Floorstanding loudspeakers — Ascendo System Z5 Active

The System Z5 Active is the powered form of the Z5, a System range model from German loudspeaker maker Ascendo. The company presents it as a Bauhaus-style design sized for living spaces yet able to reach deep bass, and sells it as a complete system with four DNA 1000.2 HE amplifiers, or HE.SE amplifiers in the case of the Z5.SE Active. The passive Z5 was offered in several upgrade stages, including a version with integrated TOS unit introduced in 2016, an S.E. version and a custom-built grade with hard-wired crossovers.

Key specs that matter

Ascendo classes the Z5 Active as a four-way speaker using SASB and TOS, driven by a combined 2 x 1,650 W sinus. In the passive Z5 on which it is based, the bass module pairs a 21.5 cm outer driver fitted with an HPC diaphragm and phase plug with a 21 cm inner driver using a Kevlar cone, and treble comes from a magnetostatic planar radiator. The passive speaker is rated from 27 Hz to 42 kHz at -3 dB. Its transducer body measures 27 x 108 x 43 cm and weighs 45 kg, while the standard base widens the footprint to 40 x 119 x 43 cm and raises the weight to 57 kg. The lacquer is black or white high gloss, and further colours can be ordered.

Engineering and use context

The SASB principle places a current-dynamically damped outer woofer in front of a semi-symmetric bandpass chamber. Mounting of the driver units is modular and decoupled from resonance, and time alignment can be adjusted for listening heights from 50 to 190 cm. To limit structure-borne noise, the cabinet mixes low-magnetic V2A steel with heavily damping bitumen and compressed fibreboard. In the active set the DSP-equipped DNA 1000.2 HE amplifiers replace the passive network, and each can be switched between 2 x 500 W stereo, double mono and 1,000 W bridged mono. One amplifier is 360 x 155 x 255 mm, depending on how it is placed, and weighs 16.3 kg, and its four removable magnetic feet let it lie or stand on any side. Settings can be matched to preferred listening level, the kind of music played and personal taste.

Pairing

A line-level source or preamplifier completes the system. The amplifiers can take any input and send it as a lossless AVB stream of up to 8 channels over CAT cable to other DNA 1000.2 HE units or Ascendo active speakers and subwoofers, which removes cable length as a limit, and the whole group is operated through a browser interface.

Alternatives

The Ascendo System M5 Active moves to a 40 cm wide cabinet with a larger 28 cm Hexacone inner bass driver.