Is anybody using Ascend Acoustics at their desktop?

[markgoebel]

Currently in the process of designing a home office setup and have been picking out all of my components while working on getting a desk built. I had the thought cross my mind of quite possibly using the Ascend brand for near field listening.

Has anyone on this forum done this? What is your feedback? I'll be sitting anywhere from 2.5 - 4 feet away from the speakers based on placement. My desk dimensions will be 60-63" wide and 24" deep.

What do you recommend and what are you using to run them? I currently own a 27" iMac desktop and will be doing everything from scratch so I need all the help and recommendations I can get.

Thanks and be well!

[curtis]

What's the budget?

So many options. I think a pair of Lunas would be awesome on the desktop. Even a pair of HTM-200SE's.

I would look at something like this to drive them with the USB output of the Mac.
https://www.amazon.com/SMSL-Q5-Pro-D.../dp/B017W12UCU

[markgoebel]

Budget would be as high as the Sierra 2EX but not sure if they’d be overkill for near field listening

[racrawford65]

I'm using the HTM200's in my office - not exactly near field, though. I've placed them on top of bookshelves to provide ambient music whilst working from home.

[markgoebel]

I'm using the HTM200's in my office - not exactly near field, though. I've placed them on top of bookshelves to provide ambient music whilst working from home.

Sounds very nice! However, I would be using mine in traditional desktop fashion at a 63 w x 25 d desk.

[MusicHead]

The thing with near-field listening is that given the short distance between speakers and listeners, the sound coming from each driver may not "merge" by the time it reaches the ear.

That is why generally small speakers (with smaller drivers and closer to each other) works best for near-field.

I would go with the HTM-200 and if necessary supplement them with a small sub.

The other advantage of the HTM-200 is that not being ported are easier to position on a desk, especially if close to a wall.

[jimb]

The thing with near-field listening is that given the short distance between speakers and listeners, the sound coming from each driver may not "merge" by the time it reaches the ear.

That is why generally small speakers (with smaller drivers and closer to each other) works best for near-field.

I would go with the HTM-200 and if necessary supplement them with a small sub.

The other advantage of the HTM-200 is that not being ported are easier to position on a desk, especially if close to a wall.

Great points, IMHO. I'd expect the Luna to be even better, though at much higher cost.

[choirbass]

Im in a 10’x10’x8’ room so it’s not too far from near field, with the Sierra-2 being about 8’ from me. Check my signature for gear used.

[choirbass]

If I was to edit the above post I’d lose my signature. I was going add tho that the Sierra-2EX is a fantastic bargain for not much more than the Sierra-2.

[davef]

The thing with near-field listening is that given the short distance between speakers and listeners, the sound coming from each driver may not "merge" by the time it reaches the ear.

That is why generally small speakers (with smaller drivers and closer to each other) works best for near-field.

I would go with the HTM-200 and if necessary supplement them with a small sub.

The other advantage of the HTM-200 is that not being ported are easier to position on a desk, especially if close to a wall.

Driver size and how they merge at crossover (phase matching) are not related to each other. Larger drivers that are tasked with merging with a small tweeter (for example) might have a minor directivity mismatch when listening far off-axis, but this is not a factor for nearfield. This is why so many popular nearfield monitors use 6.5" woofers and even larger.

The key is designing the crossover for driver summation at a very close distance (Sierra-2EX accomplishes this at 6") + very wide horizontal dispersion.

I actually don't recommend HTM-200 for extreme nearfield use because there are 2 woofers producing the same frequencies at different positions, although at 2.5 feet minimum - they are fine. However, they do not have nearly as wide horizontal dispersion as Sierra-2/2EX or Luna (even wider)