Ascension Audio (Adelaide Speakers) Owners & Discussion Thread

[Grizzly]

Hi all!

Just thought I would poke my head in Stumbled across this site this morning and have been browsing through it, very informative!

But on topic... Acsension Speakers. My thoughts if they are any help for people considering them.

I bought a pair of Summoners from Edward probably 8 months ago now. Feeding them is a Cambridge 640A V2 and 640C V2. To cut it short I am VERY impressed. If you want more detail keep reading.

They are 3-way transmission line boxes. 10" main woofer, 5.25" midrange, high end Vifa tweeter. Finished in real wood American Oak veneer and stained gloss Jarrah. I had the option of getting a 10" high end Peerless, but by the time Edward finished tweaking the generic 10" woofer it sounded far better and a heap cheaper! Soundstage is supurb. Sound is detailed and smooth all the way through with no exagerating of frequency ranges. They weigh around 40kg each, 6ohm, 26Hz-40kHz, 92dB (from memory) and 160Wrms (music power). Made from 25mm MDF. He doesnt make his own boxes from solid wood anymore as the demand got too big for him to keep up.

I listen to everything from heavy R&B, Dance, Classical, Tenor and they sound great on all of them. The only thing I have found they struggle with is very low Pipe Organ notes (talking under 20Hz here).

I met with him 3 times and phoned him a number of times before settling on these. He is extrememly helpful (and patient!). He also provided a drawing of the crossovers which are very simple and clean... minimal fiddling with the signal.

The end result... I am aching to buy another set for the living room (but got married in May so fat chance).

Other peoples reactions after listening to them:

A mate who has some VAF floorstanders took them to him and he rehashed the crossover, changed the tweeters and my mate has been raving about the change ever since. Wants to pull the VAF badge off and put Acsension's on

A friend brought some Acsension bookshelfs for his Dad who also has some VAF floorstanders and his Dad was extremely impressed. They sound clearer in the top end than the VAFs by a long shot.

My sisters friend's Dad was looking for speakers. Came and listened to mine for 2 hours with his own music. Result... He bought a 640A and 540C from Cambridge and 2 sets of floorstanders from Edward... a Summoner Transmission Line 10" 3 way for the lounge and a Sentinel 6.5" 2 way for the living area.

Over all they are very well built, very customisable and very smooth sounding all round. You will not get the support or custimisation from any brand name maufacturer. I have yet to find anything that comes close to mine under $3000-$4000 and mine only cost me $1080!!!! Value for money they are fantastic. But if you really really want to pay more for a fancy brand name badge to show off do so.

Edward built speakers commercially for 30 years. Now he has 'retired' and builds everything in his lounge. He has 2 rooms which are not invaded by boxes, drivers, crossovers etc... that is his bedroom and the bathroom As far as working for VAF as was mentioned by someone previously... he mentioned that they had asked him to work for them but I got the impression he never did. He isnt a real fan of them and tweaks quite a few of their speakers for people.

Gee that was a long 1st post but hopefully it helps people who cant go and hear them or who are not as familiar with him and his speakers.

Cheers!

Pete

Hi Poit! Welcome aboard! Info is mucho appreciat...o(?) Anyway thanks for that. Might consider having him make them up rather than do the kit thing. Sounds like THE man!

[rob323]

Build them yourself, they always seem to sound better when you do .

[Poita]

Build them yourself, they always seem to sound better when you do .

He gives you everything you need, plans etc. All but the wood. So shouldn't be too difficult if you are handy with wood.

He does get a very good finish though with the veneer and polish. But if you just want to paint the MDF you could save some money.

[Grizzly]

He gives you everything you need, plans etc. All but the wood. So shouldn't be too difficult if you are handy with wood.

He does get a very good finish though with the veneer and polish. But if you just want to paint the MDF you could save some money.

Cabinetry is a bit of a passion and I do have access to a workshop. AND the idea of buffing my fingernails on my shirt when they are done while madly strutting about like cock of the rock is appealing. I did toy with trying a piano black finish....... is veneering a difficult activity?

Guess I would also have to design my own badges to go on too:D

[Grumpy]

G'day and welcome poita. I would be interested to know what VAF's you are talking about. I was under the impression that VAF's internal design, on some of the products, was set to a particular Xover design which is minimal to start with.

[obiwan]

These Acsension speakers seem so cheap. I think I said that earlier, but just imagine the fun a DEQX owner could have with all his 3 ways designs.

[Poita]

G'day and welcome poita. I would be interested to know what VAF's you are talking about. I was under the impression that VAF's internal design, on some of the products, was set to a particular Xover design which is minimal to start with.

I am not sure of the particular models, but one I saw there was a BIG bookshelf which he reckons was around $2000 brand new. It looked like it was an older model... and it had 6 capacitors in it (plus other components)!!! For a 2 way!

The towers my friend took down there, the crossover wasn't overdone, but he rehashed it with some different values etc and now they are way less fatiguing to listen to (also changed to a Vifa tweeter).

[rob323]

These Acsension speakers seem so cheap. I think I said that earlier, but just imagine the fun a DEQX owner could have with all his 3 ways designs.

And would be even cheaper without crossovers, Soooooo, let me know when they arrive and I'll give you a hand to measure them

[Paul Weston]

Just a note to say I have blogged a bit more about my Ascensions http://ozpaul-ozblog.blogspot.com/ but really it probably belongs more in the sources section so I wont quote it here... Happy listening, Paul (And Pete's experience reads like it is right on the money.)

[tb1231503560936]

I saw a link to Adelaide Speakers in another thread.

http://www.adelaidespeakers.com/

Has anyone heard of these guys before or have any experience with them??

At the moment I'm tossing up between a set of Vaf DC-X or B&W 683's etc but would be interested in looking at these.

I'm usually a bit suss of relatively unknown companies (unknown as I've not heard of them before), but given the right choice of components, there's no reason these cant be a great set of speakers, at a great price!

My main concern is what sort of R&D has gone into them. The companies mentioned above are much larger and theoretically spend much more time and money on "perfecting" their products, but, I'm paying for overheads and marketing etc.

any thoughts or experiences?

TB

Edited September 7, 2008 by tb123

[Mitcon1503562253]

Why not give them a call and talk to them and just see what the guy (Edward I think his name is) has to say ? I spoke with him just last week as I was thinking of getting some of his speakers but due to a few hick-ups money wise it's not happening now. But on a side note if I have to wait longer to get them I'll just get a higher model (I really like the Tiberwolf)

The fact he doesn't do any marketing and advertising is why you save so much I think is most likely. With alot of the big name brands you have to remember that your paying very little for the actual materials and more so for marketing and agressive advertising. You will also find that on the R&D side of things that there is as much as half the (if not more) spent on the looks than actual internal design or components. The other thing is with Adelaide Speakers he doesn't just have a set design your stuck with as he will custom/tweak the speaker to your actual needs/wants. Do a Google and search the net and also give them a call and just talk to them for yourself. From what I've read it seems like they may well be the best value speaker in Australia (while still being great quality). Even alot of those well known British and Danish speakers now have their drivers made in China.

Edit/PS : Heres just one link to another thread on Adelaide Speakers from SNA (another Aussie HiFi forum) http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/showthread.php?t=5913

Edited September 7, 2008 by Mitcon

[tb1231503560936]

Thanks Mitcon, I'll certainly give them a call and go and have a look.

I'm still interested to hear from anyone who owns a set and has demo'd them against others such as VAF, B&W, Krix etc.

I read somewhere that Edward actually worked for VAF at one stage, although not in what capacity?

I guess from my point of view not really knowing one end of a speaker from the other, someone could put a set of Dick Smith brand drivers into an enclosure and flog them for 2K a piece if they sounded half decent. How do I know what I'm really getting?

I suppose I'm looking for some reassurance that there is a little bit of design knowledge and quality in the product as they sound like a pretty good deal.

Thanks for the link to the other forum

cheers

[Mitcon1503562253]

It's easy to tell, go listen. If your ears like it then your on a winner. Sound is like taste, you can make good food but that doesn't mean you will like it. So it's the same with music/sound as everyones palette/tastes are different and there little to be "right" or "Wrong". There is a difference in quality of the components used, from what I have read he uses quite good components while not the most expensive certainly not cheap crap either. But it would certainly be nice to hear someone else chirp in on their thoughts or even better if we heard from some folks who actually have them. But as I said, end of the day it doesn;t matter if they like his speakers or not, it has to be you who like what you hear as your the person who's going to be listening to them. This is one of the reason's I think Adelaides Speakers would be good as he customs them (driver and crossover mostly I would think as I think most cab's are made for him) to suit your wants & Needs where as most other companies you just get to buy what they have on offer.

[cwt]

Agree with what Mitcon has said tb123 . One talk with Edward will show he knows how to design a good speaker The top line peerless mid/bass and vifa/scanspeak tweeters he uses are great value.You can even option in dual concentric or ribbon tweeters and go bass reflex or transmission line .

I have a LCR combo on order ; he is busy atm so a month away I have ordered his best slimline speakers the timberwolf 8892 and a 253s center . I usually like a bass reflex design [less complicated] but Edward convinced me to go with a type of 1/2 transmission line design as it was a bit more room friendly[ smoother frequency response] due to its upper port position. Its almost like an electrostatic the 8892 as its midrange and tweeter are both ribbons ; the lower x over is 1000hz so no mid cone needed Optioned in a ribbon in the center to give an identical timbre across the front.

Good luck

[Mitcon1503562253]

CWT,

you have to let us know what the sound is like you lucky Sod lol. I think they would have to be an exceptional speaker and without doubt the best value in Australia. I so wish I could still have got some of these myself right now, I will be green with envy.

[tb1231503560936]

Thanks folks.

Can anyone explain to me what the benefits or drawbacks of a "sensitive" speaker is?

I see these speakers have from what I can gather is a fairly low impedance at 4 ohms.

I'm looking at connecting them to a Pio Vsx-Lx60 AVR (130w/ channel).

Also, can you mix and match 8ohm and 4ohm speakers in the same system?

ie, 4 ohm fronts and 8 ohm rear surrounds

any thoughts?

TB

Edited September 8, 2008 by tb123

[Mitcon1503562253]

The more sensitive the better and I don't think running speakers of difference in ohm (impedance) ratings is a problem. The real issue is if the Pioneer AVR in question could handle/drive a 4ohm load, I think they are rated @ 6ohm (and I also think most models can be switched between 6ohm and 8-16ohm). Again I think it would be wise to just call Edward @ Adelaide speakers and tell him which model your interested in and also the AVR/AMP you have in mind and see what he says as I'm sure he could work it all out. 4ohm load can be difficult for alot of AMP's let alone AVRs to handle.

[cwt]

CWT,

you have to let us know what the sound is like you lucky Sod lol. I think they would have to be an exceptional speaker and without doubt the best value in Australia. I so wish I could still have got some of these myself right now, I will be green with envy.

Will let you know Mitcon . Its hard giving up my Richter Wizard mk2's though ; had them a looong time and very used to the sound

tb123; a nominal impedance of 4 ohms can mean the impedance curve can rise above this so dont read it as a flat 4 ohms. As Mitcon says but ; 4 ohm means high current delivery is best ; why I use a rotel rmb1077 ;class D stable into 2 ohms. The more current supplied the better and Edward does do easier to drive speakers[ the sentinels 6/8 ohm models are very nice].

[Mr.Bitey]

Seems to be some pretty good prices.. some of those designs look very familiar!

I couldnt find an address on the website?! - only ph number....

Anywhere to demo the range?

Cheers,

Bitey

[Mitcon1503562253]

I'm pretty certain he's a one man show and you call to arrange a demo at his place. I would think he most likely might be working from home, would be another way he's maybe keeping the over-heads down. Certainly seems a nice guy to talk to and knows his stuff. On a side note I'm quite happy today as I might have a bit of a long wait but the wife has said instead of it just being mains if I wait I can have a full 7.1 system hehehehe. Great news for me but still a little hard to get excited right now about it lol.

To find out where in Adelaide give him a call, he's certainly a easy guy to talk to and from what I've read he's happy to send stuff anywhere in Australia with quite fair shipping costs. I've certainly made my mind up, just a matter of time now /sigh.

cwt, I've never heard the Richter Wizard's to be honest so no idea what the sound is like but totally understand what you mean. Bet your excited either way as you don;t have long to wait and those certainly look to be a great model.

[Jeffie1503561482]

Any idea what brand those ribbons are? I love ribbons very much

[cwt]

Any idea what brand those ribbons are? I love ribbons very much

Not specifically Jeffie ;neodynium magnets iirc ; his cone drivers are Danish from Tymphany

http://www.tymphany.com/

[luckyj]

Any idea what brand those ribbons are? I love ribbons very much

I believe they are Fountek

[cwt]

I believe they are Fountek

Certainly have the right frequency response down to 1khz luckyj ; made in Australia too ;even better

[Gialandon]

Hi all!

I bought a pair of Summoners from Edward probably 8 months ago now. Feeding them is a Cambridge 640A V2 and 640C V2. To cut it short I am VERY impressed. If you want more detail keep reading.

Hi Guy's this is probably a stupid question but hey if I don't ask I won't know. A few of you guy's as in quote above seem to be running speakers with amps/receivers only capable of around 100Wrms output per channel. I had a look at the specs on the Adelaide speaker web page and the specs of many of these speakers are above 150Wrms.

Just wondering if these amps/receivers are sufficient for these speakers?

cheers