Sierra-1 Unboxing

[kdaq]

After years of coveting (and some quality time with the excellent HTM-200SE) I bit the bullet and got my own Sierra-1 pair! I'll save impressions for later, but opening this thing was like Xmas for me, so I thought I'd share some pictures.


UPS gave it their best shot, but this box is beefy. Also, there's another box inside.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7383/16448944976_41d87955f5_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/r4x9gA)

Gloves to keep your oily ick off the cabinets, plus logos and feet. Best of all, actual measurements for this pair!

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8639/16289048237_34edc67145_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qPpCxg)

Eveningwear?

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7380/16289047757_a5f91a5f95_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qPpCoZ)

Hello there! Let me tell you, I was pleasantly shocked by how heavy they are. If you gave these to an alien familiar with the typical hardness of wood and metal and asked them to categorize the cabinets, I bet you they would pick metal.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7378/16287518230_f4581f4fa9_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qPgMHQ)

Binding posts. I originally thought those plastic things came off, but they don't. Very quality, and the wide spacing is great for using bare wire.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/16287517910_e0f19917f4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qPgMCj)

Closeup. I was too lazy to clean off my polarizing filter, hence the spots. The finish of the speakers is actually flawless.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7360/16289047237_3650afd528_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qPpCf2)

The satin cherry finish has a beautiful sheen that varies with how light hits it.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7443/15852421574_a0f4852456_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/q9PNDm)

Sometimes it looks like this, nice and matte.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7376/16289046637_a4dc63484b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qPpC4F)

Woofers. Only audio impression I'll give now is one you've heard before -- when you hear the quality and quantity of bass these little things put out, your brain will reboot.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7352/16448942546_4923117613_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/r4x8xG)

I leave you with a useless closeup of a screw. Also, the tweeter surface kinda looks like an insect eyeball. Sounds a lot better, though.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/15852420944_33e1187faa_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/q9PNsu)

The full set on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kdaq/sets/72157648375831534) has high res and a few more pictures.


Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go lock myself in the basement with these and enjoy being snowed-in.

[Mag_Neato]

Awesome! I recall hearing that bass for the first time. If you have a sub in the room you will be checking to see if it's on!

[muzz]

I remember unboxing my 1's as well, was very impressed with the packing, and totally loved the look and sound of them...still do.
Believe it or not, I JUST got done hanging my 51" Sammy plasma on a beefy 33" articulating mount....wanna know why?
So I could put my S1 CC on the stand under the TV....no other reason! hahahaha

Enjoy the S1's, they may have been surpassed by newer incarnations, but they still sound fabulous.

[kdaq]

Yup Mag_Neato, I made a shortcut on my receiver to turn the sub on and off (while leaving XT32, crossover, etc. alone) just to amuse myself. :) I can indeed notice a difference with the sub though -- it just requires the right material.

Nice work muzz. I'm still running an HTM-200SE center until I can figure out how best to solve the same problem!

I've put in a couple days of listening now. It's still early, but I'll offer one impression. Despite the imaging and detail these things are clearly capable of, what strikes me most is how forgiving they are. I have a whole lot of poorly-recorded stuff in my music collection that brought a cringe to my face via good headphones, but it's no problem here. I'm doing more listening through full albums instead of jumping around like I usually do.

[davef]

Stunning photos ... Thank you!!!

[kdaq]

My pleasure Dave.

By the way, I'm sure you get accolades for the Sierras often (well deserved of course), but I wanted to say that I really admire the design work on the HTM-200SE. Going to Sierra-1 yielded a clear music upgrade, but it also deepened my respect for the little HTM, if that makes any sense.

[davef]

My pleasure Dave.

By the way, I'm sure you get accolades for the Sierras often (well deserved of course), but I wanted to say that I really admire the design work on the HTM-200SE. Going to Sierra-1 yielded a clear music upgrade, but it also deepened my respect for the little HTM, if that makes any sense.

Makes total sense to me... I love our little HTM's -- nothing quite like them anywhere.