I'm not an expert, don't have golden ears, lack technical vocabulary and English is not my first language :o. Anyway, I will try to make this review as useful as I can. At least for newbies like myself.
Reason to Upgrade: My Onkyo setup was ok for HT, but Music was almost unlistenable most of the time. Made me stop buying and listening to CDs. Listening habits: 70% music, 30% HT.
Previous Experiences with Speakers: Not many. I own an Onkyo 5.1 HTIB model 904. I have heard a pair of B&W mid-nineties 6 series towers extensively at my parents house (like them very much, by the way). I have also auditioned (for very brief periods of time and in very poor listening conditions) PSB T45, T55 and T65, Monitor Audio RS6, RS8 and GS10, B&W 704 and 805, Energy RC60, KEF iQ5, iQ7 and iQ9. For one reason or another, none of them was exactly what I needed. Too expensive, too big, too ugly, too warm, too bright, etc.
Purchasing Experience: Superb. Mail support during the whole process, even from David Fabrikant himself. All questions answered promptly, all concerns taken care of.
Packaging: Double boxed, strong and thick styrofoam protection, thin cloth covering the speakers. You would have to hit the box with an axe to damage the speakers during shipping.
Physical Appearance: Beautiful piano black finish. Looks very durable and is almost mirrorlike. Heavy, very solid feel when handling them. They look and feel like premium speakers.
Current Setup: 4.1 living room setup, Sierra-1 RL, no center, Onkyo HTIB rear speakers, Onkyo TX-SR505 receiver, PS3. Room is roughly 25x12x8 feet with a 12x12x8 listenig area. No room treatments, no bass management. Front speakers are positioned on entertainment center (I'll post a pic later) and rears are on-wall.
Listening Impressions:
-As expected, night and day difference between the Sierras and the Onkyos. I know comparing them is extremely unfair, but let's just say improvement was HUGE and EVIDENT from the very first note.
-Instruments sounded alive and voices projected noticeably filling the room. Lots of detail and separation, I could hear instruments I never knew were in the recording in the first place.
-I always wondered what you guys referred to when talking about clarity and transparency. I now know. Sorry for the grouse analogy, but it's like the Sierras removed a ball of wax from my ears and they can now hear what they're supposed to hear.
-One of the speakers I auditioned before (won't say which one) was praised as being very "neutral" in many professional reviews. When I listened to it, I believed it to be hollow, flat and lifeless. Nothing in the music being played caught my attention... I was afraid the same thing could happen with the Sierras. I really don't know if the Sierras are "neutral" or not, but let me tell you they aren't flat and lifeless at all. To my ears they sound very lively and engaging all the time.
-Instruments and voices never seem to come out from inside the boxes. My center channel appears to be on, even though it's not. I sometimes hear drums coming from behind the speakers, guitars a couple of feet in front of them and cymbals near the ceiling. Don't think I'll be buying a center channel anytime soon .
-Bass is impressive considering their size, similar to small towers. It is also very tight and punchy. Sierras can hold their own on most music, but benefit from a sub on very bass heavy tracks. I found the Sierras to handle the 80-60hz region much better than my crappy Onkyo sub, so I decided cross them over at 60hz. IMO it will take a very good sub to beat the Sierras from 80 to 60hz.
-As you can see, I really love my new Sierras and will definitely keep them forever. However, one thing should be noted. They do require power to get loud. My poor little Onkyo receiver has to sweat a lot to get them to sing. The volume knob goes up to 75, and I have to set it to about 60 to listen loud. Before the Sierras, setting it to around 50 would get me similar results.
Summing up, I believe the Sierras offer high quality and full sound from a small and beautiful package. They make me enjoy listening to stereo music again. Probably more than ever. Even my wife loves them!:D
Combined with the new F-12 SE sub, they may be the perfect solution for medium living room setups.
