Expert opinion request - Sierra 2EX or Sierra Tower

[nkblitz]

I love how these speakers look and would like to buy, but will hope the experts on this forum can provide guidance on what would work best
1. My family room is about 15' x 18' connected to an equal size kitchen/ nook / hallway. Very open floor plan. The family room is two storeys tall.
2. Would the Sierra 2EX or the Tower be a better bet? Main application is music, with movies as secondary
3. I have prewired using 14 gauge wire. Will that work with these speakers?
4. For the center, have only 4" available, so will have to go with a different brand. Any suggestions?
5. For the subwoofer, do you recommend I stick with Ascend or another brand?
6. For the amp, what do people usually go with for these speakers. I want easy connectivity to the phone, apps, with the capability for 2 additional zones so I can extend the same music to the kitchen area or to the patio.
Many thanks in advance!
Thanks,
Kaushik

[racrawford65]

My room is similar - 16x12 with high tiered ceiling (~12' at highest). Open to den (18x20) on the left and hall + dining room (16x12) to the rear. I am mainly music, as well -- say 95%.

I recently went from the Sierra 2's to the Towers with RAAL. The S2's were excellent, but the Towers are better. I've posted elsewhere on this forum why I think the Towers are better. I feel the dedicated mid-range is a big plus for music. Also, the Towers are more efficient, so less power needed for same volume. I would go with the Towers if your budget permits.

14 gauge wire is fine for any of these speakers.

Not aware of any 4" centers (assuming you are talking over-all height). As center is most important speaker for movies, any way to mount something above/below your tv/screen? Alternately, maybe a phantom center. FYI, I currently use the S2 as a center but will likely move to the forth-coming Luna Duo.

As to subs, I'd stay with Rythmik (Ascend). Elsewhere in the forum, Dave mentioned he was really impressed with dual F8's with the Towers. As I recall, his space was fairly large. You could call Ascend (or Enrico or Brian at Rythmik) for recommendations. I currently use the E15HP (and am thinking of adding a second).

AVR/Amp - a lot of brands so likely you'd need to research which as the features you want. Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, etc. I use an Anthem MRX720 as a prepro with external amps (Rogue Atlas Magnum II for FL/FR, Emotiva UPA7 for Surrounds and Atmos Heights). However, the Anthem only as 1 second zone but, IMO, better room correction software than Audessey or YPAO.

Hope this helps.

[Sneetch]

Welcome to the forum and considering some amazing speakers IMHO. The Sierra2EX look like it will have a cool new driver, yet don't know if anyone has a pair yet at their house to provide their personal opinion.

That said, you likely couldn't go wrong with either and think part of your decision should be based on your room placement ability. If you can do the towers, I think they would be a great choice for your room, if you need bookshelf speakers then the Sierra2 or S2EX would be a great choice.
I second racrawford65 on the 14gauge being fine.

I bought S2's just last year for LCR front stage of my home theater and totally fell in love with the RAAL tweeter. So amazing, yet felt the S2 center was a little constrained since for movies it is handling 80% of the sound. As a result and my suggestion for your #4 question, redesign your setup so you can fit the Sierra Horizon under your TV. I designed a whole new entertainment center just to hold the Horizon. The thing is amazing. So much so, I have placed an order for 2 more Horizons to be my mains and a pair of Luna's for my mid surrounds. The Sierra2's will be moving to my rear channels.

When considering your design remember the Horizon and Towers are more efficient speakers (92db) vs the S2 (87db) or the S2EX (86db). It is because of the difference in efficiency I wanted two more horizons for the mains. I clearly had an issue with reducing the Horizon center signal to -6 just to match the S2s.

I am using a Denon 6500H for my receiver and the Monoprice Monolith 7x amp in my setup. Overkill? maybe, yet since I do have a 7.4.2 setup, I wanted to have as clean amplification as I could get. So the Denon is really only powering the atmos height channels and sound processing for all speakers. Great setup for me.

Subs, if looking to purchase something I would echo racrawford65. I built 2 Dayton Audio 18" subs to anchor my entertainment center. I keep them very conservative as they would scare the heck out of me if I pushed them. I turn them down for music listening as I want a neutral sound and bump them up a bit for movies to really drive home the explosions and bass lines. Fortunately I also have a very forgiving wife who puts up with my oddities.

If after all the feedback you get you are still pondering, order the pair you think would work best (flip coin if necessary) and give them a trial spin as you can only truly know when you hear them in your home. When I was looking I ordered a pair of speakers from Ascend and another company as I had read glowing reviews of both, and once setup it was not even a contest to my ears. The Ascends won hands down. I quickly shipped the other speakers back. With you considering differing models from Ascend, you cannot go wrong no matter what you choose.

Good Luck and happy listening!

[djDANNY]

Subs, if looking to purchase something I would echo racrawford65. I built 2 Dayton Audio 18" subs to anchor my entertainment center. I keep them very conservative as they would scare the heck out of me if I pushed them. I turn them down for music listening as I want a neutral sound and bump them up a bit for movies to really drive home the explosions and bass lines. Fortunately I also have a very forgiving wife who puts up with my oddities.

Which Dayton 18's did you purchase? Were they the Ultimax's? I'm looking to upgrade my subs to go with my LCR Sierra 2's but am stuck between just buying a pair of SVS SB-3000's or building my own. If I go the DIY route, I was considering either the Ultimax 18's (possibly with PA460's in a MBM) or some B&C 21's (considerably more expensive drivers).

Anyways, I heard the Ultimax 18's with their high excursion design and lower (compared to PA drivers) sensitivity made it not as good for music as for home theater. If you have the Ultimax 18, wanted to get your thoughts on how it does for music. Also, are your subs sealed or ported? Thanks.

[Sneetch]

Quick detour and back on topic
The subs are the Dayton Audio 18" Ultimax and each is sealed in the 20"x20"x24" Denovo flat pack enclosure. I read the same before I bought the parts yet with 4lbs of acousta-stuf they are very agile and musical compared to my previous pair of SVS 20-39CS subs. They clearly have the ability to overpower the Sierra's yet, I opted for cleaner bass with LOTS of headroom especially with the cost difference of building vs buying. So they are dialed back as mentioned to blend really nicely for music and bumped up a bit for some thump when watching movies. They are also crossed over at 80hz to allow the S2s to shine and the subs to assist the low end. Best of both worlds! I could have gotten away with one, yet for the price ($~1,500 all in) built two which also allows me to counter room nodes (may not be the technically accurate term).

Here is a pic of them with the sierra 2s and horizon center. The S2s are on their side due to I also have a projector and didn't want to block the speakers when the screen is down. The tweeters are rotated so they are vertical, in case you were wondering.

Back on topic, the picture also shows the entertainment center I designed of extruded aluminum and tempered glass shelving to fit the awesome horizon under the TV.

SmallEntertainment Center Installed.jpg

[RicardoJoa]

Personally, I think the towers still hold its place. A better tweeter specially if you opt for the raal and dedicated mid and woofers.
But the money you saved for the pair of bookshelves go into the sub which can be awesome if you have 2 of them.

[nkblitz]

Thanks so much for the insights and guidance racrawford65! Very helpful.
tv over fireplace.gif
Unfortunately, there is not enough space under the TV (fireplace and mantle below), cannot move up as then TV is too high and cannot add above as it spoils the look. Curious to understand what you mean by a "phantom center"?
Need to get more educated on AMP's/ Receivers to make a call but thanks for the pointers.
Thanks again!

[nkblitz]

Thanks a lot Sneetch for the guidance! I think I have enough room for the towers and I do like how they look and the fact that they have custom colors. The towers have an upgrade for RAAL tweeters and unclear without listening what i am missing. Is that something I could add later? I would prefer not to spend the additional $700 if I didnt have to.
Thanks for the the notes on the configuration options, very helpful to know and learn.
Thanks again!

[Sneetch]

Love the fireplace! Can understand now your center channel constraints. As for phantom center, it is using the Left/Right channels and allowing the sonic imaging to create the 'phantom' center. With Ascends that is not an issue in my opinion and can work wonderfully as when listening to music in 2 channel I have had to walk up and put my ear near the center channel to ensure it was not on.

As far as the RAAL ribbons go, hopefully someone who has heard both can chime in with their impressions. I do believe you can upgrade them later as one can with the S2s, yet would call Dina to confirm.

I have found dome and especially horn tweeters are really fatiguing to my ears in a short listening session. Everything I read about the RAALs is that they are the exact opposite so I chose to upgrade to the RAALs unheard. To my ears, they are the thing I have been missing in my life and now can listen for hours without feeling fatigue. Really worth the money imo.

I know I mentioned above the efficiency between the S2 and the Horizon is why I upgraded, but really that is the only part of it, the rest of the story is my current surround channels dome tweeters continue to fatigue my ears when watching movies, which I do a lot of. So once my new speakers arrive, it will be RAALs all around. Only the height channels will still be dome but most movies don't use them excessively, so I am good. Until Ascend makes a in-wall speaker with RAALs.... heh

[Mag_Neato]

Thanks a lot Sneetch for the guidance! I think I have enough room for the towers and I do like how they look and the fact that they have custom colors. The towers have an upgrade for RAAL tweeters and unclear without listening what i am missing. Is that something I could add later? I would prefer not to spend the additional $700 if I didnt have to.
Thanks for the the notes on the configuration options, very helpful to know and learn.
Thanks again!

The Tower uses a larger RAAL compared to the RAAL developed for the Sierra-1 & NrT. While the Sierra-2 RAAL is made to be a direct fit drop-in with the standard Sierra-1 cabinet, the Tower version of the RAAL WILL NOT fit in the NrT tower tweeter cutout. It requires re-machining of the cutout to accommodate the much larger housing of the big RAAL.

They usually have to perform the upgrade at the factory with you shipping the towers there, unless you have solid woodworking skills and the tools to do it.