Yetta Nother Newbie - Connecticut

Hi folks.

This is my first post to the forum. I'm putting this here as a kind of placeholder so I can come back in about a week and update it.

I just ordered a pair of Sierra-1, received confirmation that they've shipped with an ETA of Nov. 22nd. Hard to wait! I'll be setting these up in a new system in the living room. Room is roughly 13' X 20'. Speakers will go along one of the 13' walls (not sure how far out, see below), listening position (couch) is roughly 12' away from that wall with open space behind it. Rest of room is filled with way too much furniture ( :rolleyes: ) so placement may a bit suboptimal... will see what I can do. Sierras will be sitting on 24" Sanus stands (wood). Front end - Cambridge Audio DVD89 source (got it for SACD/DVD Audio compatibility), Cambridge Audio 640A v2 integrated amp, Blue Jean Cable interconnects (BJC LC-1) and speaker cable (BJC Ten). If anyone has any experience with the Cambridge stuff, either with Ascend speakers or any other, I'm really curious what your thoughts might be. Also, any setup tips (not sure how much flexibility I'll have) would be appreciated.

Bit of background. I'm 55, been heavily into stereo since about 1974 (First time I heard ELP's Tarkus on a "real" stereo I was hooked.) Other the years I've bought / listened to / initially liked / found problems with / sold / started over more times, with more speakers, than I like to think about. If anyone's interested I can post the whole litany, otherwise won't bore you with the details. I can sum up what I'm looking for, and hope the Sierra's can provide, with a short description.

First, while I consider myself an "audiophile", I just about never admit that to anyone - my impression is "audiophile" is usually equated with "gear head nut case" and, in many cases, that's unfortunately true. I've belonged to several audio clubs over the years, and I can't tell you how many times I've been invited over to someone's house to listen to "their system" - never "their music" - and find myself in a room with God's own electronics zoo of in use and sort of in use and not being used right now equipment, speakers positioned to the exact millimeter-specific location as outlined by tape on the floor, power conditioners, oddball tweaks (my opinion, anyway) scattered about (harmonic dots on the walls? Why not M&M's? At least they'd be useful in a dire emergency...) anyway, you get the picture. And, on a rack back in the corner, the 12 or so CD's the guy has that he plays on the system. Always at least a couple of Sheffield Lab: The Chesky Drum record, Amanda McBroom, Tower of Power seem to be ubiquitous. Stravinsky's Firebird on some audiophile label. Jazz at the Pawnshop. Kind of Blue. When we actually sit down (if there's chairs) to listen to something, I get a minute or two of a cut on one of them, with running comments like "Listen to that bass drum! Is that incredible or what? Can you hear how open the soundstage is? You can actually hear the sound coming off the walls of the studio! Listen to her voice - see how the p's pop but there's no added hiss on the sibulants (the what?)" and on and on for a minute or two, then hop up and put on a different disc, and repeat until Ray runs screaming out of the room. Makes me ashamed to claim membership in the community. :(

So, what am I looking for that I hope I find in the Sierras? Pinpoint imaging? Nope. Air between the instuments? Nope. Quick, articulate bass? Nope. Airy, open, extended high ends with a sweetness to the sound like the shimmering of burnished antique brass? Don't make me hit you...

No, I'm looking for something I only found once, then lost when I tried to make it better. I'm looking for a feeling, when I'm listening late at night, and the sound isn't too loud, and I'm deeply into the music, drifting away, and all of a sudden I grab the arms of the chair because I felt like I was going to fall out of my seat headfirst into the music. If you've ever felt this, you know what I'm talking about. If not, well, sorry...

I've only found that once. System was the original series B&W 801f speakers, circa 1985 vintage, driven by B&K electronics (original ST140 amp, don't remember preamp), Denon 1520 CD player or, sometimes, Thorens TD124 table.

I had that system for over a year, but gradually got more and more frustrated. The little B&K (70 watts?) was hopelessly underpowered for those speakers, and while everything sounded perfect late at night played way down low, there were times when, you know, I wanted to rock out a little. So, eventually, I sold the amp for something bigger. Thus started a path down which I've been wandering ever since. Those who don't learn from history... I've had different systems that did different things really well, but I haven't grabbed the arms of my chair again.

So, what do you think? Any chance I'll be posting in a week or so that I'm back where I want to be? I have hopes, based on what I've read.

Sorry for the rather lengthy first post. Thanks for reading. Keep your fingers crossed for me, I'll be back here next week with some initial thoughts.

Ray

Hi Ray,

You and I could be clones of each other. I look forward to your impressions of the Sierra's. Last night I was listening to DSOTM at a moderate level while working on the computer. I have the sierra's matched to an older McIntosh set-up. I have had these speakers for a few years now. Anyway, I stopped working to just listen to an album I can't tell you how many times that I have listened to before. Complete bliss!
It never ceases to amaze me how fortunate I am to have a system that makes me smile all the time.

Peace,

Jim

Posted a "review" (uh, sort of) in the Verified Reviews section. :cool: