to be used to enjoy listening to music. It still comes down to personal preference as to what you or anyone else enjoys the most, and we all have different tastes. Audio would be a very boring hobby without so many different speakers to listen to.
    I don't really feel scammed. It's just that I like to understand what's going on with what I'm hearing and most speaker companies are not as forth coming with information about how they designed their speakers or show frequency response graphs of their speakers. That makes a big difference to me.

    With some recordings especially, I still can't believe how dynamic and impactful the CBM-170 SE sounds with flat tone controls. I don't think I have ever heard a speaker before sound the way they do with no bass and treble adjustment and I didn't feel I needed to adjust it or use a subwoofer. Especially, given that it's a bookshelf speakers. With bigger speakers and drivers, it's less constrained with what they can do. That's the most amazing thing to me about the speaker.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    SouthWest of Cleveland
    Posts
    1,924

    Default Re: First impressions Ascend CBM-170 SE

    The original, non-SE CBM-170's were my first Ascend speakers. The CMT-340's, HTM-200's, etc. did not even exist at the time.

    The 170's impressed me so much they replaced a pair of B&W 602's. The smooth, neutral sound and imaging were the main things that won me over. The fact that the tweeter did not assault my ears was another winning trait. Sometimes I wish I'd kept them after getting the Sierra-1's just to have them for a secondary system. The fact Dave is still selling the 170's to this day without a post SE design change is remarkable, and a testament to a well designed speaker.
    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

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    7,027

    Default Re: First impressions Ascend CBM-170 SE

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    You shouldn't feel scammed, speakers are tools meant to be used to enjoy listening to music. It still comes down to personal preference as to what you or anyone else enjoys the most, and we all have different tastes. Audio would be a very boring hobby without so many different speakers to listen to.
    I have been involved in many "shootouts". There have been times where a speaker sounded terrible to me, and someone else loved it. Really left me scratching my head.
    Proves many don't hear the same.
    Last edited by curtis; 09-01-2020 at 03:35 PM.
    -curtis

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2020
    Posts
    8

    Default Re: First impressions Ascend CBM-170 SE

    Spending more time with the CBM-170 SE. These are some of things that these speakers do so well. Ruler flat frequency response, clarity, imaging, integrated/cohesive sound of bass, mids, treble, dynamic and impactful with no adjustment of tone controls, tightness of bass in a ported box, speakers sound big for a bookshelf speaker, vocals sound so natural and realistic, soft dome tweeter, has plenty of sparkle without sounding bright or harsh.

    I have the speakers on wood Skylan speaker stands filled with sand so I can place them to get the best imaging and soundstage.

    Bottom line: I absolutely love these speakers. I can't believe the quality of sound for the price. These speakers have to be one of the best bargains in speaker audio.

    If more people knew about Ascend speakers they wouldn't feel the need to pay more for less for the big name speaker companies. There's plenty of great options out there, but if you are looking for the best bang for the buck without a doubt Ascend is at the very top of the list.

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