I don't think the goal of the Ascend speakers is to win a beauty contest. That said, there are people that think the CMT-340 on the custom stands is a good looking speaker....folks on the Axiom board that I participate on have mentioned it as well.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Personally, I like the custom finish that Ascend offers versus real wood or wood veneers. They're modern, clean-looking, and unique to Ascend. However, when they double the cost of the product, it's not a realistic option.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
If you like the custom painted finish, then calling them ugly no longer applies for you. The custom painted finish does not double the cost of the speaker. A recent potential customer compared the CBM-170 to the Rocket RS250 in his own home......$328pr vs $699pr. So even if it did double the costs...they are still comparable.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Can an American product offer both performance and an attractive packaging? Absolutely. Look at the success of Harley Davidson.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

You didn't say anything about the cost of that Harley. A Harley is not inexpensive, and does not offer you performance at a "budget". Many people will argue with on whether a Harley is a perfomance machine.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">To put this issue into focus, if you look at all the other direct-to-consumer, online speaker retailers (av123, aperion, theaudioinsider, axiomaudio), their speakers make an attempt at having a quality looking, attractive finish. Now wood veneers may not get everyone excited but at least they try and address this aesthetic issue.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
First, Axioms does not use wood veneers, and none of those manufacturers have garnered nearly the accolades from a single speaker as Ascend has. IMO, the competition needs the aesthetics to compete. If/when Ascend offers a wood veneer, I think things will be very interesting.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Now wood veneers may not get everyone excited but at least they try and address this aesthetic issue.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I believe Ascend has made an attempt as well with the custom painted finishes. I have been told by a cabinet maker that it is tougher to paint a cabinet than it is to veneer. I also believe for Ascend to offer a wood veneered finish on the CBM-170 and CMT-340 would mean a slight change to the radiused edges, those edges are difficult to veneer.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">All of these arguments seem like easy outs to addressing the issue which is can Ascend be competitive in offering both high-end audio performance and attractive packaging like their competitors.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Very true, and it is also something competitors attempt to use for marketing against Ascend before anyone even hears them. An argument for Ascends could be the use of higher quality components at the expense of a non-wood veneer finish. Looking at component costs, I also think Ascend has a lower mark-up. Ascend also seems to sell plenty of these "ugly" speakers....which says something about how ugly people think they really are, or how good they really sound...take your pick.

I agree, a wood veneer would be a nice option. At the current costs for the CBM-170 and CMT-340, IMO, they sound better than the competition mentioned at a lower cost. The question is would a wood veneer finish still give Ascend a cost advantage? If it happens, I think so.

The value of Ascends is already competitive, if not shocking. You wanna know what my "easy out" is? My speakers sound better...that's why I bought them. []


-curtis