Sierra 2 Reviews

[davef]

Hey look! It's me in those videos!

haha.

I appreciate you posting those links, and I'm even happier that you found my opinions helpful! I've really been blown away and overjoyed at the response AV Rant Podcast has received ever since we changed the format of the show to being pretty much all Q&A. We never intended for it to become a 2 hour show on a regular basis. We thought we'd have maybe 2 or 3 questions a week and then we'd fill out the rest of an hour with some news or something. But there's no arguing with the results! So, hey, if this turns a few more folks on to our little show, I'd certainly love to welcome any and all new listeners!

As for the Sierra-2 and the Sierra Towers RAAL, it's funny that you bring up the topic of bass. When I first got my Sierra Horizon RAAL speakers (I use two of them that are in a vertical arrangement as my main speakers, and they essentially sound very similar to the Towers RAAL), as much as I personally tend to gravitate to treble in terms of what I listen for first, the very first thing that actually jumped out at me was their bass quality.

I come across this frequently; I really think that most people have become accustomed to substantially distorted and inaccurately prolonged bass without realizing it! There is no surprise or shame in that. It is very, very easy for bass to continue to "ring" for quite a while after the signal actually said to stop, and it is also very, very easy for distorted bass to be mistaken as louder or even "fuller" or "more impressive" bass.

I would highly encourage everyone to listen to some really good in-ear monitors with extended bass output. I use the Shure SE535 or SE846 as examples. Once you hear bass reproduced by in-ear monitors like those, it becomes extremely clear just how distorted and over-long almost all other bass reproduction really is!

Bass can be "tight"; it can have tone and texture and detail. While it's easy to be impressed by "slam", tactile "gut punches", and vibration, if you're not noticing individual, delineated notes with texture and timbre in the bass, then you're missing out on what's actually present in many recordings.

So the bass from the Horizon RAAL speakers (and that would apply to the Towers, too) really stood out to me right away because they preserved the same sort of detail, texture, and "quickness" in the bass as those excellent Shure in-ear monitors. That level of transient response accuracy is maintained to the highest degree all the way up through the midrange and into the treble with the Horizon RAAL speakers. So from top to bottom, they are an example of producing only what is actually in the recording!

And that can be an interesting - even off-putting - experience when you hear it for the first time. It really does sound as though something is "missing" if you've not heard recordings reproduced that cleanly before. And there is something missing: distortion and residual sound energy that isn't in the recording and isn't actually supposed to be there! We've all just become accustomed to it, though, because the vast majority of other speakers out there produce far more distortion and residual energy than we realize.

The real key, in my opinion, is to let yourself get used to hearing things through the Sierra RAAL speakers and then going back and listening to your old speakers again. That's when it hits you like a ton of bricks just how much detail is being masked, covered up, and lost by all of the distortion and residual energy from most other speakers.

- Rob H.

This is a great post, Rob. Thanks! You are 100% correct, for many listeners -- hearing speakers designed for an accurate time domain response can be off-putting at first. The typical response is indeed "sounds like something is missing". It is similar to listening to speakers in a reflective room and then listening to the same speakers in a well treated room. It does take a bit of getting used to but once you get used to it, there is no going back

[donaldekelly]

I find these posts interesting - about the more accurate bass in the Sierras and the effects of room treatment.

Rob and Tom's podcast on the Sierras was entertaining - I stayed up till 1am listening to it and plan to catch up on many more. Entertaining and the right level of information for my low to middling knowledge.

And I find it interesting to hear Dave's comments on room treatment. Seems like the room treatment folks will tell you the room is much more important than the speakers. And most speaker designers/sellers will not give any props to the benefits of room treatments. The truth is on both sides I guess. At least I am upgrading both.

Thanks for the comments and podcasts and speakers! At last a speaker expert that affirms the value of room treatments. And an expert on almost everything audio or video that weighs in on every aspect of AV you could imagine - with rants for added entertainment value!

Later edit - I read an interview where David said the most important parts of a good sound system are
1 speakers
2 -7 speakers
7 room
8-10 everything else.

That clears it up. Aside from the two number 7s.

[dislocatedday]

I have spent probably way too much time over the last couple years reading various online forums (including this one) about all sorts of speakers. I had begun to think about upgrading my speakers back in 2012, and whatever speakers I next bought had to be a significant audible upgrade to my ears from my existing main speakers (AV123 Rocket RS850s).

I could go through my whole process of how I eventually arrived at ordering Ascend Sierra 2s, but I'll spare everyone a long-winded writeup on that. I did place an order, and the speakers arrived at my house last week. Once I set them up and calibrated them with my sub, within just a few minutes of listening to them for the first time I knew I made the right decision and that these speakers would be staying with me. Before ever listening to the Sierra 2s, I had hoped they would provide more pinpoint imaging, and more present upper-mids and highs compared to my Rockets. I got that and much more.

I did not intend to join the forum here and post my impressions, but I honestly did not expect to be this impressed by them. As the impressions of many others here contributed to my taking a chance on these speakers, perhaps my impressions will offer further insight to others considering these speakers. All the superlatives many others here have already stated I can validate. The thing is though, no matter how much I read about the "sound" of the Sierra 2s I really had to hear them to truly comprehend it.

In comparison to my Rocket RS850s, not only did I get better imaging, and a much more balanced frequency response where the upper-mids and highs are more present, I am getting other things I really did not expect. First, and this has been touched on by others, is the "tightness" of the bass and mid-bass. This is something I was not expecting compared to my Rockets. Although there is a hump in the bass and mid-bass of the Rockets (and I crossover at 80 Hz to my SVS PC+ 12 sub) I never thought of the bass as bloated or smeared. I guess I had never really heard truly "tight" and "clean" bass before in a speaker. The Rockets are loose and bloated compared to the Sierra 2s. It was a real shock to my ears. I don't know if it is the mid woofer itself, the inert bamboo cabinet, the crossover....or a combination of all the above....but the Sierra 2 in these lower regions is like nothing I have ever heard before in a loudspeaker (I did integrate my sub immediately with these speakers, so again, everything below 80 Hz is going to my SVS sub). The first thing I listened to on the Sierra 2s was side two of my vinyl LP copy of Iron Maiden's 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son' album. It happened to be sitting on my turntable from the night before, and as it was the last thing I listened to on the Rockets I went ahead and made it the first thing I heard on the Sierra 2. The kick drum hit hard and stopped on a dime. I was not used to this type of response. Steve Harris' unaccompanied bass line at the intro to the song "The Clairvoyant" never had this much feel and clarity of individual notes before. I know this sounds cliche, but it was almost like Steve Harris was right in front of me playing his bass.

The other improvement I was not expecting was the depth of the soundstage. While my Rockets could present a wide soundstage, there was little to no depth front to back. The Sierra 2s have that depth,with some instruments and voices pulled more forward in front of the rhythm section.

I have loved music my whole life. I've been collecting a listening to music since I was seven years old,and over the last 30+ years I have built up a rather large collection of vinyl LPs, CDs, SACDs, DVD-A discs, and Blu-ray audio discs. Everything I have played through the Sierra 2s so far has sounded like I am hearing them for the first time (...I know I just used another cliche, but it fits...). My absolute all time favorite musician is Steven Wilson (solo now, but also fronted my all time favorite band called Porcupine Tree). His more recent albums are very well recorded, mixed, and mastered. I played his 'Grace for Drowning' album, which can get quite dense in places and sparse in others. The Sierra's were able to bring out each instrument and vocal clearly in those dense parts, and handled the dynamics of the album with aplomb. There is a 25 minute track called "Raider II" that starts out very sparse, quiet, and ominous sounding. Each piano note at the beginning had such texture and detail. It never sounded like this on the Rockets When the intensity ratchets up later in the song the Sierra 2s allowed me to hear parts much more clearly and cleanly than I ever have before. I was out of breath by the end of that journey though that monstrous 25 minute track (...another cliche!...that will be my last one I promise).

I could go on and on, but suffice to say, these speakers have brought a new level of enjoyment to my listening. As a long time music listener, that is a true joy to me. Now it is time for me to go listen to some more music. Up next for play is Dire Straits self-titled debut album. I bet Mark Knopfler's strat guitar is going to sound oh so good through the Sierra 2s.

[petmotel]

As usual, Rob (First Reflect) is able to explain in vivid detail the things I felt from the very first listen of my Sierra 2s. The bass, and the mid bass are so crisp and clean and realistic, as are the midrange and high frequency. These speakers have no weak areas, they are simply amazing.

Take a look at the time domain measurements of the Sierra-2s, they are ridiculously clean throughout the entire frequency spectrum. Unlike most manufacturers, Dave makes detailed measurements available for his speakers, and it becomes crystal clear why they perform so well. I've had my Twos pretty much since they first became available, and I still find them spectacular in every sense of the word.

I think for most folks, the Sierra-2s are a fine cure for the common malady known as "upgradeitis".

Jay

[dislocatedday]

g.

Take a look at the time domain measurements of the Sierra-2s, they are ridiculously clean throughout the entire frequency spectrum. Unlike most manufacturers, Dave makes detailed measurements available for his speakers, and it becomes crystal clear why they perform so well. I've had my Twos pretty much since they first became available, and I still find them spectacular in every sense of the word.


Jay

Even though I could look at the posted graphs/measurements and logically understand them, I really wondered whether those time domain measurements would be actually audible to my ears. Once I actually heard the speakers, the quick decay times, or lack of ringing/overhanging notes, was immediately apparent to me. I did not have to try to hear differences with the Sierra 2 compared to my previous speakers. The advantages (to my ears at least) were significant compared to any speakers I have previously had.

[muzz]

Since I moved into my new house(Dec. 2012) I've been very good at staying away from Forums like AVS and this one...I built kickass Horseshoe pits, needed a lawn tractor, concentrated on getting a decent lawn, then hating it and researching grass types until my head exploded......sprinkler system is needed(still! )....then we needed a shed...and O yeah, I gotta stain the deck.....shoot, I need a new Grill....snow blower needed.... research research research!
Winter has settled in, getting pounded with snow here in Ma., every week we are getting another big storm.....snow throwing the driveway takes some time, but I don't ski anymore so....
I broke out my S1's after 2 years...grinning ear to ear :thumb:
Theater can't be built yet, so I figured I'd wait....stupid.
Then I came back to Ascend Forum....and now I'm thinking about upgrading my fabulous S1's to S2's.
Like Father Karas's mother said to him during the Excorcist:
"Davie.....why you do this to me Davie? "

Had to put the ie on the end, Dave doesn't sound like Dimmy!

[curtis]

muzz!! I know you would love the S2's!

[muzz]

muzz!! I know you would love the S2's!

I'm certain I would, I'd probably do the upgrade.

[mcatucci]

I received my S2's Monday and it is very obvious that they are a special speaker. Despite reading a number of reviews, I was still not expecting to hear the quality bass it produced. That bass just sings to me and I have no need to add a sub for my needs (2 channel only music).

Ok so that said, why am I missing my NrT's just a bit? I certainly hear some things I did not with the NrT's but I've also noticed a thing or two I dislike. For example, I can pinpoint the sound coming from the speaker now where as with the NrT bookshelves the speakers disappeared 95% of the time. This does not happen on everything but quite a few things and on albums that I always thought were very well recorded/mastered: both vinyl and hi res downloads. This bothers me more than anything else. Is it a question of allowing them to break in more? My eyes and ears tend to go right to the speakers instead of focusing on the music now as a whole.

Anyone else experience this and have it resolve?

[Mag_Neato]

I received my S2's Monday and it is very obvious that they are a special speaker. Despite reading a number of reviews, I was still not expecting to hear the quality bass it produced. That bass just sings to me and I have no need to add a sub for my needs (2 channel only music).

Ok so that said, why am I missing my NrT's just a bit? I certainly hear some things I did not with the NrT's but I've also noticed a thing or two I dislike. For example, I can pinpoint the sound coming from the speaker now where as with the NrT bookshelves the speakers disappeared 95% of the time. This does not happen on everything but quite a few things and on albums that I always thought were very well recorded/mastered: both vinyl and hi res downloads. This bothers me more than anything else. Is it a question of allowing them to break in more? My eyes and ears tend to go right to the speakers instead of focusing on the music now as a whole.

Anyone else experience this and have it resolve?

Not sure why you are experiencing that. How are the speakers setup, i.e. distance apart & from the main LP, and are they toed in? The dispersion of the ribbon is different than a dome. I have mine slightly toed in but not aimed directly at my LP(Listening Position). They are actually aimed about 2' to 3' to the sides of me. Try adjusting them in small increments. You'd be surprised how small position changes will affect the sound. The way I have them setup makes Diana Krall's voice float in space.