Aeon and Ascent replacement

longhorn · Aug 2, 2005

It has been rumored these two speakers will be replaced next year. Do you think they will be replaced by one speaker as the Prodigy and Odyssey were replaced with the Summit?

I am guessing a $4-$5,000 speaker that will be between the Aeon and Ascent size wise. Yet sound louder than the present Ascent. One forward woofer,no built in amps and looks similar to the Summit.

Reverb2009 · Aug 2, 2005

This was posted by Tascam on 7-15-05.

According to Martin Logan, the Ascent I is officially being discontinued. The list price is being dropped as of today from $4495 to $3895 per pair. I bought mine 6/29/05 and have about 60 hours on them. I am using a Sony scd-777es SACD player, VPI extended Aires with JMW 12.5 arm, EAR 834P phone Stage, Mcintosh C2200 tube pre-amp, and McIntosh MC-402 power amp. At 400 watts per channel, it's a great match. The system is smooth as silk, even without the speakers being broken in. My local dealer will not carry the Summit and I think it's crazy to buy something that expensive without a home audition. Anyone spending that much deserves to be able to hear it in their own system and return it if they don't like it. In the 2004 printed catalog, ML states that the MicroPerf technology only works well on the small panels and that's why they didn't put it on their bigger models. Now they have chosen to do so. I also think the Summit is ugly. It just looks like a panel attached to a powered subwoofer. IMO, they probably rushed it too market and I'll bet the next design looks more streamlined like their other products have.

The new model to replace the Ascent I will come out in the fall, probably in October. It will be powered sub, like the Summit and will have 1 or 2 woofers (not quite sure). It will be a smaller version of the Summit. This info came direct from ML. No other details were available. They are selling out their stock of Ascents now. This seems like a good time to get a deal.

tascam · Aug 2, 2005

Returned my Ascent I

The replacement for the Ascent will be powered with 1 forward facing woofer and a slightly smaller version of the Summit. It is supposed to sound much better than the Ascent I. I decided not to keep the Ascent because it was not dynamic enough on big band music or rock vocals. It was perfect for small scale jazz, vocals, or string quartets. Lousy for large scale works or anything requiring large dynamics. Vocals could have been a drop smoother, although they were good; not great. ML advised me to wait for the replacement so I used Tweeters 30 day return policy and returned them even though I only paid $3192 plus tax. Good ridence to them. The new ones are supposed to be MUCH better sounding. We will see. I will not buy ANYTHING without an audition; preferably one at home. I don't believe ANYTHING anyone tells me in audio. I MUST hear it for myself. Much of what is wriiten is just marketing B.S.