The Tower Discussion Thread!

[drandall]

I have only had my sierra towers with RAAL for a couple of days, but I have a few preliminary observations which might help those considering a future purchase.

1) It's scary and a bit weird to buy a speaker without listening to it. After all, there are lots of speakers whose sound is either too dull or too strident. Too tubby or too thin. Too narrow or too veiled. Specs only tell part of the story and even the plots that Dave F. provides only give a layman like myself something techy to look at. I don't know exactly how what I'm seeing translates into real sound. All that being said, the ascend tower sounds exactly as I was hoping it would sound. The highs are airy and light, round and spacious. This is my first RAAL tweeter and I can hear what the fuss is about. The high end is clear without being harsh and the soundstage is so diffused that you can't pinpoint where the tweeters are. The sound is simply in front of you. The midrange is clear defined with just a touch of warmth. No syrup here. No fuzz. Just clear, well-defined mids that make strings and horns come to life. Voices sound natural and the overall sound is detailed yet smooth with a balance that keeps everything in proportion. It's a lovely speaker to listen to...and the sound is what I was hoping it would be. Zero disappointment.

2) Right now, I am powering the towers with a 15 year old Onkyo receiver (70/90watts into 8/4 ohms. SNR 100db for line sources, THD of .08, very basic DAC). Despite the rather average specs of my gear, the sound is beautiful. The higher i push the volume the more the speakers show their quality. It's addictive and even though I knew the speakers would be efficient, I was pleasantly surprised by just how good they make my old components sound. These speakers are not fussy or hard to make sing. I can't wait to see what happens when I add a good DAC and some better amplification.

3) The speakers are very nice looking. Elegant but unobtrusive given their slim design. The new magnetic grills are very nice looking, but overall I think I prefer them off and the lack of holes really makes the driver presentation even more attractive. The build quality is excellent and I love knowing that this is real bamboo and not simply wood-looking vinyl over MDF. These are not dramatic looking speakers. They don't particularly stand out, which I like. They blend in tastefully and the finish is beautiful...like a fine piece of furniture

Is there anything i don't like? The RAAL tweeter lovingly reproduces the high pitched pops and clicks in my albums more than my older, less revealing speakers did. Of course, the album sounds better too..but the pops are more noticeable.

One very OCD thing...the speakers come wrapped in felt which is secured with shipping tape. It's difficult to remove the tape without stretching or damaging the felt. You can cut carefully through the tape, but it's difficult to do this cleanly at the top and bottom where the felt is folded and taped over. I wish the felt had been sewn into a sock that slipped over the speaker so it could be easily reused. I would gladly pay Ascend extra money for a sewn sock or bag to use when re-boxing the speakers. Other than that, I have loved every minute with them.

The next step is hardware upgrades. Better amplification. A better DAC. A CD Transport. Plus more hours listening to break the speakers in more. I will report back as the project progresses...but this I can tell those who are interested or on the fence. I am fairly particular when it comes to what I think of as "good sound" and these speakers deliver. I am very pleased in the product, and in the support I've received from Dina during the process. The RAAL towers are definitely something special and Dave F. has done a magnificent job of creating a speaker which rivals or bests anything I've heard in its pricerange and even beyond. They're the real deal.