As per previous

I have gotten used to my setup too quickly and I trying to find weaknesses for my next upgrade.

This is an updated from my earlier post. I now have replaced the CD player from an Arcam to an Audionet Art V2. There is the slight cost element of a £2000 ($3000) difference between the products, but now the bass is full and on the mark. In fact, so used had I become to my setup that the bass emanating from the Ascent was, in the beginning, quite disconcerting and far too 'strong'. There is a -3Db switch which I now have put back to Flat, yet the bass is still very much there. All in all, a very serious improvement on the end quality. I would add that the CD player rivals in quality the speakers, in fact, if I were to write a CD player review on the Audionet, it would be even better than the one I wrote about the speakers!

Everything

Nothing

Very clear and trasparent. Very detailed. Great scene. Few basses but enough.

Reproduces well recorded music with amazing beauty. You can listen for hours without fatigue.

These speakers probably are not for the hardest rocking listeners. However, if you like detailed rock, these are terrific. Another weakness is that you have to plug these babies into the wall to power the panels.

The clarity and transparency of sound for voices, plucked strings, and acoustic music in general is breathtaking. The bass always seemed a bit weak, but tolerable for rock and roll. I found that to be much improved by adding the ML Descent subwoofer. Now, with five ten inch dynamic speakers pumping, it's much better. The main speakers are powered by a Conrad Johnson MF2500 ss amp with a CJ PV 14 tube preamp. I find this to be a warm and wonderful combination.

Similar Products Used:

Revel, NHT,Canton, JBL, Magnaplanar

Almost everything. Seamless, faster than anything in this galaxy and probably priced about 10,000 below true value.

Bass......Bass......Bass..While the new series is justifiably better than previous models it still needs additional support by a musical sub. Consider a good british sub which primary duty is to play music and not thump.

Let's just start by calling them 1st among equals. For those entering hifi or those who perceive themselves as seasoned veterans, these speakers are the final destination. Even within the Ml line I feel that they are the ticket. They have slightly less bandwidth than the prodigy's. Which is audible. In trade they give you slightly more dynamic openess in the mids. No other speaker in my 20 year history can match thier blinding speed and grace. Keep your R2D2 looking robots and your upright coffins and give me Ml's breathtaking air and beauty.

Similar Products Used:

Wilson watt's, Thiel 7.2 you name it

Clarity Openess

Low range - bass linkage and soundstage (only for these ranges)

Purchased in London, which means paying more! This is the 1st serious piece of equipment that I bought. The whole system is based around a Sonus Faber Musica amp, CD player is base Arcam 8SE (being replaced by Audionet). When I auditioned the system I specifically required classical and instrumental, with a warm bias and clarity above all. It certainly delivers above any expectations I had. The system is altogether absolutely sensational in all respect save one: anything lower down on the bass department it is not good. Whether it is the CD player or not I will know next month when I will be getting a proper CD player. Maybe the Amp is the culprit, pop music though the system does not have the 'oumf' or power that a well bass ready system has. It just is not tied in well together. on the mid and low range level. Still, Gadiator is superb, and so are most soundtracks. On the other hand, pop compilations such as Now xx and trance-like music is not up there. All in all, superb speakers, require judicious choice of amp, and specific music in mind. At this price and provided you are ok with the previous sentence, nothing touches it (that I auditioned at least).

Very impressive speakers in terms of price, performance, and aesthetics.

Very revealing. They require, I repeat, require, good electronics and amplification.

I bougth the Ascents almost one month ago, but I already met or exceeded the recommended break-in period (Approx. 30 Hours). This tells you how much I enjoy listening to them. They are impressive on both aesthetics and performance. The 4' ESL produces airy, accurate, and non-fatiguing sound, especially when listening to Jazz music. The 10 " subwoofer ( for each unit) crossing over at 280 Hz. from the ESL were perfectly match and delivers deep, tight bass. With the Ascents, addition of a sub-woofer is not necessary unless you want to annoy your neighbors. Coupling the speakers with the ETC spikes (provided), adds to the pinpoint accuracy, and imaging that was already present by just using the normal screw-in footing. The "wow" factor from your friends and relatives multiplies exponentially as they began to experienced the sonic brilliance of this speakers. The Ascents requires good amplification to experienced its potency. They are very revealing in a sense that you can actually evaluate your system(preamps,CD player,DAC, interconnects,etc..)through these speakers . The Ascents are highy recommended. For the price, it will be very difficult to find a replacement that can equal its performance and looks, in my opinion.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 901, Canton Karat M70, Martin Logan Aeon. MY MODEST SYSTEM AMP----Threshold S500 stasis Series II SPKR CABLES----Nordost Blue Heaven Bi-wire PRE-AMP---Audio Research LS-12 CD Player---

Everything! Just go listen!

collect dust

Just go listen! The most accurate music for the money. Feed them descent power and you'll love'm forever. I use them with Bryston and Krell.

Similar Products Used:

Wilson, sonus faber, revel, thiel, klipsh,B+W, Elon, audio physique, monitor audio, Maggies, vienna acoustics, dynaudio, linn, etc...

Sound reproduction is second to none in this price range.

None.

Crystal clear sound. Airy. Highly articulate, exceedingly accurate timbre, and a delight to the ears. One may pay five times the retail price for a speaker with similar attributes. Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Scientific Fidelity-Crown Jewels Anthem-AVM 20 Preamp Rotel-RMB 1095 Amp Audioquest & Staight Wire interconnects

See earlier review

See earlier review

This is an amendment to my earlier review. Now that I have my Odyssey Stratos Mono Blocks, the acoustic treatments are not necessary. The Yamaha receiver was smearing so badly I thought the room also was a problem. Good electronics solved the problem. Great speakers!!

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics, Polk, Bose, Infinity

Honest rendering of signal given to the speaker. Instruments sound real. Excellent soundstage. Gorgeous, sculpture-like appearance.

Expensive, large, difficult to place, power-hungry, require excellent source and electronics, back waves create much energy that is hard to manage if you listen at high volume levels.

Please note that I have only had the Ascents for about 3 weeks. However, I have gone well beyond the 30 hour break-in period and have listened critically for several hours. For those considering buying these speakers, allow me to emphasize a few points. 1. If you don''''t have good amplification and good source material, don''''t waste your money on Logans. These speakers will reveal any weak link in your system and they are UNFORGIVING. I have a Yamaha 995 receiver (100Wx5) and the Ascents matched with the Logan Cinema and Scripts absolutely chew the receiver up. The receiver doesn''''t have the current to deliver any bottom end and with any volume at all sounds shrill and thin. Poorly mastered or highly compressed source material compounds this problem. I am currently upgrading to Odyssey Stratos Mono Blocks for the Ascents to address this problem. I auditioned these speakers properly driven and they are fantastic. I simply underestimated how lousy my components were, and when I got the Logans home I was sick when I heard how badly they sounded cranked up. 2. Be prepared to acoustically treat your room. The Logans'''' back wave is much like the front wave, so a ton of sound is thrown at the driven wall. I have them 3 feet from the driven wall, and still get a ton of reflection that renders loud rock and roll unlistenable. I have ordered ASC studio traps to place behind the Ascents, and I have 8 wall panels and 2 tube traps coming as well. When the room is right, nothing gives you the realism of vocals, horns, pianos, guitars, etc. that Logans do, BUT if your room is too live the extra energy of planar speakers rear projections will sound awful. You do not want to completely deaden your room, you simply need to strike a balance that maintains the ambiance/soundstage of the Logans while controlling the TON of energy from the back waves. In summary, if you have serious amps that can deliver alot of current, and you have good source material, and you have a controlled room, welcome to heaven. Otherwise, be prepared to pull your hair out.

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics, Infinity, Polk, Bose