Just switched to ascends.

[dan webster]

Thanks to many of the reviews here i bought a complete 7 channel set of ascends 3 of the 340s and 4 of the 170s for rears. I am driving them in my dedicated theater with an emotiva dmc-1 processor and 7 channel gemstome amp. I replaced a set of axiom apeakers with these.
All i can say is WOW! I could not be happier. I have recently audutioned b&w , swan, focal and paradigm studios and i honestly feel the ascends sound better. The b&w and paradigm i had in my home for a short time. Even my wife noticed how great the ascends sound compared to pervious speakers i have had. Funny thing is the ascends cost less than any of them. Alot less. I will post some pics of my theater tomorrow. I love the way the ascends almost disappear when the lights go down and i fire up the front projector.
I have always had a severe case of upgradeitis. I am however so happy with these speakers that i threw away the boxes, and i never throw away the boxes.
This is the first time i have ever had a truely seamless front soundstage. I now know what it really sounds like. These speakers are amazingly neutral and dynamic, I hear things i have never heard before whille watching movies. It is almost scarry how good these are for the money. I am using a svs pb12 + sub . The combination of the ascends crossed at 60 and the svs if simply fantastic.
I was prepared to spend 3 or 4 times more for my new speaker upgrade. I believe if i had spent that much i would not have gained anything in sound quality, just fancy packaging and wood veener.
Thanks again to all here for the excellent reviews.
Dan Webster

[bikeman]

Welcome, Dan. Don't be a stranger.

David

[chas]

Tossing the boxes is a good sign!

How do you like the Emotiva and Gemstone?

[audibleconnoisseur]

Welcome Dan! So happy to hear that you are pleased with your purchase. Tough to think that so much sound can come from a speaker 1/4 the size of so many others eh? Have fun with them and put them to the test with some quality music in 2.0 or 2.1 as well. The clocks going off in the Pink Floyd song are truely amazing on the Ascends. If you like the female vocals, some Sarah McLachlan might be worth a good spin and although not a guys movie, the Soundtrack to TITANIC is pretty strong in both highs and lows and feel. Best wishes...

[dan webster]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I love the emotiva with the gemstone amp. I have used rotel equipment until this combo. The rotel 1098 pro cessor was very good but not quite as refined sounding imo as the emotiva. The gemstone amp just destroys the rotel amp in every way. In fact the gemstone will bea t most any other amp in the same price range. It also held ts own with the krell i had for a short time. the krell cost 2.5 times more. Some people on this forum ask if a seperate amp and processor beats a good receiver. In my experience with many different configurations ( the manager of the local high end audio shop lets me demo what ever i want ) i have to say ther is a big difference with the right speakers and source. You do not really know how good something can sound until you hear it.
The manager of the audio store is not real happy with me anymore since i now own all id equipment ,so my demo days may be over.
Well i have to go. I have more boxes to throw away.
Dan

[audibleconnoisseur]

post up a link to the amp you like the best so we can check it out :)

[dan webster]

click here (http://www.gemstoneaudio.com/amplifiers/blue_diamond.php?in=d)

[davef]

Hi Dan,

I am very pleased that you are enjoying the speakers and thank you for posting your thoughts!

Feel free to contact me directly if I can be of any assistance.

Enjoy!!!

[tdogr]

All i can say is WOW! I could not be happier. I have recently audutioned b&w , swan, focal and paradigm studios and i honestly feel the ascends sound better. The b&w and paradigm i had in my home for a short time.

I was wondering which Swan's you listened to and what you thought of the them.

[dan webster]

I had a swan center channel for a while .. the swan diva c3. I t was rather large. It was a beautiful speaker . i was able to a/b it with the ascend center for a few days. The ascend sounded much more life like than the swan. The swan was good but the ascend is better. I was ablw to sell the swan for about what i paid for the ascend. My plan was to buy the rest of the swans if i liked the center.
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