My beautiful satin dark cherry Sierra Towers arrived yesterday evening. I had them up and running within 45 minutes. It didn't take long for me to form the opinion that they were keepers. I only ran the towers solo without the sub, and will continue to do so until the weekend. The towers were spaced almost 6 ft. apart, 2.5 feet from the side walls, and 1 ft from the wall in back of them with a very slight toe-in. My ears were 7 feet from the speakers. I was a little disillusioned for the first few minutes, as the sound quality was a little underwhelming. Then I realized that they were running in multi-channel mode. When I changed to Stereo DSD Direct, the magic started, and my frown turned into a smile.
I've been reading owner's posts for the last 3 months that describe them as smooth, clear, accurate, and natural. I wholeheartedly concur that all of the terms apply to these marvelous speakers. I ordered the Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" SACD and Hans Zimmer "Live in Prague" just so that I could play them for my innaguaral session with them. I reclined back in my chair with my feet elevated, closed my eyes, and experienced the fabled "phantom center". I unexpectedly heard sounds that caused me to instinctively open my eyes, and I discovered that something special had entered my spatial, material, and emotional realm. Yes, the music was that good, in a small untreated room with no calibration or subwoofer. I will post again over the weekend with new revelations. I'm tired, and am ready for bed. I'll be baaaack!
Thank you Dave, Dina, and the entire crew of Ascend!