Is anybody using Ascend Acoustics at their desktop?

[markgoebel]

Currently in the process of designing a home office setup and have been picking out all of my components while working on getting a desk built. I had the thought cross my mind of quite possibly using the Ascend brand for near field listening.

Has anyone on this forum done this? What is your feedback? I'll be sitting anywhere from 2.5 - 4 feet away from the speakers based on placement. My desk dimensions will be 60-63" wide and 24" deep.

What do you recommend and what are you using to run them? I currently own a 27" iMac desktop and will be doing everything from scratch so I need all the help and recommendations I can get.

Thanks and be well!

[curtis]

What's the budget?

So many options. I think a pair of Lunas would be awesome on the desktop. Even a pair of HTM-200SE's.

I would look at something like this to drive them with the USB output of the Mac.
https://www.amazon.com/SMSL-Q5-Pro-Digital-Amplifier/dp/B017W12UCU

[markgoebel]

Budget would be as high as the Sierra 2EX but not sure if they’d be overkill for near field listening

[racrawford65]

I'm using the HTM200's in my office - not exactly near field, though. I've placed them on top of bookshelves to provide ambient music whilst working from home.

[markgoebel]

I'm using the HTM200's in my office - not exactly near field, though. I've placed them on top of bookshelves to provide ambient music whilst working from home.

Sounds very nice! However, I would be using mine in traditional desktop fashion at a 63 w x 25 d desk.

[MusicHead]

The thing with near-field listening is that given the short distance between speakers and listeners, the sound coming from each driver may not "merge" by the time it reaches the ear.

That is why generally small speakers (with smaller drivers and closer to each other) works best for near-field.

I would go with the HTM-200 and if necessary supplement them with a small sub.

The other advantage of the HTM-200 is that not being ported are easier to position on a desk, especially if close to a wall.

[jimb]

The thing with near-field listening is that given the short distance between speakers and listeners, the sound coming from each driver may not "merge" by the time it reaches the ear.

That is why generally small speakers (with smaller drivers and closer to each other) works best for near-field.

I would go with the HTM-200 and if necessary supplement them with a small sub.

The other advantage of the HTM-200 is that not being ported are easier to position on a desk, especially if close to a wall.

Great points, IMHO. I'd expect the Luna to be even better, though at much higher cost.

[choirbass]

Im in a 10’x10’x8’ room so it’s not too far from near field, with the Sierra-2 being about 8’ from me. Check my signature for gear used.

[choirbass]

If I was to edit the above post I’d lose my signature. I was going add tho that the Sierra-2EX is a fantastic bargain for not much more than the Sierra-2.

[davef]

Currently in the process of designing a home office setup and have been picking out all of my components while working on getting a desk built. I had the thought cross my mind of quite possibly using the Ascend brand for near field listening.

Has anyone on this forum done this? What is your feedback? I'll be sitting anywhere from 2.5 - 4 feet away from the speakers based on placement. My desk dimensions will be 60-63" wide and 24" deep.

What do you recommend and what are you using to run them? I currently own a 27" iMac desktop and will be doing everything from scratch so I need all the help and recommendations I can get.

Thanks and be well!

At a minimum of 2.5 feet away, I would strongly recommend going with our Sierra-2EX or Luna. If you will not be using a subwoofer, for sure Sierra-2EX. Sierra-2EX has extremely tight phase integration between woofer and tweeter and the exceptionally wide horizontal dispersion of the RAAL ribbon is a real blessing for listening near-field as this makes the speakers sound a bit less directional (beamy) at close distance. We have hundreds of customers using Sierra-2/Sierra-2EX in the nearfield (which is generally considered listening at less than 1 meter)

[davef]

The thing with near-field listening is that given the short distance between speakers and listeners, the sound coming from each driver may not "merge" by the time it reaches the ear.

That is why generally small speakers (with smaller drivers and closer to each other) works best for near-field.

I would go with the HTM-200 and if necessary supplement them with a small sub.

The other advantage of the HTM-200 is that not being ported are easier to position on a desk, especially if close to a wall.

Driver size and how they merge at crossover (phase matching) are not related to each other. Larger drivers that are tasked with merging with a small tweeter (for example) might have a minor directivity mismatch when listening far off-axis, but this is not a factor for nearfield. This is why so many popular nearfield monitors use 6.5" woofers and even larger.

The key is designing the crossover for driver summation at a very close distance (Sierra-2EX accomplishes this at 6") + very wide horizontal dispersion.

I actually don't recommend HTM-200 for extreme nearfield use because there are 2 woofers producing the same frequencies at different positions, although at 2.5 feet minimum - they are fine. However, they do not have nearly as wide horizontal dispersion as Sierra-2/2EX or Luna (even wider)

[markgoebel]

Driver size and how they merge at crossover (phase matching) are not related to each other. Larger drivers that are tasked with merging with a small tweeter (for example) might have a minor directivity mismatch when listening far off-axis, but this is not a factor for nearfield. This is why so many popular nearfield monitors use 6.5" woofers and even larger.

The key is designing the crossover for driver summation at a very close distance (Sierra-2EX accomplishes this at 6") + very wide horizontal dispersion.

I actually don't recommend HTM-200 for extreme nearfield use because there are 2 woofers producing the same frequencies at different positions, although at 2.5 feet minimum - they are fine. However, they do not have nearly as wide horizontal dispersion as Sierra-2/2EX or Luna (even wider)

Dave, thank you so much for your reply and advice! I have just a couple follow up questions if you have the time. Will the Sierra-2EX suffer if they’re up against a wall? Secondly, can you recommend a somewhat small footprint amplifier that will compliment the Sierra-2EX for desktop listening? Thank you!

[davef]

Dave, thank you so much for your reply and advice! I have just a couple follow up questions if you have the time. Will the Sierra-2EX suffer if they’re up against a wall? Secondly, can you recommend a somewhat small footprint amplifier that will compliment the Sierra-2EX for desktop listening? Thank you!

Very welcome!


Will the Sierra-2EX suffer if they’re up against a wall?

Possibly, but there are lot of variables to this. If you are running the speakers full range (no sub) - then I would recommend at least 3" of clearance behind them. If you don't have that much clearance, you can use our Q-Plugs but I would test the speakers first. Closer to the wall behind them generally means more bass reinforcement, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for nearfield since typically, with nearfield placement - bass suffers.

My recommendation is to try the speakers first with the positioning that works for you, if too much bass or if it sounds boomy, Q-Plugs will alleviate that.


Secondly, can you recommend a somewhat small footprint amplifier that will compliment the Sierra-2EX for desktop listening?

For a small footprint amp that will complement Sierra-2EX, check out the Schiit Vidar. I don't have first hand experience with this amp but we have many customers using it and I have received only positive comments.

https://www.schiit.com/products/vidar