Hello from London, UK

[laidbach]

Hello everybody,

Absolutely thrilled to be part of this community of music lovers. I have to remind myself in times like these that it’s about music, not “audio”.

Having meandered for months through what feels like every little alley (and rabbit hole) of the global Internet, I stumbled on Ascend Acoustics, while looking for, obviously, a pair of great speakers.

I donÂ’t suffer from upgraditis, not acute anyway, so I thought IÂ’m gonna do this once and do it right.

In the end of it all, I decided I'm getting the ELX ribbon towers. TheyÂ’re shipping shortly. They will join a Marantz 40n amp via a pair of Transparent cables. And thatÂ’s my dream come true 2ch system to blast BachÂ’s Mass in B Minor through. And other stuff!.

My thanks to Dave and Dina of Ascend for being so helpful throughout the ordering process and answering lots of questions of mine.

IÂ’ll report back again soon.

Best wishes to all

[James]

Hi,

Nice to meet you. I can't remember how I stumbled across Ascend, but I'm very glad I did. I got the earlier version of the Towers with NrT tweeter and I've been very happy with them.

I also have a simple-ish two channel system, and my wife and I love classical music (and other mostly acoustic stuff as well). What source are you using?

If you like the Bach cello suites, there's a fun site you could check out:

Bach Cello Suites - Home. - Read our Recording Reviews.

It's in your backyard there :-)

[racrawford65]

Welcome laidbach

Love London - great city. Used to go to the UK several times a year in my old job. Primarily stayed in Windsor (our office) and trips to Pangbourne (customer site)

[laidbach]

Hi James,

Thank you for the warm welcome and recommendations - great website I didnÂ’t know about.

I recently came across a great recording of the cello suites by twenty-something year old Frenchman Bruno Phillippe (on Harmonia Mundi). WhatÂ’s special about this one is that he plays on gut strings.

My sources are mainly my CD library (mostly on FLAC files nowadays that live on USB sticks that go on the back of my Marantz and played through the HEOS app), vinyl records that get played on a Rega Planar 3 thatÂ’s also hooked up with the Marantz, and also an old Apple TV connected to the Marantz and a TV via HDMI (ARC).

CanÂ’t wait to get the ribbon towers, theyÂ’re shipping today

[James]

My pleasure - I'm always glad to meet people who like classical music. We seem to be a vanishing breed.

I'll check out that version of the suites - I've listened to a lot of them, but haven't found a single version that really wows me completely. But it's an interesting journey. The more recent version by Antonio Meneses is quite good:

J. S. Bach: The Cello Suites - Azul Music: AMDA1859 - download | Presto Music

I don't know why so many cellists play the 6th suite on a 4 string cello - it's very hard and they mostly can't play it in tune, and it was written for a 5 string instrument.

[Neil W]

Hello there, I'm Neil Wade from East London.
I'm excited to be part of this community of music lovers.

[markware]

Hi,

Nice to meet you. I can't remember how I stumbled across Ascend, but I'm very glad I did. I got the earlier version of the Towers with NrT tweeter and I've been very happy with them.

I also have a simple-ish two channel system, and my wife and I love classical music (and other mostly acoustic stuff as well). What source are you using?

If you like the Bach cello suites, there's a fun site you could check out:

Bach Cello Suites - Home. - Read our Recording Reviews.

It's in your backyard there :-)

If you let me know what type of source you're using - whether it's a CD player, network player, turntable, etc. - I can try to provide some insight into maximizing sound quality specifically for your classical/acoustic listening preferences on your two-channel system. The source is a critical part of the audio chain.

[laidbach]

Hi markware,

Thank you for reaching out, I would appreciate any advice on how to make the most out of my system, especially with classical music.

I will refer you to the following thread I started a couple days ago - it’s a question of speaker cables, but contains relevant data on my amp as well, so I think it may be the most appropriate place to continue the discussion.

https://forum.ascendacoustics.com/sh...for-ELX-ribbon

My source then is a Marantz Model 40n, it’s a class A/B integrated with DAC and wireless built-in, so basically a good quality Made in Japan machine with all the modern conveniences type thing.

Hopefully, you might shed some light on the matter of the cables that link my Marantz to the ELX ribbon - I know they’re not so critical a part of the system, provided they’re within an acceptable spec (gauge mostly), but reading about how cable might interact with the amp and speakers, it makes sense for me to try to get to the bottom of this and ensure the cables are optimally specified for the specific components on either end.

[James]

If you let me know what type of source you're using - whether it's a CD player, network player, turntable, etc. - I can try to provide some insight into maximizing sound quality specifically for your classical/acoustic listening preferences on your two-channel system. The source is a critical part of the audio chain.

Hi,

I have a cambridge audio upsampling cd player, and also am streaming qobuz through a laptop to an audioengine b-fi to the upsampling dac in the cd player. After using REW and a Behringer equalizer, and optimizing speaker placement, we have as close to perfect reproduction as we've ever had. The uncompressed 16/44.1 qobuz files are passed through the laptop and audioengine without any modifications.

After using REW to create filters for the equalizer, I also have corrected some bass modes by ear, and added some smallish boosts to correct some dips. All of the corrections were verified by using an Editor's Choice CD from Stereophile.

Edit to add that makes it sound easier and quicker than it was - it took quite a while learning and experimenting to get to this point. Sometimes that was fun and interesting, and sometimes frustrating and confusing. But it was well worth it!

[laidbach]

Hi,

I have a cambridge audio upsampling cd player, and also am streaming qobuz through a laptop to an audioengine b-fi to the upsampling dac in the cd player. After using REW and a Behringer equalizer, and optimizing speaker placement, we have as close to perfect reproduction as we've ever had. The uncompressed 16/44.1 qobuz files are passed through the laptop and audioengine without any modifications.

After using REW to create filters for the equalizer, I also have corrected some bass modes by ear, and added some smallish boosts to correct some dips. All of the corrections were verified by using an Editor's Choice CD from Stereophile.

Edit to add that makes it sound easier and quicker than it was - it took quite a while learning and experimenting to get to this point. Sometimes that was fun and interesting, and sometimes frustrating and confusing. But it was well worth it!

Thank you so much James, I think I should focus on exactly the suggestions you’re making - correcting room modes in this way, I suspect would yield audible improvements.

I’ll research and revert soon.

Happy Easter!