Напольная акустика — Ascendo System Z5

The System Z5 is a passive floorstanding three-way speaker from Ascendo, the German firm whose System range goes back to at least 2003. That year the design team of Norbert Heinz and Jürgen Scheuring, then based in Köngen, offered the System Z, a three-piece modular speaker on a sand-filled stand priced at USD 25,500. The Z5 keeps the modular idea in a more compact format that stands on a low base instead of a tall stand.

Key specs that matter

Ascendo gives a frequency range of 27 Hz to 42,000 Hz at -3 dB, a sensitivity of 89.5 dB at 1 W and 1 m and a nominal impedance of 5 ohm. Minimum programme power handling is 500 W. High frequencies come from a magnetostatic panel tweeter with a switchable level adjustment. Below it, an outer 21.5 cm bass driver uses an HPC membrane with a phase plug, and an inner 21 cm bass driver uses a Kevlar membrane with a switchable bass adjustment. The speaker module alone is 27 cm wide, 108 cm tall and 43 cm deep and weighs 45 kg. On its standard base the footprint grows to 40 x 119 x 43 cm and the weight to 57 kg.

Engineering and use context

The design principle is SASB, which Ascendo spells out as a current-dynamically damped outer woofer working with a semi-symmetrical bandpass loading of the inner driver. Driver units sit in resonance-decoupled mountings within a modular structure, and the time alignment can be adjusted for ear heights of 50 to 190 cm. Moving the tweeter relative to the woofers compensates for the slower response of the heavier cones, so treble and bass arrive at the listener at the same moment. The housing combines V2A stainless steel with vibration-damping bitumen and fibre composite panels. The original System Z already used toggle switches to match the tweeter and bass sections to amplifiers with high or low damping factor, and the Z5 continues with switchable adjustments on both modules.

Pairing

The low nominal impedance suits an amplifier with good current delivery that remains stable when impedance falls, and the high power handling allows powerful partners. Rhodium terminals support single, bi- and tri-wiring, which also makes tri-amping possible. Black piano lacquer comes as standard, and Ascendo will paint other colours to order.

Alternatives

The Ascendo D9 is a different floorstander from the brand, a four-way SASB MKII design with a 25 mm coaxial tweeter and switchable magnesium dipole tweeters, rated at 89 dB and 6 ohm.