New Sierra-2 impressions...

[eliwankenobi]

Hello everybody!

Last week I got the upgrades and my center s2! Very excited with them. I've only been able to do just one speaker, could not the other one since I received a wrong sized woofer gasket. Called Dina and immediately sent another one. Should be here soon. So far my customer service experience with Ascend has been very good, no complaints.

So, I took the chance to compare the one S2 to the one NrT. One next to the other, and listening near field the difference is remarkable. The NrT us more forward (not that I have a problem with that) while the RAAL is so smooth and detailed and more relax, no harshness what so ever. Putting my face less that a foot from the speakers I could tell very easily that the NrT's sound came from the dome tweeter, meaning I could localize the tweeter as the source, but with the RAAL, not at all. I mean it was like its coming from somewhere in the front of the speaker, but not from the tweeter. More like a floating sound source from somewhere in the area of the speaker.. Very weird and cool.

When the other gasket gets here, I should be able to comment more and a proper review!

EDIT:

Meanwhile here is a pic

IMG_3687-2.jpg

[Harley Weewax]

The RAAL tweeter is what tipped the scales in favor of the S2's for me. I have wanted to get into ribbon tweeters for about a decade now, but they are expensive.

I had already decided to go with Ascend based on their customer service. There is no shortage of good loudspeakers on the market today. What Ascend offers that I really appreciated was their QC. That is one of the biggest aspects of the way Ascend does things that impressed me. I REALLY liked that I get response plots for my individual speaker and that pairs are level matched. But the Towers with RAAL were just too expensive for me.

Then I read about the S2's. I had to have them. And the ribbons are everything they are purported to be. Their clarity and acuity coupled with no fatigue whatsoever is so refreshing. There is no boom and tizz here. Just wide open airy highs and well controlled bass response. I know this sounds like hyperbole, but it really isn't. These tweeters are amazing. Combined with the SEAS woofer, this is a well integrated and happy speaker.

I have had the S2's set up as LCRs and 170s as surrounds. I have been running subless as I wait for the Rythmik FV15HPs to arrive. They work without a sub just fine for 90% of my listening. So far it is 90/10 in favor of HT/TV over music and the speakers are just fine without a sub. Now I am not a dolt. I am not saying that bookshelf speakers will rattle windows and slam you in the chest when something explodes onscreen. Or that the latest dubstep track will be heard across the street. However the bass response is there and it is tight and controlled enough that it is still satisfying for most watching/listening. Especially with a three year old in the house.

Anyhow, tldnr version: the Sierra 2s are great; buy them.

When I get my sub in and begin my Audyssey odyssey I will be sure and start a thread with my experiences. I just ordered a UMIK-1 and am reading up on REW. Down the rabbit hole I go...

[davef]

Great read. Any idea what stands the Sierra's are on..

Those are the Sanus SF-30. Nice stands for the $$$

[ematthews]

Those are the Sanus SF-30. Nice stands for the $$$

Dave What do you recommend using my preamp setting on for the new Sierra 2's WITH SUB...
Full range Or High pass
Respect to the other answers. Just wondering what Dave would do.

[curtis]

Dave What do you recommend using my preamp setting on for the new Sierra 2's WITH SUB...
Full range Or High pass
Respect to the other answers. Just wondering what Dave would do.

I'm not Dave...so don't take any of this as his answer.

The idea of the high pass is to alleviate the woofer in the speaker of doing work that is better left to the subwoofer.

When at the Ascend offices just couple weeks ago to hear the Sierra-2, the subject of using a subwoofer with the Sierra-2's came up to get "closer" to the sound of the Sierra Tower w/RAAL....taking deep bass work from the Sierra-2 would help.

One thing for sure, if using a sub with the Sierra-2, high passed or not, I recommend something with great sound quality. Anything less is not going match well. The Sierra-2's bass quality is outstanding. If I didn't have a good enough sub, I wouldn't use one.

That all said, it won't hurt to try all the combinations and figure out which you like best.

[ematthews]

I'm not Dave...so don't take any of this as his answer.

The idea of the high pass is to alleviate the woofer in the speaker of doing work that is better left to the subwoofer.

When at the Ascend offices just couple weeks ago to hear the Sierra-2, the subject of using a subwoofer with the Sierra-2's came up to get "closer" to the sound of the Sierra Tower w/RAAL....taking deep bass work from the Sierra-2 would help.

One thing for sure, if using a sub with the Sierra-2, high passed or not, I recommend something with great sound quality. Anything less is not going match well. The Sierra-2's bass quality is outstanding. If I didn't have a good enough sub, I wouldn't use one.

That all said, it won't hurt to try all the combinations and figure out which you like best.

Thanks. So you are saying I need a good sub to match. I own the Martin Logan Grotto... I plan on replacing it with a Rythmik F12.. Would this be good enough?

[curtis]

Thanks. So you are saying I need a good sub to match. I own the Martin Logan Grotto... I plan on replacing it with a Rythmik F12.. Would this be good enough?

I don't know how the Martin Logan fairs, but I know the Rythmik has excellent sound quality. I own an F15HP.

I don't own Sierra-2's yet...their bass quality is better than the Sierra-1's, although not quite as deep. Crossed at 80hz, with phased dialed in right, the F15HP is seamless with my Sierra-1's. When I had a VTF-3MK3, I had to cross at 60hz with the Sierra-1's...above that, the quality didn't match and not seamless.

I have a feeling I may have to cross lower than 80hz with the Sierra-2's, but I'm not worried about it, as we were listening to them fullrange no-sub, at some very loud levels, and they handled it beautifully.

[ematthews]

I'm a little nervous going with the Sierra 2 for the sole purpose of not getting enough bass quantity.. Not quality, as I know I will get that. My intentions for replacing my Polk's was to go with a really good book shelf and sub set up... I want a very full top to bottom sound.

[curtis]

I'm a little nervous going with the Sierra 2 for the sole purpose of not getting enough bass quantity.. Not quality, as I know I will get that. My intentions for replacing my Polk's was to go with a really good book shelf and sub set up... I want a very full top to bottom sound.

How big is your room? Ascend's demo room is pretty big.

Dave measured output at 12' and we hit over 105dB....two speakers only, no sub. Behind where Dave was measuring is around another 3-4'. The Sierra-2's had no problem with it.

I don't think you have anything to worry about, especially if you are getting a Rythmik in the future.

What you will have problems with wrapping your head around is the quality of the bass vs your Polks.

[FirstReflect]

When it comes to bass and the crossover between the subwoofers and speakers, it's not about the capabilities of the speakers, it's about what your room acoustics will allow you to hear at your seat.

The Sierra-2 will output their bass to whatever their linear extension limit is (seems to be something close to 50Hz or so), and they will roll off below that point with something close to a 24dB/octave slope when using their standard ported configuration (no port plugs).

But that is not what you're going to hear at your primary seat. Furthermore, what you hear at your primary seat is not what you will hear at the seat beside the primary seat. And that won't be the same as what you hear at your 3rd seat, 4th seat, and so on.

Your speakers need to be placed wherever works best for imaging, soundstage, and proper integration with images from your display. Those will not be the best spots in your room in terms of giving you uniform, linear bass response. And there's nothing wrong with that! That is exactly what subwoofers are for.

So what I strongly recommend is to first position and set up your speakers for good imaging and soundstage. Then start playing some bass sweeps. I typically use a marked, linear sweep from 100Hz down to 30Hz that can be easily made for free over at audiocheck.net . That way, I can easily listen to the sweep and count the clicks to know the approximate frequency at which any notable dips or peaks stand out.

Play the sweep on repeat through only one speaker at a time, and listen to the sweep at every seat in your room that matters to you. You'll come to discover that the bass response is not uniform from seat to seat, and you might discover a very large dip or peak at certain frequencies at certain seats.

Make a note of any large dips. There's no way to fix those with EQ. Therefore, you want to set your speaker crossover (high pass filter) to a frequency above any large dips. Let your subwoofers handle the frequencies below that point, and you'll be treated to much more linear and uniform bass throughout your room