Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers RAAL Tweeters

[ryanosaur]

Nothing that a little use of Photoshop can't fix

or some cable raceways!

 

[ryanosaur]

(ps: I shouldn't be hucking pebbles. *blushes I has cables hanging, too.)

 

[Pogre]

or some cable raceways!

Or an 8" stand. Then my center channel would completely hide it!

 

[NINaudio]

I just re-uploaded them all. The first batch looked like poop.

There they are! Looking good. I'd just put some felt pads under the front corners to angle the center up a bit and call it done.

 

[NINaudio]

Or an 8" stand. Then my center channel would completely hide it!

Or paint that wall a darker color and they'll be camouflaged! That's a trick from my book. I also like a darker color behind the TV when watching it.

 

[Pogre]

There they are! Looking good. I'd just put some felt pads under the front corners to angle the center up a bit and call it done.

I'm gonna look for, or make a little stand for it. If I raise it up 6" or so it'll hide those 2 cables coming down behind it too.

 

[ryanosaur]

Proper TV Ergonomics:
Keep about 1' between your screen and the Baffle of the Center.
Make certain you can remote-from-the-hip (Center isn't blocking IR).
Don't have the bottom of the screen any higher than your eyeballs when comfortably seated.
(Insert image of Pogre reclined with the RBH Sub here)
Hide your cables.

 

[ryanosaur]

Where is the Center in relation to your earholes?

 

[ryanosaur]

Proper Center Channel Ergonomics:
Align all Tweeters across the Front three with Ear Level.
Do not put you Center in a Cubby or on and Equipment Rack or Entertainment Center.
Always place you Center on a purpose-built diffraction-minimizing stand.
Fcuk the TV. Why do you have one anyway? Besides, you just have more cables to hide!

 

[Pogre]

Proper TV Ergonomics:
Keep about 1' between your screen and the Baffle of the Center.
Make certain you can remote-from-the-hip (Center isn't blocking IR).
Don't have the bottom of the screen any higher than your eyeballs when comfortably seated.
(Insert image of Pogre reclined with the RBH Sub here)
Hide your cables.

Check!

Where is the Center in relation to your earholes?

A wee bit on the low side right now, but I just now stuck a couple pieces of rubber stopper under the front so it's angled up a little now. A short stand is the endgame tho.

 

[Pogre]

So all of a sudden I'm discovering I might kinda like Doby 5.1 with center spread on for music. That center is a beast and sounds identical to the l/r mains. I have the S2s for surround duty now, so RAAL ribbons all the way around!

 

[Mark E. Long]

As promised, pics!

View attachment 48049View attachment 48050View attachment 48051View attachment 48054View attachment 48053

I need a little stand for that center. 3 or 4 inches ought to do it, but can go as high as 6". I gotta get back in there and work on cable management again too... lol

Gorgeous clean and well thought out setup the new center just rounds it all out .

 

[Pogre]

Gorgeous clean and well thought out setup the new center just rounds it all out .

Thank you! I do love it. I agree about the center. It didn't make or break the system, but it sure is satisfying looking at that front stage now. It can handle about anything I throw at it now and do it with authority. Those towers and center can handle some real power, and have better than average sensitivity at 90 dB. I think they can get as loud as my Ultra towers did with the subs in play.

 

[Mark E. Long]

Thank you! I do love it. I agree about the center. It didn't make or break the system, but it sure is satisfying looking at that front stage now. It can handle about anything I throw at it now and do it with authority. Those towers and center can handle some real power, and have better than average sensitivity at 90 dB. I think they can get as loud as my Ultra towers did with the subs in play.

Has to sound amazing it looks to me to be a setup that just disappears when enjoying a good flick . A wall of sound that’s centered at the screen that’s what I strived for with mine . If I may ask how do you like the subs on the inside of your towers I’ve toyed with that idea with mine I’ve got the room to me it would seem to lock the image down in the sound field even better like I said that’s well done rig !!

 

[Pogre]

Has to sound amazing it looks to me to be a setup that just disappears when enjoying a good flick . A wall of sound that’s centered at the screen that’s what I strived for with mine . If I may ask how do you like the subs on the inside of your towers I’ve toyed with that idea with mine I’ve got the room to me it would seem to lock the image down in the sound field even better like I said that’s well done rig !!

Yes, it does disappear and sounds pretty awesome. I have put a lot of thought into placement and layout, so I really appreciate that you noticed. Seriously. I even got a touch of the warm fuzzies! I tried to consider everything within the limitations of my space by focusing primarily on the basics first, like distance from room boundaries, distance apart, toe in and at least a semblance of symmetry. Get the foundation right first.

I used to think I had a terrible room because it's so big and odd shaped with vaulted ceilings, but now I think the opposite. I have enough space for nice, big powerful speakers and subs, and I suspect because it's oddly shaped and asymmetrical I'm not as prone to standing waves like a more square room would be. Finding that equipment stand was a challenge too. I wanted to make sure my gear had room to breathe, and it needed to be able to hold 140 lbs on that second shelf. I added those dowel rods up front underneath for support. It would collapse without them. I had some lengths in my garage left over from a project and just cut to length and stained 'em to match. My next step has to be room treatments. I've done about all I can everywhere else.

Based on the sub crawl and actual physical measurements that front left corner is the best spot for a sub, so I got a little lucky there. The one on the right doesn't measure nearly as well, but between the two I can dial it in really nice. Don't forget, I have that third one behind me now too. This is where my bass is right now.

+/- ~2 dB from 200 hz and down, and I think having multiple subs helps a lot with that. Audyssey gets it n the ballpark and I don't have to be super agressive with peq to straighten it the rest of the way out.

I snapped this pic first, but then I realized...

...if I change the orientation of the camera I can get one of my Sierra 2s in the shot too.

 

[Eppie]

That's awesome @Pogre congrats and enjoy!

 

[Mark E. Long]

Yes, it does disappear and sounds pretty awesome. I have put a lot of thought into placement and layout, so I really appreciate that you noticed. Seriously. I even got a touch of the warm fuzzies! I tried to consider everything within the limitations of my space by focusing primarily on the basics first, like distance from room boundaries, distance apart, toe in and at least a semblance of symmetry. Get the foundation right first.

I used to think I had a terrible room because it's so big and odd shaped with vaulted ceilings, but now I think the opposite. I have enough space for nice, big powerful speakers and subs, and I suspect because it's oddly shaped and asymmetrical I'm not as prone to standing waves like a more square room would be. Finding that equipment stand was a challenge too. I wanted to make sure my gear had room to breathe, and it needed to be able to hold 140 lbs on that second shelf. I added those dowel rods up front underneath for support. It would collapse without them. I had some lengths in my garage left over from a project and just cut to length and stained 'em to match. My next step has to be room treatments. I've done about all I can everywhere else.

Based on the sub crawl and actual physical measurements that front left corner is the best spot for a sub, so I got a little lucky there. The one on the right doesn't measure nearly as well, but between the two I can dial it in really nice. Don't forget, I have that third one behind me now too. This is where my bass is right now.

View attachment 48084

+/- ~2 dB from 200 hz and down, and I think having multiple subs helps a lot with that. Audyssey gets it n the ballpark and I don't have to be super agressive with peq to straighten it the rest of the way out.

I snapped this pic first, but then I realized...

View attachment 48087

...if I change the orientation of the camera I can get one of my Sierra 2s in the shot too.

View attachment 48085

Sweet I know I’d dig it ! I’ve experimented with placement for years rooms can be tuff I’ve a vaulted ceiling too weirdly I think it helps lot . I love how in a dark room the whole soundstage is as wide as the room and ya can sit back and say oh poop I done this right . That’s good work on the subs too ! To me the subs have always been the hardest to get right I have limited placement in my room it’s weird how one side can be so different when setting them up lol . I noticed that the new centers tweeter and mid bass drivers line up almost perfect with the towers that is key in my book for a seamless image the Devils in the details well done !!

 

[Pogre]

Sweet I know I’d dig it ! I’ve experimented with placement for years rooms can be tuff I’ve a vaulted ceiling too weirdly I think it helps lot . I love how in a dark room the whole soundstage is as wide as the room and ya can sit back and say oh poop I done this right . That’s good work on the subs too ! To me the subs have always been the hardest to get right I have limited placement in my room it’s weird how one side can be so different when setting them up lol . I noticed that the new centers tweeter and mid bass drivers line up almost perfect with the towers that is key in my book for a seamless image the Devils in the details well done !!

I can get it acceptably dark in there during the day with the blinds closed in front of that sliding glass door, but adding some blackout curtains or something would help a lot. I have them on the other windows and they do a pretty damned good job. I think I could get almost theater dark in there with one more set of curtains. It might even help with acoustics a little bit...

Hmm...

HMMM...

 

[Mark E. Long]

I can get it acceptably dark in there during the day with the blinds closed in front of that sliding glass door, but adding some blackout curtains or something would help a lot. I have them on the other windows and they do a pretty damned good job. I think I could get almost theater dark in there with one more set of curtains. It might even help with acoustics a little bit...

Hmm...

HMMM...

I use a lot of low voltage back lighting behind my whole front stage behind the tv and the front towers it works great at night and the wife picked out really heavy dark drapes it definitely helps .

 

[Pogre]

I use a lot of low voltage back lighting behind my whole front stage behind the tv and the front towers it works great at night and the wife picked out really heavy dark drapes it definitely helps .

Oh yeah, you can get it like a cave in there!