Tremendous audio clarity and soundstage.

None!

I am very impressed by these speakers. They have excellent audio presence, extreme clarity and good bass response for their size. Their vocal reproduction capabilities are awesome!

I have auditioned other similar compact speakers which cost more that 5 times the price of the CBM-170 and the CBMs outperformed them.

They sound almost as good as my Bohlender-Graebener Radia 50 Ribbons - well... not quite. But they do have an incredible price/performance ratio. A real deal with which you will not be disappinted!

Denon DCD-1500 CD
Velleman K4040 tube amp
Heathkit AA-151 tube amp

Similar Products Used:

Bohlender-Graebener Radia 50 Ribbons

I won't reiterate what others have said except to say the sound is fabulous. So far, no one has mentioned the outstanding service and communication. I e-mailed them before, during and after the purchase and I always got personal, detailed and specific answers within 12 hours. Several responses were written at 3:00am pacific time (Thanks, D.F.)

None when it comes to sound, quality, service. I might suggest that it would be useful to design a cabinet in a wood grain (cherry, etc.) as it currently only comes in black.

Not only are the speakers great, but it was an enjoyable buying experience.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 301 IV

VOCALS, soundstage, bass, no fatigue, and great for music.

None.

Although this is my first week of using this product, I've already noticed that it surpasses my Definitive Technology speaker system for music use.

Vocals are more fortright and pronounced. Bass is tight and highs are silky. With the right equipment and cables they sound incredibly clear and detailed.

My wife definitely approves of the sound quality. She now listens to music with me more than before.

I'm considering selling my Def Techs and purchasing the Ascend's complete home theater package.

Musical Accuracy!!!! Mid-range is superb. Highs
are forthright. Blended and deep bass.

None musically. Would like to have color choices. At 4 ohms,
you need a high current amplifier.

These are the best kept secret in the industry today. The vocal and mid-range accuracy are astounding. Nice tight deep bass. An all around solid performer. Imaging is the best I've witnessed. Superb with jazz.

Great company with which to do business.

I've been listening to and auditioning speakers for 30 years. I've surprised at this price point the clarity and accuracy built into these babies. Wind instruments and vocals will amaze you.

Should you buy these? In a heartbeat. Everyone who has auditioned mine are planning on it........ You should to.

This are the only audio product I've ever given a five star rating (nothing can be perfect), but for the cost of such quality, its well deserved.

Similar Products Used:

M&K LCR 55. PSB Alphas. Bose AM5. JBL Model?. ADS.

Just about everything. I feel this system does everything right from soundstaging to vocal reproduction. From performing incredible for music to the incredible dynamics and detail of home theater.

I think the system should actually cost more!

Just to clarify, I purchased the CBM-170 multi-channel 5.1 system which consists of a pair of CBM's for the front, an HTM-200 center, a pair of HTMs for the rear, and a Hsu Research subwoofer.. all at an incredible packaged price.

I received my Ascend system yesterday and, to be perfectly frank, haven't left my den until know. Several people, including yourself, asked me to email them regarding my thoughts impressions of the system..

Here we go..

I received the system within 5 business days as Ascend had promised. Everything was packed well and no damage, the cbm-170 were even double boxed..

Included manuals are excellent, high print quality and thick paper stock, easy explanations and yet lots of detail. A "real" manual to my surprise, professionally done. This is not a stapled together laser printed handbook.

I unpacked everything and hooked everything up to my equipment. The first thing I noticed was the excellent build quality and the surprising weight of each speaker. I figured I would run a cd on repeat for a while and "break" the speakers in.

WOW, I was immediately shocked, which I didn't expect. Out of the box listening to music was an EXPERIENCE. Everything sounded so clean and detailed. I put on my wife's favorite CD, TLC, and she actually sat down to listen (very - very rare mind you). For the next 2 hours we listened to about 5-6 CD's and we were astonished at the way these small speakers sounded.

How can I explain the sound... Very EASY to listen to but yet extremely detailed and VERY CLEAN and crisp and able to play incredibly loud with no distortion. Vocals sound incredibly natural, from subtle breaths taken during a vocal passage to loud guttural screams. Dave Mathews sounds like he is singing right in front of me...

The stereo imaging is so incredible that the entire time we were listening, I kept having to check to make sure my center channel wasn't on.. it wasn't. Music truly sounds 3 dimensional.. The Hsu subwoofer performs as expected, although I think I like my music without the sub turned on as the deep bass tends to distract from the musical detail.. Don't misinterpret.. the speakers blend perfectly with the sub, but I am not used to listening to such realism from a speaker and I find deep bass just a bit distracting, for now anyway...

This evening we rented two DVDs to test the complete system.. Gladiator and the 6th Day (don't see this movie)
All I can say is that I think Ascend truly succeeded in developing a system that works (not just works, PERFORMS) for BOTH music and HT. The diminutive little HTMs are incredible speakers. As a center, vocals and effects blend perfectly with the mains and everything sounds REAL. Now the Hsu truly shook my place. Deep resonating bass, yet not boomy.

I can honestly say I have NEVER heard this type of performance before. I really liked the M&K 750 system but it was out of my budget, I think this system sounds better for HT and destroys it for music. Maybe I am being a bit biased...

Regardless, I feel like I almost "stole" this system at the price I paid. I decided in the first 2 hours that I would not only keep it, but, I don't think I would sell it for even more than I paid for it.

Excellent build quality, great honest customer service, fantastic sound and a price that is hard to beat.

Well done Ascend Acoustics, I will do my share to spread the word. Five stars and thanks to all the guys at hometheaterforum, avsforum, audioasylum, and Joel White of cheaphometheater.com and Dr. Hsu of Hsu research for recommending I have a look at Ascend. You were 110% right!

Similar Products Used:

I have tried everything, NHT, Paradigm minis, Mission, Energy, M&K, Def Tech...

Fantastic imaging and soundstage. Crystal clear vocals and surprising bass for their small size.

None.

I LOVE these speakers. I was skeptical at first but decided to buy them from the Ascend website (very informative) and run them through the in-home audition.

After I received them the first thing I noticed was the impressive packaging, they were fully double boxed! I hooked them up to my Marantz system (amp and CD600OSE) and spent the next 4 hours (honest) listening to my favorite CD's start to finish.

Everything sounded great. The speakers image so well that my wife was convinced that vocals were coming from my center channel atop the TV. I actually had to place the center on the floor to convince her otherwise.

Bass is very tight (surprising for a ported cabinet) and the treble is crisp, well defined yet subtle, never harsh. The cabinets are well built and the finish easily fits into my room decor. Plain and simple, these speakers truly perform and at their price are in a league of their own.

Well done Ascend, I highly recommend them!

Be Forewarned!!! The CBM-170's seem to be very revealing (I am hearing little nuances on certain CD's, especically RHCP's Californication, that I have never heard before)

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, M&K, Polk

Very clean, virtually no distortion and capable of extreme volume levels. Sound great with mid-fi components.

Can't think of any.

"They're cheap" was my first thought. Then I got to compare them against my old Boston's and another higher-priced pair I was contemplating buying. My Ascend CBM 170's sounded much cleaner than either of the others. I say "my" because I bought them immediately. Happy ever since. Incredible sound, especially so for the size. I recommend them!!!

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics

Great presence and subtlety. Wonderful vocals!

None

Great sound at a great price! I can hear nuances that I
never heard before. I listen to alot of classical and opera,
as well as trance/electronica (ethereal stuff like Cocteau Twins)and the quality is excellent. The company is great to work with as well. I called them with some questions and they (David) were very helpful. They also recommended speaker stands from Audio Advisor (audioadvisor.com) and they were great as well. After listening to Bose and others, I am very happy with these speakers. A very happy experience all in all.

Similar Products Used:

Bose

Great build quality and VERY impressive sound. They sound clean at very loud listening levels. Great documentation and packaging... a tremendous value!

I will be very blunt here... NONE-- No Weaknesses!

In my main listening room I was previously using the well reviewed and more expensive Paradigm 5se speakers for my fronts and a set of Infinitys for my rears. I was satisfied with my system, but only satisfied.

A friend brought over his pair of Ascends and immediately my rather large living room came alive. I could not believe the incredible difference these little (compared to the Paradigms) speakers made. Midbass, midrange, and treble all sounded much better, literally like night and day. Where the Paradigms sounded dark and distant, the Ascends sounded airy, dynamic and alive.

My home theater was much improved too. Although I am using a subwoofer, I actually think the Ascends have a tighter bass than the Paradigms (which are a much larger speaker with an 8" woofer). Movie soundtracks are crisp with great impact. Dialogue and vocals are incredibly rich and upfront with precise imaging.

Enough said... I bought 4 of them immediately and am very happy. The Ascends even cost me considerably less then my now junked Paradigms!

Equipment:
Denon Reciever
Denon CD-player
Sony DVD
MK Subwoofer

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm 5se, Infinity

Wonderfully accurate speakers that are just a joy to listen to.

none that I've found

I ordered these after a long search for high-quality bookshelf speakers that wouldn't bankrupt me. I listened to Paradigm, PSB, Polk, Monitor and Boston Acoustics speakers locally, but never found anything that sounded like I thought it should in the under $1,000 range. I started a thread in the speaker forum on this site asking for recommendations in the $500/pair range and Ascend speakers were recommended by a number of the people who responded. After doing more research, reading the reviews here, and e-mailing the sales department at Ascend several times (thanks Larry!) with questions I finally got around to pulling the trigger and ordered three CBM-170s to serve as the front and center speakers in my home theater. Since my primary use of surround sound is for listening to DVD concerts, Larry at Ascend suggested going with a CBM-170 as a center speaker instead of the HTM-200 center, and I couldn't be happier. The soundstage comprised by those three CBM-170s is just incredible. I have them matched with a JBL 250-watt 12-inch powered sub, and some 1970's JBL bookshelf speakers as rears it's difficult to imagine how a system could sound any better--at any price! And I'm not running expensive electronics, either, just a Sony STR-DE945 receiver I picked up for $340.

Frankly, I couldn't be happier! The people at Ascend were great to work with, the speakers arrived in perfect condition, and when I hooked them up and started listening I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The detail and accuracy is amazing, and the soundstage is so broad and and full that it pulls you in just like you were there live. Every night when I get home from work I grab a glass of wine and head for the home theater room. Then I sit there with a silly grin on my face, amazed that anything can sound that good. Thanks Ascend, for making such a terrific speaker--and offering it at a price average people can afford!