Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
I have Sierra 2's as LCR with 2 subs. Popped in here and saw that there was an upgrade option to Sierra 2 EX. Would cost about $1,000 to upgrade all and decided to do it.
Then I got to thinking, why not take that $1,000 and use it to upgrade the LR with Sierra Towers with RAAL. I realize it's $3,000 vs $1,000, but have always wondered how much better the towers would be. I could use the Sierra 2's as surround.
I'm probably 90/10 movies/music.
With two subs do you think it is worth the extra money to get the towers or will I be "almost" as happy with the 2EX's and save $2,000? Would still be using the one Sierra 2 as a center channel.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks
Re: Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
If you intend to keep the Sierra-2 as a center then it's a no-brainer. Upgrade your LCR to the EX.
If you replace the L/R with RAAL towers then the standard Sierra-2 will not match nearly as well as all EX's up front.
Re: Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mag_Neato
If you intend to keep the Sierra-2 as a center then it's a no-brainer. Upgrade your LCR to the EX.
If you replace the L/R with RAAL towers then the standard Sierra-2 will not match nearly as well as all EX's up front.
UNLESS, you would still feel like you were not done and really wanted to try Towers. Then Towers now, with an upgrade of just the center to S-2EX might be an end point. I think Dave has said, regarding centers, that the S-2EX is about 50% of the way between the S-2 and RAAL Towers. There's nothing wrong with S-2EX as LCR. I think they are pretty darn good. I'd just consider whether I was intending it as an interim system, or putting pieces of my final system (is there such a thing?) in place.
By the way, if you can afford the risk of paying return shipping, they DO permit 30 day home trial to help answer this to YOUR satisfaction.
Re: Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
I went with the Towers w/ RAAL from the S2's for LR and think the upgrade was well worth it. For center, went from S2 to Luna Duo (which Dave posted somewhere gave the Horizon a run for the money). S2 went to surround. S2 Center not in use currently.
I'm 90/10 music/movies.
Re: Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
racrawford65
I went with the Towers w/ RAAL from the S2's for LR and think the upgrade was well worth it. For center, went from S2 to Luna Duo (which Dave posted somewhere gave the Horizon a run for the money). S2 went to surround. S2 Center not in use currently.
I'm 90/10 music/movies.
Following that approach, for brianniebr, the question could then be, whether to upgrade the center S-2 to S-2EX, OR go to LunaDuo. The EX upgrade costs quite a bit less, and already fits in current use (I assume). In that case, I'd go with an EX upgraded S-2 center (eventually).
Re: Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
Thanks for the replies and suggestions.
With the added costs of upgrading the center, I'm really only putting $700 (the cost of the LR upgrade) towards the towers. I think at this point I will just upgrade the LCR to 2EX. It sounds like that makes a big improvement (not that the S2's need much of an improvement) and probably gets me most of where I want to be for 1/3 the costs.
Again, I appreciate the advise.
Now to order the upgrades.
Re: Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
That is a "sound" decision!
Really, you can't go wrong with a matched/balanced front end.
Re: Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jimb
Following that approach, for brianniebr, the question could then be, whether to upgrade the center S-2 to S-2EX, OR go to LunaDuo. The EX upgrade costs quite a bit less, and already fits in current use (I assume). In that case, I'd go with an EX upgraded S-2 center (eventually).
Under these same conditions (more or less) I upgraded my center from an S-2 to a Luna Duo. I could not, and still can not, believe what an improvement that is. Not only did it cure my wife's problems with dialog, but she actually still talks about it, and it's been months. I was running the S-2 center channel about 1.5 dB hot after Audyssey, now with the Luna Duo I'm running at 0 dB. Dialog is considerably easier to understand, and overall balance and matching with the S-2s at L/R and the S-1 surrounds is better, with the subs doing the heavy lifting as always.
When I asked Dave/Dina (before buying the Luna Duo) about it, they told me (IIRC) that the Luna Duo would be about midway between the 2EX center and the Horizon. And I'm not hearing anything at all that says that's not true. I never thought such a small speaker could make me so happy. Just sayin'.
Re: Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bruce Watson
...
When I asked Dave/Dina (before buying the Luna Duo) about it, they told me (IIRC) that the Luna Duo would be about midway between the 2EX center and the Horizon. ...
It would be nice to get confirmation on that comparison from Dave.
Re: Sierra Towers W/ RAAL vs Sierra 2 EX Upgrade
I have had my EX’s for a couple weeks and they are a big step up from the 2’s in midrange clarity imo. That being said I have no experience with using a 2 or EX as a center. I have mine paired with a Horizon and it sounds phenomenal.