The Tower Discussion Thread!

[davef]

Ascent Tower w/ the RAAL Ribbon Tweeter -- where are the Anechoic Chamber measured Plots?

Before I spend 1,000's of dollars just for FRONTS (FL/FR) I want to see the "Anechoic Chamber" measurement plots for On and Off Axis responses, Reverse Null, Complex Impedance Plot, System Bass Response, Woofer and Port Response, Overall System Output at say 40-50 Watts (SPL vs. Freq.), and lastly Port Air Velocity Percentage (Hopefully less than 5% of the speed of sound) which will peak at lower freq's. usually around 20-30 Hz.

Forget the quotes, they sound good, they are nice and smooth... the actual measurements will "TELL THE STORY" regarding how good of an Audiophile Speaker they are.

Forget Klipsch/Def. Tech./B&W, as they have no measured plots out there that they will give the potential buyer!!

Now, KEF/REVEL Salons/Linkwitz-Orions/Philharmonic Audio --- you can get all their Measured Plots from the chamber -- that says one heck of a lot -- Period.

Bottom line, I want ACCURATE Speakers -- so let's see the measured DATA from the Chamber.

Excuse you.. I am not Rude , but a true "ULTIMATE AUDIOPHILE" - being in this business for over 35 years, and the specs/plots will speak for themselves!

I am not stating that Ascend has to produce plots, but w/o them it is like "Guessing" totally, whether or not the Towers are ACCURATE or not, and that is FACT.

Wow – a lot of irony here. We were the first ID audio company to publish and promote detailed measurements and we were the first to send our products to the NRC for “TRUE” third party anechoic measurements.

Dennis, I am pleased to hear that you are interested in our Sierra Towers. However, we are a friendly laid-back group here and your post comes across as demanding and a bit out of place. I, more than anyone, can understand your desire to see various measurements but you should also know that comparing “manufacturer” posted measurements is not completely reliable. Many of the measurements you mention are not conducted in an anechoic chamber and many still are just modeled simulations.

If you browse our site and do a bit more reading, you will see extremely detailed and accurate measurements of all of our advertised loudspeakers. We use industry standard measurement gear, which includes two full MLSSA systems, reference grade ACO Pacific microphones and a fully automated turntable for taking accurate off-axis measurements. Our equipment is actually calibrated to the gear used at the NRC.

Still, even with a full suite of measurements – you will not be able to determine which is the more “accurate” loudspeaker. For example, what do you consider to be an accurate off-axis response? Do you expect a gentle and linear off-axis roll-off or do you expect a flat off-axis response? What ‘exactly’ does a reverse null plot even show? Move the microphone an inch in any direction and a steep and clean reverse null plot completely falls apart. How does a complex impedance plot determine loudspeaker accuracy (provided it is clean from wrinkles) or port tube air velocity for that matter (which will peak at port tuning, not at an arbitrary number.) I have spent 27+ years professionally evaluating loudspeaker measurements and in this time I have developed a suite of measurements that I feel offer keen insight into loudspeaker accuracy. These include soundpower response, various on- and off-axis measurements and various weighted average comparisons, both anechoic and first and even second reflections (all of our measurements are time domain based.)

Every designer will have their personal opinion as to which measurements matter and which don’t – and ultimately, the market will determine if we got it right or wrong. Based on how many loudspeakers I have personally designed and sold in my too many years in this industry, I can say without hesitation that we got something right

Our standard suite of measurements will be posted soon.

All that said, our Sierra Towers and many of the other loudspeakers you are considering are very different from your Klipsch RF7-II. Obviously, there is something about them you are not quite happy with and I would be happy to discuss with you to determine if our products offer what you are looking for.