The Tower Discussion Thread!

[terminal33]

Ok Dave's got me salivating to replace my current 340 set up once the STC is released. I currently have the 340's powered by an Onkyo 707. If I got the new Towers up front, would it be better to keep the 707 and get an amp like the Emo XPA-3? Or just upgrade the 707 to an 809 and skip the Emo?

I do about 90/10 movies/music. Thanks!

[davef]

I don't understand measurements as well as most guys here but comparing the mesurement of STC to ST (first page of this thread) it seems like ST begin to roll off at around 15k vs STC goes beyond 20k. Is that by nature of horizontal center channels or ST mesurements on first page of this thread were taken in different environment? Again I don't understand measurements too well but just trying to learn.

Thanks.

Hi avsnoob10,

The measurements of the Sierra Towers that you are referring to are in-room with a mic distance of 2 meters. The measurements I posted of the STC are at 1 meter. With nearly any loudspeaker in a typical environment, one can expect high-frequency drop-off as you move further away from the speaker...

The on-axis high-frequency response of the STC and Sierra Tower are nearly identical.

As we prepare the Sierra Tower section of our website, I will post more standard measurements for comparison purposes. I believe I once posted both anechoic and 1 meter in-room response measurements of the tower but I can't seem to find where

Hope this helps!

[davef]

edit: I should also say I don't think these measurements encapsulate 150hz and on down, which is sometimes taken separately with a different microphone-- which might be what the green highlighted marking is on the first graph

This is correct! The low frequency response of the measurements is not at all accurate and the measurements also contain many room reflections. The goal of these measuremens was to show the off-axis capabilities and the linearity of the midrange in an in-room environment, both key factors for center channel performance.

[davef]

Dave, Based on these measurements, what would you suggest for the x-over with a sub (Seaton SubMersive)? (I will be using Sierra-1 NRT's for the L/R speakers, and currently have them x-overed at 60 Hz.)

60Hz would be ideal. You can also experiment with running the STC at a lower crossover point.

[avsnoob10]

Hi avsnoob10,

The measurements of the Sierra Towers that you are referring to are in-room with a mic distance of 2 meters. The measurements I posted of the STC are at 1 meter. With nearly any loudspeaker in a typical environment, one can expect high-frequency drop-off as you move further away from the speaker...

The on-axis high-frequency response of the STC and Sierra Tower are nearly identical.

As we prepare the Sierra Tower section of our website, I will post more standard measurements for comparison purposes. I believe I once posted both anechoic and 1 meter in-room response measurements of the tower but I can't seem to find where

Hope this helps!

Thanks Dave, makes total sense now. I am sure RAAL version extends well beyond 20k. Would you recommend ribbon upgrade over dome for primary HT use?

[merrymaid520]

Impressive specs thus far on the STC Dave! I hope to grab one someday soon. I imagine the STC with the RAAL will be quite pricey for a CC

On the subject of specs and measurements, have you taken measurements of the RAAL Tower and if so, I would be curious to see how it compares to the NrT version? I imagine the top end extends out quite a bit more before tapering off.

[millerwill]

Since I will be having Sierra-1 NRT's as L&R speakers (still with HTM-200's as surrounds), I presume that the dome tweeter for my Tower Center is preferred, right Dave?

[avsnoob10]

Dave posted this on AVS forum...

We evaluated about a dozen ribbon tweeters, including some very popular models and some fully custom units. I truly wanted to avoid using the RAAL as the particular tweeter we are using is extremely expensive and our customizations only add to this. The key factor that made my final decision easy was that our version of the 70-20XR measured better than any other tweeter I have ever measured (with both time domain and frequency response analysis,) and I have been evaluating tweeters regularly since 1991. Many of the ribbons we evaluated measured poorly in one aspect or another, but not the RAAL models.

In my opinion, the 70-20XR is a serious step up from the 70-10D. The 70-10D has a rise in its on-axis frequency response (which is audible) while the 70-20XR is seriously RULER flat. The 70-10D has slightly wider horizontal dispersion but the 70-20XR is far superior in its dynamic capabilities and can be crossed lower than even most good quality dome tweeters. The tweeter lives up to, and in many respects, even surpasses the universal praise it receives.

Whether one person prefers a dome or ribbon is purely based on preference but from a technical standpoint, at least with the model we are using, the ribbon is technically superior and this does indeed clearly reveal itself with measurements.

I wonder how narrow horizontal dispersion 70-20XR has in comparison to 70-10D. There is no publically available data for 70-20XR.

[curtis]

I wonder how narrow horizontal dispersion 70-20XR has in comparison to 70-10D. There is no publically available data for 70-20XR.

In that regard, I would bet that the two are similar.

[charlie12125]

I'm sorry if this is a repeat, but 70 pages? Come on...

Will the tower ship with the NrT installed?

Thanks!
Andy