Sierra 2s are Coming!!

[tknice]

Hi There. Just ordered Sierra 2s and I am so excited to join the Ascend club!

I've been thinking about upgrading my home theater speakers for a while and recently started reading A LOT more about them. Our room design doesn't really work for towers so I narrowed the search to really good bookshelf speakers and eventually the Sierra 2s. My goal with this upgrade was to get the most realistic and best possible sound for movies (especially at lower levels around 60-70db) and still stay within budget. By the way, my wife and I have two completely different ideas on what is considered "affordable". It's a good thing she doesn't read these forums!! haha. Oh and a side benefit is it will take my 2ch listening to a whole new level!

I'm a little concerned that I'm accustomed to my current speakers, specifically regarding the mid range, and that the Sierras will put out the same amount of sound. The good news is I have a nice 3-channel amp providing 200w per channel for the front sound stage so I'm hoping this will be enough power to make them happy. I can only imagine how amazing those RAAL ribbons will sound.

In preparation, I built three small boxes (7.5"w x 7.5"h x 11"d) that will act as stands to elevate each speaker as high as possible but not be obstructed by the stage. I didn't really have that option with my current speakers because the stage could only be so tall the way it worked out. Aquarium gravel will fill the stands to make them as inert as possible. In terms of positioning, I've always placed the LR tweeters relatively close to the edges of the screen to help with imaging but based on what I've read, I may want to move these ribbon tweeters in a bit, correct? I also plan to toe them in about 5 deg to start and I thought I'd cut up some mouse pads to use between the speaker and the stand to tilt them up toward ear level.

I'd love to hear any suggestions or other thoughts you guys have.

TK

Here's a pic of the speakers I'm replacing so you get an idea of the room and stage area:

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Current Speaker Specs:
Max Power Handling: 250W
Minimum Power Input: 30W
Nominal System Resistance: 6Ω
Tweeter Size: 1.3"
Tweeter Type: Silk
Tweeter Model: O-635
Crossover Model: ER-6.4X
Midrange Size: 162mm
Midrange Material: Poly
Number of Midrange Drivers: 3
Cabinet Type Dual Chamber: Vented
Weight: 51lb
Frequency Response: 40-22KHz +/- 3dB
System Sensitivity: 90.3dB

And a shot of the stage and front seats:
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[natetg57]

I think the Sierra-2s will put out plenty of mid range sound. I would consider laying all three speakers on their sides to get the soundstage slightly higher. The tweeter should be rotated 90 degrees in the horizontal position. I agree that they should be angled up towards your ears. I've used these foam pads http://amzn.com/B007YFWTXU

[tknice]

I think the Sierra-2s will put out plenty of mid range sound. I would consider laying all three speakers on their sides to get the soundstage slightly higher. The tweeter should be rotated 90 degrees in the horizontal position. I agree that they should be angled up towards your ears. I've used these foam pads http://amzn.com/B007YFWTXU

Thanks, Nate.. those isolation pads are much cheaper than the mopads I was considering. Hmm, putting all three on their sides would raise the woofer up some. Do you think that will make a big difference for the sound stage? The tweeters would be in roughly the same place in either configuration.

I asked Dina to rotate my center RAAL so it can be vertical like my L R--I guess can can rotate all three myself and try it both ways. I'd also need to figure out something custom for the isolation part since most of the pads I've seen are meant to be used with the speakers vertical.

[natetg57]

Not sure. I think it'd be a good idea to try them both ways. Horizontal would raise the soundstage. Vertical will have better off axis response.