Vantages vs. Ascent-i

[Russb]

My buddy has a pair of Ascent-i speakers. He wants to know if it is worth upgrading to the Vantages. Are the Vantages better all around over the Ascent-i?There is something missing in the bass area on the Ascent-i speakers. Will the Vantages be more accurate in this area?

Thanks everybody for your help.

 

[SteveInNC]

As an owner of Ascent is, my personal opinion would be that no, that wouldn't be a significant step for the money. The Vantage sells for roughly what the Ascent i did new. Assuming that your friend will be selling the Ascents, he/she may get somewhere in the range of $2.5-2.8K US for them, then have to plunk down an additional $2-3K for new Vantages.

The Vantages have the new panels, which will sound somewhat better. I personally don't think that the bass is significantly different, and the panels are not a big-step improvement over the Ascent. The Vantage does have powered bass drivers, but if you already have sufficient amplification, I don't see that as a factor.

The Summit would be a big-step improvement in both regards. One advantage of the Vantage is it's smaller size/footprint, and it has the new cabinet style, all of which can be contributing factors for the decision.

If the real issue is simply with bass, adding a sub makes a significant difference. I added a Depth to my system after about six months (I auditioned with and without one, and knew I'd get one eventually). For me, the Depth "cured" the lack of bass and punch, and still blends well with the panels. You do have to dial them in for your particular setup. A new Depth is around $1.8K US. There is one on Audiogon now listed at $1.35K new-in-box.
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homesubw&1150298931

 

[Reverb2009]

I agree with Steve,

For the money it’s just not worth it to upgrade from the ascent to the vantage. If I was buying a new pair of Logan’s and had the choice, I would take the vantage over the ascent. The vantage does have smaller panels but the microperf XStat pannels makes them perform like the ascents larger panel but with a little more refinement to the sound. The vantage does have an 8” powered woofer, which in my option can match if not exceed the performance of the ascents 10” driver in a smaller more compact package. To me the vantage is not as much of an improvement over the ascents, as it is an ascent in a smaller package.

Happy listening,