Sierra 2EXv2 Review

[novaduckfan1]

Background

After several weeks of reading the Ascend, AVS, Steve Hoffman and ASR forums, I decided to purchase the Sierra 2-EXv2 in satin espresso, to match my satin espresso STC with RAAL. Dave was very helpful and responsive in letting me know about the user upgrade option for my 2009 Sierra 1s. I prefer classical, soundtracks, acoustic, electronic/ambient/trance and jazz and don’t often listen to rock. Occasionally I’ll listen to Smashing Pumpkins or Led Zeppelin for a change of pace. I sit about 8-9 feet from the speakers and my preferred SPL range is about 70-80 db with a peak level in the 90s (reached very briefly in some hi-res music tracks).

I seriously considered the Sierra LX, but concluded based on all my research, and on my music listening preferences, that I very likely would prefer the RAAL to the Titan because:

(1) I place a premium on the extra detail and “air” around instruments that many (including Dave F. ) have described for strings, bells, flute, chimes, guitar plucks, etc., Already having owned the STC with RAAL for a few years, the amazingly clear dialogue and mid-bass punch for movies gave me a taste of what to expect.

(2) I wasn’t worried at all about vertical dispersion. When I watch a movie or stream TV series in 5.1 (20% of the time), or enjoy listening to music in 2.1 (80%), I am always sitting down and fully enjoying the experience for as long as possible. If I need to get up and move around for any reason, I pause the music or the movie. As Dave noted, depending on your sitting distance from the speakers, the vertical listening window of the EXv2 is perfectly wide for a great listening experience, which is absolutely true in my case.

(3) I don’t need my mains to produce any “extra bass slam” for a 2.0 configuration. I had planned to cross the EX v2s at 60-80 hz in a 2.1 configuration to let them focus on their touted mid-range, with (eventually) dual sealed subwoofers for everything below that point.

Initial Set-Up

Using 2.1 system: Mac-mini running Audirvana via coaxial —> Schiit Gungnir DAC via RCAs —> Emotiva XSP-2 preamp (direct mode, no EQ) via XLR --> Emotiva UPA-1 via Blue Jeans Cables -- > Sierra EX-2s with XSP crossed over at 60 Hz and sub-out (summed) to Hsu VTF-2. The room is untreated except for two GIK Acoustics 4” stand-mounted panels for first reflections and dense wall-to-wall carpeting throughout and a 12x10 area rug in front of the speakers.

Initial Reaction

The very first thing I noticed about the amazing performance of the EXv2s was the absence of sounds. What I mean:

(1) Lack of “beaming” or “ringing.” With the Sierra-1s on certain notes I’d experience a sharp, temporary ringing deep in my ears. The best example is Joe Pass’s Meditation (Meditacao), solo guitar, played at volumes I truly enjoy (between 70-80 db on average). The same guitar note would make me cringe very briefly as he performed up and down the scales. With the RAALs I experience nothing but clear, smooth sounds of his amazing guitar playing. It seems as if I could play the EXv2s infinitely loud without any strain or ringing or beaming (but I of course I don’t go there to protect my hearing).

(2) Absence of “smear” (or “congestion”). Clarity and separation of instruments is far superior to the Sierra 1s. With the Sierra 1s certain dense passages in different genres ( “Today” or “Cherub Rock” by Smashing Pumpkins, Beethoven or Dvorak symphonies) would blur the distinctions between instruments or groups of instruments. With the EXv2s, I can hear clearly hear and focus on the different sections of the orchestra playing concurrently.

(3) I do believe that a limited amount of physical speaker “break-in” occurs (and no, I am not referring to my ears/brain). Initially all the anticipated hallmarks of sound quality were there, but after about 10 days the integration of sounds across the range of frequencies was tighter. I don’t know how else to explain it, but as Dave himself has noted in the forums very recently, it takes about 50 hours before the LX woofer is fully “broken in". I assume that a similar process occurs with the EX woofer, which improves its integration with the RAAL tweeter.

Sound Quality

The “air” around instruments or voices is absolutely amazing. In tracks that I have listened to dozens of times I hear things I did not know were there. Choral or soloists’ voices appear right in front of me, so crystal clear it’s almost startling. The final movement of Beethoven’s 9th, choral music in Bear McCreary’s Rings of Power sound track or the Howard Shore LOTR sound track. Diana Krall. The flutist in the sound track to House of Flying Daggers. Amazing.

The soundstage is wide and deep - holographic to the point where 2.1 often sounds like 5.1. I would guess that this experience is somehow related to both the RAAL decay time and Dave’s work with the Klippel to update the crossover, improving the Directivity Index.

The mid-bass punch is wonderful. SunByrne once noted that the original 2-EXs produced (at an Ascend listening session) a large extent of the sound provided by the Sierra Tower (v1s not v2 or ELX). I tried turning off the ported Hsu and found the 2 EXv2s more than adequate for the kinds of music I listen to.

I definitely was convinced, however, that although I didn’t need the EXv2 to produce the LX-level deep bass, I wanted a more satisfying deep bass experience - a clearer, more powerful low end - that was better integrated with (without overshadowing) the amazing mid-range and treble provided by the EXv2s. So after three weeks I upgraded my subwoofer to an SVS SB-2000, and the result was a substantial improvement in my listening experience.

Conclusion

So far this combination of speakers gives me everything I was hoping for in both 2.1 and 5.1 movie watching. I will be adding a second SB-2000 this summer to improve the evenness of the deep bass response in 2.2 listening, and to add more slam for 5.2 movie watching at higher volumes.

I remain deeply impressed that this ‘bookshelf’ speaker yields so much depth in recordings. The best way I can describe the impact of Dave’s creation is that it has completely transformed my music listening experience. I have fallen asleep during late night listening sessions only to be happily jolted awake by the mid-bass punch or crystal clear voices of a chorus. I have lost sleep (but gone to bed thrilled) by persuading myself to play ‘just one more song’ but then deciding I needed more. I have delved into my Audirvana music library and listened to tracks I hadn’t heard in a very long time, and upon hearing nuances and details that I didn’t know existed, found new enjoyment in ‘old’ music albums. This experience compelled me to purchase several new hi-res or CD-quality downloads of music from Thievery Corporation, Solar Fields, Sibelius, Bruckner, the soundtrack from Season One of The Rings of Power (incredible).

I could not recommend these speakers more highly. If your listening preferences are anything like mine, and you’re in the market, buy them without any reservation.

I’m grateful that Dave F. loves music as much as creating fantastic, affordable speakers, while implementing a business model that is incredibly customer friendly. I don’t plan to purchase speakers from any other manufacturer (I also have CBM-170s and a Sierra-1 center).

Dave describes the ELX as an ‘endgame’ speaker. I believe him. But my experience with my current system is so enjoyable that I likely will wait another 10 years before even considering ELX with RAAL. I will never sell these EXv2s - they have already brought me such great experiences. It would be a waste of their sonic excellence to relegate them to surround duty (I already feel that the Sierra-1s are underserved in this role). Maybe in retirement I’ll have a 2nd room for them and get the ELX with RAAL - we’ll see.

Thanks for reading.

Initial “Break-in” Playlist

Pat Metheny Group - “San Lorenzo”
Pat Metheny - “Over on 4th Street” - One Quiet Night
Copland - “Fanfare for the Common Man”
Copland - “Appalachian Spring”
Beethoven - All 9 symphonies
David “Fathead” Newman - “Girl Talk”, “Life”, “What a Wonderful World” - Life
Hanz Zimmer - “Now We are Free” - Gladiator sound track
Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard - “Eptesicus” - Batman Begins sound track
John Powell - “Main Titles” (and many other tracks) - The Bourne Identify sound track
Solar Fields** - Every track from the album “Movements”, e.g., “Sol” “Discovering” and “The Road to Nothingness”
Joe Pass - “Meditations” - Meditations
Howard Shore - “Breaking of the Fellowship” - FOTR sound track
Howard Shore - “May it Be” - FOTR sound track
Smashing Pumpkins - “Today” and “Cherub Rock” from Siamese Dream; many tracks from Pisces Iscariot
John Williams - “Harry Potter’s Wondrous World” - Complete Harry Potter Film Music Collection
Dire Straits - “Brothers in Arms” - Money for Nothing

** - LX owners! - Based on all I’ve read about the amazing tower-like bass from your speakers, I highly recommend playing these tracks running full range. The bass impact from Solar Fields should blow your mind. I am grinning ear to ear with my set-up so I can imagine you bass-heads would be ecstatic to hear these or many other Solar Fields tracks on the LXs.