Wow, really well done. How do they sound vs the Ascends? I would love to build these one day but I have 0 woodworking skills. Always envious of those who are able to do this and come out with a great result. Enjoy!
To be fair, I still need to tweak placement a bit, but overall they're certainly better than the Ascends. Not in every category, but I think that really goes to how good those Ascends were.
Tweeter is better, vocals and highs are crisper (especially leading edges) more transparent. Bass output is nice and tight, just like the Ascends, but lacks impact the Ascends had (which wasn't tremendous to begin with.) The Rel subs add that way down low, but I am doing much of the break-in and setup work without the subs on.
Instruments have more presence, body to them. String instruments are sublime. The Otics are worth it just for this reason IMO.
I have them positioned pretty well now, they do disappear on tracks that don't lock images to the speaker itself. However, I was hoping for a more three dimensional sound stage. Stage width is the same as my previous speakers, just slightly wider than the speakers are apart. Depth is good, just like my old speakers. Imaging of individual instruments between the speakers is precise, but they all seem to be in relatively the same depth of plane behind the speakers, with some sounds right in a plane between the speakers if that's what the track calls for. I was hoping for a bit more in this area, but like I said I'm still tweaking placement. These seem like they want to be closer to the listening position. I'm currently exactly at an equilateral triangle of 8' distances. My room is 14' x 24'.
I have about 100 hours on them now with a mix of music and pink noise.