What would you do, 3 Sierra 2's or a pair of Sierra Towers w RAAL for HT?

[Chinook Driver]

I have been reading a ton of great reviews and seen a lot of very intelligent responses on this forum the last few weeks. You all have convinced me on purchasing either the Sierra 2's or the Sierra towers with RAAL, however I am at an crossroads on which path to take. I have a wife approved budget up to $3000 and I am looking at vastly improving my current speakers (20+ year old Definitive Technology towers and center hand me downs. I am not sure their model but they are nothing special) My primary use would be 70% HT and 30% music and they would reside in a fairly large room 18 x 15 x 9. What would you do? 3 Sierra 2's for a L/C/R or 2 Sierra towers and incorporate the old center?

Thank you in advance for the suggestions

[natetg57]

I have been reading a ton of great reviews and seen a lot of very intelligent responses on this forum the last few weeks. You all have convinced me on purchasing either the Sierra 2's or the Sierra towers with RAAL, however I am at an crossroads on which path to take. I have a wife approved budget up to $3000 and I am looking at vastly improving my current speakers (20+ year old Definitive Technology towers and center hand me downs. I am not sure their model but they are nothing special) My primary use would be 70% HT and 30% music and they would reside in a fairly large room 18 x 15 x 9. What would you do? 3 Sierra 2's for a L/C/R or 2 Sierra towers and incorporate the old center?

Thank you in advance for the suggestions

I don't think the old center will sound good with the Ascend towers.
Do you have a subwoofer?
If you're only spending $3000 total for the foreseeable future, than I'd suggest 3 Sierra-2s. You could use the rest of the budget for a sub if you don't already have one.
If you could eventually add a Horizon center channel, then buying two towers and running without a center channel wouldn't be a bad option.

[Sivar]

In my opinion, the center channel is the most important speaker in a home theater system. If anything, I'd spend more in it than on other speakers.

As nate says, a subwoofer is also important for home theater. Is that part of your budget?

[Kef3992]

I agree Sivar. I have the horizon as my center speaker with the sierra-2's for the left and right. I was worried that the horizon was overkill, but I was wrong. I am so glad I went with the horizon for the center channel. Dialog is crystal clear with every movie. I have the 200se speakers as the surrounds. This speaker system with my Anthem mrx510 receiver is simply amazing!

[curtis]

I agree Sivar. I have the horizon as my center speaker with the sierra-2's for the left and right. I was worried that the horizon was overkill, but I was wrong. I am so glad I went with the horizon for the center channel. Dialog is crystal clear with every movie. I have the 200se speakers as the surrounds. This speaker system with my Anthem mrx510 receiver is simply amazing!
Did you ever have a Sierra-2 as a center?

[Kef3992]

I never had the Sierra-2 as the center. I think it would be fine. All I am saying is the Horizon center is so good, I could not imagine my set up with anything else but the Horizon as the center speaker.

[Chinook Driver]

I don't think the old center will sound good with the Ascend towers.
Do you have a subwoofer?
If you're only spending $3000 total for the foreseeable future, than I'd suggest 3 Sierra-2s. You could use the rest of the budget for a sub if you don't already have one.
If you could eventually add a Horizon center channel, then buying two towers and running without a center channel wouldn't be a bad option.

Thank you for the responses. I do have a SB-2000 for a sub currently which does a pretty good job. I might be able to talk her into spending additional money on the center in a year but not immediately.

[Chinook Driver]

I agree Sivar. I have the horizon as my center speaker with the sierra-2's for the left and right. I was worried that the horizon was overkill, but I was wrong. I am so glad I went with the horizon for the center channel. Dialog is crystal clear with every movie. I have the 200se speakers as the surrounds. This speaker system with my Anthem mrx510 receiver is simply amazing!

Wow that is really interesting. I never really considered that approach, I initially wrote that off with the same concern as overkill. I am glad to hear it is a viable option. Do you see moving to the towers at a later date?

[Chinook Driver]

My wife is not really receptive to the Horizon due to its size...Does anyone have any experience or opinions on running a sierra 2 as a center with the RAAL towers as the L/R? Would the sierra be overwhelmed or negated by the towers in that configuration? It would currently be over budget but it might be something I could negotiate with her.

[Sivar]

My wife is not really receptive to the Horizon due to its size...Does anyone have any experience or opinions on running a sierra 2 as a center with the RAAL towers as the L/R? Would the sierra be overwhelmed or negated by the towers in that configuration? It would currently be over budget but it might be something I could negotiate with her.

I have no such experience, so the following is probably not all that useful.

---

I don't know that one speaker should be overwhelmed by another (by that I assume "become inaudible because of lower relative volume") due to size.

The towers are, however, much more efficient speakers at ~93dB than the Sierra 2's at ~87dB.

If you can reduce the L/R volume by 6dB or increase center-channel volume by the same (or -3 / +3) in your pre-amp or receiver's settings, that should (in theory) make up the difference. You may need to experiment a bit since efficiency ratings are not necessarily authoritative for all situations.

If you increase volume such that the towers reach their limits, the Sierra 2 will not be able to even remotely keep up, but for any volume level that doesn't cause hearing damage, I don;t think this will be a problem at all.

I have been using the Sierra 2's as my L/R and, when listening to music in direct (stereo) mode, voice is clearer than any speaker I have ever heard. I doubt it will have any trouble as a center.
While it doesn't have a dedicated driver for mids, the Sierra 2 is still a high-end speaker by any reasonable definition of "high-end", and as such is still capable of producing very clear mids.

[GirgleMirt]

In my opinion, the center channel is the most important speaker in a home theater system. If anything, I'd spend more in it than on other speakers.
It actually depends where you sit I believe. If you're sitting in the sweet spot; equal distance between the left and right speaker, then the center channel becomes the most useless speaker because your left & right speakers can image rather flawlessly a center 'image'. I even wonder if one could tell both apart! A center vs L & R...

But anyhow. So 3x Sierra2s or pair of RAAL towers. The center becomes important sitting off axis. But if you've got 2 listeners again, the center probably isn't most useful as both can probably fit in the sweet spot. So you're left with S2s vs RAAL towers. The RAAL towers will go lower (more bass extension), it should also play with more authority, easier to drive.. I'd think it's safe to say that it's a better speaker than the Sierra2. More expensive too... But better.

So I'd personally go with the towers. Going with 2 Sierra 2 + a sub would be another story though, and that would allow for the possibility of adding a center later down the road. Also possible with the towers, but more expensive, and the sub will 'out-sub' the towers in the bass department. So as always, it's a compromise, but I think towers is less of a compromise than 3x S2s. And for HT, unless you're often/mostly a crowd, a sub would benefit you more than a center.

[eliwankenobi]

Hello!

I hace three Sierra-2s with the center being in horizontal position and rotated tweeter... It works very very well... No problems at all going to the sides as qould happen with a MTM center... The horizontal dispersion is really good and they can play quite loud with my aging 100 wpc Onkyo 705 AVR... Actually, I remember DaveF getting around 112db spl from around 10ft away with no strain at all... 3 Sierra 2s and an F12 sub will run a little less than $3000. With shipping It may go a little above but its not like it will go way above... You could also get a SVS PB-2000 which will save you some money too (free shipping) and keep it very close to 3 grand. The S2s well integrated with a Sub with the proper position and crossover from you AVR will sound as big as the towers and then some... That will be the most bang for your buck hands down!

Sonic differences between the towers and bookshelves are very little. They both sound very clear and dynamic.. Its just that the tower by virtue of its extra dedicated drivers and cabinet space can be even more so. But again, a good pairing with a sub will help a lot with this......

First Reflect (Rob H from the AV Rant podcast) has a custom set of towers with RAAL tweeters and the Sierra-2 for surrounds and he can hear a difference between the two of them, but its not enough to really matter you know? Even if you get the towers, a sub is still necessary to fill the lower octaves... The S2 and subs is my recommendation... Good luck in your purchase, either way, you will be happy

EDIT:

I missed the part where you said you already have a SB-2000! Even better! Get a second one!! That would be even better!! Smother bass response acrooss your listening positions and more headroom!

[Chinook Driver]

Wow thanks for all of the advice and discussion guy! I think I am going to get two towers to start with and see if I feel like I am missing a lot minus the center. I might get a Sierra two for center down the road or convince the wife on the Horizon when I save back up for a more complete system.

Again thank you for your comments you gave me lots to consider

[eliwankenobi]

Great! I know you'll like them... Also, Ascend can make you a custom horizon center if you think it is too big

[picasso]

I have been reading a ton of great reviews and seen a lot of very intelligent responses on this forum the last few weeks. You all have convinced me on purchasing either the Sierra 2's or the Sierra towers with RAAL, however I am at an crossroads on which path to take. I have a wife approved budget up to $3000 and I am looking at vastly improving my current speakers (20+ year old Definitive Technology towers and center hand me downs. I am not sure their model but they are nothing special) My primary use would be 70% HT and 30% music and they would reside in a fairly large room 18 x 15 x 9. What would you do? 3 Sierra 2's for a L/C/R or 2 Sierra towers and incorporate the old center?

Thank you in advance for the suggestions

I'd get rid of the wife

[Blutarsky]

You need to tell your wife that you found the perfect $10,000 speakers. After arguing for this necessity, finally admit she was right to resist this expense, and agree to buy some value packed Ascends instead.