Speaker upgrade opinions and experiences requested!!!

[jimlucci]

Speaker upgrade opinions and experiences requested based on the following:

Objectives & Environment:

Music only – no HT required.
Predominate music is 70's / 80's soft rock, singers, rock (Rafferty, Lightfoot, BeeGees,
James Taylor, Anita Baker, Norah Jones, Carpenters, Sade,
Rush, Boston, Cars, Fleetwood, Doobies,Who, etc)
BUT ALSO: (Michael Jackson, Marley, some thumpin party-type music too.)
Music Source – Amazon HD streaming mostly.
Room: 400 sq ft (8ft ceilings, hardwoods, area rugs, substantially furnished)
Listening Level – moderate to high and on occasion quite spirited (70-85-8? db)
Primary listening distance – 9 ft (speaker width spacing – tried 5 ft out to 10 ft)


Current Equipment:

HK3490 Receiver (120w high current)
Pair of Ascend Sierra-1's
Cambridge SW 8-cube Subwoofer.
(also A+B with Orig Large Advents sometimes)

Thoughts:

Any setups where I use my existing Sierra1's? Or redeploy somewhere else.
Money-no-object-solution seems like 2 Sierra Towers w/RAAL and 2 15inch Rythmic Subs.
Bare-bone-budget-solution seems like 2 Sierra Towers w/NrT Sdome.
Are these the option extremes? What options lie between them?

Would love to hear other peoples opinions and experiences. I have been reading/learning a lot from this forum and some of the other industry forums. I find the quality of sound and value from Ascend Acoustics to be superb. Don't even know if I can think of enough superlatives to comment on the customer service and passion from Dave and his staff – that alone makes these speakers the front runners. Thanks in advance for any and all information!!!!

[racrawford65]

mid option - upgrade your S1's to S2EX (and add a Rythmik sub or two)

[jimlucci]

I did give the bookshelf idea some thought (upgrade the s1's -> s2ex's, or add a pair of 2ex's to the s1's run them together) with a sub of course. It just seems that the my room size and the volume I sometimes run them at matches the tower sierra's sensitivity better. I love the detail and quality of the s1's, it is just that the s1's seem to lack some fullness in my environment. I have read great things about the newer components.

[racrawford65]

I'd go for the Towers with RAAL then as the mains. (I moved from S2's to these and it was a great upgrade - moved the S2's to surround duty). I also added a 2nd E15 to my setup.

[jimlucci]

I ordered the Sierra Towers w/RAAL today. I love the Sierra1's I have - beautiful detail, clarity, accuracy, etc, but as a pair of mains with my room size, I was asking a little much from them at the higher volumes. I will see how the Towers do without the sub for now - I can always add one in later.

This forum has been such a great source of information. Between the reviews, advice and opinions expressed here and some help from Dave, it was a pretty easy decision in the end.

[racrawford65]

Congrats - I'm sure you'll love the Towers - the mids are incredible. What finish did you get?

[jimlucci]

Yeah - when you look at the different speaker sizes, combinations and options and the price points of each it really covers the selection spectrum quite nicely. At this point, for me, I figured lets just go flagship. I am sure it will be a remarkable jump from my Sierra1's.

The finish was a toss-up between Satin-Espresso and Satin-Cherry - My wife and I decided to go with the Satin-Cherry. Works of art I tell ya.

I have'nt seen anywhere in the Forum when they started to go with the satin finishes. My Sierra1's are gloss finish. Looking forward to their arrival.

[Shazb0t]

I ordered the Sierra Towers w/RAAL today. I love the Sierra1's I have - beautiful detail, clarity, accuracy, etc, but as a pair of mains with my room size, I was asking a little much from them at the higher volumes. I will see how the Towers do without the sub for now - I can always add one in later.

This forum has been such a great source of information. Between the reviews, advice and opinions expressed here and some help from Dave, it was a pretty easy decision in the end.

I'd recommend getting a solid pair of subs. The towers aren't meant to be bass monsters.

[jimlucci]

I'd recommend getting a solid pair of subs. The towers aren't meant to be bass monsters.

Once the towers arrive and we get some break-in time, we will evaluate the subwoofer question. I have read a number of opinions on this topic. Many agree that the towers are well served by the addition of a pair of subs. There are some that say they did not feel the need for them. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. The towers will not have to do any TV/Movie duty - strictly music.

[jimlucci]

I have some time before the new Sierra Towers arrive. In preparation I continue to read through the Forum and am discovering additional considerations, the most concerning of which is driving the new Sierra Towers/RAAL with my existing HK3490 receiver. From what I read, you can damage these speakers if they are driven at higher volumes without adequate wattage. I just want to make sure I have enough headroom here so that I don't damage the speakers. Thoughts anyone??