Do Sierra 1's have the Oomph to handle this room?

[Eruethemar]

Hello all! I'm a 1st time poster - just closed on a house and I'm liquidating all of my current audio equipment so I don't have to take it on the big move (plus I love re-doing things). ...now it's time to plot the *new* set-up! *rubs hands together*

The room in question is 16x14ft... but it is *wide* open into the dining room and kitchen (13x15) and (11x14) in series -- effectively creating one *long* room 14x40ft with 9ft ceilings. Hardwood floors.

If placed with good placement on the 'short' side of that room (centered around system on the 14ft wall), will the Sierra 1's (& sub! Of course I'm going to get a sub) be able to push volume for that listening area without distortion?

Note that I realize the stereo image will only resolve for the target listening area, I'm just talking about distortion-free sound extending back into into the entire space. I don't push my volume on my listening, but crave the detailed sound I've heard the Sierra-1's provide.

The entire reason for this is that due to the room set-up having floorstanders will look like crap (they'll have to be off center due to there being low built-ins on one side). The Sierras are going to go on extension arms out from the wall (~3ft max, will telescope back in for when I don't need detailed listening)

Thanks in advance for the advice ya'll!

--Eru

[N Boros]

The room in question is 16x14ft... but it is *wide* open into the dining room and kitchen (13x15) and (11x14) in series -- effectively creating one *long* room 14x40ft with 9ft ceilings. Hardwood floors.

If placed with good placement on the 'short' side of that room (centered around system on the 14ft wall), will the Sierra 1's (& sub! Of course I'm going to get a sub) be able to push volume for that listening area without distortion?




How close do you plan to sit when listening to them? If you are quite close to the speaker, within 10 feet, the speakers should be able to get very quite loud before distortion sets in. If you plan to listen to them at larger distances, you may want to think about tower speakers.

Secondly, you will likely find the bass output in such a large open concept space to be lacking, with the Sierra 1s, probably even with tower speakers. You will likely need a good subwoofer (or two for more even response across multiple seats) to get bass that will pressurize the room. Just to give you an idea, SVS might recommend their at least a PB2000 in that size space. You would likely want to start at about that price range and up if you wanted to look at Rythmik, Hsu, or Powersound audio for subs, as well. If you call the company, who you plan to get a subwoofer from they should be able to direct you to the appropriate size, but I would expect to spend at least $800 on a sub and maybe more depending on your application and preferences in that size space.

[Eruethemar]

NB,

Thanks for the reply. For primary purposes (when actively listening to music looking for the best experience) the sitting area will be 10-11ft away from the speakers. The passive listening (listening while cooking, etc.) will be what is done from further away, i.e, stretched out closer to the end of the 40ft room.

I appreciate the sub recommendations! Yeah, I'm going to look for some serious bass output from the woofer to cover that space. So the concern re: the Sierra-1 set is solely due to the volume issue - I won't need them to cover bass because the sub (or multiple subs) will handle that.

Regarding the volume levels, does anyone else have any thoughts? I really cannot go for tower speakers (for the reasons I mentioned), but I think I could rig up mid-tower (something like the CMT-340 or the Axiom audio M22)... but my hesitance on that front is that those speakers don't seem to be quite at the level of the Sierra-1s.

Thoughts?

--Eru

[curtis]

I really don't think you will have an issue, but then again, we don't know how loud you like to listen to your music.

My listening area is roughly the same size as yours, and of course, volume is not a problem. In adjacent rooms, with just normal doors, passive listening is no problem either.

[Eruethemar]

Curtis,

I'm not that loud of a listener (I frequently like things less loud than others), but I do like to be able to feel like the sound is more than just some weak radio in another room. :-)

For reference, currently (in a condo) I have a much less nice audio system that is *easily* covers the space - 2x Polk Monitor 60s and PSW10 Polk sub being driven by Onkyo receiver in a "great room" that measures 15' x 30' x 9ft ceiling. It never even gets *close* to being pushed from a volume perspective - but clearly the fidelity leaves something to be desired.

As mentioned, I could probably bump up to 'half towers' like the CMT-340 or Axiom M22 and still have it work, but "full" towers will look like crap in the new space and won't be able to stand symmetrically without being *significantly* in the way of basically everything. I worry that the fidelity on the CMT-340s won't be as good as the Sierra-1s though (in addition to the Sierra's being made in natural wood and looking a whole lot nicer).

When you say that your listening area is the same, were you referring to the 16x14ft portion? Or the entire "great" room (14x40). You're right, I think I'll be helped by the fact that there are no doors/walls (just one long room)... just curious how directly your experience compares with my planned setup.

Thanks!

--Eru

[curtis]

First, people like to equate the M22 to the 340 because of price and number of woofers. It isn't...it is MUCH more akin to the CBM-170 in performance/output. I have a lot of personal experience with the M22 and CBM-170....and M60.

The CMT-340 is not as good as the Sierra-1, BUT it is no slouch and is a great speaker in its own right. Some will say it is Ascend's best value.

I am referring to the 16x14 portion as my main listening area.

[Eruethemar]

Curtis,

Thanks for clearing up that comparison with the Axioms - that is extremely helpful information.

Since it seems that you have a lot of experience with the different models, would you characterize my assumption that the CMT-340s will be ~50-60% more volume-capable for a larger space compared to the Sierra-1 as accurate? Or is it less of a volume gain (or more!) between the two.

Perhaps what I'll do then is grab the Sierra-1 - if they handle the space volume-wise well, then great! If not, then I could return them and try for the CMT-340s (presuming that you agree they may be better able to handle the larger room if the sierra-1 cannot quite make it).

--Eru

[N Boros]

NB,

Thanks for the reply. For primary purposes (when actively listening to music looking for the best experience) the sitting area will be 10-11ft away from the speakers. The passive listening (listening while cooking, etc.) will be what is done from further away, i.e, stretched out closer to the end of the 40ft room.

I appreciate the sub recommendations! Yeah, I'm going to look for some serious bass output from the woofer to cover that space. So the concern re: the Sierra-1 set is solely due to the volume issue - I won't need them to cover bass because the sub (or multiple subs) will handle that.

Regarding the volume levels, does anyone else have any thoughts? I really cannot go for tower speakers (for the reasons I mentioned), but I think I could rig up mid-tower (something like the CMT-340 or the Axiom audio M22)... but my hesitance on that front is that those speakers don't seem to be quite at the level of the Sierra-1s.

Thoughts?

--Eru

If your main concern is sitting 10 to 11 ft away, then any of the Ascend speakers will give you more output than you need. Improving the experience from as much as 40 ft away will require larger speakers. I think the smaller bookshelf speakers like the Sierra 1s will be fine at those larger distances, but it seems like the CMT-340s would be better, though the Sierra 1s will have better overall sound quality. So it really depends on what you priority is. If your biggest concern is sound quality when you sit 10 feet away, then get the Sierra 1s.

I just recently sold my Axiom M22s (as fronts), VP150 (as a center) and QS8s (as surrounds) to upgrade to a pair of Sierra 2s. The biggest factor for me wanting to sell the Axioms was listening fatigue. At reasonable volume levels (turned up to the point where I can clearly hear dialog in a movie is how I set this), my ears would be ringing after watching just a 2 hour movie. If I listened longer than that my ears would be ringing even the next day. It was a huge difference going with the Sierra 2s, with this issue. I didn't even know what imaging from a pair of speakers was until I got the Sierra 2s. With the Axiom M22s, maybe every couple of months I could be fooled into thinking that I had a pair of surround speakers when listening to a stereo source. With the Sierra 2s it happens several times per week or even per day if you have good source material. I think that Axiom is really overpriced for what they offer now. 10 years ago, they were probably a good value. Ascend speakers seem to be at a very different level in terms of performance, in general and also when you factor in the price. I would decide between the Sierra 1s and the CMT 340s, based on if you prefer better performance at closer distances when critically listening, or if you really want that extra output when listening 30 to 40 feet away.