New: Sierra-2EX V2!!!

[33na3rd]

Great review! Really happy you are enjoying them. Upgrading the Lunas to the v2 was probably the biggest change I noticed from all the Ascend speakers I own that have the V2 upgrades. I always enjoyed the Sierra 2 EXs. The V2s definitely sound better than before, but less noticeable for me. Still worth the price. Glad to read other experiences.

I've been playing some various music from The SIDH on mine when testing...Just sound great on the Luna V2s and the Sierra 2 EX V2s. Throw in a sub or two and you've got a techno bagpipe party.

Hi Robert,

I just spent part of the morning checking out The SIDH. Wow, they're great! That's one of the best things about audio forums, discovering new music. Thanks for mentioning them!

Come for the equipment discussions, stay for the new music recommendations!

[theophile]

Welcome to the AA forum!

Great write-up, Jeff. Thanks for your comments and observations. I'm also considering the V2 upgrade!

Ted

[33na3rd]

Thanks Ted!

[curtis]

My front 3 are 2ex. I’m curious if it would be worth to upgrade all 3 speakers or if I should just do the front L/R. Seems like it would mostly just benefit music or should I do all 3 for a seamless soundstage?

all three to make it as seamless as possible...and music comes through the center channel too in movies.

[mjpearce023]

all three to make it as seamless as possible...and music comes through the center channel too in movies.

Yeah that’s the way I’m leaning right now. It’s just hard for me to imagine the 2ex getting much better, it’s already such an amazing speaker. I said the same thing though before I upgraded my 2s to the 2ex and I was wrong there.

[curtis]

Yeah that’s the way I’m leaning right now. It’s just hard for me to imagine the 2ex getting much better, it’s already such an amazing speaker. I said the same thing though before I upgraded my 2s to the 2ex and I was wrong there.

The Klippel NFS gives Dave more information to work with, and he has the know how to use that information when designing/engineering a speaker.

[davef]

Yeah that’s the way I’m leaning right now. It’s just hard for me to imagine the 2ex getting much better, it’s already such an amazing speaker. I said the same thing though before I upgraded my 2s to the 2ex and I was wrong there.

I agree with Curtis, if you plan on upgrading to V2, it would be best to do all 3 speakers. The V2 has better directivity, and that is very important for the center.

[davef]

I've been playing some various music from The SIDH on mine when testing...Just sound great on the Luna V2s and the Sierra 2 EX V2s. Throw in a sub or two and you've got a techno bagpipe party.

Thanks for this recommendation - I too am enjoying The SIDH! Please recommend them in our music thread - they are terrific

[davef]

I received the V2 crossovers Monday, and promptly installed them. It went rather smoothly after reading the included instructions and watching the videos. I would recommend taking your time, and using a Phillips screw driver that fits the screws securely. Dave has recommended this one which works great, especially when working inside the cabinet.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I2KTKR8...roduct_details

I also used a garden knelling pad that has a carrying handle cut out that the speaker binding posts fit into rather well, and protected the speaker while working on it.

https://www.acehardware.com/departme...e-pads/7005751

Swapping out the crossovers gave me an appreciation of how well built these speakers are. I had seen the pictures of the internals before, but seeing them with my own eyes and holding the components in my hands really impressed me.

I've only a few hours with the new crossover, but I'm already impressed. The new crossovers make the 2EX sound more refined with greater definition. The RAAL and the woofer seem even better integrated than before, the whole presentation more coherent.

Strings seem similar as before, but piano sound has improved greatly. Well recorded vocals are scary good now. Vocals were good before, but now they float in space between the speakers in a manner that reminds me of my old Virgo 2's which were very good at this. Besides the greater definition, tonal balance seems more accurate/pleasing.

I do not find this upgrade subtle at all. I think that it elevates the 2EX from a very good speaker to an excellent speaker.

I'll post an update after the new crossovers have had time to to settle in, but I can tell you already that this upgrade is well worth it.

Thanks for your hard work, Dave! We're all reaping the benefits!

Happy to read this! Thanks for your feedback and it is my pleasure!!!

[rcw001]

Hi All,

Coming out of lurker mode to comment on the v2 upgrade kits, just in case it's helpful to anyone trying to decide if they should go for it...

...The v2 kits for my two Sierra-2EX fronts arrived about 2 weeks ago. It took me about 20mins each speaker to install and I had no issues at all, other than having to fiddle with the gasket under the woofers to make sure it was properly re-aligned with screw holes.

My 2EXs are 10ft apart and 10ft from MLP and spend most of their service as fronts for HT (along with a Luna Duo v2 center, a couple of SVS rears and a Rythmik L12 sub), but the sound quality of 2 channel music is most important to me, so it is with music that I have done my critical comparison listening over the last couple of weeks.
I was not able to do any A/B testing, but I did not find the change in sound to be subtle, at all. I was actually surprised how much difference I noticed after the upgrade.
Although I don't use any room correction for music listening, oddly, the new measurements I took with ARC on my Anthem AVR don't look very different from v1... There is about +2dB at ~45Hz, which may or may not reconcile with what I'm actually hearing: more mid-bass and a weightier punch.
Overall, I would describe the new sound as richer and warmer. TBH, it took me a couple of days to get used to it. Initially I wondered if the u/g had taken SQ backwards, but once I'd confirmed that I could not detect any loss of detail, I became more confident in what I was hearing.

I feel that the v2 crossovers have tapped more of the potential of the SEAS woofer, or somehow allow the woofer more influence in the overall sound. Regardless, after 2 weeks I am genuinely delighted with the v2 upgrade, mainly because I am now rarely tempted to bring in the sub when I listen to music. The 2EX v2 delivers enough bass - with authority - to enable me to keep the signal path pure analog from my Denafrips DAC into my amp. I.e. No need to do any DSP / crossover in the Anthem for 2.1.

So for me, now being able to listen to multiple genres of music in pure 2-channel stereo is the biggest value I've gained with the upgrade.
One additional benefit I've noticed is more clarity way off axis (very noticeable) and potentially a slightly more spacious presentation... maybe. That one is tough to say for sure without doing A/B.

Anywho, that has been my very positive experience and I have zero regrets. Hope it's useful to someone.

Rob