How's the midrange on Sierra-2?

[basie-fan]

Greetings, I've been lurking here for a while...

There's a lot of discussion in these archives about the sweet, detailed treble produced by the Raal ribbon and the tight, clean bass from the SEAS woofer of the Sierra-2. The frequency extremes are an engineering challenge for sure, but there's been very little discussion about the midrange, which is where most of the music lives. For me, if a speaker cannot absolutely nail the midrange then all is lost. An example would be the Harbeth P3ESR, which for all its limitations has gained a devoted following because its midrange has a highly realistic quality.

So, Sierra-2 owners, how's your midrange? Has anyone compared them directly with other highly regarded 2-way stand-mounts from Harbeth, Dynaudio, ATC, KEF, Focal, etc?

Cheers,
basie-fan

[Mag_Neato]

True, the RAAL produces incredibly detailed, airy & smooth highs, while the SEAS woofer produces awesome bass. They deserve all the praise given to them. Not sure why you could not find anything talking about the midrange. Let me assure you: The mids are among the best I've heard from a 2-way bookshelf speaker, even embarrassing many floorstanding models despite their cost. The -2's mids have been compared to the Ascend RAAL towers, which have a dedicated midrange driver, like this: The towers put you in the front row, while the Sierra-2's put you in the 2nd or 3rd row of the venue.
I have not heard the towers, but my -2's put the performers in the room. From highs to lows this is a balanced speaker.

[curtis]

Midrange reproduction is an Ascend hallmark across all models.

[davef]

Greetings, I've been lurking here for a while...

There's a lot of discussion in these archives about the sweet, detailed treble produced by the Raal ribbon and the tight, clean bass from the SEAS woofer of the Sierra-2. The frequency extremes are an engineering challenge for sure, but there's been very little discussion about the midrange, which is where most of the music lives. For me, if a speaker cannot absolutely nail the midrange then all is lost. An example would be the Harbeth P3ESR, which for all its limitations has gained a devoted following because its midrange has a highly realistic quality.

So, Sierra-2 owners, how's your midrange? Has anyone compared them directly with other highly regarded 2-way stand-mounts from Harbeth, Dynaudio, ATC, KEF, Focal, etc?

Cheers,
basie-fan

Midrange accuracy was the primary focus in the design of the Sierra-2. It is the precise reason why we went with our own custom-made SEAS Curv woofer.

[basie-fan]

Thank you all for the replies.

I found a head-to-head comparison online between the Sierra-2 and the LS-50. The Sierra-2 came out on top in virtually every category, which speaks very highly.

[Jaybeez]

The midrange is what sold me on the Sierra 2s.

Never heard mids so perfect. Going into my listening session in San Clemente, my reference speakers were Revel Ultima Gems (1) and I truly feel the S2's beat the Revels top, bottom AND mid.