After a good four years of development, the series version of the Ascendo Live 15 is now available (price: from 26,895 euros). It was presented for the first time at this year’s High End , and prototypes of this active loudspeaker could previously be heard at various regional hi-fi trade fairs. It’s easy to see that the DNA of the Live 15 comes from Ascendo’s high-end home theater division “AIA” (Ascendo Immersive Audio): you rarely see such macho drivers in forest-and-meadow hi-fi speakers. But of course that doesn’t stop the Live 15 from pursuing classic audiophile goals.

Since the original four-part satellite/subwoofer construction not only scored points with its long-term load capacity, maximum volume and limit dynamics, but also the distortion values, radiation behavior, tonal color differentiation and speech intelligibility were positive, the approach was consistently pursued, according to Ascendo boss and developer Stefan Köpf. The result is an active , closed three-way speaker with coaxial technology and a tweeter horn in an astonishingly dynamic design, which can be measured in terms of room acoustics and adjusted in real time using an app, has a home cinema and HiFi mode and can be integrated into an AVB network – to summarize all the essential features of the Live 15 in one sentence!

Size matters

Although that’s not entirely true, as the most obvious feature is probably the generous use of sheer membrane surface area. The Ascendo doesn’t have the house number “15” by chance; it refers to the 15-inch driver that is responsible for the (deep) bass. In fact, you can speak of an integrated subwoofer because it only works up to 65 Hertz, but can be pulled down to 18 Hertz if you want.

Basically, something like this is only possible actively, at least if you have decided on a closed loudspeaker housing – in order to achieve the most perfect impulse behavior possible – which, although not small, appears to be very clearly dimensioned for the size of the driver. Consequently, Köpf gives the 15 series, which is manufactured according to his specifications by the Italian manufacturer Ciare, a whopping 1000 watts per channel, a DNA1000.2 HE is used in a bridged configuration per box – you may remember that we had already tested Ascendo’s amplifier solution and were thrilled , not She carries our award for free . Köpf doesn’t want to reveal too much about the bass driver itself, but emphasizes its enormous, linear excursion of 36 millimeters, the low distortion values ​​and the “superior response”.

The musical heart of the Ascendo Live 15 is located one floor up: a 12-inch coaxial chassis that covers nine octaves resides in a chamber separate from the sub . This is also an individual solution, says Köpf, which, after extensive testing and listening, proved to be the best in terms of sound.

Interesting: While the cone driver comes from the French chassis specialist PHL, a 1-inch pressure chamber driver from the Italian company Eighteen Sound is used for the tweeter, which is flanged to the PHL from behind using a specially manufactured adapter plate. A sound guide directs the high-frequency signal – the crossover frequency is 1100 Hertz – to the membrane of the cone, which acts as a horn extension. This coax is accompanied by another Ascendo Class D power amplifier , which provides 500 watts for the low-midrange and 150 watts for the high frequency range. For a stereo pair, a total of four DNA1000.2 HE power amplifiers are installed – no small effort, they don’t come for free – which can activate a total of 3,300 watts.

Weird & heavy

The chassis material and reinforcement are as special as the housing of this speaker. Literally: The Ascendo Live 15 leans back slightly, has a steeply sloping roof and side flanks that taper towards the back – and is narrower at the top than at the bottom. (Almost) nothing is straight with it, and yet the design appears straight. Not badly done.

Especially since it also makes sense acoustically: the fewer parallel walls inside, the lower the risk of pronounced standing waves that can stimulate the housing inappropriately. The loudspeaker cabinet is constructed in a sandwich construction, panels made of birch plywood and high-density MDF are glued together, resulting in a material thickness of 40 millimeters on the front.

The solid steel base of the Live 15, which also houses the majority of the electronics, ensures a solid stand, with the power amplifiers being covered with aluminum plates that are 15 millimeters thick. All the material expenditure is clearly reflected in the weight, with each box weighing 90 kilograms.

The Tekkie

But the Ascendo Live 15 has a little more to offer: as mentioned, it can be measured into the room. This free service is provided by specialist retailers; Ascendo boss Stefan Köpf provided it for us himself. Of course, there wasn’t much to do: Since I moved at the beginning of the year, I’ve been listening in a room that can almost be described as shockingly neutral – even in the bass range there was hardly anything to do, but what little was still got straightened out. Then perfect channel equality is achieved using level and time correction – done. Anyone who listens in an acoustically challenging environment will benefit significantly more from the measurement option. By the way, the Live 15 doesn’t need to be trimmed to be “correct to the times” because it’s already in its genes, says Köpf.

Of course, when measuring, you shouldn’t dogmatically follow the smooth frequency response, but rather use an impression that is subjectively perceived as natural as a guideline. The nice thing about the Ascendo Live 15 is that you are not slavishly tied to the status once it has been calibrated. Frequency response adjustments can be made in real time via the app, depending on the recording or mood: Virtual sliders can be moved at five corner frequencies (50, 10,150, 2500 and 7500 Hertz) and the effects can be experienced immediately.

That doesn’t make good music that was poorly recorded a great audiophile moment – but it often comes across much, much better in terms of sound, and sometimes even just halfway audible. Example: “Waiting room” from the Fugazi album 13 Songs ( listen on Amazon ). You can actually only listen to the beautiful electric bass intro via an audiophile chain. As soon as the rest of the band starts, it’s better to switch off – way too bright, way too annoying, no energy from below, yuck. With the Ascendo app, this can be fixed in five seconds, and the old hardcore/punk track sounds like it did back in the indie club: not audiophile, but full of energy, driving forward and making you jump around. Good thing. Up to ten presets can be saved, you can create a personal loudness curve, a Star Wars bass boost setting or the devil knows what.

Last, but not least: The Ascendo Live 15 is network-capable, but we are talking about an AVB network here – you can read what this is about in our test of the Ascendo amplifier . The Live 15 can be integrated into extensive Ascendo home cinema settings, but for audiophile minimalists with an affinity for Apple, the professional technology brings a completely different added value: Ascendo and Apple computers can “talk” to each other via AVB. A HiFi chain reduced to digital playback can, for example, consist of a pair of Live 15s, a Mac mini as a server/streamer and an iPhone to control the whole thing. Goodbye, you beautiful hi-fi altar!

Ascendo Live 15: Sound impression & comparisons

One thing in advance: Since the Ascendo Live 15 can be calibrated and the frequency response influenced via the app, I don’t want to discuss the tonality up and down in the following, but would rather go into other parameters. With passive speakers it’s fundamentally different: I’m tonally set, so of course I want to know exactly how it behaves. But the Live 15 performs tonally the way you want it to, that’s exactly the joke about the concept. I chose a neutral setting as the basis for the test.

Random observation

During my time with the Ascendo Live 15, I tried out different player software settings with the Innuos music server Zenith MK3: Once configured as a normal Roon Core, then in the Roon variant with an intermediate Squeezelite player and finally the Innuos-specific software solution. As superior as the “user experience” with Roon is – in terms of sound, it takes a step forward in the order mentioned above. What does this have to do with the Ascendo Live 15, you ask? Well, the sonic differences in the software settings are of a rather subtle nature – primarily it’s about resolution gains and room illumination – but with the Live 15 you don’t have to grow “bat ears” for this, even small differences in the display are presented to you transparently and clearly.

Dynamic bandwidth

This not only offers advantages to the experimental test editor, but above all to the music listener. The Ascendo’s good resolution in terms of class is particularly evident in how differentiated (finely) dynamically the midrange is represented. The special thing about this: The Live 15 can do both: play confidently and assertively and sensitively and delicately. An example of this ability is the voice of Lotte van Drunen, the singer of the Dutch jazz/pop quartet Melphi (album: Through The Looking Glass; listen on Amazon ). During the song “Slow motion,” her singing gradually swells, gets louder, louder, louder – so that at some point you usually reach for the remote control and turn it down a bit. The piece started very quietly, so you turned up the volume control and as it progressed you reach limits with some speakers that you don’t really want to explore. (Speaking of which: Thank you, dear sound engineer, for not simply evaporating this dynamic range!) It’s different with the Ascendo Live 15: it lets the voice out at full capacity and without a filter – that’s quite intense, but it’s sparkling clean and without any effort happens, there is no need to turn back. You can’t do it in the club either. From ppp to fff, everything is possible – and above all: equally possible. You sit tied up in the sweet spot, let yourself be blow-dried and shake your head in slight embarrassment. So you have to be served dynamic gradations and highlights!

The dynamic range that you can access with the Ascendo Live 15 is quite astonishing – and so far I’m only talking about the middle registers. In addition, you can hear extremely loudly with it, but also very well at low levels. The latter doesn’t always go hand in hand with the dynamic capability: I consider my standard set-up of Musical Fidelity monos and Blumenhofer Genuin FS I Mk2 to be on par with the Ascendo dynamically – but if you prefer quieter listening, go for the Live 15 just a little more fun.

Loud & quiet

Speaking of loud and quiet: What also sets the Live 15 apart is that it doesn’t neglect quiet tones at high levels, densely instrumented passages and/or lively bass participation. Not all speakers can do that either. I would attest that the Paradigm Persona 3F (almost 12,000 euros, “activated” with my amplifiers plus cable is only a little cheaper than the Ascendo) has an even greater level of detail and fine dynamics in the midrange and high frequencies; the Canadian’s two beryllium drivers work with phenomenal precision , in terms of resolution they have set a new benchmark for me. However, this applies to “normal” conditions. If you listen to complexly arranged, lavishly orchestrated music really loud, the Ascendo Live 15 is ahead. What other speakers slowly get tiring of, which is why they sometimes sweep one or two small details under the carpet, the Ascendo’s 15 and 12 speakers do so confidently and effortlessly that there is enough overview to take care of even the supposedly trivial things and tracing them neatly while all hell breaks loose all around. The sound does not lack details just because you feel like a concert volume. Class!

The stage

The spatial representation also remains independent of the level conditions, which is commendable. Here too – and not just in the dynamic field – the Ascendo Live 15 is similar to the Blumenhofer mentioned above (and significantly more expensive including amplification): both loudspeakers like to take a step towards the listener, which has an involving effect. The image is free, and the stage space can be quite large if required – with the Blumenhofer appearing even more spacious and deeper. The imaging precision and plasticity of the sounds also come across similarly across both speakers – pretty good for such large and lavishly equipped speakers, but other concepts can do it even better: I’m not only thinking of the Wilson Audio Sabrina (20,000 euros, without amplification ) , but also the recently tested Dynaudio Confidence 50 (26,000 euros, without amplification). Compared to the Ascendo and Blumenhofer, both offer an almost eerie holographic show, with super-plastic sound bodies that are clearly staggered in the room. With the Ascendo Live 15, the sound appears more loosely arranged, clearly structured, but not as strikingly accurate and 3D-like as with the Wilson or Dynaudio.

What a bass!

The Ascendo conveys the “I’m there” feeling primarily through its highly dynamic pace and less through a picture-book plasticity à la Dynaudio Confidence 50. And where we’ve come back to the dynamics – that’s the leitmotif of the Live 15 – a few more words have to be said about the bass range.

I often shy away from superlatives, but here I have a reasonable suspicion that the Live 15 offers me the best bass I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing to date. What do you want? Substantial, gross dynamic impact when required – okay, that’s easy, a few thousand watts plus a decent amount of driver area can make a difference. Absolute depth is of course also offered, this is where the active technology comes into its own. In fact, most people won’t want to or won’t be able to make the most of it; the “bottleneck” here is the furniture in the listening room, which squeaks, rattles and groans due to the unusual strain. Contour, dryness, tracing in the basement – ​​of course I want that too. No problem for the Ascendo, I’ve never heard the synth bass escapades in the middle section of James Blake’s version of “Limit to your love” (Album: James Blake ; listen on Amazon ) so angularly graduated and merciless. It’s not just the sheer power of the Ascendo that pays off here, but also the ability to calibrate the room – in this way you can outsmart one or another room mode that otherwise obscures something in the sound image.

Last, but not least, I also want that light-footed, springy, particularly “loose” bass reproduction that I’m used to from really big drivers. And that’s exactly what the Ascendo brings across. It’s not just the 15mm working in the basement, the 12mm above it also has a lot to say – together this results in a wonderfully large driver area and thus a looseness in the response that “normal size” chassis simply cannot achieve.

This means that the Ascendo Live 15 can do pretty much everything that I demand from the bass – and rarely get it in this combination, because with passive speakers you ultimately have to live with the trade-off of absolute depth vs. dynamic looseness. Or you can imagine really huge rubble in the room. The closest thing to this bass performance is the Focal Maestro Utopia Evo, which is twice as expensive (and that doesn’t even include the power amplifiers) , although the Ascendo could actually be ahead when it comes to the “springy note”. Okay – the Focal can do other things better, it has a much higher resolution and images more precisely and more widely.