I beat DaveF down and got prototypes!

[curtis]

No...not really...

DaveF graciously offered me a pair of CBM-170SE prototypes for the long weekend on the condition that return them on Monday. He is going out of town for the Thanksgiving weekend and did not need to critique them anymore.......hey, he already announced them. He said these are the only pair of CBM-170SE prototypes he has.

So I left the office early to get to Ascend before Dave had to head home and get ready for his red-eye flight.

I wanted to start this thread so I could gather questions and possibly answer them if I could while looking and listening to the speakers.

It is going to be a busy weekend for me, so other than later this evening, I am not sure how much time I will have to listen to them, but I will do my best.

Thanks to Dave for this opportunity!

[BradJudy]

Sounds like fun Curtis. I hope you enjoy them. Certainly one of the benefits of being local - you always get good Ascend and Hsu scoops. :)

[bikeman]

It is going to be a busy weekend for me, so other than later this evening, I am not sure how much time I will have to listen to them, but I will do my best.
I have time this weekend. Could you overnight them to me? Thanks. FULL REPORT Sunday night. :D I'm jealous.

David

[JeffD2]

If that happens, I'll DRIVE to Syracuse to return your disc. :D

[curtis]

OK...first quick report.

I am running the CBM-170SE's fullrange and no sub. They seem to have the same bass extension as the CMT-340. Yes...they sound good and can easily fill my 14x18x9 room.

The speakers themselves are truly prototypes. The drivers have writing on mounting rings that seem to note the date and batch of the drivers. Funny, one of the cabinets has written on it "CBM-171".

I am watching a basketball game with no sound while listening to music on the 170SE's. In the half hour of listening so far, I have no desire to hook up my 340's. The sound is very transparent. Can you imagine a more refined CBM-170?

[davef]

Hi Curtis...

Glad you are enjoying them so far... yes.. they are extremely transparent, really allowing you to be deeply drawn into the music.

I am just waiting for a cab on our way to catch a red-eye flight to the East Coast.. Going to spend the holiday with my Dad...

I will definitely be checking in daily, and often.

Hey Curtis... be careful with those babies ;)

[curtis]

Dave...thanks again and have a good flight. Do you really want these back? :)

I just finished to listening to a few discs I use for speaker demos, all fullrange. I did not ever feel like I needed to turn on the sub. The bass is very nice and punchy, the highs seem more refined. The great Ascend mids seem to now be more open and natural(if that is possible, that may just be in my head). The whole package is very involving....maybe a bit more detail/seperation/better transitions as well.

I have heard a lot of bookshelve speakers of similar size and a wide range of costs. I would love to put these 170SE's next to any of them.

edit: The discs I have been listening to are:
Ray Montford - Shed Your Skin
Dave Matthews Band - Crash
Peter Malick Group w/Norah Jones - Ner York City
Steely Dan - Everything Must Go
Dire Straights - Brothers In Arms (XRCD version)

It is not even 9:30pm. If anyone is in the area and wants to have a listen..let me know. It is the least I can do...I'm not going anywhere and I will probably be up late listening to these babies.

[Lou-the-dog]

Curtis,

Do you plan on setting up an actual A/B between your 170 classic's and the new SE's? Maybe even against your 340's? I understand that time is short...just thought it might help illustrate the differences .


DaveF,

Would be cool if Curtis could get his paws on the 340se prototypes too so he can do a little preview for us. Eventually it would be nice if a set (or two) of 170se's and 340se's were sent out as demonstrators so we could do some comparisons against our own Classics in our own homes. We could post a security deposit and the shipping out, keep them for a week and then send them on to the next on the list. The cabinets wouldn't even have to be finished. Just a thought.

Randy

[curtis]

Randy,
I doubt I will have time to do anything proper. I have to get ready for the weekend's festivities. Will do what I can.

I am listening some more right now, and this morning, what stands out to me are how sweet the highs are.

The biggest challenge I think these 170SE's face is the price. How do you get people to understand that the $348/pr price tag is NOT anywhere near indicative of their performance even for internet direct....even for Ascend.

I really wonder how the 340SE's sound.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[bikeman]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
In all the excitement about the SE's I almost forgot to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. HAPPY THANKSGIVING, YA'ALL!


I really wonder how the 340SE's sound.
I'll let everyone one know at my earliest opportunity. :D

David

[hhcan]

It is not even 9:30pm. If anyone is in the area and wants to have a listen..let me know. It is the least I can do...I'm not going anywhere and I will probably be up late listening to these babies.


I'm here in Santa Ana with my wife and kid today and instead of drinking with her relatives, I could have been over to listen to those babies if I have read this email 2 HOURS ago!

Nice. I'm itching to upgrade eventhough mines are not even a year old. I could move the front to the other room to replace my Digital Dogg and buy the SE to sit in place of the classic?! or should I just buy a pair of 340 SE for 2 channel music in a separate room and listen to them full range? The 340 SE is just what I need since I did consider a pair of Joseph Audio RM33si. Hmm, thinking about the money I save if I buy the 340 SE, I could use it for a nice 2 channel preamp/amp system.

Now all I need is an excuse...

[curtis]

I posted that yesterday.

Just got home from a day of turkey eating....and just eating in general about 90 minutes ago. Will be tough for me to host people the rest of the weekend.

[hhcan]

I didn't read the date. We'll be leaving Santa Ana tomorow.

Eventhough we couldn't be there, thanks for the public offer. The spirit that counts especially in the holiday!

[BradJudy]

....to replace my Digital Dogg....

Now all I need is an excuse...

Replacing Digital Doggs is all the excuse you need. :D

[curtis]

Today will be my last day with the 170SE's.

Although not critical listening, I have been watching TV with the kids(some 5.1 HDTV material), and noticed no panning issues with my 340c.

[MrTomasulo]

Curtis--

Any final verdict on the SEs?

After listening do you think there would be any timbre matching problems between SEs and classics?

[curtis]

I really like the SE, and will upgrade...but I am not in a rush and have not heard the 340SE yet.

It is funny, I have been asked more than once by other hobbyists(not Ascend owners....and never actually heard the speakers either), "are they really using a Seas tweeter? They make one of sweetest sounding tweeters I have ever heard, and that was the off the shelf budget model."

Which kind of confirms what I heard with the SE's.

As for the timbre matching, as I posted earlier, I heard no panning issues in TV and movie watching. I can't give a definitive answer because I didn't specifically test for it, but I doubt there will be any timbre issues.