Amplifier suggestion for Sierra Tower RAAL tweeter

[Rob from NJ]

Currently powering my Ascend Sierra Towers and Horizon (RAALs) with a Denon 4311. The 4311 powers my speakers perfectly. Absolutely no complaints. I tend to mainly watch movies, however, occasionally listen to music.

I'm starting to get the itch to research/purchase a 2 channel external amplifier for my Towers to determine if I can get even better performance when listening to music (usually via stereo 2.1). My budget is most likely approximately $1K and under. Started to research Emotiva and Parasound (The Halo brand looks out of my price range).

Does anyone have experience powering the Towers with an Emotiva amplifier? Parasound amplifier? If yes, any information on performance is appreciated.

Also, any recommendations for amplifier brands and models that I should look into would be great.

[Dark Ranger]

Does anyone have experience powering the Towers with an Emotiva amplifier? Parasound amplifier? If yes, any information on performance is appreciated.

I don't have the Towers, but I do have a Horizon being powered by an Emotiva amp. In fact, I own 3 Emotiva amps that power my Ascend HT and bedroom setup and can recommend them. Great value and performance. I can't afford McIntosh and Krell, but Emotiva gets me close for far less coin.

Coming from a 6+ year old entry-level Denon AVR, the Emotiva amps were like night and day. You've got a much more capable AVR, so the difference may not be as much. However, I am completely satisfied with the Emotiva amplifiers. They do have a 30-day return policy, so you don't have to keep it if you don't like it.

Also, any recommendations for amplifier brands and models that I should look into would be great.

I've heard good things about Wyred 4 Sound. There are lots of great amps out there, and if you're looking for higher-end gear on the cheap, check out the used market.

[Rob from NJ]

I don't have the Towers, but I do have a Horizon being powered by an Emotiva amp. In fact, I own 3 Emotiva amps that power my Ascend HT and bedroom setup and can recommend them. Great value and performance. I can't afford McIntosh and Krell, but Emotiva gets me close for far less coin.

Coming from a 6+ year old entry-level Denon AVR, the Emotiva amps were like night and day. You've got a much more capable AVR, so the difference may not be as much. However, I am completely satisfied with the Emotiva amplifiers. They do have a 30-day return policy, so you don't have to keep it if you don't like it.



I've heard good things about Wyred 4 Sound. There are lots of great amps out there, and if you're looking for higher-end gear on the cheap, check out the used market.

Jacob, Thanks for the feedback on Emotiva. Emotiva amps are in my price range. I'll also check out wyred 4 sound.

[Gov]

Currently powering my Ascend Sierra Towers and Horizon (RAALs) with a Denon 4311. The 4311 powers my speakers perfectly. Absolutely no complaints. I tend to mainly watch movies, however, occasionally listen to music.

I'm starting to get the itch to research/purchase a 2 channel external amplifier for my Towers to determine if I can get even better performance when listening to music (usually via stereo 2.1). My budget is most likely approximately $1K and under. Started to research Emotiva and Parasound (The Halo brand looks out of my price range).

Does anyone have experience powering the Towers with an Emotiva amplifier? Parasound amplifier? If yes, any information on performance is appreciated.

Also, any recommendations for amplifier brands and models that I should look into would be great.

Save your money, the 4311 is more than enough for any Ascend speaker.

[Rob from NJ]

Save your money, the 4311 is more than enough for any Ascend speaker.

Agreed, the 4311 drive my towers/Horizon/Surrounds fine. I'm curious about adding power to my towers and the affects of improving stereo music. Will I be able to tell the difference and is there sound improvement with the use of a power amplifier/additional power? Have you used an amplifier and not achieved results different than the 4311?

[Kisakuku]

Agreed, the 4311 drive my towers/Horizon/Surrounds fine. I'm curious about adding power to my towers and the affects of improving stereo music. Will I be able to tell the difference and is there sound improvement with the use of a power amplifier/additional power? Have you used an amplifier and not achieved results different than the 4311?

Lots of posts about this in the AVS 4311 thread, but this one pretty much sums it up. "For those maxing out internal amps, Emo XPA and UPA amps on sale are excellent bargains, but only if you need the power." The Sierra Towers have a relatively high sensitivity, so unless you're driving them to insane levels, there won't be a difference.

[Rob from NJ]

Lots of posts about this in the AVS 4311 thread, but this one pretty much sums it up. "For those maxing out internal amps, Emo XPA and UPA amps on sale are excellent bargains, but only if you need the power." The Sierra Towers have a relatively high sensitivity, so unless you're driving them to insane levels, there won't be a difference.

To validate your point, read an interesting 6 months old thread on Audioholics about this very same topic. The resident experts agreed the Denon 4311CI is plenty powerful enough to drive towers with similar sensitivity to the Ascend Sierras without any performance and/or sound quality issues with the overall system. Reasons for an external amp provided was more headroom - huge room size, playing extremely loud volume, lack of sub use. Quality of sound was not a reason to purchase an amp.

Even though my room is large, my listening volume is normal for both music and movies, and I have never had an issue of hearing any strains with the Sierra Towers. So based upon this information, I will use my money for different audio/video projects. I'm interested in eventually either converting my 5.1 system to a 7.2 system and/or upgrading my current surrounds and adding a second sub. Thanks for the advice from Gov and you about forgoing an amplifier for now.

[Kisakuku]

Glad we agree and great point about higher power requirements of systems lacking an amplified subwoofer. External amps are a great tool if used to achieve specific goals rather than to get a placebo SQ improvement. I would happily get one if I ever go to a 11.1/11.2 setup with my 4311 or start hosting indoor raves.

[Gov]

Agreed, the 4311 drive my towers/Horizon/Surrounds fine. I'm curious about adding power to my towers and the affects of improving stereo music. Will I be able to tell the difference and is there sound improvement with the use of a power amplifier/additional power? Have you used an amplifier and not achieved results different than the 4311?

For the record, I tried an Emotiiva amplifier on my old Pioneer VSX-1014TX with my old Ascend 340SE set up. While I liked the Emotiva, it made no difference at all so I sold it off. The Pioneer was a pretty beefy unit, but the 4311 is even beefier, so I have not been tempted to try another amplifer with the towers which are an easy load just as the 340SE's were.

[Rob from NJ]

For the record, I tried an Emotiiva amplifier on my old Pioneer VSX-1014TX with my old Ascend 340SE set up. While I liked the Emotiva, it made no difference at all so I sold it off. The Pioneer was a pretty beefy unit, but the 4311 is even beefier, so I have not been tempted to try another amplifer with the towers which are an easy load just as the 340SE's were.

Gov, Thanks. Will save my money and starting to think about upgrading my system to 7.1 or 7.2. Maybe the Sierra 2 when released will be the answer.