llamalip, the original Ascend cbm-170 was suppose to be the ultimate giant killer back in the day. I owned them in 03’-04’ (when I was 18 years old) and felt they were pretty good, but maybe too good for the equipment I had at the time. They did sound very good with a cheap Fisher turntable and Onkyo tx-8511, but fatiguing with cd’s. I’d love to hear the updated 170se now that I’m into tube amps and have a better digital source (Sangean hdt 20 and Tidal). Maybe I’ll pick up a pair just for the nostalgia.