Review of a Sierra L-C-R and 170se surround 5.1 set-up
Dave has stated that Ascend speakers vary less from perfect neutrality than most brands of paired speakers vary from each other.
I thought that a tall claim indeed, that is, until I heard 5 Ascend speakers working together.
On 5.1 mixes, it really is like sound is floating in front of you, around you, through you, creating a perfect, extremely detailed soundscape. If you close your eyes you can't pick out individual speakers at all, you just picture a full band, layed out very precisely around the room, like a sonic hologram.
I even tried something freaky: I connected a 170se as the left channel and a Sierra on the right, and listened to some stereo music. The result imaged, in fact BETTER than a near-top-of-the-line matched Klipch pair I had here before. Cool eh?
I had some problems with the shipping of my Sierra pair, and the insert around the tweaters fell out. I already thought they sounded great, but with the insert pressed into its proper place, things climbed to a whole other dimension.
The listening sweet spot, for stereo music, is huge. The Sierra sound follows you around, like Mona Lisa's eyes. You really have to be almost perpendicular to the speaker to hear the sound change perceptibly in quality.
It really is something. I am sitting 30 feet from my Sierras, in a room with 14 foot ceilings, as I write this, and it sounds like the speakers are maybe 6 feet away, maybe less. The whole room is filled with clear, beautiful sound.
I am perhaps not alone in having debated whether a Sierra center was a worth-it upgrade of a 340se center, or whether just having the mains be Sierras was enough. Indeed, it was worth it.
In HT, a LOT of information goes through the center (apparently 75% of a movie's sound is center channel)
Much as I loved my 340se, now the front soundstage is an pristine, immaculate match, not to mention real performance improvements: Astronomical, phenomenal detail on male deep voices, even better than 340s, even more clarity (Damn, can't those actors learn how not to mumble? What is it with "serious" films and lots of mumbling?) and, a real boon to me with my huge projection screen, with the center so far away from the image of actors' mouths, even better sound dispertion. You simply cannot tell that the speaker is not behind the screen, but, rather, below it.
Multi-channel audio discs such as SACDs also make heavy use of the center channel. I listened to Magnificat (Vivaldi) and I actually had real, genuine chills.
I don't listen to much Dolby IIx Music processed music, as the Sierra mains create so much depth that you don't need to, it's much like surround is already running. However, on some recent techno tracks (they contain matrixing info built-in), the effect is fun, and on tracks recorded in large halls such as churches, it works well . If you have Ascends all around things match up so well that it feels less like a gimmic and much more like you're there, watching a band live.
I have simply never heard superior speakers, at any price. I actually pity people who don't know about Ascend and waste tons on money on other brands. In my (much to my fiancee's chagrin) extremely extensive experience, you just can't do better. Period.
Re: Review of a Sierra L-C-R and 170se surround 5.1 set-up
Not sure how I missed this, but it is a great read.
It is nice to know the purchase worked out well for you! Enjoy!
Re: Review of a Sierra L-C-R and 170se surround 5.1 set-up
Quote:
Originally Posted by
robruffo
I am perhaps not alone in having debated whether a Sierra center was a worth-it upgrade of a 340se center, or whether just having the mains be Sierras was enough. Indeed, it was worth it.
Thanks for sharing the great review! I agonized over upgrading my 340SE center to match my L/R Sierra's. I get a Sierra center on Monday and am looking forward to lots of music and movie comparison while on vacation next week!
Michael
Re: Review of a Sierra L-C-R and 170se surround 5.1 set-up
Quote:
Originally Posted by
robruffo
It really is something. I am sitting 30 feet from my Sierras, in a room with 14 foot ceilings, as I write this, and it sounds like the speakers are maybe 6 feet away, maybe less. The whole room is filled with clear, beautiful sound.
This is something I noticed as well! My basement is 16 x 36 and my computer is in the back 3rd of the room. Music always sounded great with my 340's when working on my computer but there is an improvement in sound with my 2 Sierra's outside the sweet spot.
Michael
Re: Review of a Sierra L-C-R and 170se surround 5.1 set-up
Hi Rob,
Thanks for the wondefully detailed review!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
robruffo
It really is something. I am sitting 30 feet from my Sierras, in a room with 14 foot ceilings, as I write this, and it sounds like the speakers are maybe 6 feet away, maybe less. The whole room is filled with clear, beautiful sound.
This characteristic was one of the primary goals for the Sierra-1. OPPIX defined :)
Re: Review of a Sierra L-C-R and 170se surround 5.1 set-up
I notice that even when I am in another room, it still sounds there is band playing in the house. I was in the office and commented to my wife: "It sounds like Neal Young is acutally playing in our living room."
After many months of listening and going deeper into my music collection my appreciation for the Sierra 1's continues to grow. They are an amazing speaker! Nice review from robruffo. I had the same experience with adding the Sierra 1 center. Movie dialogue is clear and focused.
As much as I enjoyed my 340Se's, I think that the Sierra 1's are an even better value for the money - and that is really saying something!
