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Thread: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Posts
    9

    Default Re: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers

    Our first pair of Sierra LX speakers arrived late yesterday afternoon. I haven't had a lot of listening time yet but so far, I'm very impressed. The imaging is great and the amount of bass from such a small speaker is surprising (even having read the reviews). Somehow I adopted this tradition of playing Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor as my first track on new equipment and it didn't disappoint. The deep notes don't hit like a subwoofer would, of course, but it was still very satisfying.

    On more delicate music, they were a delight to listen to. I think we're going to be very happy!

    Right now, we're running in a 3.0 system. The Sony A90J television's speaker can be used as a center. I need to do some A/B testing between it and a phantom center to see if it's acceptable or not (though the first impression in that role was not horrible). Anyway, I ran the DTS:X Object Emulator demo and I was surprised at how well the speaker virtualizer did. I was clearly hearing objects move behind me even though there were only three front speakers. Height virtualization was not nearly as successful but surround virtualization worked surprisingly well. It wasn't 100% successful, especially if I moved my head but the LX's must have been doing a good imaging job for the phasing tricks to work so well. The first time I heard it I wasn't expecting much, but it worked so well I made me look over my shoulder for a speaker I knew wasn't there!

    I'm looking forward to spending some time over the weekend really doing some quality listening. I'm pretty sure we'll be ordering four more for the surrounds soon! And, then a decision will need to be made about how we're going to handle the center channel.

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
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    USA
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    5,645

    Default Re: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers

    Quote Originally Posted by Linda View Post
    Our first pair of Sierra LX speakers arrived late yesterday afternoon. I haven't had a lot of listening time yet but so far, I'm very impressed. The imaging is great and the amount of bass from such a small speaker is surprising (even having read the reviews). Somehow I adopted this tradition of playing Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor as my first track on new equipment and it didn't disappoint. The deep notes don't hit like a subwoofer would, of course, but it was still very satisfying.

    On more delicate music, they were a delight to listen to. I think we're going to be very happy!

    Right now, we're running in a 3.0 system. The Sony A90J television's speaker can be used as a center. I need to do some A/B testing between it and a phantom center to see if it's acceptable or not (though the first impression in that role was not horrible). Anyway, I ran the DTS:X Object Emulator demo and I was surprised at how well the speaker virtualizer did. I was clearly hearing objects move behind me even though there were only three front speakers. Height virtualization was not nearly as successful but surround virtualization worked surprisingly well. It wasn't 100% successful, especially if I moved my head but the LX's must have been doing a good imaging job for the phasing tricks to work so well. The first time I heard it I wasn't expecting much, but it worked so well I made me look over my shoulder for a speaker I knew wasn't there!

    I'm looking forward to spending some time over the weekend really doing some quality listening. I'm pretty sure we'll be ordering four more for the surrounds soon! And, then a decision will need to be made about how we're going to handle the center channel.
    Super happy you are enjoying the LX!!!
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Posts
    9

    Default Re: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    Super happy you are enjoying the LX!!!
    Our four surrounds arrived on Tuesday. The day before we had someone in to run speaker wiring through the walls and put in the Sonance in-ceiling speakers.

    Overall, we are very pleased!

    Right now we are running a phantom center. I tried using the Sony A90J’ television as a center and it’s usable but it really shows its warts next to the LX fronts. Right now I’m not missing an actual center. We don’t really have a good space to put one and the phantom center seems to be fine from where we sit. I’ll need a bit more time with movies to really make a decision there but right now all seems fine without the center.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Central NC
    Posts
    139

    Default Re: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers

    Quote Originally Posted by Linda View Post
    Right now we are running a phantom center. I tried using the Sony A90J’ television as a center and it’s usable but it really shows its warts next to the LX fronts. Right now I’m not missing an actual center. We don’t really have a good space to put one and the phantom center seems to be fine from where we sit. I’ll need a bit more time with movies to really make a decision there but right now all seems fine without the center.
    I spent years without a center speaker. Just a 2.0 system for TV. It was my upgrade of my L/R pair to the original Sierra-2s (well before the EX came out) that made me think about having a center, because they sounded so good and I was wondering what I was missing.

    And it turned out I was missing quite a bit. A physical center speaker really grounds the dialog and really improves dialog clarity, and it does the heavy lifting for the front stage which takes the work off the L/R pair to the point that they actually sound better -- cleaner, crisper, less distortion? IDK why exactly but it sounds so good I'll never have another system without a center. I just wish I could get those years back.

    If you've got a difficult location for a center channel, look at the Duo V2. It's an excellent center, and very small. Can't keep up with the ELX towers apparently, but certainly better than a phantom center even if the Duo isn't the Horizon. I've used a Duo at center for years and loved it.

    And I should point out that Ascend Acoustics does in-home speaker auditions...
    "If it sounds good, it is good." -- Duke Ellington

  5. #25
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    1,517

    Default Re: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers

    Agree with Bruce. A center speaker definitely improves the movie experience.

    In my main system, I am using the Horizon ELXv2 RAAL. In the past, I used a S2 (first), then moved to the Duo v2 center, which I thought was a step up from the S2 for center duty. Obviously, the Horizon is a quantum leap forward. I'm currently using the Duo v2 as a center at our 2nd home in Rio, with a pair of Horizons as FL/FR. Bass is lacking but am living with it for now. I do have a pair of LX (currently in my office) that I may take to Rio one day - just concerned if I get stopped at customs and have to pay duty.
    * LG OLED65E6P, BenqHT2050A
    * Anthem AVM90, Rogue ST100, VTV Pascal 7 ch
    * Sierra Towers/Horizon (all ELX RAAL), S2EXv2 surrounds, HTM200SEx4 heights, Rythmik E15HPx2
    * VPI Classic 1+ (VTA & Fatboy Gimbal), PE Eagle/RR, VAS NOVA, Soundsmith Paua, Manley Chinook, Bob's Devices SUT, SugarCube 1 mini
    * Oppo 203 & 103D, EverSolo DMP-A6
    * miniDSP Flex, Audiosensibility & Blue Jeans cables, Symposium & Isoacoustics, GIK
    * For RDJ: Anthem MRX720, Sierra LX, Luna Duo v2 center, CXNv2, TBD

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    461

    Default Re: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers

    Quote Originally Posted by Linda View Post
    Our four surrounds arrived on Tuesday. The day before we had someone in to run speaker wiring through the walls and put in the Sonance in-ceiling speakers.

    Overall, we are very pleased!

    Right now we are running a phantom center. I tried using the Sony A90JÂ’ television as a center and itÂ’s usable but it really shows its warts next to the LX fronts. Right now IÂ’m not missing an actual center. We donÂ’t really have a good space to put one and the phantom center seems to be fine from where we sit. IÂ’ll need a bit more time with movies to really make a decision there but right now all seems fine without the center.
    I have a 6.2.4 system (minus the center) with Ascend speakers for the bed layer and Sonance as top fronts and top rears. The only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger on the center is because I have a 77 inch OLED that I am sitting about 7 feet away from. I could raise the OLED to make more room for the center, but I like the height it is at right now. 99% of the time I am sitting dead center in the sweet spot, so I don’t think an actual center will make that much of a difference in that seat. My wife and kids sit off center and for them I think a dedicated center, if I could properly place it higher, would be a big improvement. But they don’t care and frankly I don’t think they would notice. I’ve even been eyeing these nice 98” TVs that one can get for a reasonable price, but will likely wait until an OLED or micro-led tv can hit those prices in that size, so I can get my money’s worth of thr current 77” OLED.

    Anyways, with thinking down the line that the tv would get even larger, it makes the prospect of fitting a center channel even worse. Right now with the 77” TV, the top of the center would be 22” off of the ground. The Duo would be only 16” off of the ground. The horizon, which is what I’d prefer, would be 11” off of the ground. I’m sitting 7 feet away and often recline my seat, so my feet would be in the way of the speaker which would be too low anyways. I’m thinking of upgrading my couch soon, and if that makes me want to raise the tv significantly because the angles change when reclined I might revisit the possibility of a center. As for now it just doesn’t make sense for me. And I think I’m okay with that finally.

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Posts
    9

    Default Re: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers

    We watched Dune Part 1 last night and Part 2 tonight and the sound was fantastic! So far, I'm not missing a center at all. Dialog was exactly where it was supposed to be and was perfectly intelligible. If I can find a stand that will work with the limited space under the television and angle it up towards the listeners then it might be worthwhile but for the moment, I'm not feeling the lack.

    Over the last week or so I've been doing a lot of stereo listening and I'm loving what I'm hearing! I'm not making any claims about having "golden ears" or anything like that. Mostly I just don't want the speakers to call attention to themselves but just let the music come through and I feel like that's what I'm getting. I demo'd for a friend who stopped by a couple of days ago and he was stunned listening to the system (in a good way!).

    One thing I've found is how wide the soundstage has been in stereo. On any speakers I've had in the past, I never heard much beyond the edges of the speakers but there are times when I'm hearing music to the corners of the room. There are a couple of tracks where it just jumped out at me. I've never really heard that before and it's been a lot of fun to listen to when it does occur!

    I thought this room might be a little challenging but it's turning out to be the best room I've had for speaker setup, maybe because it's larger than any of the others. Whatever the cause, I'm not complaining and just enjoying the sound!

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,645

    Default Re: two questions regarding Sierra 2ex speakers

    Quote Originally Posted by Linda View Post
    We watched Dune Part 1 last night and Part 2 tonight and the sound was fantastic! So far, I'm not missing a center at all. Dialog was exactly where it was supposed to be and was perfectly intelligible. If I can find a stand that will work with the limited space under the television and angle it up towards the listeners then it might be worthwhile but for the moment, I'm not feeling the lack.

    Over the last week or so I've been doing a lot of stereo listening and I'm loving what I'm hearing! I'm not making any claims about having "golden ears" or anything like that. Mostly I just don't want the speakers to call attention to themselves but just let the music come through and I feel like that's what I'm getting. I demo'd for a friend who stopped by a couple of days ago and he was stunned listening to the system (in a good way!).

    One thing I've found is how wide the soundstage has been in stereo. On any speakers I've had in the past, I never heard much beyond the edges of the speakers but there are times when I'm hearing music to the corners of the room. There are a couple of tracks where it just jumped out at me. I've never really heard that before and it's been a lot of fun to listen to when it does occur!

    I thought this room might be a little challenging but it's turning out to be the best room I've had for speaker setup, maybe because it's larger than any of the others. Whatever the cause, I'm not complaining and just enjoying the sound!
    Glad you noticed the very wide soundstage the LX produce. I would say that if you can find a center stand that works, it might be worth order an LX center just to compare with and without. If you find you don't need it, return it.

    Here is a link to some center speaker stands:

    https://www.standsandmounts.com/cent...kerstands.aspx
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

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