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Thread: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

  1. #21
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    Default Re: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by RPM View Post
    D.R.

    Thanks for a great comparison review, well worth the wait!
    It does have me in somewhat of a dilemma however. I was pretty close
    to ordering a Rythmik sub to go with my Seirra 1 pair, but this upgrade seems
    like money well spent as well. It would be great to do both right away but thats not
    possible. which would be better first?
    Hi RPM,

    Thanks for the complements. Sorry that I've made things difficult for you.

    Quite frankly, you can't go wrong with either. Your running the NrT upgrade, though, which means a smaller jump to the Sierra-2 than from the standard Sierra-1. I've never heard the Sierra-1 NrT and I'd be hesitant to say exactly what you'll be upgrading from. I'd recommend you read forum member Mag_Neato's recent posts here. He's upgraded from the NrT to Sierra-2, plus he's got a Rythmik sub. His comments will be more appropriate than mine in this regard.

    That being said, you were pretty much set on purchasing a subwoofer. Is your system for music only or multipurpose HT/music? If for music only, I'd be inclined to suggest the Sierra-2 upgrade first. It will absolutely bring realism, detail, and transparency to the next level. However, if you also use the system for movies, I think you'll be impressed with the performance and sound quality of the Rythmik. Plus you can use it for music and bolster the low end.

    Hope this helps.
    -Jacob

  2. #22
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    Jan 2013
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    22

    Default Re: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

    You already have a great bookshelf but nothing for the low end. It doesn't matter if you upgrade to the -2 now or later so I'd go for the rythmik. I'm also using the -2 with a rythmik and they sound great.

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    130

    Default Re: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by RPM View Post
    D.R.

    Thanks for a great comparison review, well worth the wait!
    It does have me in somewhat of a dilemma however. I was pretty close
    to ordering a Rythmik sub to go with my Seirra 1 pair, but this upgrade seems
    like money well spent as well. It would be great to do both right away but thats not
    possible. which would be better first?
    Hello RPM!

    I was in the same situation as you. But I opted to get the S2 upgrade first. I had only a pair of NrT that I like a lot, but the S2 prices are not final, in the PDF about pricing Dave says they don't expect the price of S2 and upgrade components to stay the same due to high costs of manufacturing of suppliers, etc. So as I needed a center speaker as well, I decided to go for the S2 upgrade and S2 center and not wait until the prices go up (they are still in the mail)... I already have a sub, though not the best thing in the world, it is barely decent... But its something... A Rythmik f12 is in the plans but maybe for next year... Hope this helps.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    77

    Default Re: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

    Thanks for your thoughts guys! Decisions decisions.....
    MacMini > Audirvana > Musical Fidelity V Dac II >
    Emotiva XSP-1 > Emotiva XPA-2 > Sierra Tower NRT > Rythmik F12SE > My Ears >

  5. #25
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    Default Re: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

    Jacob, I'm wondering if you could confirm, or not the imaging results I've noticed with my Sierra-2s.

    Today is the day I'm going to do the substantial set-up to compare the Twos with my Towers, currently they're just sitting on top of the Towers in my large shop building. Playing them this morning, I was walking around watching for customers coming down the driveway, so I had to walk over to the window every now and then. And this was when it struck me how the imaging was still solid even after I walked past the parallel line to the outside speaker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I would have to attribute this to the amazing polar response of these speakers, but for whatever reason I've never experienced such a huge "sweet spot", and I would like to know if you find this to be the case in your smaller room.

    Jay

  6. #26
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    Default Re: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by petmotel View Post
    Jacob, I'm wondering if you could confirm, or not the imaging results I've noticed with my Sierra-2s.

    Today is the day I'm going to do the substantial set-up to compare the Twos with my Towers, currently they're just sitting on top of the Towers in my large shop building. Playing them this morning, I was walking around watching for customers coming down the driveway, so I had to walk over to the window every now and then. And this was when it struck me how the imaging was still solid even after I walked past the parallel line to the outside speaker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I would have to attribute this to the amazing polar response of these speakers, but for whatever reason I've never experienced such a huge "sweet spot", and I would like to know if you find this to be the case in your smaller room.

    Jay
    Hi Jay,

    Due to my furniture layout and room setup, my usual listening position is 6 feet away from the baffle, and the farthest I can move off-axis is 3.5 feet outside the right speaker or 1.5 feet outside the left speaker. I'm not sure how that compares to your position earlier today. Also, the toe-in, height, and distance of my speakers is likely much different than yours.

    That being said, I queued up some tracks I use for image testing:

    Patricia Barber - She's a Lady (Modern Cool album): I like using this one for the finger snaps that start about 30 seconds in. It's a nice stereo effect in the sweet spot. As I moved off axis to the right or left, I could still "see" the elliptical orb created in front of the speakers with the snaps. It wasn't quite as sharp as sitting directly in the center, but definitely passable.

    I Ching - Gadamaylin (HeadFi & HDtracks Open Your Ears album): This track has a nice "out of phase" effect that creates a bubble around you. The effect dropped off noticeably as I moved to the boundaries mentioned above. I lost most of it at the extreme right side.

    Darshan Ambient - Ghosts of Africa (Dream in Blue album): There's a nice mix of percussion, drums, and electronic effects across the front stage that produces an enjoyable image. At the boundaries, the image was definitely more "dull" but that didn't take away from the excellent sound quality.

    I definitely agree that the sweet spot has widened from my Sierra-1. I also noticed significantly less "phasing" effects with the Sierra-2 while moving from the left to the right side. Everything is very smooth. Sometimes I have a guest join me for a movie, but the two chairs are fairly close together. Still very much in the sweet spot.

    Do you happen to recall which track was playing when you noticed it? I can see if I have it and give it a whirl. Also, how far were you beyond the outside cabinet edge?

    Put it this way, I don't have any complaints. There's definitely an improvement over the 1s in this area. I remember when I fired up JRiver MC for the first time, played a track in mono (to both speakers), and then switched to stereo. The stereo image virtually jumped up to the ceiling and out to the side walls. It was HUGE.
    Last edited by Dark Ranger; 01-20-2014 at 10:40 PM.
    -Jacob

  7. #27
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    Default Re: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

    Hi guys!

    Just wanted to add a little bit more. I got a chance to watch a movie tonight (finally!) and wanted to test out the low-level performance some more. Thanks to a disc loan from a friend, I watched Pixar's Up (2009). It's a great film that I haven't seen in a while.

    For this film I used only the Sierra-2 pair running full-range: HTPC > Emotiva XDA-2 (via optical) > XPA-1L pair (via XLR). No surround channels and no subwoofer. I kept the listening levels fairly low, between 50 dBC and 60 dBC at ~5 feet back, although some action sequences peaked just under 70 dBC.

    I never had to strain to hear anything even during the soft parts. Dialogue, effects, and music were extremely clean and clear. Plenty of detail even at well below reference levels. The low end was tight and clean, with a surprising amount of power considering the subwoofer was off. Everything sounded fantastic. It was a very enjoyable experience considering that I normally watching movies with the calibrated 7.1 system.

    The low-volume performance of these Twos is outstanding. I've noticed a couple of folks posting recently with preference for intelligible dialogue, etc. at low volumes. The Sierra-2 is your ticket if you can't fit or afford the Sierra Towers.
    -Jacob

  8. #28
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    Clovis, CA
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    Default Re: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

    Thank you for your impressions of the Sierra-2, DR. I've been meaning to make some comments for a while now, but I've been either very busy or very lazy. In many ways, your initial impression is my greatest fear, that I won't love them because they will be very different compared to the Sierra-1. I love that warm, sweet, velvety top end of the Sierra-1- it's very forgiving, smooth, and pleasing to listen to everything on them.

    You say the Sierra-2 is brutally honest, and that is pretty much how I imagine them being. About half of my music collection is lossless and half is lossy, but what really matters is recording quality, and a lot of my favorite songs aren't recorded with the best equipment, etc. Or they are intentionally dressed down in their fidelity-ness, for lack of a better word. That's just how they are, and I wish I could made them sound 'high-definition', for lack of another better word.

    So my fear is that if I get the Sierra-2, a lot of my favorite songs won't sound as good. That, and I mostly use my HTPC for playing YouTube music videos while entertaining/hanging with friends, and we all know Youtube isn't the best for SQ, but it is pretty good nowadays. Maybe I could link to some videos and ask if you could evaluate how they sound on the Sierra-2's?

    Above all else, I love a smooth sounding speaker, and I've heard that word used multiple times to describe the Sierra-2, so I have much hope. I don't want it to seem like all my musical tastes are questionable from a purely SQ perspective, because a lot of my favorite songs do sound very, very good. And if the Sierra-2 can take those songs that sound very good and make them sound even better and more real, I am ALL for that! Plus, it sounds like a very nice improvement for movies/TV with dialogue and intelligibility in mind.
    Home - Sony 75" 900H, Denon X3500, Sierra-1 L/R, Emotiva C2+ Center
    Car - Arc Audio KS 300.2, 300.4, 2500.1; Arc Audio Black 6.2; (2) Arc Audio Black 12's; Audison BitOne

  9. #29
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    Dec 2012
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    157

    Default Re: DR's Sierra-2 Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by edgeh2o View Post
    Thank you for your impressions of the Sierra-2, DR. I've been meaning to make some comments for a while now, but I've been either very busy or very lazy. In many ways, your initial impression is my greatest fear, that I won't love them because they will be very different compared to the Sierra-1. I love that warm, sweet, velvety top end of the Sierra-1- it's very forgiving, smooth, and pleasing to listen to everything on them.

    You say the Sierra-2 is brutally honest, and that is pretty much how I imagine them being. About half of my music collection is lossless and half is lossy, but what really matters is recording quality, and a lot of my favorite songs aren't recorded with the best equipment, etc. Or they are intentionally dressed down in their fidelity-ness, for lack of a better word. That's just how they are, and I wish I could made them sound 'high-definition', for lack of another better word.

    So my fear is that if I get the Sierra-2, a lot of my favorite songs won't sound as good. That, and I mostly use my HTPC for playing YouTube music videos while entertaining/hanging with friends, and we all know Youtube isn't the best for SQ, but it is pretty good nowadays. Maybe I could link to some videos and ask if you could evaluate how they sound on the Sierra-2's?

    Above all else, I love a smooth sounding speaker, and I've heard that word used multiple times to describe the Sierra-2, so I have much hope. I don't want it to seem like all my musical tastes are questionable from a purely SQ perspective, because a lot of my favorite songs do sound very, very good. And if the Sierra-2 can take those songs that sound very good and make them sound even better and more real, I am ALL for that! Plus, it sounds like a very nice improvement for movies/TV with dialogue and intelligibility in mind.
    Just buy an AppleTV and sign up for iTunes Match, upload your songs and it'll upgrade your poorer songs quality to the higher iTunes one and store it all in the iCloud. My Sierra-2s sounds pretty amazing with music playing from the AppleTV. Thats what I did to upgrade my poorer quality songs. Sierra-2s are a big upgrade to the Sierra-1 NrT IMHO everything is so clear and detailed and sounds so much more real, a bigger soundstage that separates the sounds in a way I wasn't expecting, also low volume listening is MUCH improved, it's really well worth the upgrade price.
    Last edited by JustABrah; 01-30-2014 at 01:51 AM.

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