Well, what can I say? I bought these early on in 2001. Awesome monitors and general home speakers, mine are still kicking the shit out of anything that was available at the time or probably now for the same price. I added an Ascend home theater center because, well why not? I think they have moved up to a SE version now. I don’t care about that. My CBM-170’s will pass on to my niece. Awesome sound, amazing stage, if you can find a used pair then buy them, otherwise, buy the current version,

For a weakness, they aren’t beautiful. So what. They rock.

I'm new to the audio world, so take what I have to say with a huge chunk of salt.... The mid range and high end clarity/precision is truly off the charts. Vocals pop, so do guitars pianos and the like. These speakers a very musical on the mid/high end but leave me feeling unfulfilled when it comes to bass. At low levels the vocal and musical clarity really shines. Imaging is also outstanding and they are pretty forgiving with placement. They sound they put out easily fills a mid sized to large room. Mid bass is very accurate and clean. No distortion, no obvious resonance frequency. Probably best suited for Home Theater use by themselves. Paired with a good sub I'm sure they sound almost perfect, but for me they seem a bit too bright. That being said, it is very refreshing to buy from a company that stands behind their budget products with a 5 year warranty and a 30 day trial period, along with being as transparent as ppossible with their intentions and results of their speakers.

Everything you read about these speakers is true, but for mileage there are some glaring design limitations. Notice, I don't mean flaws or failures, they are deliberate, but not in a bad way. Dave, the company owner, goes into great detail about every single thought and reason for everything about these speakers on Ascend's website. I highly recommend reading through it to get the words straight from him. To clarify from above: The bass feels anemic to me. I'm not a bass heavy person and flabby muddy bass is my least favorite thing to hear in speakers or headphones. So I'll take what's given with these speakers. The bass is extremely accurate and clean sounding, but feels like it's lacking the richness that comes with other speakers. The brightness is very evident and I'm really surprised I don't see many more comments about it. I know the acoustics in my room aren't helping, but I have other speakers that aren't nearly as piercing under the same conditions. However, those speakers lack the definition that the CBM 170se have. Construction is strong but definitely not high end. There is a hollow sound when you knock on the box and that same sound seems to find its way into the music from time to time. The looks are nothing to write home about, especially with the grills off, but I hesitate to call them ugly. To sum up, sometimes anemic sounding bass, tweeters leaning towards being very bright. I have a hard time giving these anything less than 5 stars, even with my nit-picking. The price is right, the company is right, the quality is there. But if I'm being honest with myself they don't hit 5 stars for me. They are very very good, and are an awesome, truly budget intro to the audiophile world, where other speakers claim to be, but aren't. Pick them up for Home theater and you won't be disappointed, for music alone though, you might end up feeling like something is missing. Either that or pair with a good sub and your music will sound amazing. Just turn down the treble gain a little...

So good i bought a pair twice. After selling my first pair and searching for better/more expensive speakers, i've learned that cbm-170se are FANTASTIC speakers under $600. SUPER flat frequency response makes the music transparent. Gone through def tech, paradigm, B&W, Jamo, and NHT. And now back to Ascends... I don't even think a Sierra-2 can be much better.

The only downside is that they are ugly as sin! But they sound so heavenly so it doesn't matter.

Took a chance on these unheard, to start building a ht system primarily for multi channel music. As a former audio engineer I've had plenty of experience with too equipment but ironically never took my home state seriously so I didn't want to invest a lot to start. After living with these for nearly 2 years now and throwing everything possible at them through Marantz gear, I can tell you that if I were still mixing music I would consider these as nearfield minutes without question. They are tight, neutral (that's a really good thing btw), and extremely engaging without any of the treble harshness usually found in low end speakers. I would think in a typical retail setting these would sell for around $1K/pair, seriously, and sell well at that price. Extraordinary value and the low end will amaze you too--i cross these at 60hz based on my Audyssey XT32 settings and the bass is so rich and complex that I often walk over to the sub and put a hand on it because I can't believe the lows are only coming from the 170s. 30+ years in audio and multimedia and I've never heard a better bang for the buck. The downside? Now I'm determined to get a pair of the now-legendary Sierra-2 RAAL bookshelf speakers, also from Ascend, and I don't know how I'm going to part with these babies. I'm running these as mains with the Ascend 200s as center/surrounds and am simply thrilled.

I would describe myself as a musician who is very demanding of audio equipment. I want instruments to sound as they are, without any coloration. Before these speakers I tried a pair of Fluance SX6's that were highly rated and seemed like a bargain for the price but I couldn't bring myself to like their harsh, non-natural, non-detailed sound (to my ears), and after nearly a month of really giving them a chance on a few different receivers and with different sources I was getting frustrated as their free month trial period was ending. Then I found a random post about the Ascend CBM-170SE's on an audio forum and looked deeper into them. I had never heard about this brand before but from how people described the CBM-170SE's, I thought they may very well fit the bill. I had never spent this much on speakers before, but since the others left me disappointed I figured I better pony up a few more dollars. After receiving them in the mail and hooking them up, I queued the first song which was one I am very familiar with. I kid you not, the detail and life that emerged from these speakers was so realistic and natural that I could actually imagine the singer in the room with me. It sent chills down my spine and literally made me start laughing and tearing up with emotion because they were really that good. I immediately boxed up the other speakers and sent them back as it only took one song to know the CBM's are the real deal. They are worth every penny of their asking price, and you can tell a lot of research and design went into these. I don't doubt that you could use them for professional studio monitoring. The clarity with movies is amazing too, and they can get get rather loud for their size if you need them to be. I have them paired with a high quality subwoofer but they do very well on their own with everything but the deepest of bass. I am not an Ascend fanboy, nor was I paid to write this review. I am just a satisfied customer. Thank you.

Superb transparent imaging, airy wide sound stage, solid flat full spectrum frequency response. The most satisfying set of speakers I've ever owned. And I've owned Tannoys, klipsch, B&Ws, SVS, Velodynes, Magneplanars, and a couple dozen other brands, many with superb specs, sound and, of course, high cost.

The CBM-170s are small, light, precise, inexpensive, very we'll made, intelligently finished and above all, extremely practical! For home use, you can't miss with these outstanding little gems. The black matte finish is durable, scratch resistant and can be cleaned easily.

The 170's come double boxed with rock solid internal foam braces making shipping damage nearly impossible with normal handling. Ascend shipped promptly and my correspondence with them was easy and polite. I couldn't be happier with these speakers and Ascend. I look forward to receiving my sub that needed to be back ordered.

I want to add my rave review to the multitudes. After over 9 years with these speakers they are just as mesmerizing when I sit and listen to Acoustic Alchemy or Phil Keaggy on guitar. Piano is amazing. I had these hooked up to a Hsu subwoofer but have switched to a $100 Polk 10-inch sub that I stuck into my wall to have it less intrusive in the house. I do not sit and listen to my speakers from a chair spotted in precisely the right spot, mostly I listen to these as background speakers now but every now and then I put on something I know has a lot of detail and just get lost in the music. I like these so much I want to take some apart and install the components in my car so I can take this level of refined sonic character on the road. I am very very particular about musicality but I refuse to spend thousands of dollars because I just don't have time to sit and dedicate the time just to listen. I want all my friends to find out about these amazing speakers that should cost a whole lot more.

Having owned the super accurate Sierra Tower RAAL, I decided to give the very highly rated CBM-170 SE a try. I've always preferred ribbon tweeters every since I started this hobby so didn't think much of these monitors. My thought that they'll make do in my kid's bedroom to replace the overkill Usher Be-718 berylliums. During a few decades of my dwelling in this hobby I've tried many of the big boy monitors: Focal, Dynaudio, Totem, PSB, a bunch of Ushers, Paradigm, KEF, etc etc I don't remember all... long story short, these ultra cheap pairs of monitors are probably the most accurate and pleasurable I've ever listened to. Very balanced top to bottom, quick and efficient but lacking any harshness. Not surprising given the ultra flat frequency response but I was very suprised at the amount of bass these things seem to radiate. No artificially induced hump to make it bigger than it is, very honest speakers that I can throw any kind of music from house, jazz, acoustics. My concern of the softdome tweeters lacking any kind of high end clarity is also false as IMO the Ascends are overall more realistic sounding the Usher Be-718! Keep in mind the Ushers are 7.5x the price of the Ascends. You think that accurate monitors are agressive and cold but these speakers are just the opposite. If anything no sweetened british speakers have been so involving with jazz and vocals yet so ruthless with metal. Unbelievable...

The life of an audio enthusiast can be an expensive one with changing speakers every week or month which I did once upon a time but sometimes you come across a product so good you're willing to keep it for decades. I truly believe the CBM-170 SE is one of those and certainly has become the standard in which I will measure other monitors. So if you're looking for a pair of bookshelves (at any price), you should definitely give these a try first.

My entire experience with Ascend was top-notch. The customer service was great, and very responsive.
It's already documented all over the internet that these speakers contain drivers and a crossover that are WAY above their price-range, but you really need to see the speakers to get a feel for the quality.

My main concern with these speakers was that they would not be able to compete with the clarity of some of their metal tweeter based competitors like Axiom or Paradigm. I regret ever having doubted Ascend. If there is one word to describe this speaker, it's CLARITY. I'm not a fan of Norah Jones, but she has always had some great recording quality. On some of her songs, you can literally hear the "smack" of her lips opening and closing before she sings! Now, my Polk's sound like someone had covered them with a blanket.

I should also mention that these speakers have great dynamics. They're not big by any means, but they can really put out some SPL's for their size! They can easily fill any medium sized room when paired with a sub, and they sound so natural even when they're cranked. Even my wife mentioned that the music sounded like it was being played in the room.

There is one downside, though. Now, I need to buy a new receiver just ot make sure that my Ascends properly treated.

Forget about the competition and take the plunge. You won't be disappointed.

Paid $80 for a used pair and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the sound these speakers produce.
Don't buy them if u are concerned about how they look.... they look quite ugly and cheap except for the binding posts. I compared them with my NHT VT 1a floor standers and the CBM170s have a much wider range comparatively. I drive them on my Nakamichi AV-1 and cant even increase the volume to 15-20% in my decent sized living room. These dont have any artificial bass or any artificial warmth seen in most medium priced speakers. A friend of mine says these sound very much like his Paradigm Studio 20s, thats quite a comparison considering the price difference.