Hoo-boy.
Well, I figured I would post my early Sierra-2 impressions within my own thread here.
I picked up my Sierra-2 upgrade kits from the Post Office last night. Today, I did the upgrades, which went pretty darn smoothly, thank goodness, and had my first listen.
The Sierra-1 NrT and the Sierra-2 sound different from one another. Straight up. No ifs, ands, or buts. There's a clear difference, I'd be able to tell them apart blind, and the Sierra-2 are, in my opinion, superior. Like we've all been saying, they sound more realistic, clearer, more detailed. Where the Sierra-1 NrT sound like very good speakers, the Sierra-2 just plain sound closer to being real life. There's also a greater sense of atmosphere and the acoustics of the recording venue when such things are contained within the recording.
So for anyone who is wondering whether the Sierra-2 present a discernible and worthwhile upgrade over the already very good Sierra-1 NrT, the answer is absolutely and unequivocally, "yes". There can be no doubt as to which speaker is playing when switching between the two. I won't say "night and day difference" because I hate that saying, and I also don't think it's true in this case. But it's a clear difference. We can put that to rest
But now for the much, much tougher part:
To my ear, the Sierra-2 and my super-custom Front Wide Sierra bookshelf speakers that have the Towers/Horizon dedicated midrange driver and the larger RAAL 70-20XR tweeter in them do not sound identical. They are really, really close, but they are not identical.
Oy.
This is a really tough one for me to explain. To start, my super-custom Front Wides and my Horizon RAAL Front speakers sound identical. Obviously, the bass extension is different - my Front Wides can't play much at all below 90Hz, and I've found a 120Hz crossover to my subwoofers to be the best. But other than the bass extension and output, they sound identical in the midrange and treble. The match is blissfully good.
The Sierra-2 do not sound identical. But it's very, very close. Closer than a speaker selling for the price of the Sierra-2 probably has any right to get. But it's not quite identical.
The question is, is it close enough that I would be 100% satisfied using the Sierra-2 in the Surround, Surround Back, and Front Height positions, as was my intent? And man oh man, I honestly have not decided yet.
So here is what my experience has been so far: if I start with the Front Wides playing, and then I quickly switch over to the Sierra-2, it's awfully hard to tell the difference. One issue is that the Sierra-2 clearly play lower in the bass than the Front Wides that are using only the dedicated Tower/Horizon midrange driver. Even setting the high pass crossover, that low end response isn't identical because the filter is a slope, so the Sierra-2 is still producing a bit deeper bass.
But the trick is when I start by listening to the Sierra-2 and then rapidly switching over to the Front Wides. When I do that, it's like, "oh...crap...that does sound better. Crap. I was hoping it wouldn't. But it does."
The Horizon RAAL and my Front Wides just sound that little bit more open, that little bit more real, and that little bit - I don't even know. It's like the last lens flip when you're taking an eye exam to get some new glasses. It's just
Sierra-2 -- gosh darn it that sounds real and good
Horizon RAAL -- holy crap! That sounds holographic!
I don't know what to do, guys -- haha.
Here's the thing, by comparison, the Sierra-1 NrT aren't even close. I mean, that's an exaggeration, but my point is that there's no question at all when it's comparing the Horizon RAAL and my Front Wides to the Sierra-1 NrT. In that setup, there's a clear and obvious difference in the sound, and I'm itching for an even better and more seamless match.
With the Sierra-2, it's like different shades of the same thing. I WANT the Sierra-2 to completely satisfy me. It's the much easier and less costly option. And when I go from the Horizon RAAL or my Front Wides to the Sierra-2, it's not at all like the Sierra-1 NrT. It's really tough to tell them apart going in that direction. I can almost convince myself.
But then I go back from the Sierra-2 to the Horizon RAAL or my Front Wides, and I just can't help it, "crap. The Horizon RAAL and my Front Wides do still sound better. Crap."
lol
But here's the real kicker: I really want that extra bit of bass extension in my Surround, Surround Back, and Front Height channels. The high crossover point works for my Front Wides because my subwoofers are literally right beside them. There's no discernible gap or audible transition. But with the Surrounds, Backs, and Heights farther away, I'd really like to have a lower crossover point to the subs to keep that transition seamless.
And let's not forget, the Surrounds, Backs, and Heights are all elevated. And frankly, they're rarely playing the exact same sounds as the Front 3 or the Front Wides. Will I really notice that slightly more open, slightly more realistic sound in my Front 5 speakers with regular movies and content?
Truthfully, I'm just going to have to put these Sierra-2 in the Surround positions and find out!
So the best thing I can say about them is that they're so close to the Horizon RAAL and my Front Wides that they're definitely worthy of further study. Placed in the elevated Surround positions, they very well might be seamless enough that their deeper bass extension makes them the superior choice vs. some more super-custom bookshelf speakers with the Tower/Horizon midrange driver and the 70-20XR in them.
The worst thing I can say about them is that they do not sound identical to the Horizon RAAL and my Front Wides. The Horizon RAAL and my Front Wides still hold the edge. Using them as Front Main speakers and quickly A-B comparing them, the Horizon RAAL still win out over the Sierra-2. I don't know if it's because the 70-20XR is handling frequencies below where the Sierra-2's ribbon tweeter rolls off. I don't know if it's the dedicated midrange driver. But the Horizon RAAL and my Front Wides remain that little bit more open, that little bit more real. I switch from the Sierra-2 to the Horizon RAAL and it's just clearer and better. But unlike the difference between the Horizon RAAL and the Sierra-1 NrT, the tone and timbre remain very much the same, and that's why they really do just sound like slightly different shades of one another, rather than outright different speakers.
Gosh, I wish I had no doubt. I wish the Sierra-2 were so remarkable that I could switch between them and my Horizon RAAL and just be unable to distinguish. But that is not the case.
If you only ever heard the Horizon RAAL separately, if you never directly A-B compared them and rapidly switched back and forth, I'd wager all my money that you'd swear they sound identical to the Sierra-2. The tone and timbre are an excellent match. For a bookshelf speaker that CAN produce satisfying bass extension and output, the Sierra-2 cannot be beat. But that darn A-B comparison. I just can't say that the match is perfect. The Horizon RAAL still win out. They say to you, "you like those Sierra-2, eh? Think things can't sound any better or more real, eh? Well have a taste of THIS!" And there it is: holographically real sound, the Sierra-2 taken to the nth degree.
Darn it, Dave! Why does that dedicated Horizon midrange driver and that RAAL 70-20XR tweeter have to take it to that level? Why can't the Sierra-2 just be the pinnacle, and all the Horizon RAAL can do is play louder and maybe lower? Why does there have to be this extra "holy crap" level of realism?
I dunno, folks. I will have to listen some more. I will have to put my Front Wides in all of those elevated positions and see if the high crossover point can still blend seamlessly with my subs. I will have to try the Sierra-2 in all of those positions as well and see if I can still make out the difference.
It's close. Close enough that I cannot easily decide to bypass the Sierra-2 and just use the dedicated Horizon midrange and the RAAL 70-20XR all around. The tone and timbre most definitely match pretty much flawlessly, unlike the Sierra-1 NrT. But there's a difference. That nagging, small, but "holy crap are the Horizon RAAL good speakers" difference.
Ay-yi-yi