New Amp or new speakers...?

[mct]

Hello all, first post so please be nice

Firstly, a little intro, I've been an ML owner for over 4 years and have a full ML HT set up. I was initially impressed with the ML sound after I heard the Aerius and fell in love after I heard the Ascents which I still have. I've complimented the Ascents with a Cinema, the Scenarios, a Bryston SP1.7, a Modwright Transporter, a Velodyne DD-15 and the Audyssey SEQ and have finally got a truly musical, balanced, coherent, accurate sound.

On to my dilemma.... I've got a chance to make an upgrade from a dealer selling pre-owned hifi. I'm going to exchange a few old bits and pieces and have the chance to either upgrade the Ascents to the Vantages or replace my Proceed to a Theta Dreadnaught MK1 for the same price differential.

If I get the Vantages, I'll have to re do the equalizing again which on the surface is pretty straight forward but in reality can be quite tedious, especially with the Velodyne.

I've read only good things about the original Theta Dreadnaught and have a feeling that my Proceed isn't quite in the same class.

What would I benefit from the most?

 

[David Matz]

May I add a new option to your list of alternatives?

MCT,

Do you own room treatments? If you don't have them yet, they will make a much larger difference than just about anything you mention. I upgraded from Ascent to Vantage. The Vantage has much better bass integration than the Ascent. It also has a quicker and a more transparent panel despite its smaller size. That said, the Ascent in a well treated room sounds amazing. I have not heard both amps that you mention. My understanding from the Proceed design is that it is similar to the Mark Levinson house sound - detailed. It may or may not be your cup of tea depending on what you like.

 

[mct]

Hi David, thanks for your response, no I don't have any room treatments. Unfortunately, since my HT is in my living room, I'm not allowed (by order of my significant other), any room treatments at all. That's why I've done the best I can electronically, not ideal, but I found a significant difference.

DId you find the Vantage substantially better than the Ascent excluding the bottom end say above 80Hz? My sub takes care of such duties.

 

[David Matz]

In my system, which is resolving and overall pretty good (sorry for the ownership bias!), I really like the Vantage much better. I think the Vantage solves the problem the old Logans were faulted for - poor integration of panel and bass. I listened to the Ascents an an untreated room. At a later time when I was selling my Ascents, I plugged them into my system in a treated room, and they had much better bass than what I had experienced when they were my speaker. Still not a Vantage though, but much better than what I thought they were.

(By the way, can you get treatment panels and just put them in a storage closet when you guys are not enjoying the system or when you have company? I just stack mine.)

Good luck!

 

[wrat]

The Biggest differences come from the Room and The Speakers so.............
There are many creative ways to treat your room bigger OverStuffed furniture LOTS of pillows thicker carpet or rugs, bookcases with different size books/cd/dvd/lp , thick wool/cotton Tapestry's, drapes etc
Good Luck

 

[mct]

Thanks for the responses so far. I do have a rug and some plants but not much else.

Its difficult to put things in places just for the duration of listening to music, too much effort! As I've mentioned so far, I'm not unhappy with my sound at the moment, I've just got the chance to upgrade something

Anyone else use a Proceed or anything similar on the Ascent and change it to something else ?

 

[timm]

I think - if you listen to mostly home theater / multi channel type stuff - the processor will make a diff for you. If you listen to 2 channel - then the speakers will make a bigger diff. Now, whether you like the vantage better than your ascent/sub combo - or your ascents alone... that is a matter of choice. You need to hear the vantages and make that call. I find the new lineup to integrate better per other users. However, I find that the 'house sound' changed between the old lineup and the new. To me - the old lineup sounded more transparent - more see through.... The new lineup has better bass and probably works better with many different types of music. But, whether you like a more solid sound or a more transparent sound - I think - is your call... for the record - I own Odysseys... so therein lies my possible bias.

 

[mct]

I only listen to music in 2 channel, I do watch movies but I'm taking a break from that at the moment. Unfortunately, I won't get a chance to listen to either component at home first as they're pre-owned units. This is why I was relying on some clued up members from here Every review I've read mentions the improvement the vantages have in terms of their integration between panel and woofer but I don't really hear too many issues in that department with my Ascents as I never really got much/any bass out of them. From what I can gather, the likely cause of this is from the room and perhaps a little from the amp. But regardless of this, I pretty much have a seamless blend between the speaker and the subwoofer (which I wholeheartedly recommend to btw), so it’s a non issue as far as I’m concerned. Its interesting you say that the new line up sound less transparent, I haven't heard that before.

 

[timm]

well - I guess I should say - I think - for instance - the summits - sound bolder... some might call that 'fatter'. So, as an example - when I heard the Summits - yes, i thought the panel woofer integration was better - but with the increased bass response - you also got what I thought was a 'fatter' sound which I thought made them sound less transparent. I would call the sound 'punchier'. Now some people like punchy and some may not. The sound of the old line and the new line is different - I don't think I could say one was necessarily better than the other... but different... so - I think it is just personal preference.