Sierra 2 Reviews

[davef]

I was off work today and decided to stay home most of the day and listen to music. It was worth it. I have learned that the Sierra 2's are all about the source. It's not my gear, not my analog chain, it is plain and simple: its the recording. I had "moments" today with both Dire Straits recent 2 LP release of "On Every Street" ("Planet of the New Orleans" should be the defacto demo song for the 2's Dave -trust me) and the 2 LP release of Pink Floyd's Division Bell. Any concerns I had that there was something wrong with the speakers is gone and I actually feel foolish for not waiting longer before posting. I now know what you mean by "once you hear the 2's you cannot go back to other speakers"

Please ignore/forgive my other posts Dave. I panicked too soon and now get it. What an incredible effort and worth every penny and more!

Excellent -- glad to hear this. You are just at the beginning of your journey - and it only gets better from here. So much GREAT music out there to explore!!

[bkdc]

I have learned that the Sierra 2's are all about the source. It's not my gear, not my analog chain, it is plain and simple: its the recording.
!

Awesome that you were able to solve the problem!

I've talked about this this on past long-winded posts. The speakers are the most important thing in acoustics. The second most important thing is the source material. DACs, cables, amplifiers are far far far less likely to make a difference. My album purchase rate since buying my first RAAL Ascends has gone through the stratosphere because I am seeking out better recorded materials. The compressed sounding material from the 1960's through 1980's just isn't cutting it for me. I own over 3500 classical albums, but the only albums that allow my speakers to disappear and feel like the instruments or singers are with me were recorded after the mid-1990's and usually in the 2000's. I'm a little quirked at the recording industry trying to pad its profits by trying to sell "high-res" recordings of 1960's and 1970's material. No matter how you process those precious analog tapes, you're not going to get modern digital DSD, DXD, 24-bit/96kHz or better. YES. 24-bit digital recording is far superior to old school analog in every way possible. In comparison, the 16-bit digital recordings of the 1980's and early 90's sounds very compressed and thin. So when someone tries to re-release a remastered high-res recording of Elton Johns' Yellow Brick Road in 24-bit 192kHz Blu-ray audio, I need to roll my eyes since the original analog tape source (and the best recording technology of the time including microphones, etc) just doesn't cut it as 'audiophile' in today's standards. It might have been just fine 30 years ago. Or... people who are trying to rediscover their precious 1970's recordings are probably in their 50's or even 60's by now, and they probably have some degree of high frequency sensorineural hearing loss so their ears just aren't that good even though they consider themselves audiophiles. (No offense to anyone in that age group)

[donaldekelly]

I have mild to moderate high frequency hearing loss and I consider myself a lover of audio. Just for the record. No offense taken, you young whippersnapper! I am considering hearing aids - which can compensate a lot from what I read.

I am not sure digital recordings mean better sound - seems like a lot of 60s and 70s recordings can clean up nicely - and post 1990 recordings aren't necessarily better sounding - from what I have read and experienced. Digital recording started in 1977 for that matter.

I have read a lot about more recent remasterings being too compressed and largely just making things louder. So maybe when something was recorded or remastered is not as telling as what kind of job they did. I could stand to be corrected. I do believe post 95 recordings have a better chance of sounding great.

And being a lover of audio is probably as much or more connected to the performance, as it is to sound quality. Many people love the old classical recordings from the 50s or even earlier. Not me, but some do because they believe the performances are unmatched.

I do agree though that the source and the speakers are numbers 2 and 1 respectively. I guess I don't have a real beef with what you wrote - just some qualifications.

[bkdc]

I agree with you on all counts. Modern mastering usually means a compressed dynamic range mastering for a listening audience on-the-go in cars and listening to mp3's at the gym. Performance definitely matters, and some older recordings are beautifully recorded and mastered. I guess the best example in classical music would be the wonderful Mercury Living Presence recordings and RCA Living Stereo recordings of the 1960's which still sound amazing and stood as reference recordings for decades by truly great musicians of the 20th century. The sound quality is impressive but my speakers don't completely disappear. In contrast, the modern classical recordings put out by BIS, Pentatone, Chandos, Linn, or other anal-retentive-about-sound-quality classical studio of today frequently make me feel like I'm in the best seat in a concert hall or recital hall with pristine sound. My speakers vanish, and when I close my eyes, I'm in the concert hall with no residual recording artifact that tells me that it's not a live performance. Digital recordings of the 1980's were done at 16-bit depth (about 96dB of dynamic range) but when there is a floor of 30dB lost from background noise and engineering, it leaves only 60dB of real dynamic range. There's not a lot of room for leeway in recording mastering mistakes, and this is especially true in a classical music symphonic piece that tests the limits of dynamic range. The 144dB of dynamic range in a 24-bit recording allows the recording engineers to still have 100+dB to work with before it is ultimately resampled to 16-bit depth and the full 96dB after subtracting for all the crap noise.

To me, beautiful music is beautiful music. However, having pristine sonics is like watching a great movie on a high resolution TV rather than the same wonderful Oscar-winning film on a standard TV. The performance might be majestic, but sometimes, it's the micro-details on top of that wonderful performance that make my hairs stand up. Wouldn't I love to hear the Beatles in wonderful modern sound so I imagine John Lennon singing in my own living room? Yes yes yes. But it won't ever happen. I guess the 60's sound quality is what gives those songs their old charm.

[donaldekelly]

Agreed - thanks for spelling it out.

If you have any particular suggestions of classical or other cds you recommend - PLEASE head on over to the music recommendation list and share. I have only the S1s but they make the music sound so good I am having a hard time saving up money for the s2s - cause I am buying so many cds.

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/sho...ndation-Thread

[davef]

My album purchase rate since buying my first RAAL Ascends has gone through the stratosphere because I am seeking out better recorded materials.

Same here... I think my # 1 disposable income expense this days is buying music. I can't go a week without buying something new, but it must be recorded well.

This recording is very well known for sound quality, so I will link to it again. It is a live recording - stunning imaging and realism. "Jazz at the Pawnshop" http://amzn.com/B000BZDGF0

[pegleg]

Thanks, Dave, I just ordered that CD, along with Diana Krall in Paris.

[bkdc]

"Jazz at the Pawnshop" http://amzn.com/B000BZDGF0

I have that album and Jazz at the Pawnshop 2. It's a nice example of a quality 70's jazz recording. The sound engineers were paying attention. Makes you feel like you're at the live performance.

[natetg57]

Thanks, Dave, I just ordered that CD, along with Diana Krall in Paris.

I like Diana Krall 'in Paris' too. You also might enjoy Lee Ritenour Overtime Blu Ray. 'papa was a rolling stone' is one of my favorite demo tracks.

[pegleg]

For us oldtimers, does anyone else remember Cat Stevens' (yes, he's despicable, personally, now) Mona Bone Jakon album? It was, hands down, the best sounding album from its time. Perfect sounding no odd bits at all.