Very Satisfied in Dallas
A few weeks ago, I had never heard of Ascend Acoustics. But thanks to the AVS Forum and the many postive comments, I decided to place an order for a pair of Sierra 1's, a Sierra 1 center, and a pair of HTM-200se's for the side surrounds. What really sold me was the conversation I had with David who took the time to honestly answer all of my questions. He has graciously continued to assist me via email to set-up my system to achieve the best possible sound in my room.
I have paired the Ascends with a pair of Epik Sentinels which are incredible subs for their price point. They were also small enough to fit in my crowded room. The heart of my system is a Pioneer Elite SC-05 receiver. After some trial and error, and some input from David, I am using the All Adjust MCACC auto calibration which calibrates each speaker individually. All speakers are set to small, and the crossover is set to 80 Hz. David recommended the Q-plug for the center speaker, since it is so close to the wall. I am also running the center about 1 db hotter than the L/R speakers to improve the dialogue clarity. Speaker levels were adjusted at a reference level of 75 db. Initially I used a 70 db reference level, but adjusting at the higher level really made a big difference. I also did a lot of tweaking to get the subs right, as there were several drop-outs to deal with in my room. The addition of an Auralex Gramma under each sub also tightened up the bottom end very noticeably.
I think everything is finally dialed in, and the bottom line is that the Ascends sound fantastic! In fact, the more I listen, the better they sound. Thanks again to David for providing such great customer service! I believe the Sierra 1's are clearly the best speakers in their price range and in reality outperform several other "name brand" speakers that I auditioned which were 2-3 times the cost. There is no question that I made the right choice, and I know I am going to be happy with the Ascends for many years to come.
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