Last question before ordering an Sierra 2's. Help...

[ematthews]

I know I am new here and made a decision to call in an order the Sierra 2's
But what will the 2's give me over the 1 with the NRT upgrade?
Can someone help out with this before I order. I have been reading and searching on the forum but can't narrow down what the difference is really. Am I wrong in saying the 2's will have better mid range and high end with less bass? Correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks

[eliwankenobi]

Ok I'll try..

I could answer properly after I receive my upgraded, but... From what others have said, especially MagNaeto and DarkRanger... The answer seems to be yes to all you asked.. Dave Fabrikant said that better midrange was one of the goals for the 2s and apparently he achieved it...

Yes bass extension is a little less, but not one has said that ita noticable in a bad way with the majority saying they don't miss it at all. About high end extension, the new RAAL tweeter goes higher in frequency, also both driver are lighter and faster allowing the speaker to be much more dynamic.

Dispersion is wider horizontally, but maybe not as much vertically. Still not by much and in fact vertical dispersion on the S2 is better than on the towers with RAAL option.

I have heard the towers with RAAL myself and can assure you that I miss their performance over the Standard NrT, which isnt bad at all.. Hope this helps!!!

[ematthews]

This helps. Thanks. I just have to make sure I want to spend that much more when I hear so many good things on the original Sierra!
Really hard for me since I keep telling myself that the 1 is already a big step in the right direction over my Polk LSi15 towers.

[billy p]

This helps. Thanks. I just have to make sure I want to spend that much more when I hear so many good things on the original Sierra!
Really hard for me since I keep telling myself that the 1 is already a big step in the right direction over my Polk LSi15 towers.

Here are Mag_Neato comments...having gone from the NrTs to the S2's.

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?4978-Sierra-2-Development-Thread&p=47107#post47107

[curtis]

Been following your thread over at Audioholics. Seems like you are still considering other speakers as well.

You really should try and hear what you can, otherwise you are just keep second guessing.

Everybody here has gone through that stage...has settled on Ascend, and doesn't second guess anymore as far as the company is concerned. :)

BTW...some of those other speakers you are thinking about are better competition for the CMT-340SE.

[ematthews]

Not looking at the other brands anymore.. Just feels right ordering the Sierra. Just not sure between the 1 and 2.. That's all... It's funny. I went back and read old reviews on the Polk LSi-15's and the reviews are stellar. I don't think they sound clear enough or something.. What I will end up doing is putting the Polk's in a bigger room later on. I am not getting rid of them. I just want a Book shelf sub system in my small music only room.. I think I can do much better.

[FirstReflect]

So, I'm saying this without an actual direct A-B comparison with my own ears between the Sierra-2 and Sierra-1 NrT. However, what I have in my system right now are Sierra-1 NrT Surrounds, custom Horizon RAAL Fronts, and the real reason why I feel I can comment on this with some authority, which are my pair of custom Sierra bookshelf Front Wide speakers that use the same RAAL 70-20XR ribbon tweeter as the Towers/Horizon RAAL, as well as the same dedicated mid-range driver as the Towers/Horizon.

At the time I made my order, the Sierra-2 were not yet available. I wanted an absolutely flawless match between my custom Horizon RAAL Fronts and my Front Wide speakers. So, the custom Wides ended up being the ideal solution. Their only downside (apart from their considerable increase in cost) is a conplete lack of deep bass. That dedicated midrange driver is just that - a midrange driver! And so, I have to cross it over to my pair of subwoofers up at 120Hz. They would not be suitable for playing content all by themselves. They definitely need subwoofers to handle all the bass for them.

Anyways, what I can tell you is that the Sierra-1 NrT are very good speakers, but there is a clearly discernible difference when directly comparing them to the ribbon tweeter and improved midrange driver versions.

The simple word is: realism. Content played by the Sierra-1 NrT sounds as though it is being played by excellent speakers. Content played by the ribbon tweeter and improved midrange driver sounds like it's just real life, and not coming through speakers at all! With good recordings, it really is just uncanny, and even a bit eerie sometimes. It can kind of make me wig out -- haha. But, that is the difference: realism.

If you look at all the Sierra-2 impressions that others have written so far, you'll see everyone describing the exact same thing coming from the Sierra-2! It's just that uncanny level of realism. Others have used the same analogy that also came to my mind. If the Sierra-1 NrT are like looking through a very clean window, the Sierra-2 are like removing the glass entirely.

It's very difficult to measure or put into specs a thing like realism. But, what it really boils down to is that the Sierra-1 NrT play all the sounds accurately. But, the Sierra-2 play all the sounds accurately AND they don't play any sounds that are NOT in the recording. They are just supremely clean and distortion free. And that lends them that extra level of realism.

If you buy the Sierra-1 NrT, you won't be disappointed, I don't think. But, if you buy the Sierra-2, you'll be shocked (pleasantly so ;) ). It's just a different level of sound reproduction quality. It's eerily convincing realism. There's nothing else quite like it.

:)

[ematthews]

Very nice reply. I think your response just pushed me to hit the purchase button.

[JustABrah]

Seriously the S2 is a very noticeable upgrade from the S1 NrT, a lot more clear, cleaner sound and more detail, it sounds a lot more true to life, it's well worth the extra bit which really isn't that much. I've had the Sierra-1 NrT for about a year and the S2 for a few weeks now and these things are for sure atleast a step up.

[ematthews]

The two's are on order. Now I need stands and will most likely go with the Sanus SF line. Anyone have opinions on this? It appears from my sitting point that I will need to go with 26 or 30in stands.
How are the VTI stands? I have the audio rack and love it.

[natetg57]

I wish I had gone with 30" stands. Especially considering that the acoustic center of the speaker is between the tweeter and the woofer.