The Sierra's have moved east

[MUDSHARK]

The Sierra's arrived today. Attractive speakers that look in no manner like my pre-conception of bamboo.

We listened to an Elton John DVD for 30 minutes or so (to get the wife interested) This was much too short an audition. These speakers are very very good. I will post more in the next few days but will give some initial impressions.

1. The Sierra's image like crazy.
2. The speakers play deceptively loud. I thought the music was moderate in volume until I realized my wife has to shout at me from a few feet away (no comments Steven). My guess is the speakers were pushing 95db. Yet the music did not 'feel' loud and I was tempted to turn it up even more.
3. The speakers are quite neutral and do not beg for acoustical room treatments.
4. Piano and male vocal were very clear and realistic. The real test will come later when complex jazz and brass is played.
5. These speakers appear to be an absolute steal on first impressions. The family wants to watch movies tonight so further musical impressions will have to be delayed. However, right now the only speaker that left this kind of impression on me that cost less than $1,000 was the Mackie's

I hope Muzz got his today, as well.

[LHawes]

...and the sun shuddered...now I get it Mud - thanks for the review.

[mazersteven]

The Sierra's

Put the joint down and step away from the vodka. LOL :eek::D

[MUDSHARK]

Jack Daniels, my friend. Fat fingers on a laptop do not always mix. I hit enter very prematurely.

One more thing. My son is over and watching a movie called robots on TV (not surround sound). He thought the sound was coming from the center channel when in fact the movie is stereo only with the only sound coming from the front left and right speakers. The Sierra's imaging is that strong.

[mazersteven]

So your 2-channel thoughts are?

[MUDSHARK]

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2779/p6050028mh6.jpg
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/8906/p6050029sz5.jpg
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5562/p6050031cp9.jpg

Pardon the mess but a few pictures to gauge the small size of the Sierra.

A full judgement of the musical capabilities will take a few days. The speaker delivers bass not to be believed for such a small speaker (5/1/2 inch woofer). Most listening would not require a sub. The midrange (piano, guitar, and male vocals) outclasses by a wide margin in terms of smoothness, detail, and clarity anything I heard at the GTG. The Usher gives it a good run in the treble frequencies (This may change after the break-in). The Sierra, like the Usher gives no indication of harshness in female vocals (unlike the Polk, Paradigm, and Klipsch we listened to last year). I recognize I was the only one who felt this way.

Tomorrow I hope to throw in some early Chicago and see how the Sierra handles some serious brass. While I thought the 170-SE was at it's best in home theatre, I think this speaker was designed for the music room.

I will give a more detailed two channel analysis in accordance with the request this weekend.

[MUDSHARK]

One last note for tonight. The Sierra does require some power. The Marantz will tide me over until the HDMI 1.3 and new formats are supported, however this speaker needs a receiver with hair on it's chest.

[mazersteven]

Might need another Bryston

[mazersteven]

The Sierra, like the Usher gives no indication of harshness in female vocals (unlike the Polk, Paradigm, and Klipsch we listened to last year). I recognize I was the only one who felt this way.



Oooooooooooo Might have to have a Sierra, LSi9 showdown. LOL

[silversurfer]

Do you two live near each other? I would like to read about that comparison.

[MUDSHARK]

Might need another Bryston

3000+ for a 5 channel Bryston and $858 for the main speakers? The S&V gurus would guillotine me in a public execution.:rolleyes:

Come to think of it not a bad idea.:D

Stop by and check them out when time pemits ( I know you're hard at it 6 days a week).

[Tex-amp]

Please tell me you move the speakers forward of the entertainment center when listening.

[MUDSHARK]

The picture is somewhat misleading. The speakers initial position is about an inch past the entertainment center. I was trying to keep the base of the stand out of the grout between the tiles. This is all subject to change and experimentation.

[pzaur]

Tomorrow I hope to throw in some early Chicago and see how the Sierra handles some serious brass.

Being an aivd classical fan and a big CSO junky (for their recordings at least since I don't live there), you really need to get this album if you like brass and don't have it:

CSO - Abbado - Scythian Suite et. al. (http://www.amazon.com/Prokofiev-Alexander-Nevsky-Abbado-Sergey/dp/B000001GQC)

Scythian Suite and Lt. Kije are simply spectacular. The opening trumpet solo of Kije is incredible.

Unless of course you were meaning the rock group Chicago! That band still rules!
Any group that uses more than just electric guitars/bass/set deserves additional looking into.

-pat

[emorphien]

The speaker delivers bass not to be believed for such a small speaker (5/1/2 inch woofer). Most listening would not require a sub.

I know what you mean. My speakers are similar. How do you find them to be with respect to room placement. I've found a lot of the smaller bookshelves that can really put out reasonable bass down to around 40Hz can be fairly position sensitive.

Also any comments on spacing from the back wall?

[muzz]

The Sierra's arrived today. Attractive speakers that look in no manner like my pre-conception of bamboo.

We listened to an Elton John DVD for 30 minutes or so (to get the wife interested) This was much too short an audition. These speakers are very very good. I will post more in the next few days but will give some initial impressions.

1. The Sierra's image like crazy.
2. The speakers play deceptively loud. I thought the music was moderate in volume until I realized my wife has to shout at me from a few feet away (no comments Steven). My guess is the speakers were pushing 95db. Yet the music did not 'feel' loud and I was tempted to turn it up even more.
3. The speakers are quite neutral and do not beg for acoustical room treatments.
4. Piano and male vocal were very clear and realistic. The real test will come later when complex jazz and brass is played.
5. These speakers appear to be an absolute steal on first impressions. The family wants to watch movies tonight so further musical impressions will have to be delayed. However, right now the only speaker that left this kind of impression on me that cost less than $1,000 was the Mackie's

I hope Muzz got his today, as well.



NOPE.........:(

I DID get them TODAY though!! heheheheheh
I just happened to be home when Big Brown pulled up!!

These things are sweet, as you stated, the bass these lil suckers put out is rather impressive, I listened in 2 channel mostly, and the soundstage sounds big and wide.
The 170 SE's sounded good, these are in another league totally IMO, and I think the Sierra Center sounds better on dialogue than my 340SE did.

The looks? Sweet.. I don't think Ascend is going to hear complaints about "the Ugly boxes" with regards to these things.

I'm impressed, and have ALOT of listening to do!!

[mazersteven]

Congratulation Muzz :D

We need pictures

[majorloser]

Oooooooooooo Might have to have a Sierra, LSi9 showdown. LOL

Can I tag along? :D

[mazersteven]

Can I tag along? :D

Tag Along?

I'm still waiting for you to come get the MTM's with me. LOL

I have to have the Strata's box'd by tomorrow night.

[majorloser]

Tag Along?

I'm still waiting for you to come get the MTM's with me. LOL

I have to have the Strata's box'd by tomorrow night.

Sent you a PM

[mazersteven]

Sent you a PM

I love when you PM me you Big Honcho. LOL :D

[Lindahl]

Pull them out to at least the front of the carpet. You won't regret it!

[darien87]

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/8906/p6050029sz5.jpg

Those poor fish. LOL I keep thinking of Darla in Finding Nemo.

"TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR!!!"

[MUDSHARK]

So your 2-channel thoughts are?

I just had my first chance to listen to some serious music on the Sierra's. The album I chose was Chicago II, a very challenging cd for speakers. I then listened to the album on my den system while impressions were fresh in my mind.
The family room has a Marantz A/v receiver and an Onkyo dvd player while my den system has a Bryston amplifier, Parasound pre-amp, NAD dvd player and Infinity Kappa 400 speakers. So keep in mind that the den equipment is far superior. When I began reading these type of forums I thought that my demands were less than most of you. However, after attending a few get togethers, I realized that I was far more demanding in sound quality than the average enthusiast. Please keep that in mind when I discuss the merits of the Sierra-1.

During the initial songs I could not help lamenting the harshness of the brass (Chicago II contains entended and often complex movements of flute, trombone, trumpet, and other brass instruments). On the other hand the piano solos and male vocals were sweet, indeed. The bass was not lacking in any way while not dominating the music.

However, the imaging was spectacular. It was very easy to close ones eyes and hear the different instruments. The trumpet in front, the drums by the fishtank (to the right), piano distinct and clear of the trumpet, etc...

From drums through male vocals there was no noticed brightness though not at all laid back either. I cannot put my finger on the right word but lets say the speakers transmit the spirit of the music (vibrancy, perhaps).

I listened to the album immediately after in the den to determine if I was being unfair. I was not. I have attened concerts in Carnagie Hall and know what instruments should sound like. The brass on my Infinity's was clear, unwavering, with a live performance smoothness. The Infinity speakers were far move expensive (about 3 times). Since few of you are familiar with them I would compare them to the B&W 700 series foorstanders.

I must raise one very important point, however. The owner of Ascend suggests 50 hours break-in for the tweeters. I recall how harsh the Infinity speakers were during the break-in so I have no trouble anticipating a huge improvement in the coming months. On the Ascend site some of the early purchasers mentioned turning loud music on all day while at work to speed the softening process. This leads me to believe my impressions are not singular. Since the Sierra's are in the family room and not my primary music system it may take a few months to fairly judge the speakers as TV and movies are the general rule (The family room I consider the wife's domain).

This is not to say the speakers are unpleasant on material less demanding of the tweeter. Watching an Elton John dvd as well as Phil Collins presented a very satisfying 5 channel listening experience. The midrange of these speakers is special right out of the box.

During the last get together my opinions of the Strata Minni's was similar. Impressive midrange harsh tweeter. I did not like the bass but attributed that to the positioning of the power towers. It is so very difficult to compare speakers right out of the box. I think it will take at least two months before a showdown with your Polks would be useful.

The get togethers with you somewhat younger guys are fun but I think extended listening to just two products along with the 'house speakers' should be the limit in a given day.

Anyway, I have tried to give my initial two-channel impressions. It will be two months before I can makie a definitive opinion. Meanwhile, hopefully some of the other purchasers that are running the speakers in their primary system will give reviews post-break-in sooner than I will be able to.

[billy p]

Thank you for a very honest and insightful review! You are one of very few to have found a minor fault in this speaker. I read the caption that was sent buy Ascend pertaining to the improvement in sound occurring during the break in period. Needless to say, this is one fine speaker and I look forward to your thoughts down the road. One last thing, how much better where they then your previous Ascends.


Thanks, Billy p :)

[silversurfer]

Great stuff.

Is it possible to try them with the electronics in the den?

[MUDSHARK]

Billy P:

I only had the previous Ascends for 30 days (two 170-Se and 340 center). I had no intention of returning them until the Sierra-1 was released. I only had a few days to mull it over but decided for less than $500 additional going the top of their line was the way to go.

The Sierra speakers are a substantial improvement for music and since they do not require a sub can be equally adept in one's 2-channel music room or the mains in the family home theatre. However, in a HT with a capable subwoofer the 170-se are a great value for the mains and probably overkill for surround duty. I would have been very content to keep the 170's for the home theatre. If you went with the 170-se up front the option of upgrading later to the Sierra and placing the 170-se in surround duty would exist. Just food for thought.

The 340 model I cannot make much of a judgement on since I only used it as a center channel for the 30 days I had it. If your budget can stand it, consider Sierra's up front and the model 200 for the surrounds. I purchased b-stock piano black but cannot find a blemish on it. This may cut the price a bit more. Disclaimer: I am not as picky about appearence as sound quality.

Silversurfer: That's a good idea. I can easily do so although I will not be able to A/b as the Bryston only supports one set of speakers. I will try that in a month when the tweeters have softened a bit.

[Tex-amp]

Great stuff.

Is it possible to try them with the electronics in the den?


As well as the acoustics of the den.

[MUDSHARK]

A very valid point, Tex. It was an oversight not to mention the tougher environment of the family room.

One thing I did not mention is both of my speaker systems are unforgiving of poorly recorded music. If Staind is your forte this is not the speaker for you. If modern Heavy metal or rap is your preferred outlet then go see your favorite Klipsch dealer.

[Tex-amp]

One thing I did not mention is both of my speaker systems are unforgiving of poorly recorded music.

:D I've discovered a few bad discs with the Sierras that weren't revealed as such with my 170SEs. On the other hand good discs sound great.

[emorphien]

I'm always disappointed when a disc I liked before is shown to be less than ideally recorded or mastered on my speakers.

[Adam]

I'm always disappointed when a disc I liked before is shown to be less than ideally recorded or mastered on my speakers.

Me, too. That's why I don't get great speakers. :)

[majorloser]

I'm always disappointed when a disc I liked before is shown to be less than ideally recorded or mastered on my speakers.

Another reason to buy Bose ;)

[emorphien]

But the payoff with the good recordings... heaven!

And I still have my Axiom M3Tis, by all accounts a good speaker but nowhere near as revealing as my Totems.