Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Thanks, Dark Ranger!Originally Posted by Dark Ranger
We had a Sierra .5 thread several years ago. It hasn't been touched for a while. Starting on page 20, Dave ran into some significant issues in several areas which happens when one is trying to push the limits.
On the last page (21), Dave gives some insight on the likely size of the Sierra .5 due to performance goals. Of course, several years have elapsed since the last post so I'm not sure the status of this project or if it's viable.
I did not know about that thread! That is definitely going back a few years, now. But that is pretty much exactly what I was picturing in my mind's eye.
So, obviously, Dave has already considered something along the lines of what I was talking about. And, personally, I still believe there would be a market for it, and a spot for it in the Sierra series lineup. The problem seems to have been the price.
But time marches on, technology continues to develop, and price points come down. I wonder if now, a couple years on from when that thread ended, there might be some potential solutions. Knowing Dave by reputation, I'm sure he hasn't forgotten about this ideaSo I'm guessing there is still too much of a cost issue to make this "Sierra 0.5" viable.
But I wonder - what if the much smaller cabinet were not the design goal? What if a merely "skinny" cabinet and an on-wall placement were the goals instead - ie. the size of the cabinet would be such that a higher price point would not seem out of place? Something more along the lines of a Sierra-1 that just happens to have a cabinet that is better suited for on-wall placement?
My own, custom, "skinny" Horizon Center speaker is an example of this idea. At a mere 7.5" deep and front slot ported, it makes near-a-wall placement much easier than the standard Horizon or Sierra Tower. The 11" height remained the same. But the width grew to a very large 40"! Obviously, that will not work for everybody - haha. But for a Surround/on-wall Sierra-1 variant, something along the lines of:
front ported, 21" tall x 8.5" wide x 6.5" deep, with appropriate wall-mounting inserts included on the back.
I'm not sure if the exact same woofer and tweeter as the Sierra-1 or Sierra-2 would still work for the on-wall placement. But my proposed design would retain the ported design and have the same internal volume as a Sierra-1 cabinet.
I could easily envision speakers of those dimensions flanking a flat panel TV, or hanging proudly on the side walls as Surrounds. And since they LOOK bigger than the Sierra-1 by virtue of being taller and slightly wider, I don't think people would balk at the price being the same or slightly higher than the Sierra-1. It could simply be marketed as a variation of the Sierra-1, much like how the Horizon is basically a Sierra Tower with a different layout, and a moderately increased price.
An 8.5" tall x 21" wide x 6.5" deep horizontal version - with the tweeter and woofer side-by-side - would also make for a nice, matching, "on-wall", "skinny" Center speaker. Can't you just picture a wide, flat, horizontal, on-wall mounted Sierra-2 with the proposed new ribbon tweeter? Seems like it could make for a pretty sweet flat panel aesthetic!
Heck, I'm kind of jazzed about this ideaMaybe I should contact Dave and see if he would build this design as a custom speaker! Maybe it would spark an idea in his head to add it as a standard offering in Ascend's lineup
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