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Thread: Sierras, thumbs up up up up up!!!!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
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    Default Sierras, thumbs up up up up up!!!!

    Well, I just got home from work and decided to do some spirited listen to my Sierra's, neighbors be damned.

    I just played several songs from Tool's 10,000 days, not everyone's cup of tea, but my favorite band. Oh my God! It was awesome! I was playing fairly loud, -15dB on my Denon 2805, but it was so smooth, detailed and clear. The soundstage extended far beyond the width of the speakers and the imaging was not compromised. I don't know if I've ever heard a clearer center image, at least not anywhere near this price.

    Oh, and the bass! I have no desire to turn my subwoofer on for music with these speakers.

    Everything is so clear. You know how when you go the optometrist and he asks you to read the letters on the charts. Some of the letters are too small and you have to squint to read them. Then when you put the lenses on, everything is so clear and you don't have to try to see the little letters. That's how these speakers are. You hear all these little details so clearly and so easily. It's like an orgasm for the ears.
    Last edited by Mike^S; 05-19-2007 at 07:00 PM.

  2. #2
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    I won't talk about orgasms, but so far, I concur!
    -curtis

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    69

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    We all appreciate that Curtis...let's keep it to the speakers!

    How do you like the natural finish? How are the corners and the ends of the cabinets?

    J.

  4. #4
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    the cabinet is great. I can't find the seams.
    -curtis

  5. #5
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    May 2007
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    That's good to hear. Would you post a couple of up-close pics of the cabinet if you have a chance? Particularly the corners and the top edges? I'm curious how they work those surfaces together.

    Thanks,

    J.

    the check's in the mail...

  6. #6
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    I'll see how close I can get with my camera.
    -curtis

  7. #7
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    Here you go...the flash really exposes everything well. I found a seam/joint. to the touch, it is smooth.



    -curtis

  8. #8
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    A little update. For music, running them full range sounds great. For movies, you do miss some of the very deep bass. So what I did was run the Sierras full range and then add in the subwoofer (VTF-3 HO) with the crossover set to 40hz for movies. To me this sounds very good. Nice punchy bass plus deep bass that shakes the room. I wish I had a JL Fathom F112 or F113, but they are so pricey.

    Hopefully, running the Sierras full range like this won't hurt them. My amp is a Denon 2805 rated at 100 watts per channel. I'm not hearing any distortion at -10dB.

  9. #9
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    I just watched and listenned to some DTS movie clips and DTS multichannel music. I am still running the Sierras fullrange, and they continue to impress.

    The 170SE's are working fine as surrounds, but I do wish to try Sierras there as well....need to figure out a nice way of mounting them.

    Next, I will listen/watch the same stuff with a 60hz and 80hz crossover for the Sierras.

    BTW, I able to cross my surrounds independently from my center and L/R, so while the Sierras were being run fullrange, the 170SE's are small/crossed at 80hz.
    -curtis

  10. #10
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    Mar 2007
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    I have never been a fan of wood finishes on electronics, including speakers, but the lacquered natural finish on the Sierra-1 looks unique and very, very nice. The pattern on that front corner in the first picture really shows off the fact that the cabinet is made of bamboo by revealing some of its internal structure. Because I generally prefer black aesthetically, I can't believe I'm saying this, but if or when I upgrade to the Sierra line, I think I'd go with the natural finish because it's not merely a veneer and it would be such a shame to cover the natural beauty of the real material (that was designed for performance above all else).

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike^S
    Hopefully, running the Sierras full range like this won't hurt them. My amp is a Denon 2805 rated at 100 watts per channel. I'm not hearing any distortion at -10dB.
    They were designed to be run as full-range speakers, so I doubt that you could hurt them at reasonable levels, but as you know, movies can have some crazy bass at times. The LFE channel is calibrated to run 10 dB hot, which means that on its own it can potentially demand twice as much bass power from your speakers as the other five channels combined. Only Dave can provide a definitive answer, but personally, I'd cross them over to a sub at no lower than 60 Hz for movies and run them full range without a sub for most music (pretty much in line with Dave's own suggestions). Obviously, this would ease the strain on the Sierra-1's woofers, which helps keep the midrange clean. I'm just guessing and being conservative, though--try all the configurations you want (while being careful) and let everyone know the results, which may be quite surprising.

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis
    The 170SE's are working fine as surrounds, but I do wish to try Sierras there as well....need to figure out a nice way of mounting them.
    Take your time in order to ensure that you get the best results, although I doubt there would be a better way than using a shelf-type mount designed for small direct-view TVs (with a few modifications for securing the speaker in case of earthquakes and the like). I wish I could be of more help, but it's not easy to mount speakers like this without drilling into them.

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis
    BTW, I able to cross my surrounds independently from my center and L/R, so while the Sierras were being run fullrange, the 170SE's are small/crossed at 80hz.
    Even when crossed over at 80 Hz, my 170SE surrounds have at times produced enough bass for me to feel in my gut with the subwoofer turned off (been experimenting)--a sensation that I normally neither get nor expect from this speaker even when used at full range. This shows us how insane some movie soundtracks can be (my experiments are conducted at the "standard" 75 dB home theater level).

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