Sierra 1 Center - Vertical Positioning.

[MALC_345]

@all

I wanted to check if anyone uses the Sierra 1 Center in a vertical position? If so, what is the height of the speaker stand you use? My situation is such that we will be purchasing a fixed frame 100" screen and the max total height of a vertically placed speaker would be 32". So I was wondering if the Sierra 1 vertically would be at a height of exactly 32" on an 18" speaker stand, while the Sierra 1 LRs would be placed on 24" stands, how the front soundstage fidelity would be since the tweeters of the LRs would be 6 inches higher than the Sierra 1 Center vertically.

My main concern is to make sure the center speaker sound will be 'centered' on the screen even though they will bemplacedmon the 18" stands.

Any advise or feedback would be great! Cheers!

[curtis]

How far back are the seats?

Also, what other alternatives do you have?

[MALC_345]

How far back are the seats?

Also, what other alternatives do you have?

@Curtis

The seats would be 10-12ft from the front soundstage. The only alternative would be simply to use the horizontal sierra-1 center.

[curtis]

@Curtis

The seats would be 10-12ft from the front soundstage. The only alternative would be simply to use the horizontal sierra-1 center.

At that distance, the difference in the height of the tweeter is not going to make much of a difference, if at all.

[MALC_345]

@curtis

Thanks for the info. Quick question, what seating distance would the difference in height of the tweeters have a negative influence on the front soundstage?

[curtis]

For a difference of 6"? I'd say within 6 feet to be noticeable.

[MALC_345]

@Curtis

Thanks for the info. I wish I could have a chance to demo these in person, but unfortunately I live in Kentucky.....Any KY Sierra 1 users out there? :D

[MALC_345]

@Curtis

Also, I'm looking to power these speakers with an Emotiva XPA-3. Will this be able to open up these speakers and get there full potential? I'm looking to have the Onkyo ht-rc370 as the processor with the Emo XPA-3.

[curtis]

Also, I'm looking to power these speakers with an Emotiva XPA-3. Will this be able to open up these speakers and get there full potential? I'm looking to have the Onkyo ht-rc370 as the processor with the Emo XPA-3.
I guess that depends how loud you want to play them.

The speakers are not hard to drive.

Does that Onkyo have pre-outs so you can actually utilize the Emo?

[MALC_345]

@Curtis

Yep, the Onkyo ht-rc370 (7.2) has pre-outs with Audyssey MultiEQ XT (the main reason why I want this as a processor), so I will be able to have the sub calibrated to blend with the fronts.

I think I may be the first Ascend Acoustics Sierra 1 owner in Kentucky. :D

[curtis]

Yep, the Onkyo ht-rc370 (7.2) has pre-outs with Audyssey MultiEQ XT (the main reason why I want this as a processor), so I will be able to have the sub calibrated to blend with the fronts.

I think I may be the first Ascend Acoustics Sierra 1 owner in Kentucky. :D
Great. BTW, the pre-outs don't have much to do with being able to integrate a sub.

I doubt you'd be the first in Kentucky, but if you are, you should invite everyone over. :P

[Jeff52]

@Curtis

Also, I'm looking to power these speakers with an Emotiva XPA-3. Will this be able to open up these speakers and get there full potential? I'm looking to have the Onkyo ht-rc370 as the processor with the Emo XPA-3.

MALC, that would be an excellent setup with the Onkyo 370 using the RCL preouts driving the 200 Watt per channel EMO XPA 3, like Curtis said the Sierra's are not a real difficult load to drive, even if they were the XPA-3 is surely up to the task. Using the 370's preouts will give the receiver enough reserve power to drive four other channels if you decide to build a 7.1 setup. The XPA-3 is a brute weighing in at 57 lbs. and I think it has a variable gain stage to 32 dB allowing the 370's preouts to drive it with ease. Just a heads up the Onkyo 370 could be had for $449 at Amazon delivered and the XPA-3 with 10% discount right now and free delivery could be had for $629.10 by adding promotional code SPOOKYSALE at checkout. Hope this helps.
Best regards, Jeff

[MALC_345]

MALC, that would be an excellent setup with the Onkyo 370 using the RCL preouts driving the 200 Watt per channel EMO XPA 3, like Curtis said the Sierra's are not a real difficult load to drive, even if they were the XPA-3 is surely up to the task. Using the 370's preouts will give the receiver enough reserve power to drive four other channels if you decide to build a 7.1 setup. The XPA-3 is a brute weighing in at 57 lbs. and I think it has a variable gain stage to 32 dB allowing the 370's preouts to drive it with ease. Just a heads up the Onkyo 370 could be had for $449 at Amazon delivered and the XPA-3 with 10% discount right now and free delivery could be had for $629.10 by adding promotional code SPOOKYSALE at checkout. Hope this helps.
Best regards, Jeff

@jeff52

WOW! Thanks bro for the promotional code! I think I will order it now for sure. Yes, it took me a while to decide on the Onkyo, well I still will give it a night to sleep it over, but it is such a value as a processor since I will be using the Emo amp to drive the speakers. And the amazing part is at that price you get the Audyssey MultiEq XT!

Again, thanks for that promo code, that is a heck of alot of savings! Cheers bro!

[Jeff52]

@jeff52

WOW! Thanks bro for the promotional code! I think I will order it now for sure. Yes, it took me a while to decide on the Onkyo, well I still will give it a night to sleep it over, but it is such a value as a processor since I will be using the Emo amp to drive the speakers. And the amazing part is at that price you get the Audyssey MultiEq XT!

Again, thanks for that promo code, that is a heck of alot of savings! Cheers bro!

My pleasure brother...yes the 370 would make for a nice pre-pro, it was reviewed well at Audioholics and other sites and at that price it is a steal as well as the XPA-3, I think you will be surprising happy with that setup especially with the Sierra 1's...enjoy

[MALC_345]

@jeff52

Just put in the order for the Emo XPA-3! Bro, I really owe you on that one. I was still contemplating whether or not to hit the 'buy button' to make the purchase just a few hours ago, but then when my wife and I came back from our bible study, well I got your message, and couldn't pass up the deal. Even with the X-Series RCA cable interconnects, the grand total only came out to $680.38! :D

Thanks again bro! So are you also a happy owner of the Sierra 1s or the other line of speakers of Ascend? What I really noticed about this community forum here at Ascend is just everyone's openness and eagerness to help out newbies such as myself. The fact that I even get emails from the inventor himself, Mr. Dave Fabrikant, is a testament to the great customer service and quality of this speaker line/brand and of course, VERY helpful people like you my friend, Jeff.

By the way, my name is Marc. Cheers bro!

[Jeff52]

@jeff52

Just put in the order for the Emo XPA-3! Bro, I really owe you on that one. I was still contemplating whether or not to hit the 'buy button' to make the purchase just a few hours ago, but then when my wife and I came back from our bible study, well I got your message, and couldn't pass up the deal. Even with the X-Series RCA cable interconnects, the grand total only came out to $680.38! :D

Thanks again bro! So are you also a happy owner of the Sierra 1s or the other line of speakers of Ascend? What I really noticed about this community forum here at Ascend is just everyone's openness and eagerness to help out newbies such as myself. The fact that I even get emails from the inventor himself, Mr. Dave Fabrikant, is a testament to the great customer service and quality of this speaker line/brand and of course, VERY helpful people like you my friend, Jeff.

By the way, my name is Marc. Cheers bro!


Marc, I am very happy for you and I know you will love the XPA-3, you have thirty days to decide and a five year transferable warranty, I doubt very much you will be sending it back, I own emotiva gear and their cables, excellent performance for the asking price, if you ever decide to sell the XPA-3 it will sell like hotcakes. They are a very good company to deal with and customer service is second to known except of course Ascends. I'm working on a deal right now with Dave for either the Sierra's or the 340SE's, it's a hard decision, I'm looking to go 7.2 setup, I just need the front stage LCR to complete the setup. If you can afford it go with the Sierra's, if not the 340's are outstanding. Let me know what happens my friend, God Bless you and your family. It's a pleasure talking with you.
Cheers back, Jeff

[MALC_345]

Marc, I am very happy for you and I know you will love the XPA-3, you have thirty days to decide and a five year transferable warranty, I doubt very much you will be sending it back, I own emotiva gear and their cables, excellent performance for the asking price, if you ever decide to sell the XPA-3 it will sell like hotcakes. They are a very good company to deal with and customer service is second to known except of course Ascends. I'm working on a deal right now with Dave for either the Sierra's or the 340SE's, it's a hard decision, I'm looking to go 7.2 setup, I just need the front stage LCR to complete the setup. If you can afford it go with the Sierra's, if not the 340's are outstanding. Let me know what happens my friend, God Bless you and your family. It's a pleasure talking with you.
Cheers back, Jeff

@Jeff

I guess we're in the same boat, trying to decide on the Sierras or the 340 SE's. I'm trying to stay within a particular budget, but I know I don't want to catch a case of 'upgrade-itis' in the future, so I'm trying to legitimize in my mind (& my wife's mind :)) the necessity of trying to get the best possible within our budget (or stretch it a little - it is close to the holidays right? :D). Which emo gear do you have at the moment? And what receiver will you be using as your pre-pro? Got a quick question. With the XPA-3 setup, I only need the X-Series RCA cables to hook the XPA-3 to the onkyo right? And then run the speaker wire from the speakers to the XPA-3? Yep, as you can see, I'm a newbie.

Keep me also updated on your quest for audio bliss. I'm sure whichever speakers we end up choosing, Ascends will definitely be worth the investment. God bless to you and your family as well my friend. Keep me posted!

Cheers!

[Jeff52]

@Jeff

I guess we're in the same boat, trying to decide on the Sierras or the 340 SE's. I'm trying to stay within a particular budget, but I know I don't want to catch a case of 'upgrade-itis' in the future, so I'm trying to legitimize in my mind (& my wife's mind :)) the necessity of trying to get the best possible within our budget (or stretch it a little - it is close to the holidays right? :D). Which emo gear do you have at the moment? And what receiver will you be using as your pre-pro? Got a quick question. With the XPA-3 setup, I only need the X-Series RCA cables to hook the XPA-3 to the onkyo right? And then run the speaker wire from the speakers to the XPA-3? Yep, as you can see, I'm a newbie.

Keep me also updated on your quest for audio bliss. I'm sure whichever speakers we end up choosing, Ascends will definitely be worth the investment. God bless to you and your family as well my friend. Keep me posted!

Cheers!


Marc, you are looking at Sierra mains and center for $1334 delivered, (these are the natural finish, gloss and others are more), 340 mains and center $904 delivered, this is using the system advisor to order which gives a discount for purchasing mains and a center. There may be a holiday sale in the near future, close to Thanksgiving or so, if you buy a pair of mains (L&R) and add the matching center Dave may offer a discount, there was a Black Friday Deal last year and I passed on it, my mistake. Please do not quote me on this Holiday sale, it may or may not be offered. At this time I have decided on the 340's, I feel they will satisfy all my needs, also the 170's for my side surrounds. I have gone over budjet with a new subwoofer, blu-ray player and receiver, I went with an Onkyo TX-NR809, I think the NR709 would have served my purpose since I will only be using one channel of the receiver to drive the 340 center, I have two EMO UPA-2's which is more than adequate to drive the 340's and 170's. Yes the X-series interconnects are just fine, you will need 3 to connect from your receiver's LCR preouts to the XPA-3 analog inputs and from the XPA-3 run your speaker cables to the left, right and center speakers' terminals. If you can swing it go with the Sierras' and the Onkyo 709 receiver, this is just a suggestion my friend, there is nothing worse than I should have done that instead of this! Whatever you decide I personally believe you can not go wrong with Ascends loudspeakers. That's a lot of amp you bought my friend, all EMO amps were designed with the idea that most people would be using receivers as pre-pro's, that is the reason the XPA-3 has a 32dB gain structure, the preouts of most receivers can drive EMO amps, you should have no problems with the Onkyo 709 or 809 for about $100 more, the 809 offers more power and more processing if you decide to expand your speaker setup to 5.1 or 7.1 All of us were newbies my friend, no need to apologize, feel free to ask anything you wish, I will be more than happy as well as most members here at Ascends to help with anything. Think some more about all of this and say a prayer, you will come to a decision. Keep me posted and I will do likewise.
Cheers Amigo, Jeff

[Jeff52]

Marc, I'm sorry, I forgot you were getting the Onkyo 370, it's practically the same receiver as the 709, and like I said Amazon has it right now for $449 delivered, Newegg raised the price back to $799. It also will be a real good match for the XPA-3.
Jeff

[MALC_345]

Marc, you are looking at Sierra mains and center for $1334 delivered, (these are the natural finish, gloss and others are more), 340 mains and center $904 delivered, this is using the system advisor to order which gives a discount for purchasing mains and a center. There may be a holiday sale in the near future, close to Thanksgiving or so, if you buy a pair of mains (L&R) and add the matching center Dave may offer a discount, there was a Black Friday Deal last year and I passed on it, my mistake. Please do not quote me on this Holiday sale, it may or may not be offered. At this time I have decided on the 340's, I feel they will satisfy all my needs, also the 170's for my side surrounds. I have gone over budjet with a new subwoofer, blu-ray player and receiver, I went with an Onkyo TX-NR809, I think the NR709 would have served my purpose since I will only be using one channel of the receiver to drive the 340 center, I have two EMO UPA-2's which is more than adequate to drive the 340's and 170's. Yes the X-series interconnects are just fine, you will need 3 to connect from your receiver's LCR preouts to the XPA-3 analog inputs and from the XPA-3 run your speaker cables to the left, right and center speakers' terminals. If you can swing it go with the Sierras' and the Onkyo 709 receiver, this is just a suggestion my friend, there is nothing worse than I should have done that instead of this! Whatever you decide I personally believe you can not go wrong with Ascends loudspeakers. That's a lot of amp you bought my friend, all EMO amps were designed with the idea that most people would be using receivers as pre-pro's, that is the reason the XPA-3 has a 32dB gain structure, the preouts of most receivers can drive EMO amps, you should have no problems with the Onkyo 709 or 809 for about $100 more, the 809 offers more power and more processing if you decide to expand your speaker setup to 5.1 or 7.1 All of us were newbies my friend, no need to apologize, feel free to ask anything you wish, I will be more than happy as well as most members here at Ascends to help with anything. Think some more about all of this and say a prayer, you will come to a decision. Keep me posted and I will do likewise.
Cheers Amigo, Jeff

@Jeff

Good evening bro! Well I think I have also made my final decision on my speaker setup. I'm also looking to get the following:

CMT 340SE Mains
CMT 340SE Center
CBM 170SE Surrounds
SVS PB13-Ultra
Onkyo ht-rc370
Emotiva XPA-3
Panasonic DMP-BDT210
Emotiva X-Series RCA Interconnects
SVS Subwoofer Cable
Speaker Wire - Yet to be determined, but leaning towards terminated Belden 12 gauge from bluejeancables.com

I went WAY OVER budget for the SVS sub. :eek: But I'm an action movie aficionado, and I have heard TONS of positive feedback re: this sub, so I hope the investment will be well worth it. The Onkyo I feel is really a 'steal' considering it can accomodate dual subs (not that I think we will ever need to add another pb13-Ultra, because I will not be able to afford another one) and what makes it a truly outstanding value is the Audyssey MultiEQ XT! :D I think after the xx7 series, Onkyo's have become more refined in their sound quality. I haven't read comments stating the xx8 or xx9 series of Onkyo have a 'bright' character, but rather a more dynamic and controlled presentation (with less issues in regards to heating problems - 'knock on wood' that this doesn't happen to our units bro! :)). I know for a fact that your 809 is MANY steps ahead of my ht-rc370. Now that is a definite and no doubt about it, the 809 is on another level compared to mine.

Thanks for giving me the heads up on Newegg raising their price on the Onkyo ht-rc370. It definitely pushed me to purchase it from Amazon before the price increase.

Thanks again for all the info and keep me updated on your HT build! Once we're finished, it will be a relief. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to decide on speakers and such....And the quest continues my friend!

Cheers!

[Jeff52]

Marc, I don't have time to do any serious posting or to talk at any length, I will be back tomorrow and I would like to discuss your purchases or decisions
to purchase. From your list you seem to be well on your way to sonic Bliss. We will talk soon, sorry my man, have to run.
Jeff

[HiroPro]

hmm... The Sierra 1 Center's xover is tweaked for horizontal cabinet placement. It's more than just the orientation of the tweeter waveguide. To use it vertically is to undo Dave's xover work! To use it vertically properly you need to use the standard Sierra1 xover.

[davef]

hmm... The Sierra 1 Center's xover is tweaked for horizontal cabinet placement. It's more than just the orientation of the tweeter waveguide. To use it vertically is to undo Dave's xover work! To use it vertically properly you need to use the standard Sierra1 xover.

Sorry for any confusion on our part... The Sierra-1 center's crossover is identical to the left/right Sierra-1. Horizontal placement optimizations are not needed due to the unique characteristics of our OPPIX crossover.

[davef]

hmm... The Sierra 1 Center's xover is tweaked for horizontal cabinet placement. It's more than just the orientation of the tweeter waveguide. To use it vertically is to undo Dave's xover work! To use it vertically properly you need to use the standard Sierra1 xover.

Sorry for any confusion on our part... The Sierra-1 center's crossover is identical to the left/right Sierra-1. Horizontal placement optimizations are not needed due to the unique characteristics of our OPPIX crossover.

[Jonnyozero3]

Sorry for any confusion on our part... The Sierra-1 center's crossover is identical to the left/right Sierra-1. Horizontal placement optimizations are not needed due to the unique characteristics of our OPPIX crossover.

Dave,

Maybe I missed it in the thread - if one wanted to use the Sierr-1 center as a upright speaker, is it best to rotate the tweeter 90 degrees?

I ask because when I get the STC, I'd like to use my center as an upright surround. Thanks! :)