Thanks for all your good answers and opinions on this topic. I really
appreciate it.

On 8/16/03 10:50 AM, in article , "Stewart
Pinkerton" wrote:

On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 20:17:05 GMT, (Nousaine) wrote:

(Stewart Pinkerton) wrote:

On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 16:43:37 GMT, (Nousaine) wrote:

(Stewart Pinkerton) wrote:

On 15 Aug 2003 01:45:59 GMT, (Nousaine) wrote:

I've not had access to the Ascent but I'ver tested several ML models over
the
years and ALL of them had fairly severe frequency response abberations
compared
to lower priced moving coil models.

Ah, you mean some of them *measure* rather oddly, rather than they
sound bad.......

They basically sounded like they measured. Lifeless and lacking in dynamics
at
all frequencies.

That's absolute garbage. They have *exceptional* dynamics, in terms of
their ability to sound clean and clear at low levels, and pray tell
what is the measure of 'lifelessness'?

The Clarity floorstanders have had a fairly severe depression in the 500 Hz
range with a hump centered at 5 kHz on axis and often radically variant
directivity even over a +/- 30-degree listening window.

IOW they just don't perform very well and the sound varies considerably
dependent on listener position.

None of the above of course has *anything* to do with your comments of
'lifeless and lacking in dynamics'. A flat axial response is about as
useful for encompassing speaker sound, as THD is for amps.

They don't go particularly low and surely don't play loudly and cleanly
enough
for full orchestra.

The Script was somewhat better below 1 kHz but also suffered from the hump
and
output nosedives above 1000 Hz beginning at 15 degrees off axis.

The center, of which I've tested more than once over the past few years is
just
a disaster with a huge swayback at 500 Hz, the upper hump and radically
severe
off-axis lobing patterns.

I never said the centre was any good.......

I reiterate my comments regarding the Ascent, and I add my distaste
for the dull and lifeless sound of the old bextrene-coned KEF models
such as the 104aB - which *measured* excellently!

I'm not commenting on the Ascent because I've not used it.

Clearly, you're not commenting on the KEFs either............

Can't remember that far back. But I seem to recall being impressed with the
104
series. That was the first real bandpass speaker I ever saw.

That's the 104 mkII, a totally different speaker with
polypropylene-coned drivers. KEF stopped using Bextrene precisely
because it *measured* well but sounded flat and lifeless, likely due
to internal losses smothering very low-level inputs. The succeeding
polypropylene-coned models measured pretty much the same, but had
noticeably better clarity - albeit with a slight midrange 'squawk'
which became the trademark of polyprop cones.