Sierra 1 VS. PSB Imagine B speakers

[Andrew]

Is there anyone who has a pair of Sierra 1 that has also heard the PSB Imagine B? -Or has owned higher end PSB speakers? I am tempted to upgrade but not sure if it will be much of a jump. From the reviews they sound amassing so I am tempted. Any insights would be appreciated.
many thanks!

[markie]

I looked online and found two people who have had both, auditioning both in their rooms. Each preferred the Sierra 1 but both still thought the PSB Imagine B was a very good speaker. The PSB was reported to be more a bit more forward and perhaps livelier than the Sierra 1 which seemed a touch more restrained. Even so the Sierra was more refined, balanced and powerful, especially noticeable in a larger room.

If it were me and I had the upgrade bug I would go for the Sierra 2, or get the Sierra 1 for now with the intention of upgrading components to the Sierra 2 later.

Mark

[Andrew]

Thanks Mark. Good advice!

[Andrew]

FYI, I ordered the Sierra 1 in the Cherry finish. Thanks for the encouragement!

[markie]

Ohhh nice! Andrew I much look forward to hearing your impressions when they arrive.
Mark

[Andrew]

I received the Sierra 1s on Monday and have put about 10 hours on them (They are at my office in a near field set up) They look gorgeous and sound very good. Right off the bat, I'm not hearing a big improvement over my PSB Imagine B set. They are definitely as refined and there is slightly richer bass response but I'm not 100% sold. I'm guessing there needs to be some break in time before I decide to keep these. Any idea how long these should take to break in?

[bobola]

Andrew, I'm very interested in this comparison, having carefully auditioned the Imagine B but unable to hear any version of the Sierra prior to purchase. Am I right that you have the base Sierra-1, without the NRT tweeter? Do you have the satin or gloss cherry?

[billy p]

I had the opportunity to audition the Imagine B and found them a little more laid back. The details were all present but they seemed more veiled in their approach...requiring the listener to pay closer attention ..with my S1 NrTs...I felt the upper region was more detailed & airy and I simply preferred the way they accentuate the top end in that manner. As you mentioned the bass also had more presence. IMO...a better overall speaker...of course YYMV.

Anyhow...both are terrific speakers and Fwiw...the Imagine B retail here for what I paid for my NrTs at the time. For me it was an easy decision.



Re, Bill

[Andrew]

Thanks for your input Bill. I am still in the break-in period and I definitely think the Sierra is on par with the PSB. They sound pretty similar to my ear (other than the bass). It also depends on what music you throw at them. I'm listening to mostly rock and alternative rock (Listening to Steely Dan now and they sound very good)
RE bobola's question. I have the satin cherry (b-stock) Very good looking speaker!

[billy p]

Yup.. Classic rock is my musical preference...if you can find some acoustic guitar CDs & try both...I know the Ascends really shine in that area.

Good luck...:)

[FirstReflect]

I'm sorry to hear that you're not totally satisfied. In all sincerity, PSB makes excellent speakers! I'm getting the sense that you were maybe hoping for a much bigger difference and to really be blown away. So one of the "problems" is that good speakers that all shoot for linearity and even dispersion - they honestly do sound a lot more similar than different.

You're pointing out some of the smaller, more subtle differences. Frankly, much of the time, that's all there is! If you were to listen to some Focal bookshelf speakers, I think you'd be saying much the same thing.

markie already mentioned the idea of upgrading your Sierra-1 speakers to Sierra-2. Now that's where I think you'd be hearing a much larger difference. But, obviously, it's also a big step up in price!

In terms of "break in", I don't buy into it even a little bit. Not objectively, anyway. And that's demonstrated in the measurements.

But our hearing can most definitely "break in". That's where I completely agree with the practice of listening to new speakers for an extended period of time before making your final conclusions.

One thing that I think would be good for you to try would be to listen to only the Sierra-1 speakers every day for a few days. Don't switch to any other speakers and just listen to the Sierra-1 a whole bunch for a couple of days.

THEN switch back to your PSB Imagine B speakers. If you're going to really notice any differences, that's how it's going to happen. You get used to the new speakers - let them "soak in" and become your new "normal". And then you switch back to what you had before. In my experience, the difference is often far more noticeable when you do things that way. And because of that, I understand the notion of "break in". The objective measurements of the speakers themselves just don't show it, which is why I really believe it's more of a human brain thing than a physical speaker thing ;)

But, yeah, the thing I recommend getting away from is that sort of immediate, intense, critical comparison. Just in my own experience, I've found it far too easy to "miss the forest for the trees" if I try to make a critical comparison just switching back and forth right away. I've come to much prefer getting used to new speakers and letting them "draw me in" (or sometimes not, since not all speakers do, in which case, I know they're not for me ;) ). But if I sit down and try to be hyper critical right away, I personally find that I miss too much. It's amazing how much sound we're able to actively ignore and not notice when we're concentrating on something specific!

But at the end of the day, I'm just not sure the Sierra-1 will ever be as big of a difference as it seems you were hoping for. I don't know precisely what you were hoping to hear, but you already had good speakers! It would, in my opinion, take a significant upgrade in order to really notice a sizable improvement. I think the Sierra-2 would do that for you, but maybe the Sierra-1 not so much…

- Rob H.

[davef]

Hi Andrew,

Rob made a great post! The Imagine B is an excellent speaker and aside from bass, measures similarly to our stock Sierra-1. The two speakers are definitely comparable, but also keep in mind how much a set of Imagine B's cost $1100/pr vs $800/pr for Sierra-1. If you can try to describe what area of performance you are looking to improve, I might be able to offer some suggestions to you.

The NrT upgrade is a quick and affordable way to take the Sierra-1 to the next level of performance, with a livelier overall presentation and more detailed upper mids and highs, as well as a crisper top end. The Sierra-2 is really a different speaker altogether and a very considerable upgrade from Sierra-1 or Sierra-1 NrT. The neat thing about our Sierra-1, you can upgrade them yourself at any time :)

[Andrew]

Hi Rob & Dave,
Agreed. Rob's post is brilliant and excellent advice that I will follow. I am not an audiophile but someone who is passionate about listening to music and particularly obsessed with speakers. I am so impressed with Ascend Acoustics as a company and the community here. There is a very loyal following. I'm not sure I can put into words what I'm looking for other than that excited feeling you get when you've taken your system up to the next level. I think I may need to give my ears some time to "break in" . Otherwise, I may need to try out the Sierra 2s I'm really hoping not to spend that much to satisfy my obsession but who knows. Thanks so much for taking the time to point me in the right direction. Much appreciated!