3 -way sierra bookshelf?

[Elessar]

I apologise if this has been discussed address already but @davef have you considered a 3-way sierra bookshelf for people who want to upgrade but cannot manage to get Sierra Towers.
Or asked differently have considered building something that would be next step up from sierra-2(which is fantastic speaker btw) for people who couldn't quite manage the real estate for sierra towers.


PS: I am not sure the next step from sierra 2 needs to be a 3-way speaker but ST is one so i assumed the next step up would be a 3-way ...

[Mag_Neato]

While this idea intrigues me as well, if you want more of a bookshelf version of the tower there's already the Horizon. You did not mention cost being a factor so you could try those out.

[davef]

I apologise if this has been discussed address already but @davef have you considered a 3-way sierra bookshelf for people who want to upgrade but cannot manage to get Sierra Towers.
Or asked differently have considered building something that would be next step up from sierra-2(which is fantastic speaker btw) for people who couldn't quite manage the real estate for sierra towers.


PS: I am not sure the next step from sierra 2 needs to be a 3-way speaker but ST is one so i assumed the next step up would be a 3-way ...

Hi Elessar,

I have learned that it is fairly common that consumers just want to "upgrade" without really knowing what aspects of performance they are looking to upgrade / improve. This often leads to upgrades being less of an "upgrade" than expected.

So, back to your original question - which is a good one, what aspects of the Sierra-2 are you looking to improve?

[mikesiskav]

I think this is a very interesting topic! Although I am not currently looking to change my system. Love my Sierra-2. But just curious, would it be worthwhile using the RAAL from the tower in the Sierra-2. Does that make much difference?

[davef]

I think this is a very interesting topic! Although I am not currently looking to change my system. Love my Sierra-2. But just curious, would it be worthwhile using the RAAL from the tower in the Sierra-2. Does that make much difference?

It does actually -- we have made a few custom Sierra-2's with the RAAL 70-20xr. We can cross much lower with this tweeter which improves mids a bit as well as dispersion. The neat thing about the 70-20, which is unique to this RAAL, is this tweeter has far superior damping to any other RAAL ribbon (and likely any other ribbon tweeter as well). However, I am not sure that the rather significant price increase resulting from the tweeter switch is worth the performance increase. Definitely something to consider though...

[mikesiskav]

It does actually -- we have made a few custom Sierra-2's with the RAAL 70-20xr. We can cross much lower with this tweeter which improves mids a bit as well as dispersion. The neat thing about the 70-20, which is unique to this RAAL, is this tweeter has far superior damping to any other RAAL ribbon (and likely any other ribbon tweeter as well). However, I am not sure that the rather significant price increase resulting from the tweeter switch is worth the performance increase. Definitely something to consider though...

That is interesting! I'm guessing a pair of Sierra-2 with the 70-20 is over $2,000. Is the cabinet modified to make room for the tweeter?

[Elessar]

Hi Elessar,

I have learned that it is fairly common that consumers just want to "upgrade" without really knowing what aspects of performance they are looking to upgrade / improve. This often leads to upgrades being less of an "upgrade" than expected.

So, back to your original question - which is a good one, what aspects of the Sierra-2 are you looking to improve?

I keep hearing about how mids on the Sierra towers are just magical. While Sierra 2s are fantastic I am really curious to hear what would sound like in my living room.

Also, there seem to be quite a few 3-way bookshelf speakers with RAAL, so I was curious if you’d ever consider it, seeing as how you were instrumental in getting us an affordable raal

[diesel79]

Without designing a new speaker the Horizon would make a great (slightly larger) bookshelf. A 3 way Sierra 2 wouldn’t probably be too much smaller as far as height (vertical config Horizon) and I bet the price difference wouldn’t be too great. How much space do you have? It seems that space is your constraint.

You can rotate the tweeter on the Horizon and run them vertically or the standard config and lay horizontally. Not sure if there is an up charge to have the tweeter rotated in the Horizon as I’ve read it takes some cabinet modifications to make it work.

With the Horizon you would also be getting the 70/20 RAAL. It’s a win win. . My next Ascend purchase will be for a couple more Horizons for my LCR.

[davef]

That is interesting! I'm guessing a pair of Sierra-2 with the 70-20 is over $2,000. Is the cabinet modified to make room for the tweeter?

Only minor internal cabinet modifications are needed. We designed our RAAL 70-20xram and Sierra-2 ribbon tweeters to have the same size faceplates.

Yes, pricing would be approx. $2K / pair with our RAAL 70-20.

[davef]

I keep hearing about how mids on the Sierra towers are just magical. While Sierra 2s are fantastic I am really curious to hear what would sound like in my living room.

Also, there seem to be quite a few 3-way bookshelf speakers with RAAL, so I was curious if you’d ever consider it, seeing as how you were instrumental in getting us an affordable raal

The tower uses an exceptional midrange and our customized RAAL 70-20xram, so it is really the best of both worlds.