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Thread: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Fort Smith, Arkansas
    Posts
    51

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    They look great. Can't wait to see how you utilize these custom sizes in your setup.

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    373

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    These are likely the last photos before my speakers ship!

    Just waiting on the "Skinny" Horizon Center to be all assembled and tested!

    In the mean time, prepare to drool...

    Ready?

    Vertical Sierra Horizons.jpg

    And just to round out the set, here's a row of custom matte black finish Sierra-1 NrT speakers

    Sierra-1 NrT Row.jpg

    Almost there!

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Space Coast, FL
    Posts
    578

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    Excellent pics, thanks for sharing with us!

    For your satisfaction, I've taken the liberty of redirecting your shipment to my house first. I will perform critical evaluations over the next 120 days to ensure these loudspeakers meet your stringent requirements. After I've sufficiently drooled over them, I will repack and ship to your residence.
    -Jacob

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    373

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    Sounds good, Jacob! Shall I forward my Onkyo TX-NR5010 and ATI AT1805 to you so that you can evaluate the entire signal chain?


  5. #25
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Space Coast, FL
    Posts
    578

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    You betcha! It's the only way to be sure. I'm glad we see eye to eye on this.

    Seriously, I can't wait to read your comments once everything is installed. I know these will rock your socks off. The ensuing review and feedback will be legendary, exceeding 3 forum pages in length. No wait, that's entirely incorrect. You'll be SPEECHLESS (for once, right?). It will take your breath away and you'll be reduced to Cave Man grunts. The logical/reasoning side of your brain will go into an infinite reboot loop as it tries to cope with the effects of Reaching the Peak of Audio Purity.

    *ahem*
    -Jacob

  6. #26
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    277

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    The first thing I thought of when I saw all of Jonathon's Sierra 1 NRTs together was - "standing army". Defeating the enemy of sound mediocrity, of course.

    I looked back through this thread and just saw the pic of Jonathon's custom made "front wide" speakers, with the cabinet of the Sierra 1 but with a RAAL 70 20XR (?) tweeter and the same midrange driver as the towers, to more closely match them in that critical range.

    Immediately I thought that it might be a foretaste of the Sierra 2! I'm thinking that the Sierra 2's woofer might be somewhat modified from the one in the tower, to reach lower, but other than that, pretty much the same! That way, the Sierra 2s would be that much more of a seamless match with the towers. All guesses of course.

    Congrats on an such an inspiring and bold purchase!

    Mark

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    373

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    Thanks!

    Yup, those Front Wides were a truly unexpected choice. I made it clear to Dave that my absolute top priority was to have as close to a perfectly matching midrange and treble of the Front 3 Sierra Horizon RAAL speakers as is possible.

    I asked whether that would be the Sierra-1 NrT, the upcoming Sierra-2, or just a Sierra-1 with the RAAL 70-20XR tweeter. Dave responded by telling me that if bass extension below 90-100Hz or so was of no concern, using the RAAL 70-20XR with the Sierra Tower midrange driver was the way to go. Clearly, I followed his advice

    Dave said flat out that this custom Sierra bookshelf with the RAAL 70-20XR and Sierra Tower midrange driver would be a better match in the midrange and treble to the Sierra Horizon RAAL speakers than the Sierra-2, or any other variation of the Sierra-1. So, when speculating about the Sierra-2, I would take that into account.

    I just made the final payment for all 11 speakers. So, I'm not looking to upgrade in the immediate future -- haha. But don't think for a second that upgrading those 6 custom matte black finish Sierra-1 NrT speakers hasn't crossed my mind!

    For me, it has never been as critical to have a PERFECT midrange and treble match in the Surround, Surround Back, and Front Height speakers. All of those speakers are in elevated positions, and typically very close to at least one wall. So identical response to the Front 3 speakers is never going to happen, regardless! Dave seems to be largely in agreement with me, as he'll often recommend a different model of speaker for the Surrounds vs. the Front 3. Dave's already said that he thinks the Sierra-2 will become the ideal choice for a Surround speaker to match with the Sierra Tower RAAL and Sierra Horizon RAAL. But, as I've already mentioned, even the Sierra-2 is not a PERFECT midrange and treble match. So, some amount of difference is clearly expected.

    For me, whether I eventually upgrade my Sierra-1 NrT speakers to Sierra-2 will all come down to the vertical dispersion. The RAAL ribbons already buck the trend of most other ribbon tweeters by having very wide horizontal dispersion, whereas most other ribbon tweeters are quite "beam-y" with narrow horizontal dispersion. But, to my knowledge, the NrT still has taller vertical dispersion than the RAAL ribbons. So, in the elevated positions, I still think that might be a bigger benefit.

    However, I certainly do not know for sure! For the Surround speakers, I have a feeling I'll be compelled to upgrade to the Sierra-2 to get that closer sonic match. The Surround Backs and Front Heights, though. Those are going to be a tougher sell. They're used so infrequently already. I could see myself upgrading the Surround Backs, too, some day, just for the heck of it, really -- haha. But, truthfully, I've found Front Height speakers to be of so little use and value, I'd REALLY have to hear something special in a Surround and Surround Back upgrade before I'd be convinced to upgrade the Heights, too. That said, if the Sierra-2's ribbon tweeter DOES have reduced vertical dispersion compared to the NrT, that might actually be the position that would benefit the most! Since they're so close to the ceiling, even mounted upside down and angled, the Front Heights are subject to some pretty strong early reflections.

    So, heck, I might have just already convinced myself of another 6 speaker upgrades! haha. But, seriously, I'm going to enjoy the Sierra-1 NrT for a good while first. Nice to know there's still SOME other speaker upgrade waiting for me if I want it, though! Now, bring on Dolby Atmos at home so I have a good excuse to get 53 more speakers! I'm sure Dave would accommodate me -- haha.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Posts
    169

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    Quote Originally Posted by jonathan_teller View Post
    Now, bring on Dolby Atmos at home so I have a good excuse to get 53 more speakers! I'm sure Dave would accommodate me -- haha.
    Not sure about Dave but Dark Ranger/Jacob will sure do

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    373

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    So...

    shipping will take place next week! Dave and I were hoping for today (Friday, Aug.09, 2013), but safety is FAR more important than expediency! So measures are being taken to make sure that all of my speakers arrive safely!

    While, naturally, the wait is tough, the good news is that we get a few photos of the finished "Skinny" Horizon Center!

    Behold:

    Skinny Center Front.jpg

    There it is from the front, looking like the BEAST that it is!

    Skinny Center Back.jpg

    There it is from the back, getting measured by a lucky microphone

    And...

    wait for it...

    Skinny Center Demo.jpg

    Look! There it is in Dave's demo room!

    And, hey, look at Dave's new TV! Remember this guy from before?

    I had to laugh 'cause I was picturing how absurd the "Skinny" would look sitting beneath that tiny old CRT I kinda woulda loved it -- just for the juxtaposition -- haha.

    Anywho, that should be it until they ship and arrive!

    Wish me luck!

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Posts
    169

    Default Re: You Guys Wanna Hear About Some Custom Speakers?

    Hi Jonathan

    Just wondering if you had a chance to fire up the new toys yet ?

    -Ron

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