Ascendo’s New 100" Infrasonic Subs: The World’s Largest?

No, that’s not Doc Brown’s mighty CRM-114 amplifier in the image above. It’s a new 100-inch subwoofer from Germany’s Ascendo Immersive Audio. Ascendo offers a comprehensive range of high-performance audio solutions, but is best known stateside for its enormous infrasonic subs. The company has just announced two new models: THE64 SUB PRO and THE100 SUB PRO, both of which are passive, sealed designs. 

According to Ascendo, THE100 SUB PRO is the world’s largest home theater sub, and it is said to “redefine what is possible in ultra-low-frequency reproduction.” These new models build upon the legacy of the brand’s previous 50-inch and 80-inch models. Pricing and specs remain TBA as of the time of writing, but expect these built-to-order subs to be extremely expensive. 

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. These two new subwoofers are the largest in the world for home cinema, and are incredibly powerful, efficient, and fast.

— Geoffrey Heinzel, Co-Managing Partner of Ascendo

Ascendo says that every aspect of these massive subwoofers has been re-engineered, from the motor and suspension to the enclosure and damping. The results include deeper extension, greater linearity, and unparalleled sonic precision at infrasonic frequencies, according to the company. The upgraded suspension system includes repositioned and optimized quad spiders, delivering “significantly more excursion across the entire range, both linear and nonlinear,” according to Ascendo. The spiders are made of carefully-selected fabrics and resins, and Ascendo says that these advanced materials provide higher compliance and noise-free operation, “even at extreme excursions.” We’re told that the noise performance of these new subs has been enhanced “beyond what any previous woofer design has achieved,” and that an optimized (shallower) compliance curve has resulted in improved linear motion and control. Bass extension has been improved not only by the increase in driver size, but also by lowered driver resonance, combined with carefully-calculated enclosure dimensions.

Thanks to new, custom-designed surround tooling, THE64 SUB PRO and THE100 SUB PRO feature a surround shape that supports greater and more linear excursion, according to Ascendo. Both subs can be outfitted with optional application-specific enclosures, which feature improved internal bracing. Ascendo is known for rigidity and control — both extremely important qualities in any driver, but especially so in drivers of this magnitude. The multi-density internal damping materials also have been fine-tuned, resulting in a lower resonant frequency for the system, with a significantly-reduced Q. This improved damping also contributes to “perfect impulse response with ultra-low group delay,” according to Ascendo. The enclosure depth has been increased to 40 inches, further extending the frequency response into the single digits.

Infrasonic bass is an essential part of any high-performance theater. It pressurizes the room and evokes the physical response that is intended by more movie soundtracks than you might think. True infrasonic subs are extremely hard to engineer and work in tandem with other subs in the theater to do their part, extending bass into the single Hz digits. When calibrated correctly (timing, phase, level, etc.) with the rest of the theater channels, the result of including Ascendo infrasonic bass is an engaging, completely immersive experience one doesn’t forget.

— Ascendo

THE64 replaces THE50 SUB PRO, another passive sealed model. THE100 replaces THE80 SUB PRO. Compared to these previous versions of Ascendo’s large infrasonic subwoofers, THE64 and THE100 are more easily serviced; the company has developed a new field-replaceable re-cone kit to allow quick and efficient onsite repairs. While it might be a stretch to call any 100-inch subwoofer “practical,” improved serviceability in the field is crucial in a product that has to be assembled (and potentially disassembled) onsite. Together, the improvements to technical performance and serviceability make THE64 and THE100 subwoofers “the most advanced infrasonic transducers ever produced,” according to Ascendo.

More information: Ascendo Immersive Audio