Ascent i compared to Vantage????

[Russb]

I was woundering if anyone has had a chance to compare the Ascent-i speakers to the new Vantage speakers. I wanted to know if both speakers are comparable to each other?
Is the Vantage superior over the Ascent-i?

Thank You

Russ

 

[aliveatfive]

I owned Ascent is before Summits and this is what I noticed: Bass is much deeper, faster and better defined. There's a certain quality to the reproduction of vocals that the Summits do better. The new panels seem to be less siblant in the upper registers. Altogether, the Summits are more coherent and do the frequency extremes better than the Ascents. I would expect the Vantages to be quite similar.

 

[Spike]

I owned Ascent is before Summits and this is what I noticed: Bass is much deeper, faster and better defined. There's a certain quality to the reproduction of vocals that the Summits do better. The new panels seem to be less siblant in the upper registers. Altogether, the Summits are more coherent and do the frequency extremes better than the Ascents. I would expect the Vantages to be quite similar.

Given that the Summits have dedicated high-powered amplifier tailor-made for the woofers, a better question to ask is how much of the improvements can be attributed to the Summits' newly designed Xstats vs the overall improvements of having a bi-amped system. In your case, you had a ARC VT100 mkIII tube amplifier driving the Ascents full-range but the same tube amp is now only responsible for mids and highs with the Summits. It may be the case that having less "stress" on the ARC VT100 result in the overall improvements that you've described. The Summits should be compared to the bi-amp equivalent which include: Ascent, ARC-VT100 mkIII + Bryston for the woofers (for example).

Spike

 

[aliveatfive]

Spike -

You may be right, but I did run the Ascents at one time using a biamped arrangement with an Aragon on the bottom. I tried doing this only using the internal xover in the speakers and I was not particularly pleased with the sound. As I'm sure you know, the Vantages also have an amp (for the woofer) built-in.

 

[Spike]

Spike -

You may be right, but I did run the Ascents at one time using a biamped arrangement with an Aragon on the bottom. I tried doing this only using the internal xover in the speakers and I was not particularly pleased with the sound. As I'm sure you know, the Vantages also have an amp (for the woofer) built-in.

Did you match gain between the ARC and Aragon when you bi-amped the Ascents? My ReQuests sounded terrible if I didn't match the gains between the solid-state Classe' and the SixPacs.

Spike

 

[aliveatfive]

Didn't do too much experimenting. I was bothered by ground loop hum which was a distraction. Also, I thought the single amp just sounded better. Had I taken the time to put in an active crossover, etc., I might have achieved better results.

 

[DTB300]

Had I taken the time to put in an active crossover, etc., I might have achieved better results.

Yep, a Marchand Xover would have taken care of it and given very good results...Marchand is one of the best in active Xovers.

Dan