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Thread: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis View Post
    In discussing this with Dave, he said either would work equally as well.

    You do have to remember the orientation of the tweeter/waveguide though. It needs to be rotated 90 degrees depending on how you decided to use it.
    Thanks Curtis, that's good news for me. If cabinet vertical orientation produced the best sound, I would have to remount my wall mounted LCD higher (1.5") or cut the legs on my Ikea sideboard by the same amount to fit a vertically mounted Sierra-1 center.

    Is it Friday yet???

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    7,034

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    If you don't mind rotating the tweeter, you can give it a try and let us all know.....but I trust Dave on these things . It was one of the first things I asked him about the Sierras because I was prepared to go vertical as well.

    I wish it were Friday too!
    -curtis

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    TGIF!!!

    My Sierra's are "OUT FOR DELIVERY"

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!

    My Sierra-1 L/C/R speakers arrived a little after 1:00 p.m. today. The Man In Brown, walked up to the door (without the packages), then turned around. I promptly yelled out the window, I'm home. The experience of my undelivered Ascend CMT-340se still a sore spot in my mind.

    Anxiously, I tell the Man In Brown to just leave the boxes on the walkway. I can carry them myself "they're not heavy, they're my Sierra's".

    First thing I notice is the familiar Ascend box. Not at all fancy, but sturdy. The boxes are 2/3's the hight of the 340se boxes, but they are deceptively heavy.

    The center channel speaker is packaged in its own box. The L&R are boxed the same as the center in a double box. The speakers are well protected by thick foam corner blocks for the center, and a top and bottom form fitting foam for the L&R speakers. A careless shipper would have to work to damage these babies!

    When I get the containers completely open, I find that each speaker is enclosed in it own super soft fabric duffle bag. A really nice touch that I had not heard any Sierra owners mention before. In a separate bag, is all the paperwork, emblems, foam feet, individual speaker specs and a pair of cloth gloves. Really nice touch.

    The speakers are beautiful. The finish should be called Grand Piano Black. They have a deep gloss. You can still tell that they are Bamboo, though. The latent texture of the Bamboo is barely noticeable.

    Did I mention that these bad boys are heavy. Be careful when performing the knuckle test... the Bamboo material that is the enclosures is DENSE.

    I will begin setting them up and listening to them tonight. I think that I'm in for a treat.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    Day 1

    I decided to take Debo’s suggestion and setup the Sierras and listen to them for a couple of weeks. This will be much easier than swapping out the 340’s and Sierra’s every other day or so. As I said before the PB Sierras are beautiful. I can’t get over how small they are compared to the 340s. Their size and appearance reminds me of the Vienna Acoustics Haydn I listen to months ago.

    I setup the Sierras on the same stands and in the same locations that the 340’s occupied over last month. Next came receiver settings. The L/C/R adjustments on me receiver were set to small and I retained the same distance values. Crossover settings were adjusted to 60, I did the same setting at the subwoofer.

    For roughly 4.5 hours I listened to CD’s and watched portions of DVDs that I am familiar with.

    I started with my current favorite Bele Fleck & the Flecktones “Live at the Quick” concert DVD. Bele Fleck is a banjo player that assembled a jazz band. You’d think that banjo and jazz would sound odd, but it’s not at all. In this particular performance, Bele called in a couple of other musicians. One plays the Steel Drums, another plays the English Horn, and Oboe, last guy plays the Bassoon. The bass player, Victor Wooten is a well known bass player in the music world.

    The Sierras and the CMT-340se are definitely different sounding speakers that perform well with both music and movies. While they both have a very neutral sound signature, they still manage to provide quite different sounds. The 340’s are quite efficient. Because of this, their sound is very clear and powerful even at lower volumes. Brass instruments, saxophones some voices really ring clear. If you want loud, this speaker can take you there. The 340s aren’t bright though. The Sierras on the other hand produce a sparkle and a mid bass punch that the 340s simply cannot muster. The Sierras do, however, require a few more clicks on the volume knob to achieve the same volume level.

    Honestly, I was initially a little disappointed with the Sierras. For movies they just didn’t seem to have the same strength in the middle. The Bele Fleck DVD that I have watched and listened to quite a few times seemed to have developed a void in the middle, while at the same time demonstrating exceptional sparkle and low end.

    I also demoed tracks from The Incredibles, Sweeny Todd, and the concert DVD David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd) “Live at Albert Hall”. 2 channel material included Aaron Copeland, the 1812 Overature and more Bele Fleck.

    To end the evening, I watched The Transformers.

    At the end of Day 1, I came away feeling much better about the Sierras.

    I think that over the last month, the sound of the 340se has been imprinted on my brain. It will be really interesting at the end of 2 weeks or so with the Sierra to listen to the 340s. I should mention, when I first hooked up the 340se, I wasn’t as impress as I thought I would be compared to my Klipsch speakers. About a week later, though, it was all about the 340se.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    Day 1

    oops. Double post!

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Fontana, CA
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    129

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    I too had similar feelings when I first bought my 340's and Sierra. I read about speaker break in but have come to believe it is hearing break in. You might do a little adjusting of toe-in (or out). It is amazing how a little positioning can make a difference. Enjoy!

    Michael

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    116

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    Quote Originally Posted by MichaelG View Post
    I too had similar feelings when I first bought my 340's and Sierra. I read about speaker break in but have come to believe it is hearing break in. You might do a little adjusting of toe-in (or out). It is amazing how a little positioning can make a difference. Enjoy!

    Michael
    Hi Michael,

    You're right, simple adjustments in placement will make a difference. Last night, I actually moved the speakers further apart and toed them in a little. I'm also finding that different listening material can make a huge difference.

    I played a couple of tracks from my newly purchased Diana Krall concert DVD and the character of the Sierras seemed to change. All of a sudden they opened up and produced sound similar to a quality floor standing speaker.

    Then I played a bit of another newly purchased concert DVD (Eric Clapton's Crossroads 2007). I selected the DTS tracks, hit the play button and the Sierras sprang to attention and seemed to be wired directly into what ever guitar was on stage. I was previously listening to them at -17.0. Using the Crossroads disc, anything below -24.0 was loud. I'm sure the recording has some influence, but the sound coming out of my Sierras was fantastic.

    I'm going to need to discover some really fantastic CD recordings for additional listening test in 2.1 mode.
    Last edited by Mr.Lawrence; 06-23-2008 at 06:18 AM.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Fontana, CA
    Posts
    129

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr.Lawrence View Post
    Hi Michael,

    I'm also finding that different listening material can make a huge difference.
    I have noticed that as well. I watch a lot of Music HD on cable. They have lots of concerts (I like something to watch when I listen to music). Some recordings are just ok. Hi quality recordings make you feel like you are in the room with them, every instrument is clear and the bass is crisp. They really show off the Sierra's. My favorite right now is Matchbox Twenty. I have it saved on my DVR until I wear it out!

    Enjoy!
    Michael

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    30

    Default Re: CMT-340se + Sierra-1 + 30 Days…

    Hi Mr.Lawrence,

    This is the fun part isn't it!

    I have the 340se's across the front and 170se's as surrounds it took me quite awhile to get myself broke in with certain music. They sounded great right out of the box with jazz and softer music.(which is one reason I upgraded speakers) Rock on the other hand took longer. I could hear things more clearly and things just sounded out of balance because of the lack of a hump in the midbass present in alot of speakers. I wanted accurate speakers that I could adjust with an EQ later on if needed. I got what I wanted and for the price don't think I could have done better. Is there better out there? Sure, but at what price?

    SBF1

    p.s.
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr.Lawrence View Post
    The L/C/R adjustments on me receiver were set to small and I retained the same distance values. Crossover settings were adjusted to 60, I did the same setting at the subwoofer.
    Turn the x-over knob on your sub all the way up. You don't want the sub adjustment getting in the way of what your receiver is doing and creating a hole in the frequency response.
    Once your reputation is ruined you can live quite freely

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