Front Left and Right Sierra 2s with ribbon Horizon center

[qwknuf6]

Anyone have this combo? I don't have room for 3 Horizons but I have a very good spot for a center Horizon , should I go with LRC Sierra 2s or L R Sierra 2s and a center ribbon Horizon?
Thanks

[sludgeogre]

The Horizon is such an excellent center speaker it is very hard to not recommend it. If you have the space, I think you should go that route. Make sure all speakers are using the RAAL tweeter, not just the Horizon.

[qwknuf6]

Thanks
The Sierra 2s do have a Raal tweeter

[sludgeogre]

Indeed, forgot that the Sierra-2 is RAAL only, whereas the towers can be NrT or RAAL, so yes, you're going the right route.

[N Boros]

Anyone have this combo? I don't have room for 3 Horizons but I have a very good spot for a center Horizon , should I go with LRC Sierra 2s or L R Sierra 2s and a center ribbon Horizon?
Thanks

On AV Rant 492 at around 2:01:50 Rob H., the co-host, speaks to when it is helpful to go with the Horizon or the Sierra tower over the Sierra 2s. He owns both speakers and is a very critical listener, so I think it might be helpful to you. I found what he said very helpful. He advocates for letting room size determine when to go with the bookshelf speakers over the towers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-JQRK32bIQ

[curtis]

I will add that the Sierra-2 as a center is no slouch.

[Beave]

Is this mainly for home theater? For multi-channel music? For a combination of both?

And how big is the room?

For home theater and a big-ish room, I'd probably say the Horizon center is the way to go - can play louder and more dynamic.

For a small-ish room, or for mostly multi-channel music, there are advantages to having identical speakers all around, in which case the Sierra 2 as a center would be appropriate.

For in-between small and big room, and mixed use for music and home theater, it's a tough call.

[qwknuf6]

Small room ,11x11' with 8 foot ceiling , the center speaker will be in a cabinet so the front porting of the Horizon will work out better .

[Kef3992]

I have the L R Sierra 2s and a center ribbon Horizon in my theater room. Before I ordered my speakers from Ascend, I thought that the Horizon would be over kill for my set up. But, the great reviews I read about the Horizon, convinced me to purchase the best center speaker. Is it over kill? Some will say yes. If I had it to do all over again, would I order the Horizon for my center speaker? Absolutely.

[qwknuf6]

I have the L R Sierra 2s and a center ribbon Horizon in my theater room. Before I ordered my speakers from Ascend, I thought that the Horizon would be over kill for my set up. But, the great reviews I read about the Horizon, convinced me to purchase the best center speaker. Is it over kill? Some will say yes. If I had it to do all over again, would I order the Horizon for my center speaker? Absolutely.
Do the Sierra 2s and center Horizon blend well ?

[sludgeogre]

Do the Sierra 2s and center Horizon blend well ?

Haven't heard them together, but my Sierra Towers and Horizon Center even blend really well with my HTM 200 SE speakers, so it would be very easy to imagine the Sierra 2 and Horizon blending well together as they use similar parts. Ascend speakers are all voiced to be very neutral, so I think most of them sound awesome together.

[N Boros]

Do the Sierra 2s and center Horizon blend well ?

Check out the link I gave above. Rob H. the co-Host of AVRant owns both speakers and takes several minutes going into the differences between the Sierra 2 and the Horizon and how well they match. I think you will get an idea of the differences between the two speakers and what application to use which speakers across the front.



Small room ,11x11' with 8 foot ceiling , the center speaker will be in a cabinet so the front porting of the Horizon will work out better .

In this small of a room you definitely don't need the Horizon speaker for output. I think you should save your money to get the rest of your speakers and a pair of good subwoofers. As far as the front porting concern, you might be okay, if there is some breathing room in the cabinet. If not then the Horizon might make sense. Check out the following link about placing the center speaker in a cabinent, especially post number 10:

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?6288-what-s-a-good-center-option-for-a-Cabinet-that-has-20-quot-wide-shelves

Or, since you have a small room size, if you wait a couple months for the Sierra Sats to be finished, then you could definitely do three of them across the front. It might save you a little money and they are smaller and easier to place and front ported. Actually, if I was in this room, I would go with the Sierra Sats. If you do think you might move them at some point to a larger room, then go with Sierra 2s. But, the Sats will be much easier to place.

[Beave]

Small room ,11x11' with 8 foot ceiling , the center speaker will be in a cabinet so the front porting of the Horizon will work out better .

That is a fairly small room. You won't *need* the added output capability of the Horizon (although you may *want* it!). What receiver are you going to use? And again, mostly music or TV/movies? And what subwoofers if any?

[Kef3992]

My Sierra-2' s blend perfectly with my Horizon. Like Beave said, you don't need the Horizon for your small room, but it my be something you need to have.

[qwknuf6]

That is a fairly small room. You won't *need* the added output capability of the Horizon (although you may *want* it!). What receiver are you going to use? And again, mostly music or TV/movies? And what subwoofers if any?
I have Pioneer AVR, about a 2012 model , 1- 12" Rythmik Subwoofer , 2 - Klipsch rs-42 surround speakers , room is used to 50% movies and 50% music .

[qwknuf6]

My Sierra 2s showed up today , Front Left and Right . I must say I am very happy with the sound , I love the Raal ribbon tweets , I had a pair of Salk HT2-TLs with Raals and sold them. The Sierra 2s are replacing Sierra 1 NRTs , I am going to go with the Raal Horizon for my center ,can't wait .

[tknice]

My Sierra 2s showed up today , Front Left and Right . I must say I am very happy with the sound , I love the Raal ribbon tweets , I had a pair of Salk HT2-TLs with Raals and sold them. The Sierra 2s are replacing Sierra 1 NRTs , I am going to go with the Raal Horizon for my center ,can't wait .
Congrats! Glad you love them and I'm sure you will only grow to appreciate them more!

[sludgeogre]

My Sierra 2s showed up today , Front Left and Right . I must say I am very happy with the sound , I love the Raal ribbon tweets , I had a pair of Salk HT2-TLs with Raals and sold them. The Sierra 2s are replacing Sierra 1 NRTs , I am going to go with the Raal Horizon for my center ,can't wait .

That is awesome, I had always wanted a pair of Salk HT2-TLs as they look killer and are made like tanks, but that super low sensitivity is daunting, I didn't want to pay for the kind of watts those guys need to sing, plus the Sierra Towers are a much, much bigger value. What was it about the Salk speakers that you don't like that the Sierra speakers do better?

[qwknuf6]

That is awesome, I had always wanted a pair of Salk HT2-TLs as they look killer and are made like tanks, but that super low sensitivity is daunting, I didn't want to pay for the kind of watts those guys need to sing, plus the Sierra Towers are a much, much bigger value. What was it about the Salk speakers that you don't like that the Sierra speakers do better?
I have a small theater room with the sierra 2s , a 65 OLED display , a 12" subwoofer and 2 surrounds , my main room had the Salk HT2-TL , I sold the HT2s and purchased Salk Exotic 3s, I have a 15" rythmik sub and ascend 170s for surround duty in the main room .

[vicky]

how does sierra 2 compare to salk ht2 for music ? i know both are at totally different price range but just curious in comparison.

[curtis]

how does sierra 2 compare to salk ht2 for music ? i know both are at totally different price range but just curious in comparison.
Not just different price range, but one is floorstander with two mid-woofs, and the the other bookshelf speaker with one mid-woof.

[vicky]

Not just different price range, but one is floorstander with two mid-woofs, and the the other bookshelf speaker with one mid-woof.

Ya thats true. comparison is not fair. i should have asked how does sierra raal tower compared to salk ht2-tl.

Btw just got sierra 2 and svs ultra 16 sub and i am so loving it (80/20 music/movies). i still can't believe the quality of sound sierra 2 produces in that form factor.

i am planning to get Raal tower instead but i am in love with sierra 2 and do not want to return them :)

[mikesiskav]

Ya thats true. comparison is not fair. i should have asked how does sierra raal tower compared to salk ht2-tl.

Btw just got sierra 2 and svs ultra 16 sub and i am so loving it (80/20 music/movies). i still can't believe the quality of sound sierra 2 produces in that form factor.

i am planning to get Raal tower instead but i am in love with sierra 2 and do not want to return them :)

Did you get the sealed or ported SVS?

[vicky]

Did you get the sealed or ported SVS?

I got the sealed one. sb16 ultra. I haven't heard rythmik but svs sub is amazing. moreover my main requirement was remote/app controlling sub volume as i keep changing it depending upon the music i am listening to and also wanted to control volume depending upon the time of the day as i am in apartment :)

[mikesiskav]

Sounds like a great system. The SB16 is a formidable subwoofer. I've had Sierra-2s for almost a year and they continue to impress me every day.

[Roen]

I got the sealed one. sb16 ultra. I haven't heard rythmik but svs sub is amazing. moreover my main requirement was remote/app controlling sub volume as i keep changing it depending upon the music i am listening to and also wanted to control volume depending upon the time of the day as i am in apartment :)

I'm using a similar system with a PSA S1500 instead of the SB16. Your system has more sub capability, but in my 1500 ft^3 space (condo), I worry that my playback on John Wick last night might have made a few enemies out of my neighbors.