Anyone ever return their Towers for exchange?

[ematthews]

Just wondering if anyone here has ever returned their towers for an exchange? I have owned both the Sierra 2 and now the RAAL towers. And to be honest I am preferring the Sierra 2 with Rythmik sub over the towers. I have been playing with them for a week in every type of placement and changing from my SS to Tube set up. The Sierra 2 sounded better and was much easier to place in my room. I would hate to make Ascend mad but I almost feel like exchanging the speakers.

[bkdc]

I definitely prefer the sound of the Sierra Towers (RAAL) over the Sierra-2's even with a subwoofer setup. I used subwoofers with both the towers and with the Sierra-2's. It's that mid-low range fullness that is absent with the Sierra-2's even when I crank up the volume, and the subwoofers won't compensate for the loss. I crossed over at 60Hz. The only improvement in the Sierra-2's is the stereo imaging. I don't think there's an exchange policy once the return period has expired. You may have to find a buyer on the used market.

[ematthews]

************* Update*********
Set my system up in a different room and they came to life. Also added a sub to the towers and now we are flying.

[Blutarsky]

One week isn't enough time for most people to set up a pair of speakers. Evolution is an accurate term to describe the process.

[petmotel]

[B]

I definitely prefer the sound of the Sierra Towers (RAAL) over the Sierra-2's even with a subwoofer setup. I used subwoofers with both the towers and with the Sierra-2's. It's that mid-low range fullness that is absent with the Sierra-2's even when I crank up the volume, and the subwoofers won't compensate for the loss. I crossed over at 60Hz. The only improvement in the Sierra-2's is the stereo imaging. I don't think there's an exchange policy once the return period has expired. You may have to find a buyer on the used market.

It's always interesting to me when someone makes these types of comparisons. I had my RAAL Towers, and a set of Sierra-2s in a side by side AB-AB comparison. Listened for several days, at different volume levels, with a very diverse amount of high quality source material.

My listening sessions did certainly not lead me to find any deficiency in any area, including the midrange which is stellar IMO. In point of fact, when the speakers are level matched, other than a tiny bit of bass extension, I found the abilities of the two speakers extremely similar, and difficult to differentiate.

Beyond the listening comparisons, test measurements would show a weak mid/bass response wouldn't you think?

Jay

[markie]

I would suspect that if Jay were to compare the Sierra 2's and RAAL Towers in bkdc's room he would reach the same conclusion as bkdc. It doesn't surprise me if particular room acoustics or equipment cause differences between the Sierra 2 and RAAL towers to become especially more apparent.

After all, the two speakers have no drivers in common. It is more surprising (and interesting) to me that so many have found the two speakers to sound almost the same!

Mark

[petmotel]

I would suspect that if Jay were to compare the Sierra 2's and RAAL Towers in bkdc's room he would reach the same conclusion as bkdc. It doesn't surprise me if particular room acoustics or equipment cause differences between the Sierra 2 and RAAL towers to become especially more apparent.

After all, the two speakers have no drivers in common. It is more surprising (and interesting) to me that so many have found the two speakers to sound almost the same!

Mark

Might well be the case, I have no information regarding the specifics of bkdc's comparison. I do know that I might well have had the same expectations and biases until such time that I did a level matched, quick switched comparison. For sure, I expected a major difference in the transient capabilities of the two, which surprisingly did not present itself.

I suppose that after 40 years as an audio enthusiast, I have learned not to trust expectations, not to compare with my eyes or my brain, they will betray the best of us.

I suspect that if Mark had ever listened to any of these speakers, he might actually be able to make an informed observation rather than suspecting this and that.

I specifically pointed to the measurements, if two speakers perform similarly with detailed measurements, wouldn't you suspect that the two would sound similar?

Jay

[davef]

We often give demos between the Sierra-2 and Sierra Ribbon Towers and these are controlled demos with the speakers always in the same room, same electronics and same positioning. Some customers have a hard time hearing differences between the two, others immediately hear significant differences. After so many years as a professional in this industry, if a listener has a decent amount of experience and technical knowledge, I have learned to never doubt what they hear. We all hear and process what we hear differently, the physical shape and size of our ears, even the size and shape of our head, our height -- it all influences what we hear. I have also found that I am able to listen more critically later in the evening compared to the day, perhaps due to being able to relax more.