Avalon's as a whole have a very distinct house sound, the higher up you go the more bass you get. There are so many factors, but the higher up you go the better imaging, staging, depth, etc.... over all capable of being better, in the right enviroment.
I think its tough for them to compete in today's market, only now are they getting better bass response out of there lower line speakers and increasing the sensitivity. But the audio market moves quickly and there have been so many great speakers released at a much lower price I am not sure its worth it for Avalon to continue focusing on the under $10k speaker when they seem to have the $20k speaker market covered fairly well, but even that has become more competitive.
I haven't listened to the Ascendant but my previous experience with lower level avalon's(everything below the Eidolon) had left me wanting more - I was an owner of Eclipse classic's at one point. If you like the avalon sound and won't miss the bass then there is no problem at all with their lower line speakers.
I think its tough for them to compete in today's market, only now are they getting better bass response out of there lower line speakers and increasing the sensitivity. But the audio market moves quickly and there have been so many great speakers released at a much lower price I am not sure its worth it for Avalon to continue focusing on the under $10k speaker when they seem to have the $20k speaker market covered fairly well, but even that has become more competitive.
I haven't listened to the Ascendant but my previous experience with lower level avalon's(everything below the Eidolon) had left me wanting more - I was an owner of Eclipse classic's at one point. If you like the avalon sound and won't miss the bass then there is no problem at all with their lower line speakers.