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Thread: Announcement: A Sierra-1 add-on enhancement!

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    116

    Default Re: Announcement: A Sierra-1 add-on enhancement!

    Quote Originally Posted by Mag_Neato View Post
    No, he means "3 of each". 2 mains + 1 center, 2 plugs per speaker(1 "A" & 1 "B" plug each).

    Gives you all the flexibility of mix-n-matching!
    Oops!!! I got it now.

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    248

    Default SIerra with port plugs - User Reviews??

    I Posted the following on AVS.

    It's been a few days since Ascend started shipping the port plugs for Sierra.. Did anyone have a chance to compare the performance at home with and without the port plugs. I know that the performance will vary with different rooms. I will go for them anyways, but it's always nice to hear the feedback from fellow Sierra owners...

    I have the speakers 18" from the back wall and I keep experimenting between playing them full range and cross them over at 60htz to Mirage S12. (planning a subwoofer upgrade as well.)

    On an unrelated note, I turned off the up sampling on my HK247 and the sound improved a lot. It was counter intuitive

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    62

    Default Re: Announcement: A Sierra-1 add-on enhancement!

    Ok. I got my Q-Plugs yesterday and have spent the last few hours doing some A/B testing with a variety of music. I have my Sierra's in cabinets that I have deadened as well as possible with isonodes, quietmat, subdudes, etc. The cabinet is pretty inert at this point. I have a pair of ULW10's on isonodes with the Sierra's on top of the ULW's. The Sierra's are separated from the ULW's by Subdude isolation pads. I've been enjoying the Sierra's for about 6-8 months but they really came alive when I added the ULW's (I call them the TWINS )about 2 months ago. My best settings have been flat across the board with my Yamaha RX-V2700, with my Oppo 980H running the CD/DVD's. The subs are set in phase and at about 9-10 o'clock gain setting. Crossover set at 80, speakers to small. I've loved this setup, full rich, detailed and there's a quality to the combo I can't describe. It will make you stop and sit and listen.

    Fast forward to the QPlugs. I've always known that the cabinet placement was a weakness but it is a necessary evil. The one thing that stuck in my mind at times was that certain vocals faded back from the sound stage, like the singer was behind my moniter. If I pulled the volume up a bit it helped but then certain vocals got a little congested or strained. I guess you could say there was some muddy areas with certain types of music. I'm being picky with this assessment...I was very happy. Now, I inserted the A-Plugs per the instructions and spent several hours listening to some of my reference material. I was hoping to clean up the areas I mentioned and bring the vocals forward. I was not dissappointed one bit. In fact, this may be the best $40 I have ever spent.

    The Q plugs allowed the Sierra's do what they do best, play detailed, rich music with an incredible soundstage that extends well past the speakers. I did get the feeling that I lost a certain 'quality' in the midbass, but couldn't put my finger on it. I had always kept the sub gain down to about 25-30%, otherwise they would overpower the system and get a bit boomy. With the Sierra's free to sing I began to tweak the subs a bit and found I can set the gain to about 40%, which brought that missing quality back and then some. It feels like each speaker is doing what it was intended to do and letting the other drivers do their job. The vocals are out front and clean as can be. The piano details are fantastic. The Sierra's sound like they finally have that 'room' to breath with the plugs inserted.

    I suspect it would be best to free the Sierra's up all the way and put them on stands but it aint happenin' in this house, maybe the next one . As it is with the QPlugs, I'm a very satisfied customer. This guy Dave, he knows about what he speaks. Thanks Dave.

    BTW, just for kicks I tried the B Plugs...it didn't seem make a much difference from the non-plugged sound overall but it certainly didn't help my situation. I keep them around in case the Sierra's ever get a new home.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    62

    Default Re: SIerra with port plugs - User Reviews??

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam1000 View Post
    I Posted the following on AVS.

    It's been a few days since Ascend started shipping the port plugs for Sierra.. Did anyone have a chance to compare the performance at home with and without the port plugs. I know that the performance will vary with different rooms. I will go for them anyways, but it's always nice to hear the feedback from fellow Sierra owners...

    I have the speakers 18" from the back wall and I keep experimenting between playing them full range and cross them over at 60htz to Mirage S12. (planning a subwoofer upgrade as well.)

    On an unrelated note, I turned off the up sampling on my HK247 and the sound improved a lot. It was counter intuitive
    18" sounds like plenty of room for the Sierra's. I definately think a quality sub is a big help to the Sierra's. No 5" driver is going to do what a 10, 12, 15" driver can do. Having said that, I wouldn't waste my time on a cheap rumble butt sub (not saying your Mirage is one...don't know anything about it), but a sub capable of musical midbass and some authority down low will extend the reach and take over where the Sierra's leave off. I'm thrilled with my dual 10" subs (see my post above). I think the Ascend/Rythmik subs would be a great addition. I cross my subs at 80. I can't tell a difference between 80,90,100 but when I drop down to 60 I loose midbass and its pretty obvious. Hope that helps...its getting late and my brain is getting soft.

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    248

    Default Re: SIerra with port plugs - User Reviews??

    Quote Originally Posted by Pilk View Post
    18" sounds like plenty of room for the Sierra's. I definately think a quality sub is a big help to the Sierra's. No 5" driver is going to do what a 10, 12, 15" driver can do. Having said that, I wouldn't waste my time on a cheap rumble butt sub (not saying your Mirage is one...don't know anything about it), but a sub capable of musical midbass and some authority down low will extend the reach and take over where the Sierra's leave off. I'm thrilled with my dual 10" subs (see my post above). I think the Ascend/Rythmik subs would be a great addition. I cross my subs at 80. I can't tell a difference between 80,90,100 but when I drop down to 60 I loose midbass and its pretty obvious. Hope that helps...its getting late and my brain is getting soft.
    Thanks for your input. I did order the Q plugs and will get them tomorrow. I did have a discussion with Dave about rhythmik subs and I think I'll order 15" Rhythmik in next few days before the holiday sale ends...

    I agree with you assessment on the crossover of 60 vs 80..

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    7,027

    Default Re: SIerra with port plugs - User Reviews??

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam1000 View Post
    I agree with you assessment on the crossover of 60 vs 80..
    Interesting. With the Rythmik in my system, I don't notice much difference at all between 60hz and 80hz crossover points.
    -curtis

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    62

    Default Re: SIerra with port plugs - User Reviews??

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis View Post
    Interesting. With the Rythmik in my system, I don't notice much difference at all between 60hz and 80hz crossover points.
    While I was playing with the crossover point on my Yamaha, I could really cross the subs at 80,90,100 without much difference. When I went 60 on down it really shut down the midbass and tone quality of the system. It became very thin. I don't know much about how it all works...I just plug in the numbers until I think it sounds good.

    I do think the plugs were a plus for my situation. It takes all the guilt out of having the Sierra's in the cabinet.

    Sometimes I wish the Rythmik subs had been an option earlier...I might have ponied up for a pair. As it is the ULW10's only cost me $280 each and they perform like champions. They are not limitless but when played within their design limits they sing and really extend the Sierra's. Having the dual subs located with the L/R Sierra's makes everything so seemless that it feels like I've got giant floorstanding speakers.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    248

    Default Re: Announcement: A Sierra-1 add-on enhancement!

    I got my port plus couple of days ago. I have not done any critical listening yet but it did seem to have extended the sound stage with b-plugs. I did not notice much difference with a-plugs with 10 minutes of non-critical listening..

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    50

    Default Re: Announcement: A Sierra-1 add-on enhancement!

    I got mine for my center (thats in a BDI cabinet) a few days ago. After listening for a day or so I decided to check my levels again and noticed that I needed to bump up the level on my center just a hair. Did anyone else notice this or is that unusual?

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    62

    Default Re: Announcement: A Sierra-1 add-on enhancement!

    I've done a little bit more tuning with my Yamaha. I've experimented with the crossover some more, tried a little eq work. In the end, I settled on 80 for a crossover (60 was too thin, 100 got boomy on certain music). Set the eq flat and my ULW's to about 40% gain. That seems to be a well balanced setup that handles everything I put in and is capable of delivering on low volume listening, but still stays behaved when I push the system. I was thinking about adding a larger sub for HT but now that I've got the Sierra's plugged I can run things louder without stressing the vocals and that gets me more LFE out of my subs. I could probably use more LFE below 30 but this isn't a HT...its a living room with a music/ht setup as stealthy as possible. Enjoying it daily.

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