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Thread: NFS Measurements of Ascend tower and comparison to LX?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2022
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    3

    Question NFS Measurements of Ascend tower and comparison to LX?

    Good morning everyone. I am thinking about purchasing speakers instead of DIY-ing for the first time in my life, and since I know too much about speaker design, I'm attracted to the Ascend for a couple of reasons - one, that they use excellent drivers, two, that the speakers are mostly produced domestically or in places I'd like to visit, and three, that they use an NFS for design.

    Is the Sierra monitor with the beastly little Seas woofer the only model we have NFS data for? This is an attractive speaker, but I was wondering if the tower models had NFS measurements.

    In general I think 3 way designs are better than 2 ways, but the Ascend towers are somewhat unusual in that they are not extremely large, their woofer array has a small radiating area (no idea what kind of excursion it has), and the midrange is on the larger side. As a result, it's hard to tell if the the normal 3 way advantages of smoother, broader radiation and deeper bass really apply compared to the Sierra LX.

    So to help me out, can someone answer the following questions?
    • How does the bass output (depth and SPL) compare between the Sierra Tower and LX?
    • Is there a spinorama of the Sierra tower I can look at showing DI, early reflections and so on?
    • I saw a yellow painted speaker in the gallery - what is the cost for a custom color?


    I understand the Sierra towers were designed before the NFS even existed, but it still would be helpful to see what kind of radiation you can expect from that mid/RAAL combo.

    Thanks for your help.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
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    USA
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    5,538

    Default Re: NFS Measurements of Ascend tower and comparison to LX?

    Quote Originally Posted by 617 View Post
    Good morning everyone. I am thinking about purchasing speakers instead of DIY-ing for the first time in my life, and since I know too much about speaker design, I'm attracted to the Ascend for a couple of reasons - one, that they use excellent drivers, two, that the speakers are mostly produced domestically or in places I'd like to visit, and three, that they use an NFS for design.

    Is the Sierra monitor with the beastly little Seas woofer the only model we have NFS data for? This is an attractive speaker, but I was wondering if the tower models had NFS measurements.

    In general I think 3 way designs are better than 2 ways, but the Ascend towers are somewhat unusual in that they are not extremely large, their woofer array has a small radiating area (no idea what kind of excursion it has), and the midrange is on the larger side. As a result, it's hard to tell if the the normal 3 way advantages of smoother, broader radiation and deeper bass really apply compared to the Sierra LX.

    So to help me out, can someone answer the following questions?
    • How does the bass output (depth and SPL) compare between the Sierra Tower and LX?
    • Is there a spinorama of the Sierra tower I can look at showing DI, early reflections and so on?
    • I saw a yellow painted speaker in the gallery - what is the cost for a custom color?


    I understand the Sierra towers were designed before the NFS even existed, but it still would be helpful to see what kind of radiation you can expect from that mid/RAAL combo.

    Thanks for your help.
    I am happy to answer your questions. For details like this, always best to contact us directly.

    How does the bass output (depth and SPL) compare between the Sierra Tower and LX?
    Sierra-LX has deeper bass, the towers are capable of overall higher spl, but not by that much. The key is is that the towers have much higher efficiency, requiring much less power compared to the Sierra-LX

    Is there a spinorama of the Sierra tower I can look at showing DI, early reflections and so on?
    http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/sho...7475#post67475

    I saw a yellow painted speaker in the gallery - what is the cost for a custom color?
    Unfortunately, due to new EPA standards for paint, we can not currently offer custom finishes. We are hoping things will relax in the future, but I am honestly not sure.
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    1,390

    Default Re: NFS Measurements of Ascend tower and comparison to LX?

    I doubt anything emissions-related will relax in the future...first gasoline cars (although debatable that EV is better), next natural gas appliances, who knows what's next....
    * LG OLED65E6P, BenqHT2050A
    * Anthem AVM90, Rogue ST100, VTV Pascal 7 ch
    * Sierra Towers/Horizon (all ELX RAAL), S2EXv2 surrounds, HTM200SEx4 heights, Rythmik E15HPx2
    * VPI Classic 1+ (VTA & Fatboy Gimbal), PE Eagle/RR, VAS NOVA, Soundsmith Paua, Manley Chinook, Bob's Devices SUT, SugarCube 1 mini
    * Oppo 203 & 103D, EverSolo DMP-A6
    * miniDSP Flex, Audiosensibility & Blue Jeans cables, Symposium & Isoacoustics, GIK
    * For RDJ: Anthem MRX720, Sierra LX, Luna Duo v2 center, CXNv2, TBD

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    455

    Default Re: NFS Measurements of Ascend tower and comparison to LX?

    Quote Originally Posted by racrawford65 View Post
    I doubt anything emissions-related will relax in the future...first gasoline cars (although debatable that EV is better), next natural gas appliances, who knows what's next....
    The Supreme Court recently ruled that there are limits to what the EPA can do as far as regulation and said that moving forward such regulations need to be legislated federally or at the state and local level. The EPA still has some power, but it recently shifted. I think it was mostly related to pollution and emissions. I’m not saying what my thoughts are on this one way or the other, since I don’t want to derail this thread into a political back and forth, just to convey that there were recent changes related to the EPAs authority over such regulations.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
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    Default Re: NFS Measurements of Ascend tower and comparison to LX?

    That's good to know that the EPA has been reigned in a bit.

    The bigger key, though, is what certain state(s) legislate, which seems to work it's way nationally over time (the two I noted in previous post, are at the state level now. I believe California has mandated no new gasoline cars from 2035 on-wards, as well as natural gas space & water heaters in 2030). From what I can find, looks like the new EPA paint standards are so that they align with California's, as well.
    * LG OLED65E6P, BenqHT2050A
    * Anthem AVM90, Rogue ST100, VTV Pascal 7 ch
    * Sierra Towers/Horizon (all ELX RAAL), S2EXv2 surrounds, HTM200SEx4 heights, Rythmik E15HPx2
    * VPI Classic 1+ (VTA & Fatboy Gimbal), PE Eagle/RR, VAS NOVA, Soundsmith Paua, Manley Chinook, Bob's Devices SUT, SugarCube 1 mini
    * Oppo 203 & 103D, EverSolo DMP-A6
    * miniDSP Flex, Audiosensibility & Blue Jeans cables, Symposium & Isoacoustics, GIK
    * For RDJ: Anthem MRX720, Sierra LX, Luna Duo v2 center, CXNv2, TBD

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2022
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: NFS Measurements of Ascend tower and comparison to LX?

    David, that is an smooth directivity index on the tower. Very unique offering.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Posts
    29

    Default Re: NFS Measurements of Ascend tower and comparison to LX?

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    Unfortunately, due to new EPA standards for paint, we can not currently offer custom finishes. We are hoping things will relax in the future, but I am honestly not sure.
    Just curious, do you have a link that describes the new EPA standards for paint? Thanks!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,538

    Default Re: NFS Measurements of Ascend tower and comparison to LX?

    Quote Originally Posted by sonic icons View Post
    Just curious, do you have a link that describes the new EPA standards for paint? Thanks!
    I am sorry but I do not.
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    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

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