Originally Posted By TCat
Originally Posted By Cadboy64
Originally Posted By J.H.
Wow getting close. I was dead set on getting one, but I'm kinda thinking of starting to upgrade my speakers from Def Tech to Ascend Acoustics. That has NOTHING to do with the delay. I wasn't buying till December anyway. Just something I got in my head to upgrade speakers to much more high end. What to do?


Having owned Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2's since they were released I have not had the urge to "Upgrade". They are that stinkin' good. The only upgrade that ever enters my head would be moving to the Sierra towers W/RAAL tweeters, but I am not in any hurry to replace the Sierra-2's.

Having said that, I've never owned Def Tech but have heard those that have gone from them to Ascend have been very happy. YMMV.

Not making a judgement on Ascend, but of course people are almost always happy with their newest purchase. Their ego is vested in validating their newest expense.

The best speakers depend so much on the usage, the space and on what you personally like. I like rich enveloping surround sound where the audio engineer's work is as valued as the cinematographer's. I'm not big into appreciating "stereo" music; it doesn't exist in real life and I seldom take an hour to focus solely on the music in a sweet spot.

I do have a rather purist friend, purist in many ways. Makes him excellent on projects when a team is built with his skills in mind, but often rather hard to integrate into one. His audio preference really is to sit in his sweet spot recliner, nobody talking, and just "listen". He needs a different system.

I have Def Tech bipolars all around. Powered LCR (integrated subs.) Additional rear subs. All sonically matched. They sound amazing, the result is a near-sweet-spot through out a huge space. Properly mixed music - I have a bunch of DTS - is astonishingly good, as are movies - no matter where you are, you know about where the sound was meant to come from.

But it's chaotic to my friend. I suspect it's not orderly enough for his preferences. Bipolars aren't what he wants. For that kind of noise, he'd prefer to go to a theatre, where I suspect his mindset allows it to be okay.

Of course Def Tech makes a wide variety of sound systems. I don't like the Mythos line at all, but I also don't like Bose or B&O. My point after all this rambling and detail is, sometimes the type of speakers matter more than the brand of speakers, to match your needs.


Not trying to steer this thread off course, but....
I agree, people need to validate their purchases. Some will do so despite feeling they made the wrong choice but don't want to bruise their egos by admitting to it. I have played the upgrade game as long as I've been in this hobby dating back to 1984. I've had a number of speakers including models from Design Acoustics, Infinity, Vandersteen, B&W, and cureently Ascend acoustics. I will not hold on to a speaker if I am not satisfied with it. I took a chance on Ascend Acoustics back when their only model was the CBM-170 2-way monitor. It surprised me and replaced a pair of B&W 602's. When the first Sierra-1 was introduced I jumped onboard and sold the 170's. I was thrilled with the Sierra-1's. After a few years I felt more detail in the tweeter would be nice, and upgraded my pair with the NrT upgrade kits. That was a nice, noticeable change in the highs. Lots of detail and impact with the mids pulled more forward. These things rocked! Then, Ascend just HAD TO develop the RAAL Ribbon tweeter in the new tower. That led to them developing a custom RAAL for the Sierra-2 along with a new woofer designed specifically to mesh with it. They announced the upgrade kits for the Sierra-2 and I did not hesitate to purchase a pair of kits. I have upgraded the Sierra's twice rather than feel the need to seek out another brand, or even feel the urge to change them. Like I said, the only upgrade I would consider would be moving to the RAAL towers. The Sierra-2's paired to my Rythmik sub never make me feel like changing them out.

Ok, enough of this "rant"! Bottom line: Listen to as many speakers as possible IN YOUR HOME and keep the ones that make you smile!