Re: Tower speaker help
Originally Posted by
robpar
Are the Sierra Towers better than the ML’s?
I have not heard the MLs, but when I was shopping for bookshelves when I bought my Sierras, the MLs were not competitive. However, that was a while ago. My understanding is that the current 60XTs are pretty good, though, so that may have changed.
The one thing I always keep in mind that some % of what you pay for a speaker like ML goes to support a dealer network. That has upside—it means you can find a dealer and go listen for yourself. But it also has downside; lower overhead for ID makes means more of your money supports engineering, not marketing.
That might not mean anything, though—it all depends on your preferences. If you really like the MLs, that's really important. Buying something you like is kind of the point, right?
Are the Sierras better than the Polks I own?
I have never heard anything by Polk that is remotely competitive with anything of similar price by Ascend, but admittedly I haven't heard the most recent generation of LSi towers. I also haven't heard a lot of buzz for the Polks, though, which isn't a great sign, but maybe they're diamonds in the rough.
I have a hard time believing that (2) 5.25” woofers on the Sierra towers can sound better than (3) 7.5” woofers of my Polks. (the same for the midrange) Can someone comment?
Woofer size does not equate to sounding better overall. Can the Polks move more air? Probably. Does moving more air mean they sound better? Not at all. SQ is a function of a lot of things, and woofer size is only one of a whole host of other factors.
Referencing my own experience: the bass is better (clearer, more detailed, lower extension) on my 5.25" Sierra bookshelves than it was on the competing Paradigm bookshelves, even though the Paradigms have 7" woofers. (This is not to cast aspersions, the Paradigms are very good speakers and were definitely my second choice.) Similarly, the bass from my 8" Emotiva subwoofer is substantially better than from any number of well-known 12" subs from the likes of Dayton, Klipsch, BIC, etc.
That said, the Polks do advertise lower extension than the Sierra Towers (22Hz vs. 34Hz), and that part probably is a function of woofer size. For most music in your genres, I don't think sub 40Hz is really where it's at (if you were a big EDM or hip-hop fan it might be more of a thing). So I wouldn't be evaluating speakers solely or even mostly on the basis of bass extension, but YMMV.
Last edited by SunByrne; 10-02-2017 at 02:43 PM.
Luna Duo V2 LR, Titan Horizon V2, and Rythmik L22 & L12 in HT, Sierra-LXs in study, S-2EXs and Duo V2 C in bedroom, S-1 NrTs in dining room, S-1s at work, HTM-200s in kitchen. Brother owns CMT-340s and dad has a pair of CBM-170s.