Напольная акустика — Ascendo Live 15

The Live 15 is a fully active, DSP-controlled floorstanding loudspeaker from Ascendo, the German company whose production now sits in Heilsbronn. It was announced in April 2019 as a combined hi-fi and cinema design, usable as a two-channel stereo set or in the left and right front positions of a home cinema, with a subwoofer section built into each cabinet. South African launch pricing was ZAR 588,000 per pair in matt paint and ZAR 688,000 in piano lacquer.

Key specs that matter

Each sealed enclosure holds a custom 15-inch (40 cm) subwoofer made to Ascendo's specifications, with a 10 cm voice coil and 36 mm of linear excursion. Above it sits a 12-inch (30 cm) coaxial mid-woofer with a 1-inch (25 mm) compression driver at its centre. Three amplifier channels per speaker deliver 1,000 W RMS to the subwoofer, 500 W to the mid-woofer and 150 W to the compression driver, for 3,300 W RMS across a pair. Frequency response is 18 Hz to 20 kHz, maximum output is 117 dB continuous and 120 dB peak, and dispersion covers 90 degrees horizontally and vertically. Input sensitivity is 8 dBu at an input impedance of 20 kohm. Each speaker measures 48 cm wide, 128 cm tall and 48 cm deep on its plinth (34 cm deep without it) and weighs 90 kg.

Engineering and use context

Because the coaxial driver radiates the midrange and treble from one point, Ascendo calls the Live 15 a time-coherent single-point source. The DSP takes over the crossover work and can configure the speaker as a straight three-way system for music or as a two-way unit plus subwoofer for film playback. Protection covers clipping, temperature, current, DC and HF faults, so the amplifiers limit themselves before damage occurs. Delay, volume and input sensitivity are all set through a web-browser interface. Buyers choose between silk matt in a colour of their choice, a NEXTEL suede coating and 12 layers of piano lacquer in black or white, with LED lighting and grilles offered as options. The warranty runs for 5 years.

Pairing

Two balanced XLR inputs connect straight to a preamplifier, or to any source fitted with a variable-level output, so a separate power amplifier is not part of the chain. A built-in 3-port Fast Ethernet switch complies with AVB IEEE 802.1, so lossless digital audio can reach the speakers over a network instead of analogue cable. Besides stereo and cinema use, Ascendo lists studio monitoring among the intended applications.

Alternatives

The Ascendo Live 12 Komodo Dragon is another active three-way floorstander, built around a coaxial driver and two bass drivers of the same diameter with 6,900 W of amplification per speaker.