I am not an audio expert and will not try to write this review as tho I am. I will give my honest opinion, and material used, so there is a reference point of some sort.
I received my Sierra RAAL towers, these are my first impressions. They arrived UPS yesterday in great condition. When I broke the seal and opened the box, I found everything in order. The gloves, frequency response printouts, a swath of baby bottom soft cloth, and a short thank you from Dave and crew. I unboxed these by myself, yes it would have been easier with a helping hand, but this was my moment and I didn't want to share it. I found the easiest method was to put the box on it's side and gently slide the contents out onto the carpet. The towers were wrapped in the same baby soft cloth. Getting through the tape on each end was, what I can only imagine as being, akin to breaking into fort knox. This was not a bad thing. It was like opening a christmas present and the joy lasted a bit longer, since the wrapping didn't just rip away to reveal its hidden treasure. Once I got the base and carpet spikes attached, I tipped the tower to its upright position. At this moment, I called my girlfriend in for the unveiling.
At this point I should add, when I originally ordered my towers, I ordered satin black. A couple days after my order was placed, Dina called to tell me they were out of that color. This was not Ascends fault, I ordered at the end of the production run and there simply weren't enough of the black cabinets. I ended up going with the satin espresso as I didn't want to wait another 2-3 mo. for the next run of tower cabinets.
Back to the unveiling. As I pulled the cloth up off of the tower to see it for the first time, we were both greeted by an absolutely beautiful speaker. The satin espresso finish is gorgeous. The gold center piece in the mid and the fit and finish all come together for a subtle contrast that just pulls you in. Very happy to this point. Everything was assembled and it was time to hear these gems.
I am running these with a brand new setup.
Sherbourn PT-7030 pre/pro
Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2 300x2 amp
Using my panasonic Blu-ray for a dac for now.
After several hours of cabling, wire and trying to figure out this new pre/pro, I finally had sound. Now please understand, we are currently in the middle of a living room remodel, waiting on the new carpet. Hence, the room is bare. The old carpet is still down but the room acoustics are similar to a racquetball court. A ton of echo.
The first disc I put in was Dire Straights. Sultans of swing, Brothers in arms, Money for nothing and So far away were the selected tracks. Immediately I was dumbfounded by the clarity and presence of the mids. Mark Knopflers' guitar sounded alive. I had auditioned many different speakers in my search, and took a bit of a chance on Ascend, as I had not heard them. It paid off. I remember only one other speaker I auditioned in my search that had mids this good, they cost 5000/pr. The vocals were anchored, concise and clear. The entire sound was balanced from bass to highs and the music had a free spirit. Everythng from the subtle ting of the high hat to the steady rhythm of the bass was present and precise. I know the towers were new, but they just begged me to push them if even a little. Who am I to argue. As I rolled the volume knob smoothly to the right, the towers responded in kind. Nothing became overpowering, they remained very well balanced. The music stayed clean and the tower never once gave any hint of being distressed or overworked.
I changed up the music a bit to something with a little more bass. U2, Joshua Tree. Once again, the mids were more than stellar, playing the Edges' guitar grooves with such precision and realism, it simply left me amazed. Bono's vocals were center stage and sounded like he was right there.
The bass was a bit lacking, allow me to explain. For what this speaker is built to do, it does very well. Scary well. But if you expect that deep bass groove from the depths of the scale, well they aren't there. Yes the bass that it does have is very clean, not one hint of distortion or booming or any of the bad things bass can do. The towers handle their business with great authority. The frequency response and driver size should be a hint at what you might expect. This is in no way a ding on the performance of these towers. I adjusted the parametric on my pre/pro at 100hz to +1. This gave it a little more bass and was more to my liking. I like a little bass heavier sound, for those that don't, no worries. For those that do, expect to pair these with a sub.
Next I worked the RAALs over. Motley Crue. Yeah I like hair metal, graduated H.S. in 89. 80's metal kept people sane while Cindy Lauper and Madonna drove everyone into a state of psychosis the world would never recover from. Need proof? Beiber and Spears, nuf said. The towers never faltered as Nicki and the boys sliced off pieces of high energy guitar licks and highs that would make most dogs run for shelter. I cannot stand it when a speaker forces the highs into my ear on the tip of an ice pick. This usually happens at volumes where this music is meant to be played. LOUD. Though I didn't want to push the towers too much, I gave them enough power to show their true nature. The RAALs performed brilliantly. Not once did I feel the urge to turn it down for fear my ears were gonna bleed. The highs remained crystal clear and well balanced in the entire range. Not one tiny hint of sibilance. Absolutely amazing.
To sum up all of this, the towers in my opinion, are absolutely a work of art. From the beautiful finish and build quality to the powerful, balanced and absolutely clean sound that emminates from them. The mids are amazing. Having the presence very few speakers can boast, and none of them at this price or less. The RAALs are simply astonishing in their ability to play clearly with out seeming peaked or piercing even at reference levels. This is definately not a speaker I would describe as bright, certainly not harsh. Capable, clean, clear, powerful, balanced, refined are all terms I would use to describe them. The bass is detailed, tight and lively. I listened to thes for a few more hours with many various artists. Sting to Bob Seeger. Pink Floyd to Enigma. Rage Against the Machine to bluesy tracks from ZZ Top. In every instance the sound was superb.
Hats off to Dave and everyone at Ascend for great customer service and a truly wonderful speaker. I look forward to completing my 5.1 setup with Ascend. Anyone looking for a reference speaker at less than reference prices should definately look at these.
P.S. When placing the towers, be mindful of where your toes are. The carpet spikes are sharp. Shoes would be recommended.
I would be very interested to see what Dave can do with a larger tower. Maybe 8" woofers, 6.25 mids and of course the RAAL tweeter. Any plans in the future for such a build?