Sierra-2 Development Thread

[Quinn]

How close to the wall can the ports go? Trying to decide if I need an acoustically transparent screen in my new home.

Also how bad would it be to have the CC height a foot lower than the L/R?

[natetg57]

How close to the wall can the ports go? Trying to decide if I need an acoustically transparent screen in my new home.

Also how bad would it be to have the CC height a foot lower than the L/R?

12" or more is ideal but you might be ok with about 6" if you cross then over at 80hz and use a sub. A foot lower for the center should be fine. I would use something to angle it up directly facing your ears

[donaldekelly]

Why did I read through this thread? I just got my Sierra 1s and now I need to save up for the upgrade! Don't the 1s sound great enough (he asks himself)?

[curtis]

Why did I read through this thread? I just got my Sierra 1s and now I need to save up for the upgrade! Don't the 1s sound great enough (he asks himself)?

They do sound great...I am still very happy with mine.

But I have heard the Sierra-2, and will be upgrading when I can.

[donaldekelly]

Not that painful to wait is it? We have to put up with awesome sound in the meantime!

[tulz43]

Has anyone heard the Airmotiv 6 powered monitors and would be able to offer some comparisons? I was planning on replacing my airmotiv 6's with some Kef Ls-50's but then came across Ascend.

I'll be using the new PS Audio Sprout. Should have in a few weeks. I plan to take the Sprout down to Ascend and see what happens. I should be able to get a pair of Ls-50's from my local dealer to try out at home with the sprout. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Remonster]

Has anyone heard the Airmotiv 6 powered monitors and would be able to offer some comparisons? I was planning on replacing my airmotiv 6's with some Kef Ls-50's but then came across Ascend.

I'll be using the new PS Audio Sprout. Should have in a few weeks. I plan to take the Sprout down to Ascend and see what happens. I should be able to get a pair of Ls-50's from my local dealer to try out at home with the sprout. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I used to own the Airmotiv 6s when they first came out (actually I had one of the very first available sets, I think I reviewed them on AVSForum but I can't remember if I deleted that account). I've had Sierra 1s for about a year and just had them upgraded to 2s this past Friday (thanks again Dave and everyone at Ascend for accommodating me on such short notice!!).

For the price, the Airmotivs are great speakers. The bass is muddier and more distorted than I would prefer and the tweeter didn't sound that natural to my ear, but I've owned probably 30+ two way monitors (powered and unpowered) in that price range and the Airmotiv 6 was definitely one of the better ones overall.

I haven't heard the LS50 but I'm not a fan of KEF's overly bright and forward sound, most British speakers tend to have that same type of sound in my experience. Maybe they're catering to older listeners who are losing their ability to hear high frequencies very well, I have noticed that the older people I know really like KEFs and B&Ws but I can't stand them for very long.

The Sierra 2 is on a completely different planet which shouldn't be surprising given the fact that it costs so much more than the Airmotiv 6 and doesn't come with amplifiers built in. In every way, the Sierra 2 just sounds natural and lifelike. More so than anything anywhere near this price range that I've heard. The original Sierra blew me away when I first heard it because it was able to reproduce music so honestly while still managing to be relatively forgiving to low-quality MP3s, this is why I've always had a preference for silk dome tweeters. They always seem to be very smooth and lack sibilance or annoying distortion artifacts that I usually find in aluminum or other metallic tweeters. The magic in the Sierra 2 lies in its ability to add detail throughout the frequency range without adding much more energy or any harshness. They aren't putting out more bass or more treble, that would be dishonest to the original recording, but you hear more details and texture in songs you've heard a hundred times before. Both drivers are extremely well-controlled, that's probably been the thing that sticks out in my mind more than anything else in these first ~10 hours of listening. A lot of speaker designers use under-damped bass drivers because that over-hyped, slightly boomy bass sound is pleasing to most listeners when they quickly audition speakers at the store. In comparison to speakers like that, the 2s can sound bass-shy especially with certain genres of music. I tried using them alone for about an hour but I'm much happier with them crossed over at 80Hz to my SVS SB12 NSD.

To sum it up quickly, I returned the Airmotivs after just two weeks but I don't see myself ever getting rid of my Sierras. I listen to an extremely wide variety of styles of music and the 2s just nail every single song I've played through them. I wouldn't change a thing.

[smurraybhm]

That's the dumbest reason I have ever read on an AV forum for someone preferring what you are labeling "brighter" speakers - KEF and B&W - someone is old and has lost the ability to hear higher frequencies. I guess since I am almost 55 and have had Sierra 2s for 10 months now I need to get rid of them - even though I think they sound great. By the way at my age and having been in this hobby since I was 14 I've heard my share of 2 way bookshelf speakers as well. KEF and B&W make some excellent speakers, for me the Acends just sound better. Age, hearing ability or neither.

[Remonster]

That's the dumbest reason I have ever read on an AV forum for someone preferring what you are labeling "brighter" speakers - KEF and B&W - someone is old and has lost the ability to hear higher frequencies. I guess since I am almost 55 and have had Sierra 2s for 10 months now I need to get rid of them - even though I think they sound great. By the way at my age and having been in this hobby since I was 14 I've heard my share of 2 way bookshelf speakers as well. KEF and B&W make some excellent speakers, for me the Acends just sound better. Age, hearing ability or neither.

It was just a joke, as you get older you lose your ability to hear VERY high frequencies but KEF and B&W have a more forward sound signature on purpose. Nothing to do with helping old people hear, it's just a different presentation and a lot of people prefer lively, forward speakers over more laid back ones.

[tulz43]

Thanks Remonster. That's what I was thinking but always nice to hear from someone that has owned both. I was happy with the ls50 bass when I heard them last. I don't think I'll need a sub as the 2's go a good bit lower on paper. Plus I'm in a townhouse with a shared wall where the sub would have to go. Maybe for movies and entertaining a sub would be nice down the road.

I don't foresee myself ever going more than 2 channels. I would say music is play 90% of the time.

Can't wait to get down to Ascend and hear these first hand.