Vantage vs Ascenti

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stone

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Just curious to hear members thoughts about these two. I need to downsize and auditioned a pair of Vantages as a replacement for my Ascent(i)s but they didn't sound quite as good to me. Soundstage seemed smaller and certain vocals sounded strained. Low end was nice though. The Vantages were powered by Krell electronics. My system is #74
 
stone said:
Just curious to hear members thoughts about these two. I need to downsize and auditioned a pair of Vantages as a replacement for my Ascent(i)s but they didn't sound quite as good to me. Soundstage seemed smaller and certain vocals sounded strained. Low end was nice though. The Vantages were powered by Krell electronics. My system is #74
Apparently the dealer did not take care enough to show-case the Vantages thereby resulting in your ho-hum impression of these speakers. In addition, you came in with a high reference from the Ascent paired with Butler tube-hybrid electronics, no wonder the Vantage + Krell combination did not impress you at all. You should audition the Vantages with electronics which are equivalent to your Butler. Don't give up on the Vantages just yet.

Spike
 
Just like that big sweaty fat dude that lifts up the hood of your car and says “that your problem right there”.

The reason why you did not like the sound of the vantage was not because of the Vantage but because you like the sound of the Butler amp better then the Krell. It s not the speaker that getting in the way of the sound, it’s the amp. You should call your dealer and see if you can arrange to ether take your Butler 5150 down to the shop to audition the Vantage again our the better option bring the Vantage to your house for a few days and really see how they compare to your ascents. I bet if you do that you will find the vantage is just as good if not way better then the ascent.
 
Soundstage seemed smaller and certain vocals sounded strained. Low end was nice though.

They also tend to sound that way when they are brand new out the box. At least mine did. Room acoustics and speaker positioning can also make a significant difference. It's hard to make valid comparison when so many variables are present. Ideally, the best test would be to hear them in place of your Ascenti's in your own home. I think you would notice the biggest difference between the two in the lower bass freqs and a more subtle improvement in the panels. But then you already have a nice subwoofer to handle the lows along with your Ascentis.
 
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Vantage Speakers ROCK

Just picked up a pair of vantage's two weeks ago. Even not broken in yet, these speakers really are great sounding. I am using a B&K ref 200.7 amp and a Denon 4802R reciever as a processor(Will need to upgrade soon). The low end sounds great!
 
Craig said:
. But then you already have a nice subwoofer to handle the lows along with your Ascentis.
Ture but both the Ascent and Vantage are rated down to 35Hz so the Descent would still be nice to have to get you down to 20Hz range.
 
Thanks to all for your thoughts so far. I know I was not comparing apples to apples that day but I was hoping to be impressed with what I heard from the Vantages. Maybe they weren't broken in as I was told and maybe it was the electronics (not sure which Krell they were). It could even have been my brain playing tricks on me since they are quite a bit smaller than the Ascents. In any case, it sounds as if most folks here feel the Vantages should equal if not outperform the Ascents in the same system.
 
Ive heard both off the Krell 400xi integrated and I preferred the Vantage. I felt that the Vantage was more balanced while the Ascents had the tendency to get a little "hot" in the treble/upper vocal regions (sometimes a little sibilant).

Both are great speakers though.
 
i dont know why people don't think the amp makes a big difference. the amp is a HUGE factor in what you are hearing. i know some folks like krell, so i wont go off, but personally, i dont think it can compare to the butler.
 
Steve Daigneault said:
i dont know why people don't think the amp makes a big difference. the amp is a HUGE factor in what you are hearing. i know some folks like krell, so i wont go off, but personally, i dont think it can compare to the butler.
Once again Steve, you are correct with the Amp making a difference in regards to your sound, and I would also agree with the Krell vs Butler statement. The older KSA series Krell's were nice though.

Dan
 
stone said:
Thanks to all for your thoughts so far. I know I was not comparing apples to apples that day but I was hoping to be impressed with what I heard from the Vantages. Maybe they weren't broken in as I was told and maybe it was the electronics (not sure which Krell they were). It could even have been my brain playing tricks on me since they are quite a bit smaller than the Ascents. In any case, it sounds as if most folks here feel the Vantages should equal if not outperform the Ascents in the same system.
Hola Chicos...let me say something. Even that the the size of the Vantage is smaller than the Ascent, there is nothing between the panels to stop the sound like in the Ascent. At the Ascent, you find about a 20% of the panel that is not playing to the back...the speaker´s cabintet at the bottom of the panel is there. The Vantage, as the Summit, are complete open, like the CLS, exposing complete the panel for sound from front to back. Also the new technology Micro-perf gives about 17% of more dispersion of the sound, vertical and horizontal. So, if the panel is smaller perhaps in size, the new tech. makes them to be better and bigger for our ears...happy listening,
Pura vida,
Roberto.
 
Stone, Good evening, I guess it's time for a Vantage owner to chime with my two cents. Downsizing....?? I assume your moving ? Your Ascent's don't look out of place in your present system , and besides you have had them for two years and I assume "love" the sound in "your" enviroment(electronics,up-stream source,cabling,Hard-wood flooring and various other room accoustics). So when you audditioned the Vantage at your local audio salon you were not impressed, I'm not too surprised at that for the simple fact that there were too many variables in the audio stores presentation vs. what you are used too. I really think that any current M/L owner who is pleased with their current system and is thinking of something "new" needs to home audition to be sure.

FWIW, I was coming off a pair of Klipsch RF-7's so for me it was a no-brainer !!
I thought i would never find a speaker that would better the music to $$ factor that my Maggie 3.6 gave me..... I was wrong and I smile every day that I sit down and listen ! Good Luck !!
 

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