ASCENDO has announced the next generation of its infrasonic subwoofers: THE64 SUB PRO PASSIVE INFRASONIC SEALED 64-inch model and THE100 SUB PRO PASSIVE INFRASONIC SEALED 100-inch model.
“We are proud to be the leader in infrasonic bass. Our continuous innovation in this category translates to an extremely high-performance, emotionally connected experience that enriches state-of-the-art home theaters and music reproduction systems with bass you can feel,” says Geoffrey Heinzel, co-managing partner of ASCENDO. “These two new subwoofers are the largest in the world for home cinema, and are incredibly powerful, efficient, and fast.”
The new Ascendo 100 Sub is designed for a very particular kind of customer: the kind who looked at the prior model, the80 Sub Pro (yes. that was 80 inches), and thought "oh, that's far too small and quiet". The driver alone weighs over 570 pounds (260kg).
The100 Sub Pro moves as much air as 40 normal 18-inch subwoofers, the company says, and there's The64 Sub Pro, a slightly smaller 64-inch model. "These two new subwoofers are the largest in the world for home cinema, and are incredibly powerful, efficient and fast," Heinzel says.
Despite the ridiculous power, these aren't designed to be total brutes. There's a shallower curve than the previous 80-inch model for improved performance, optimized quad suspension for greater movement, and "advanced" materials for noise-free operation. The cabinets have been redesigned too, with a reported boost to the low-end frequency response and improved damping to reduce resonance.
The price is firmly well into six figures.
The German company boasts that every aspect of these two new massive subwoofers—from motor and suspension to enclosure and damping—has been reengineered to deliver deeper extension, greater linearity, and sonic precision at infrasonic frequencies.
ASCENDO points out that its new subwoofers incorporate an upgraded suspension system with quad spiders, repositioned and optimized to deliver significantly more excursion across the entire range, both linear and nonlinear. The company notes the new subwoofers feature advanced spider materials including carefully selected spider fabrics and resins that it asserts, provide higher compliance and noise-free operation, even at extreme excursions.
Additionally, at ultra-low frequencies, ASCENDO says THE64 SUB PRO and THE100 SUB PRO’s noise performance has been enhanced beyond previous woofer designs. The company explains the infrasonic subwoofers’ optimized, shallower compliance curve means improved linear motion and control. ASCENDO continues by stating the subwoofers’ lowered driver resonance, combined with optimized enclosure dimensions, enables even lower f3 points for deeper bass extension.
Some of the other design elements THE64 SUB PRO and THE100 SUB PRO utilize include new single-piece, custom-designed surround tooling that creates a surround shape that supports greater and more linear excursion. Additionally, optional application-specific enclosures for THE64 and THE100 feature improved internal bracing that builds on the company’s standard for rigidity and control.
Providing more detail on the new products, ASCENDO has also fine-tuned its multi-density internal damping materials to lower the system’s resonance frequency to reduce Q and achieve improved impulse response with ultra-low group delay. The new subwoofers’ enclosure depth has been increased to 100 cm to extend the frequency response into the infrasonic region.
Supporting dealers, THE64 PRO SUB and THE100 PRO SUB include a new field-replaceable re-cone kit, developed to allow quick and efficient serviceability in the field.
THE64 replaces ASCENDO’s THE50 SUB PRO PASSIVE INFRASONIC SEALED model, and THE100 replaces THE80 SUB PRO PASSIVE INFRASONIC SEALED. The new model names now reflect the pro industry method of including the driver basket in the dimensions.