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frontpageZorbat1446 posted Yesterday 02:55 AM
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frontpageZorbat1446 posted Yesterday 02:55 AM

B-Stock Condition: Ascend Acoustics CMB-170SE Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair)

+ S/H

$250

$368

32% off
22 Comments 4,754 Views
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Deal Details
Ascend Acoustics has their B-Stock Condition: Ascend Acoustics CMB-170SE Signature Edition Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair) on sale for $250. Shipping is estimated at $48 (may vary depending on location via UPS Ground shipping)

Thanks to community member Zorbat1446 for finding this deal

Note, this product is to purchase a pair of speakers in B-stock condition

Editor's Notes

Written by Discombobulated | Staff
  • About the Deal
    • The CBM-170SE has achieved worldwide recognition as the modern standard in affordable bookshelf speaker performance. A speaker specifically designed for accuracy, power handling, high sensitivity, surprising dynamics and compactness
    • Product is in B-stock condition
    • Product will offer 30-day satisfaction guarantee/7-year warranty w/ purchase
    • Offer valid while promotional price/supplies last
  • Additional Details
    • Product is designed/engineered/assembled & tested in the USA
    • Refer to the product page for all specification/measurements and features

Original Post

Written by Zorbat1446
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Ascend Acoustics has their B-Stock Condition: Ascend Acoustics CMB-170SE Signature Edition Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair) on sale for $250. Shipping is estimated at $48 (may vary depending on location via UPS Ground shipping)

Thanks to community member Zorbat1446 for finding this deal

Note, this product is to purchase a pair of speakers in B-stock condition

Editor's Notes

Written by Discombobulated | Staff
  • About the Deal
    • The CBM-170SE has achieved worldwide recognition as the modern standard in affordable bookshelf speaker performance. A speaker specifically designed for accuracy, power handling, high sensitivity, surprising dynamics and compactness
    • Product is in B-stock condition
    • Product will offer 30-day satisfaction guarantee/7-year warranty w/ purchase
    • Offer valid while promotional price/supplies last
  • Additional Details
    • Product is designed/engineered/assembled & tested in the USA
    • Refer to the product page for all specification/measurements and features

Original Post

Written by Zorbat1446

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22 Comments

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Pro
Yesterday 03:46 AM
12,437 Posts
Joined Jul 2010
supermanrob
Pro
Yesterday 03:46 AM
12,437 Posts
Key words here "b-stock" & "budget loudspeakers".
$250 is about right, that's what you should expect.

Maybe near field music listening, will definitely need a sub though.
Decent surrounds for HT.
2
1
Pro
Yesterday 04:05 AM
3,873 Posts
Joined Nov 2006
dcpoor
Pro
Yesterday 04:05 AM
3,873 Posts
saw ascend and immediately thought this deal was for sierra's or something higher end. lol
Original Poster
Yesterday 05:10 AM
542 Posts
Joined Sep 2018
Zorbat1446
Original Poster
Yesterday 05:10 AM
542 Posts
Quote from dcpoor :
saw ascend and immediately thought this deal was for sierra's or something higher end. lol
Nope they almost never have "B-stock" on the Sierras. You might get 10% off tops around Black Friday or when a new model is introduced, but never seen anything better than that.
Pro
Yesterday 01:09 PM
12,437 Posts
Joined Jul 2010
supermanrob
Pro
Yesterday 01:09 PM
12,437 Posts
Quote from dcpoor :
saw ascend and immediately thought this deal was for sierra's or something higher end. lol
Now that would be a pretty decent deal.
This is like their BMW 3 series lol.
Last edited by supermanrob February 24, 2026 at 07:34 AM.
Yesterday 05:11 PM
290 Posts
Joined Aug 2013
RavislickYesterday 05:11 PM
290 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Ravislick

Love the function over form of these. Ascend makes great speakers, you would be hard pressed to find better bookshelves at this price
2
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Yesterday 10:58 PM
6 Posts
Joined Mar 2025
TheNannerpusYesterday 10:58 PM
6 Posts
Here is a review of them. The have over-emphasized highs, but even if you can EQ it out, you're left with a bit of resonance from the box itself.
https://www.audiosciencereview.co...iew.11839/
Today 12:12 AM
1,216 Posts
Joined Feb 2010
ROOSKIEToday 12:12 AM
1,216 Posts
Quote from Ravislick :
Love the function over form of these. Ascend makes great speakers, you would be hard pressed to find better bookshelves at this price
While not terrible, these don't measure or perform super well objectively. They are inexpensive tho.
The spins are available on the net.
I would not chose these however to each their own.
The company does make some great products at higher price points.
Last edited by ROOSKIE February 24, 2026 at 05:16 PM.
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Original Poster
Today 12:26 AM
542 Posts
Joined Sep 2018
Zorbat1446
Original Poster
Today 12:26 AM
542 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Zorbat1446

Quote from TheNannerpus :
Here is a review of them. The have over-emphasized highs, but even if you can EQ it out, you're left with a bit of resonance from the box itself.
https://www.audiosciencereview.co...iew.11839/
That's one of Amir's more garbage-y hatchet job reviews published in March 2020 when he was just starting to publish reviews based on Klippel measurements of speakers, similar to the one he wrote on the NHT SuperZero nine months later (where he deliberately ABed it against a Pioneer BS22 just because they were in a similar price bracket and complained about the NHT's lack of bass in comparison, completely ignoring the fact that the sealed and super compact NHT is specifically designed to be used with a sub while the Pioneer is a full sized ported speaker that does not have those design goals). It's clear that Amir was simply out to create online "buzz" in the audiophile community by panning a widely respected price-to-performance speaker that was one of the most frequently recommended budget speakers in the audiophile community, ditto with the NHT.

Amir's claim that the 170SE is "likely to sound bright due to boosted 2-10kHz" is utter hogwash --- I detest bright speakers and have never found ANY of the SE series to remotely fit that description---he's conflating "rising treble response as shown in amplitude measurements" (the technical usage) with "harsh/shouty/irritating aggressive treble" (the popular usage, often applied to the likes of entry level Klipsch and Def Tech) on purpose.

For those of you who are not familiar with ASR, Amir's methodology is to take Klippel measurements and analyze them FIRST and then listen to a single speaker in MONO to confirm the conclusions that he has drawn from the measurement graphs. It's very amusing that an entire website and business that claims to be based on "Science" and constantly rails against the effect of "sighted bias" when people review speakers based on subjective listening alone, does not take into account the effect of CONFIRMATION bias in following such a sequence.

In contrast, Erin Harding (google Erin's Audio Corner for website and YT videos) listens to the speakers he reviews FIRST (and in stereo), and then looks at the measurements and offers his commentary on how/where they coincide with his subjective impressions. This is clearly the more sensible approach, and as a result Erin has steadily overtaken Amir as the most cited measurements-based speaker reviewer. (The two originally collaborated on ASR, but some drama ensued leading to a break which many surmise might have been caused by Amir feeling threatened by Erin's ascendancy.)
Last edited by Zorbat1446 February 24, 2026 at 05:44 PM.
2
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Original Poster
Today 12:41 AM
542 Posts
Joined Sep 2018
Zorbat1446
Original Poster
Today 12:41 AM
542 Posts
(deleted)
Last edited by Zorbat1446 February 24, 2026 at 05:44 PM.
Today 01:33 AM
290 Posts
Joined Aug 2013
RavislickToday 01:33 AM
290 Posts
Quote from Zorbat1446 :
That's one of Amir's more garbage-y hatchet job reviews published in March 2020 when he was just starting to publish reviews based on Klippel measurements of speakers, similar to the one he wrote on the NHT SuperZero nine months later (where he deliberately ABed it against a Pioneer BS22 just because they were in a similar price bracket and complained about the NHT's lack of bass in comparison, completely ignoring the fact that the sealed and super compact NHT is specifically designed to be used with a sub while the Pioneer is a full sized ported speaker that does not have those design goals). It's clear that Amir was simply out to create online "buzz" in the audiophile community by panning a widely respected price-to-performance speaker that was one of the most frequently recommended budget speakers in the audiophile community, ditto with the NHT.

Amir's claim that the 170SE is "likely to sound bright due to boosted 2-10kHz" is utter hogwash --- I detest bright speakers and have never found ANY of the SE series to remotely fit that description---he's conflating "rising treble response as shown in amplitude measurements" (the technical usage) with "harsh/shouty/irritating aggressive treble" (the popular usage, often applied to the likes of entry level Klipsch and Def Tech) on purpose.

For those of you who are not familiar with ASR, Amir's methodology is to take Klippel measurements and analyze them FIRST and then listen to a single speaker in MONO to confirm the conclusions that he has drawn from the measurement graphs. It's very amusing that an entire website and business that claims to be based on "Science" and constantly rails against the effect of "sighted bias" when people review speakers based on subjective listening alone, does not take into account the effect of CONFIRMATION bias in following such a sequence.

In contrast, Erin Harding (google Erin's Audio Corner for website and YT videos) listens to the speakers he reviews FIRST (and in stereo), and then looks at the measurements and offers his commentary on how/where they coincide with his subjective impressions. This is clearly the more sensible approach, and as a result Erin has steadily overtaken Amir as the most cited measurements-based speaker reviewer. (The two originally collaborated on ASR, but some drama ensued leading to a break which many surmise might have been caused by Amir feeling threatened by Erin's ascendancy.)
Thanks for bringing that out. I do like what Amir tries to do, but yeah, I don't like the methodology as you stated. And there have been times his measurements are erroneous, e.g. the way he was mis-measuring Denon AVs, and you barely hear a peep about it afterwards. Now he has a lot of good objective data, which I love, and so I think you just take the measurements and make up your own mind, and maybe take the opinion with a heap of salt.

Thanks for the heads up about Erin, I'll look him up. I like a mix of science and objectivity, and he seems right up my alley.
Original Poster
Today 01:52 AM
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Zorbat1446
Original Poster
Today 01:52 AM
542 Posts
Quote from Ravislick :
Thanks for bringing that out. I do like what Amir tries to do, but yeah, I don't like the methodology as you stated. And there have been times his measurements are erroneous, e.g. the way he was mis-measuring Denon AVs, and you barely hear a peep about it afterwards. Now he has a lot of good objective data, which I love, and so I think you just take the measurements and make up your own mind, and maybe take the opinion with a heap of salt.

Thanks for the heads up about Erin, I'll look him up. I like a mix of science and objectivity, and he seems right up my alley.
Oh you've never seen/read Erin's work I think you'll be very impressed. Plus he seems to be a genuinely more relatable human being, whereas Amir verges on a Mr. Spock android personality at times. 😂
Pro
Today 02:01 AM
12,437 Posts
Joined Jul 2010
supermanrob
Pro
Today 02:01 AM
12,437 Posts
Quote from Ravislick :
Thanks for bringing that out. I do like what Amir tries to do, but yeah, I don't like the methodology as you stated. And there have been times his measurements are erroneous, e.g. the way he was mis-measuring Denon AVs, and you barely hear a peep about it afterwards. Now he has a lot of good objective data, which I love, and so I think you just take the measurements and make up your own mind, and maybe take the opinion with a heap of salt. Thanks for the heads up about Erin, I'll look him up. I like a mix of science and objectivity, and he seems right up my alley.
Keep in mind these are $250 speakers, nothing more. That's all just turning this into some overthinking, petty OCD self-righteous nerds making this bigger than it is! At this price No biggie...just play around with it! If doesn't work return them or do as a friend did stick them in the garage.
Today 02:35 AM
290 Posts
Joined Aug 2013
RavislickToday 02:35 AM
290 Posts
Quote from Zorbat1446 :
Oh you've never seen/read Erin's work I think you'll be very impressed. Plus he seems to be a genuinely more relatable human being, whereas Amir verges on a Mr. Spock android personality at times. 😂
Hey I love Spock! Haha love that comparison. I also mentally compare people to Star Trek or TNG equivalents Smilie

Never heard of him, watching his video right now!! Love it already Big Grin
Today 02:36 AM
290 Posts
Joined Aug 2013
RavislickToday 02:36 AM
290 Posts
Quote from supermanrob :
Keep in mind these are $250 speakers, nothing more. That's all just turning this into some overthinking, petty OCD self-righteous nerds making this bigger than it is! At this price No biggie...just play around with it! If doesn't work return them or do as a friend did stick them in the garage.
Totally hear you. For the price I'm sure these are great. I'm an old school DIY speaker guy so Ascend is a very familiar name (in a good way)

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Today 02:43 AM
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charliu2988Today 02:43 AM
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So what are some speakers in the $250-500 to consider?

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