Upgrade questions: B&W N803 vs ML Ascent ?

If your listening room really is 23 x 12 inches, I'd suggest a true mini-monitor! :^) Assuming you meant feet, while I think the Avalons are the better overall speakers, the B&Ws are still quite good for your application, are going to be easier to place (the Avalons really like to be well out into a room to sound their best) and drive, may be a bit better for home theater dynamics, and you'll have an easier time matching them with other speakers for your home theater (I understand it's better to use speakers from the same manufacturer for the surrounds and center channel, and B&W makes a lot of them).

I had Polk LS50s sometime back and it was glorious going to B & W CDM-7NTs. I now have the 9NTs, FWIW. I can only imagine how the N803s will improve on the Polks.

I like my B & Ws alot. I Really like the N802s, I really really like Dynaudio's S5.4, and Silverline's Bolero. If you can, give 'em a listen.

Having said that, I have to agree with Brian, B & W does a great job with balancing HT and music. Not so sure about the others I listed. I know this. If I were building a theatre only/mostly setup, M & K would be very high on my list of speakers. They do msuic OK, by my ears of course, but they are great for movie soundtracks.

Sorry I am not familiar with the Ascents.

Good luck. I hope this helps.

Forget what I said about Ascents, I'm an older generation guy and am used to thinking of the old Avalon Ascents when that name is mentioned, not the ML ones. I prefer the B&Ws to the MLs, because I still have a problem with the integration of the ML's stats and woofers, so my recommendation of the B&Ws stays intact. A very good speaker that does home theater well too.

Given your 60/40 ratio of HT to music, I think the B&W's are probably going to be a better choice than the ML Ascents. As noted above, the Ascents, like all electrostatics, need to be placed well away from the wall, and due to their radiation pattern you will have related room acoustic issues to deal with. Further, the Ascents have a very substantial dip in their impedance curve, down to about 1.5 ohms as I recall, which makes them a challenge to pair with the right amp.

I.M.O. - 2 WORDS, 1 LETTER, & 3 NUMBERS (BOWERS WILKINS N803) ESPECIALLY AT A 9-10/10 USED PRICE OF $3350-3500 W/ SOUND ANCHORS. GOOD LUCK!!!

P.S. NOT TOO LONG AGO A PAIR EVEN SOLD ON AGON @ $2600, W/O STANDS.