I'm going to go with a new LCR.

[tdogroeder]

Sierra-2's are the top of the list and pretty much what I want with all of their rave reviews with them as well as the 1's and their 30-day in home trial I think it's a win-win for anyone who is considering them.

My current front set-up is rocket 850's & bigfoot center, I want to focus more on music as I just got a blu-ray player that plays sacd's and go my first one dire straights Brother in Arms and it sounds fantastic.

I would like to hear some of you guy's opinions on the sierra's who have heard them and if you think there is something in $2200 that will best them and give me more for that amount.

A couple that I have considered are the Dyn Excite X12, Wharfedale Jade 3, Kef R300, Kef ls50 but with Ascend you can get all 3 the same for lcr I'm not sure about the others.

 

[bikemig]

PSB Imagines are pretty nice; there is a dealer in Des Moines you can talk to about an audition. Good guy and very knowledgeable, 515-999-5655 | alex@alhome.biz. I love PSB speakers so I'll recommend them and they are certainly worth an audition. I just picked up a pair of psb mini speakers for my desktop and I use the PSB imagine Bs for my HT system.

 

[rnatalli]

Rockets have a pretty laid back sound so PSB speakers will sound quite different. I prefer a bit of an edgier sound so Monitor Audio is high on my list and there are some good prices on the silver line out there. Ascend is an excellent brand, but I will add Kef, Aperion, and Monitor Audio to the list.

 

[tdogroeder]

I did have a recent audition with the new monitor audio silver 2's & paradigm studio 20's and preferred the MA's. Thanks for the recommendations but I am pretty set on the sierra-2's. I think it would be great to do a kef & sierra side by side shootout.

 

[bikemig]

I did have a recent audition with the new monitor audio silver 2's & paradigm studio 20's and preferred the MA's. Thanks for the recommendations but I am pretty set on the sierra-2's. I think it would be great to do a kef & sierra side by side shootout.

Good idea but you'll have to pay for shipping both ways with the Sierras if you don't like them. There aren't a lot of places to audition speakers in DM. Accessories4less has very good prices on refurb KEFs btw.

One thing is for sure, you should audition as many speakers as possible before deciding which ones to buy. That is a tough thing to do in a city like DM that has only a handful of places that sell high end audio gear. Internet direct is a good option but manufacturers are all over the map in terms of how they handle shipping charges.

 

[JohnnieB]

Hey groeder. I visit DM from time to time. John at Audio Video Logic has some great stuff. I have a pair of the RAAL towers coming from Ascend. If you are interested in driving up to W'loo/C.F. i'd be glad to let you hear em'.

 

[tdogroeder]

Hey groeder. I visit DM from time to time. John at Audio Video Logic has some great stuff. I have a pair of the RAAL towers coming from Ascend. If you are interested in driving up to W'loo/C.F. i'd be glad to let you hear em'.

Thanks Johnnie for the invite, but I ordered 3 Sierra-2's and they will arrive on Wednesday.

I have been to AVL but it's 5 years or more. Audio Labs is pretty good to, not as big of a store but I enjoyed the experience there, that is where I auditioned monitor audio & pardigms.

 

[JohnnieB]

Congrats. I'm planning on Sierra 2's for my rear channels. Maybe a short revue when you get em settled in? Btw, what were your thoughts as far as the Paradigms?

 

[tdogroeder]

Congrats. I'm planning on Sierra 2's for my rear channels. Maybe a short revue when you get em settled in? Btw, what were your thoughts as far as the Paradigms?

It was the Studio 20's & Monitor Audio Silver 2's that I got a side by side audition and I thought the Studio's were more forward than the Silver's both had good bass, but the studio's had the tighter bass silver's were a little muddy at high volumes, but after switching back and forth I'm not sure if the ma's were just a little laid back and the studio's were just cleaner. I don't think the studio's were worth $600 more than the Silver's.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would like to hear some of you guy's opinions on the sierra's who have heard them and if you think there is something in $2200 that will best them and give me more for that amount.

I don't know about beating the Sierra speakers. But I would also look at monitors from Revel Performa3, KEF R-series, and RBH Signature SX-series. Street prices on these may be a lot lower than MSRP, so don't compare MSRP of these to MSRP of ID companies.

 

[3db]

I second the PSB recommendation but audition is a must for as many loudspeakers as possible to find best fit for your ear.

 

[billy p]

I had a member come over and audition my Sierra's. However my Towers only have the NrT domes and my horizon CC is RAAL equipped. We demoed music and movies for about 2.5 hrs and he determined the RAAL STC was likely the purest and most accute speaker he heard to date. Now....this is coming for a guy who prior to arriving at my door stopped by a local HiFi shop and auditioned the Studio 20's and PSB Synchrony B and One C. He much preferred the Synch B over 20's. Using his relatively fresh audiory memory he closely compared the RAAL to the tweeter used in the Synchrony line & determined it was comparable but overall thought the STC in a verticle aligment was the better speaker...at least for the money since either of those speakers retail for about 2500.00 cdn.

My hope is...he eventually buys the Sierra 2.. so I can listen to them for myself...

They must be pretty darn good if the guys like them over the NrT S1s which I owned at one time...its not only the new RAAL but the new seas driver which is just as good by all accounts.

 

[tdogroeder]

I got my Sierra-2's in and they are a really fine speaker.

They are very detailed & clean without any brightness.

Instruments have a more realism to them than I have ever heard.

The bass is very good as well, my receiver was in pure direct mode when I was listening to The Best of Rusted Root I thought the sub was on it was that good.




Below was a temporary placement as I was still in the process of finishing up stands I made for them.

My daughter had to stop playing to hear the audio bliss!

 

[zieglj01]

I got my Sierra-2's in and they are a really fine speaker.

They are very detailed & clean without any brightness.

Looks nice - continue to enjoy the adventure

 

[tdogroeder]

Looks nice - continue to enjoy the adventure

Thanks!

My journey ended with the Sierra-2's, they are the "holy grail" for me and I'm not interested in what could be better as it would probably cost at least $2000-$2500 to be considered better for minimal gains, And I don't want to have to go back on my word with my wife when I said "the Sierra's were it for me".

 

[agarwalro]

The natural bamboo looks retro-cool. I love it.

You have to show us the final setup after the stands are finished and the Rockets moved out.

Jeff Foxworthy would say, "you know you're an Audioholic when... You use one speaker as A STAND FOR another speaker" .

 

[tdogroeder]

The natural bamboo looks retro-cool. I love it.

You have to show us the final setup after the stands are finished and the Rockets moved out.

Jeff Foxworthy would say, "you know you're an Audioholic when... You use one speaker as A STAND FOR another speaker" .

The bamboo finish is really nice. I wanted a finish that was light since all of my other speakers are rosewood black or cherry.

I finished the stands and placed everything, I just need to take a pic and then edit it and I will post a photo, my 65" panny looks a lot bigger now.

 

[JohnnieB]

Thanks for the picks groeder. Looks like you may have another audiophile in the house.

 

[tdogroeder]

Here they are placed on my home-made stands:

What do you guys suggest for room treatments?

 

[agarwalro]

Man that looks fantastic!

I recommend you get an Auralex Subdude or Gramma for that SVS. I used one before and it really helped reduce bass transmission to the floor.