First impressions of my new Ascend CBM-170 SE speakers. I'm going to preface my initial review by saying my methodology of testing. Again, this is my first impressions but a good indication of its general sound characteristics at this point in time. Equipment used, Rotel RA-12 integrated amp, 60 wpc, Denon DVD/SACD/CD player, laptop using Tidal Masters MQA, Soundmagic non-mqa DAC. Therefore, MQA just had the first unfolding. I will be comparing the Ascend to my other current speakers, Paradigm Mini-monitors V6, and NHT Superzero 2.1 speakers. As a baseline, tone controls were set flat on Rotel and no subwoofer was used. Therefore, all the speakers could sound different when compared to each other if increasing the bass and treble and using a subwoofer. I only listened to the speakers on low to moderate volumes. Not loud volumes or at more volume I would normally listen to. I played a variety of genres of music, ie. hip-hop, R&B, rock, classical.
Ascend speakers have a very flat frequency response. Excellent clarity, analytical, detailed. The bass is pretty tight for a bass reflex/ported design, which is really impressive. The Paradigms bass is not quite as tight, but digs a little deeper. The Paradigms bass is never muddy or flabby though, just not as tight. Paradigms have very good clarity, but a little less so than the Ascends. Paradigms sound a littler warmer, whereas the Ascends are a little more detailed and analytical. NHT doesn't have much bass compared to the others and definately needs a subwoofer. But, what bass is there is very tight. I'm not a basshead, therefore I could use the Ascend and Paradigm with no subwoofer at all. I primarily only listen to music, so I can do without the subwoofer, but if you watch a lot of movies on home theater system, then a subwoofer is needed.
All three speakers have excellent midrange. All sound very natural with nice presence. Voices sound full bodied and awesome. If I had to choose the best midrange out of the bunch I would probably choose the NHT. The clarity and detail is so effortless sounding and probably has to do with the acoustic suspension/closed design. I have always liked closed designs for that reason. Ascend is very close behind followed by Paradigm. Also, probably because the midrange stands out on the NHT because of the lack of bass compared to the others.
Ascend treble is smooth, clear, detailed. There's something I noticed though about the treble when listening at different volume levels. The more I turned up the volume, the treble seemed to increase more compared to the midrange and bass. The other speakers did not do that. The treble got a little sizzle to it. I wouldn't necessarily call it hot or bright though. But, the treble came more forward, whereas the mids and lows stayed where they were. That would be my biggest criticism of the Ascend. I didn't care for that because it defeats the purpose of having a very flat frequency response to begin with. I don't know if frequency graphs show this phenomenon or not, but thats what I'm hearing.
All three speakers have great soundstage. I have no complaints there.
The Paradigm is easiest to drive and the most efficient, followed by the Ascend and NHT.
Aside from the sound, I would not call the Ascend a fugly speaker. I would say it's just kind of generic looking, but I actually kind of like it's basic, simple looks. It's a well built, solid speaker, as well as the others. But, if going strictly by looks, the NHT has a very nice glossy black finish. Pretty unheard of at that price point.
In conclusion, the Ascend CBM-170 SE is an awesome speaker especially for the price. I'm sure the other Ascend offerings are even better, but at a big price step up. I don't really like to get into diminishing returns game because like most people I have a budget to work with. The fact that I don't need to use a subwoofer with it for music is impressive for a bookshelf speaker that has such a flat frequency response.
With that being said, I'm always looking for the best bang for the buck. Although, the Ascend is a great value, the NHT wins by being the best sounding to me, best bang for the buck. Of course, the NHT needs a subwoofer, so that offsets the value. But, with a subwoofer, I can't believe how awesome the NHT sounds. I admit though that I do like sealed enclosures. It would be interesting if Ascend designed a sealed version of the CBM-170 SE. I would probably absolutely love that.
Bottom line: I like all these speakers for different reasons. They all do certain things very well. It's amazing the quality of sound you can get for the money.