I recently moved up the audio food chain. After my follow-up review of the Tact Audio M2150 digital amplifier, I bought the review sample and then upgraded my Classé Omega preamp to the Tact RCS 2.2x digital room correction preamp. But my upgrade madness didn’t stop there, because I also had a bug for a new reference speaker. My eyes were squarely set on the Ascendo System Z. Months later, that quest came to fruition thanks to Jurgen Scheuring of Ascendo.

I had encountered the Ascendo System Z last year when I visited our esteemed Publisher, Clement Perry with my buddy Leon Rivkin. It didn’t take long to realize that the System Z was something special, not just good but emotionally compelling.

With Jurgen’s assistance, I was sent a pair System Zs only months after hearing them at Clement’s. When they finally arrived I wasted no time getting them into my system. I placed the speakers 9’ apart, 9 ½’ from my chair, and 40” from the back wall. The transducers were toed-in slightly in the 16’ x 19’ x 8 ¼’ living room of my Manhattan apartment (Clement’s room is 17’ x 21 x 8, very close to mine. Using similar electronics, you can guess my expectations were high).

The recommended System Z cable hookup is bi-wire, so I used two sets of 8’ runs of the remarkable Analysis Plus Golden Oval speaker cable between my M2150 and the System Z. The Golden Oval cables sound more organic and more musical than other cables that I’ve tried and compared them against. Rounding out the system of course was the TacT RCS 2.2x.

I’ve been rewarding myself with these system upgrades thanks to my understanding wife, Yuny. I know I’m a fortunate guy since she enjoys and appreciates music as much as I do. If your better half doesn’t appreciate music it can be very painful to a relationship as this hobby can be extremely costly. And bear in mind that the System Zs are very, very expensive at $25K. So understanding or not, I really had to sweet talk Yuny into this one even though she’s a music lover herself. In fact, she’s an accomplished pianist who came to New York City to study at Julliard. Also, her father is a no-holds-barred audiophile. This is a big plus!

I was extremely anxious to experience the magic that I had heard in Clement’s room when I visited him last year. I couldn’t wait another minute! I settled into my listening chair, a cup of java in one hand and my remote control in the other. I put CD after CD into my Sony SCD 777ES (used solely as a transport), and the sound was just as musical as I remembered it at Clement’s; never sounding fatiguing to the ears. I could see that I was in big trouble as I immediately started thinking of how I was going to talk Yuny into letting me buy them.

The system synergy was incredible from top to bottom, smooth and seamless. Thanks to the RCS 2.2X, the walls in my room disappeared and I was transported to a concert hall type experience. I was convinced that the TacT 2.2x/2150 combo brought everything into better perspective, smoother and closer to the sound of live music. I am now certain that room correction via the digital highway is the only way to go for this audiophile.

The System Z loudspeaker is the most musical loudspeaker I’ve ever heard. The musical connection via zeros and ones to this audiophile’s heart proved revelatory. As I listened to one of my favorite discs, Dvorak’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor, op. 104 [DG 413 819-2] performed by the master, Mstislav Rostropovich and the maestro, Herbert Von Karajan conducting Berliner Philharmoniker, I experienced a sound unlike anything I’ve heard before in my quaint listening space. It was natural, closer to life because the Ascendos created a huge, seamless soundstage, removing their physical locale. This loudspeaker's reproduction of the cello and the full orchestra were among the best I’ve heard and certainly are for their price. Rostropovich took center stage, well in the front of the orchestra. The orchestra itself remained behind Rostropovich in a deep and wide soundstage. This wasn’t possible with my previous reference, the Aerial Acoustics 10T. The 10T’s presentation was smaller and had less space between the instruments. With the System Z, the stage’s outer reaches were better reproduced as well, painted with sharper, more vivid lines and textures.

The System Z’s ribbon tweeter was sweet, natural, fast and transparent. Female voices had an ethereal clarity and transparency, but they also had weight and solidity. Grieg’s Peer Gynt [Philips 411 038-2] sounded so incredibly lifelike it was spooky and the presentation was transparent. Elly Ameling’s voice floated in a realistic space within the soundstage as if she were present. Her voice had a rich, natural, holographic sense of realism and body, without any coloration. The system Z’s speed was able to transport her voice from soft to high notes instantaneously and naturally with plenty of air and a total absence of grain. As good as the Talon Khorus Xs are, they simply can’t compare. This doesn’t mean that the Talon isn’t a fine speaker. It’s just that the System Z is a superb loudspeaker. The Talons projected the sound, making it almost intrusive by comparison. I agree with Clement, when in his review, he states, “It’s not that I find the Talon’s presentation offensive by comparison-that’s just the way Talon voices their sound".  In my setup the Ascendo System Z reveals enormous amounts of information on every disc, extracting more music from the recording while drawing the listener in and allowing him or her to be more emotionally involved.


Living with the System Z for several months has brought me closer to live music than ever before. It’s a first-class loudspeaker with innovative design and built-in quality that is second to none, in my opinion. This is the most musical loudspeaker I’ve heard to date. The System Z’s magic exists from top to bottom, throughout its musical range. By any measure, the Ascendo System Z is a keeper. My yearning for a breakthrough loudspeaker has finally been realized. If you’re looking for a truly natural-sounding, musical loudspeaker, the Ascendo System Z should be your top priority list.