I finally got my 2's!

[curtis]

So after putting a hold on buying new audio equipment for a while...being mature about other priorities...I finally got Sierra-2's!!

(excuse the wires/cables)!!


http://changpics.smugmug.com/Other/Ascend-Acoustics-pictures/i-zCC8Pjv/1/L/IMG_1500-L.jpg
The documents.


http://changpics.smugmug.com/Other/Ascend-Acoustics-pictures/i-PR66wRK/0/XL/IMG_1503-XL.jpg
Domestic cabinets (you can see the nice reveal line) in the natural finish.


http://changpics.smugmug.com/Other/Ascend-Acoustics-pictures/i-c6L79T2/0/L/IMG_1505-L.jpg


http://changpics.smugmug.com/Other/Ascend-Acoustics-pictures/i-bP6LPjV/0/XL/IMG_1508-XL.jpg


http://changpics.smugmug.com/Other/Ascend-Acoustics-pictures/i-mZ6wfhg/0/XL/IMG_1509-XL.jpg
Custom stands I had made for my Sierra-1's...of course they work well with the 2's.

I won't be able to really listen to them until tomorrow.

[dtsequoia]

Nice man. Did you get the 2's for LCR or just LR?

Also...Really looking forward to your review!

Ben

[curtis]

Nice man. Did you get the 2's for LCR or just LR?

Also...Really looking forward to your review!

i got an LCR set.

I don't know if I will post a review rather than just impressions. I've posted thoughts about them after hearing them at Ascend 1.5 years ago.

My Sierra-1's were the second set in the wild from production, so I know their sound well in my room...so they will be my baseline.

[RPM]

They look fantastic with those stands!

[curtis]

Kind of cool how the RAAL shows through the grille...

http://changpics.smugmug.com/Other/Ascend-Acoustics-pictures/i-LJbD8XH/0/XL/IMG_1511-XL.jpg

[merrymaid520]

Congrats Curtis! I know you have been patiently waiting to upgrade those S1's;)

I look forward to your impressions! Keep me posted!

Brandon

[merrymaid520]

Now that you have the S2's, odds are dave will introduce the next speaker line tomorrow.


He he.....I kid

[curtis]

Now that you have the S2's, odds are dave will introduce the next speaker line tomorrow.


He he.....I kid
HA!

Been throwing everything at the Sierra-2's for the last 6-7 hours with a break for dinner.

I love my Sierra-1's, but when I heard the Sierra-2's at Ascend's offices a year and half or so ago, I knew they were my next upgrade.

We all talk about the RAAL tweeters...and they are excellent. Extremely detailed and natural without emphasis or calling attention to themselves.

Clean, detailed, and resolving midrange...nothing else needs to be said there.

The bass, while not quite as deep as the Sierra-1, it is detailed and clean, just like the midrange, and tight/punchy. I thought the Sierra-1 was punchy..but this was different. Definitely a step above the Sierra-1. When I was at Ascend to hear the Sierra-2's, I brought the Sheffield Labs: Drum & Track Disc. When I played the drum improvisation tracks, I was stunned. I am sure Dave remembers that...I was just sitting there on the sofa saying and thinking how great it sounded. This was running the speakers full-range...no sub.

I went home and played the disc on my system...Sierra-1's integrated with a Rythmik F15HP. I could not get that same sound. I emailed Dave, and he told me it was because of the new woofer. Well, I played those tracks again on my new Sierra-2's...big smiles!

BTW...the Sierra-1's are still loved, and will have a new home in my Parents' living room.

Currently listening to some Steely Dan...but I should be going to bed.

[Mag_Neato]

Sweet Curtis! You have certainly been much more patient than I was.

Now you are experiencing first hand what others have been raving about all this time.

If you have time, it would be great if you posted pics comparing the original Sierra-1's to the -2's(Port differences, Grill cloth looks more transparent on the -2's, cabinets, etc.)

Enjoy your new toys, but remember.....you have to eat and sleep as well!!

[S20]

Huh, that speaker looks different to the photos on the website? http://www.ascendacoustics.com/images/products/speakers/SRM2/S2natural_angle_big.jpg

There's no "reveal line" in any of the official photos, none of the finishes show it. Is that new? Or is that something custom you asked for? I like it, breaks up the cabinet a bit, it looks kind of "blocky" in the official photos. I'm guessing with a black or espresso finish you could hardly see the line though.

[Mag_Neato]

The Natural finish cabinet (and possibly other finishes) is being built by a domestic supplier. The regular cabinets are being built in China I think, hence the difference. The domestic cabinets are also using a different port which APPEARS much larger due to the flare, but the actual I.D. of the tube is the same as the regular cabinet.

[curtis]

Mag is correct...domestic made cabinets for the Sierra Tower and Sierra-2 have the reveal. The imported cabinets, which I believe is the standard for the Sierra-2, do not.

Here is a picture of the back of one each of my Sierra-1's and Sierra-2's. My Sierra-1's were one of the very first of the first generation cabinets. The new cabinets are of higher quality...you can't really see that in the pictures. The port flair is really deceiving in a cool way.

http://changpics.smugmug.com/Other/Ascend-Acoustics-pictures/i-GgdWfQZ/0/L/IMG_1515-L.jpg

http://changpics.smugmug.com/Other/Ascend-Acoustics-pictures/i-dtbZ4Gk/0/L/IMG_1520-L.jpg

[S20]

Oh. That's kind of a bummer. So if I buy a cherry or espresso finish Sierra-2 (the colours I'm juggling between) it will come with a visually inferior cabinet (in my personal opinion etcetc)? It doesn't say that anywhere on the store page. I assume they sound the same despite being different.

Actually, the natural finish looks a lot better in your photos than the photos on the store page, the store page makes it look kind of yellow, yours looks a lot more like a natural colour. I suspect that is sunlight VS bright white light in the official photos.

[curtis]

Oh. That's kind of a bummer. So if I buy a cherry or espresso finish Sierra-2 (the colours I'm juggling between) it will come with a visually inferior cabinet (in my personal opinion etcetc)? It doesn't say that anywhere on the store page. I assume they sound the same despite being different.

Actually, the natural finish looks a lot better in your photos than the photos on the store page, the store page makes it look kind of yellow, yours looks a lot more like a natural colour. I suspect that is sunlight VS bright white light in the official photos.
Well...you get what you see in Ascend's pictures...yes, they sound the same.

As for coloring...you have to be careful with anything you see on your computer monitor unless it is calibrated. In person, it just seems the new cabinet is darker than the older one.

[S20]

Funny you mention that, I actually bought a hardware colorimeter to calibrate my monitor specifically for situations like this, since there's absolutely no way for me to see most of these products in person! But still there is a big difference between bright white light and sunlight, unless people are looking at their speakers in a hospital with 100% white fluorescent lights or something it's going to look different from the website.

I wonder why Ascend builds two totally different cabinets in two different countries. Isn't the colour difference just a stain on the wood? I mean it's not THAT big of a deal, I would still love to own a set of Sierra-2's going purely by word of mouth (although I would love to see some professional reviews being done), I just didn't realise there were two totally different types depending on colour and it doesn't say that at all on the store page.

I appreciate you posting this though, the more I hear about these speakers the more I want to own a pair.

[curtis]

I wonder why Ascend builds two totally different cabinets in two different countries. Isn't the colour difference just a stain on the wood?

I appreciate you posting this though, the more I hear about these speakers the more I want to own a pair.
I think there are at least a couple of reasons. Having the cabinets built overseas is not as cost effective as it has been in the past, and I believe the domestic Sierra-2 cabinets were a special run.

If you are in the Los Angeles area, you are more than welcome to come over for a listen.

[davef]

I wonder why Ascend builds two totally different cabinets in two different countries. Isn't the colour difference just a stain on the wood? I mean it's not THAT big of a deal, I would still love to own a set of Sierra-2's going purely by word of mouth (although I would love to see some professional reviews being done), I just didn't realise there were two totally different types depending on colour and it doesn't say that at all on the store page.

I appreciate you posting this though, the more I hear about these speakers the more I want to own a pair.

We have done a few domestic runs of these cabinets so that the finish and overall build will match the towers and horizons (the cabinets of which are from our local cabinet maker). The domestically built cabinets are not of higher quality, just different -- and also a bit more expensive. Both options are available to you though, just give us a call to discuss. Once we get things nailed down with the domestically built Sierra-2 cabinets, we will post photos and display them on our site.

Bamboo does not take stain, it is dyed. And since these are natural wood (bamboo), there will always be slight color differences from one sheet of bamboo to another, and from batch to batch. That said, the finishing process between our overseas built cabinets and the domestic cabinets is completely different. I can honestly say that every pair built is unique with regard to grain and color. We visually match every pair that we ship :)

[donaldekelly]

Curtis

Why the center? Do you do movies or multi-channel music (I saw the Steely Dan cover - so I guess the answer is yes to music). Do you feel multichannel music is worth buying extra speakers? Or is it mostly for the movies?

Basic questions, I know, but I used to have a 5.1 set up and didn't see the point for music. It was a bad room and inferior speakers to S1s or S2s.

Anyone who wants to chime in and help a slow learner - feel free!

[curtis]

Why the center? Do you do movies or multi-channel music (I saw the Steely Dan cover - so I guess the answer is yes to music). Do you feel multichannel music is worth buying extra speakers? Or is it mostly for the movies?

Basic questions, I know, but I used to have a 5.1 set up and didn't see the point for music. It was a bad room and inferior speakers to S1s or S2s.
Hey Don,

Yes, I do movies and hi-res multi-channel music(BluRay, SACD and DVD-A).

My system/speakers are used for everything...TV, movies, and music.

I don't use any special DSP modes for multi-channel music, but if the BluRay, SACD or DVD-A is mixed/engineered for multi-channel, and done well...it is very enjoyable.

[dtsequoia]

Curtis,

What do you have for your surrounds? Just curious!

Ben

[curtis]

What do you have for your surrounds? Just curious!
HTM-200SE's....and seem to be working well.

[dtsequoia]

My father and law just got some HTM-200's for his theater. We set it up over the weekend and they sound great! Man...just a few more months for me to upgrade. Can't wait.

[curtis]

I have not posted a picture of my front stage in a long time....

A little messy...but it sounds great!

http://changpics.smugmug.com/Other/Ascend-Acoustics-pictures/i-tkgsXwk/0/XL/IMG_1543-XL.jpg

[monkuboy]

I placed an order for 3 of the Sierra 2's on Friday, with the satin black bamboo finish. Can't wait for them to arrive, which should be sometime this week. A forum member was nice enough to sell me his 170SE's to be used as surrounds. I'm ecstatic to be an Ascend owner!

[racrawford65]

I ordered my Sierra 2's in black bamboo this past Monday. UPS is supposed to bring them Tuesday :-)

[astr0b0y]

Curtis, set up looks really great, love the natural look of the Sierras!
Are you using changing mats behind your mains?

[curtis]

Curtis, set up looks really great, love the natural look of the Sierras!
Are you using changing mats behind your mains?
Thanks.
Those are acoustic panels a friend made. He wasn't using them any more and gave them to me.

[prychor]

Just curious, as a potential customer for the Sierra 2s for L/C/R, would an extra pair for surrounds be overkill vs. the CBMs or HTMs? I have a small room, approx. 12X12, but I'm a moderate volume listener, not a decibel-buster.

[curtis]

Just curious, as a potential customer for the Sierra 2s for L/C/R, would an extra pair for surrounds be overkill vs. the CBMs or HTMs? I have a small room, approx. 12X12, but I'm a moderate volume listener, not a decibel-buster.
It depends on what you listen to and how critical you are in listening to it...not how loud you listen....as well as your budget.

If I had the budget, and could locate/mount them properly, I would have a pair of Sierra-2's for surrounds as well.

[prychor]

I have the budget, that's not a problem. I'm not a critical listener in the manner in which a full-fledged audiophile might be, but I definitely am looking to get awesome sound, and I do pick up on and pay attention to details that a casual listener would probably miss or not care about. I guess I consider myself moderately/"medium" critical. I primarily listen to music directly from CD/SACD and ALAC files. I have many classical SACDs, so excellent multi-channel performance is important to me. However, I'm not so critical that I want to spend a considerable amount more to get a 1-2% increase in quality, I want to feel like the extra expense is worth it for someone that critiques sound like I've described here.

[curtis]

I have the budget, that's not a problem. I'm not a critical listener in the manner in which a full-fledged audiophile might be, but I definitely am looking to get awesome sound, and I do pick up on and pay attention to details that a casual listener would probably miss or not care about. I guess I consider myself moderately/"medium" critical. I primarily listen to music directly from CD/SACD and ALAC files. I have many classical SACDs, so excellent multi-channel performance is important to me. However, I'm not so critical that I want to spend a considerable amount more to get a 1-2% increase in quality, I want to feel like the extra expense is worth it for someone that critiques sound like I've described here.
Are those SACD's multichannel? If they are, and you have good placement for Sierra-2's as surrounds, then I think it would be worth it. But people's tastes vary.

[natetg57]

I have the budget, that's not a problem. I'm not a critical listener in the manner in which a full-fledged audiophile might be, but I definitely am looking to get awesome sound, and I do pick up on and pay attention to details that a casual listener would probably miss or not care about. I guess I consider myself moderately/"medium" critical. I primarily listen to music directly from CD/SACD and ALAC files. I have many classical SACDs, so excellent multi-channel performance is important to me. However, I'm not so critical that I want to spend a considerable amount more to get a 1-2% increase in quality, I want to feel like the extra expense is worth it for someone that critiques sound like I've described here.

I agree with Curtis. It depends what you are listening to. I several classical sacd's that are multichannel but have very little output in the surround channels. I got Sierra-2's because of surround discs from Pink Floyd, Stephen Wilson, Beck, Flaming Lips and so on. Also some blu ray concerts and movies. It's worth it to me and I don't have lots of extra funds. I now have the same tweeter sound all around and it seems like I get sounds being placed or images between my fronts and surrounds.
You could try a pair of HTM-200's and see if they match up to your expectations.

[prychor]

It's variable, but many of my classical SACDs do have significant output in the surround channels. And, as a classic rock/pop fan, I intend to expand my collection to pick up key 5.1 recordings of interest to me, so I definitely believe that strong multichannel performance is important. That said, if the variation between the Sierras and the HTMs is subtle (and I identified myself earlier as kind of a "tweener" when it comes to audio quality pickiness), it's possible the HTMs would be sufficient. So that's what I'm trying to establish.

I really do appreciate the feedback, and if there is anything additional I can answer to help the recommendation, I'm happy to do so!

[FirstReflect]

^^^

If you've got the funds, going by the things you've written, prychor, I would say that having five perfectly matching Sierra-2 will be worth it to you.

Honestly, the biggest "problem" is that I really think you would be easily convinced if you were to directly compare the HTM-200SE or CBM-170SE vs. the Sierra-2 in the surround positions for yourself. But if you just go with the Sierra-2 right away, you'll possibly wonder, "well how different/worse would the HTM-200SE have really sounded?"

All I can tell you is that I originally purchased 11 Ascend speakers: 3 custom Sierra Horizon RAAL speakers for the Front 3, a pair of super-custom Sierra RAAL bookshelf speakers that use the exact same larger 70-20XR RAAL ribbon tweeter and the dedicated, phase-plug midrange driver as the Horizon RAAL speakers, and three pairs of Sierra-1 NrT. I went with the three pairs of NrT speakers because the Sierra-2 did not exist at the time!

I was pretty darn happy with the sound. But I had those super-custom RAAL bookshelf speakers on hand. And, of course, I directly compared them to the Sierra-1 NrT speakers.

To put it plainly, the timbre of the RAAL speakers is different from the soft dome models (that would include the SE Series speakers, as well). It is CERTAINLY not "end of the world" horrible mis-match territory. Far from it. The SE Series and NrT speakers are excellent speakers. But they rather clearly do not sound identical to the RAAL speakers, and that timbre difference is pretty darn plain and noticeable.

So when the Sierra-2 came out, I started with one pair of upgrade kits. I wasn't sure if the new, smaller RAAL ribbon and the totally new CURV woofer would actually timbre match the Horizon RAAL. I ended up being shocked at how incredibly close they came!

I would not say that the Sierra-2 and the Horizon RAAL speakers literally sound completely identical. But I will say that in a blind comparison, I would not feel confident!

So the point of all this is to say that having that perfect timbre match between your Front speakers and your Surrounds is not nothing. It's noticeable. But it is MOST noticeable by its absence. If you were to get used to using 5 Sierra-2 all around and THEN switch the Surround speakers to soft dome models, you would pick up very quickly that the timbre no longer matches. That's the real trick of this situation.

I would recommend that, if you can afford it, "skipping" to the end of this process is the correct choice. Nothing will convince you as much as starting with the HTM-200SE, perhaps noticing the slight timbre mis-match, and then hearing the perfection of 5 matching Sierra-2. But if you're able to put any trust into my words at all, I will tell you that you'll likely end up with the Sierra-2 as your Surround at some point in the future, so why not just "skip ahead" if you can afford it right from the get go? ;)

- Rob H. (AVRant.com Podcast co-host)

[curtis]

Just a quick update...it's been a bit over a month...

The 2's still sound freaking great to me...I don't have enough time to listen to them as much as I want!

[Mag_Neato]

Just a quick update...it's been a bit over a month...

The 2's still sound freaking great to me...I don't have enough time to listen to them as much as I want!

Amen brother..........Amen!

[billy p]

Ha...I hope its because of the brisk sales to the HVL-1...otherwise no excuses...jk.



Just a quick update...it's been a bit over a month...

The 2's still sound freaking great to me...I don't have enough time to listen to them as much as I want!

[davef]

Just a quick update...it's been a bit over a month...

The 2's still sound freaking great to me...I don't have enough time to listen to them as much as I want!

Excellent! I am very happy that you are enjoying the 2's, Curtis! As I had mentioned, I was concerned (only a little though) that you would be used to the Sierra-1's, which you used for about 7 years.

[curtis]

Excellent! I am very happy that you are enjoying the 2's, Curtis! As I had mentioned, I was concerned (only a little though) that you would be used to the Sierra-1's, which you used for about 7 years.
Those were 7 good years! The 1's are now in my Parents' living room where they displaced an L/C/R set of classic CMT-340's.

[bdfin]

I also have been using the earlier S1's for some time now and have been pleased with them. Would using S2's across the front LCR and standard S1's for surround and 5.1 detract from the sound of the S2's in a smaller listening area? I run multichannel stereo position on Marantz 6006 and listen alot with the back pair running same as front pair. I know matching all 5 would probably be best but can't afford it now. Anyone running S2 front and S1 rears.....opinions.

[natetg57]

I was running S1 rears before I upgraded to S2s. I never thought it sounded bad. But I never run multichannel stereo. I only use surrounds when it's in the source material such as movies and 5.1 music discs.