Sierra fronts + NHT center and surrounds?

[Catnap]

It has been years since I last visited this forum but I need all helpful input I can get.
I have the opportunity to acquire used Ascend Sierras for my fronts. I currently have NHT Superones as fronts and center and Superzero surrounds.
Due to space constraints in my custom cabinet I don't have room for any speaker larger than my current Superone as a center channel. It is lying on it's side. Another Sierra is not an option.
Would this pairing be disaster -the Sierras with the NHTs?

 

[WmAx]

It has been years since I last visited this forum but I need all helpful input I can get.
I have the opportunity to acquire used Ascend Sierras for my fronts. I currently have NHT Superones as fronts and center and Superzero surrounds.
Due to space constraints in my custom cabinet I don't have room for any speaker larger than my current Superone as a center channel. It is lying on it's side. Another Sierra is not an option.
Would this pairing be disaster -the Sierras with the NHTs?

You can very likely buy the raw drivers and xover from Ascend and install it in a custom cabinet to fit the space. This will get the closest match for the center, of course.

-Chris

 

[Swerd]

It has been years since I last visited this forum but I need all helpful input I can get.
I have the opportunity to acquire used Ascend Sierras for my fronts. I currently have NHT Superones as fronts and center and Superzero surrounds.
Due to space constraints in my custom cabinet I don't have room for any speaker larger than my current Superone as a center channel. It is lying on it's side. Another Sierra is not an option.
Would this pairing be disaster -the Sierras with the NHTs?

No I don't think it would be a disaster, in fact, it might work nicely.

The Sierra-1s will be a noticeable improvement over the Superones, but because the Superones and Superzeros are reasonably neutral sounding speakers, a blend of those models, as you described, might be pretty decent. It won't please the perfectionists who insist that the front 3 speakers be an exact match, but I wouldn't worry about it.

You will find that the Sierra-1s are more sensitive than the Superones, they will play louder at the same volume setting. But you can adjust the individual channel volume controls to fix that.

What price are those Sierras going for?

 

[Knucklehead90]

The most noticeable mis-match in timbre comes when it's least important - during test tones setting up Audyssey or whatever room correction program your receiver uses.
I've used an AV123 Bigfoot with a pair of Emotiva ERT 8.3s - not a very good match but the effect on the sound stage wasn't that bad - and the Bigfoot is an excellent center.
Sometimes a match comes along that you would have thought wouldn't be - I used an Infinity Beta C360 center with the 8.3s and the match is actually very close. When I got the 6.3 to replace the C360 it matched no better than the C360 did - and FWIW the C360 is every bit as good as the 6.3 for a center speaker!

 

[Catnap]

What price are those Sierras going for?

I'll let you know - I am going to hear (and buy?) them tomorrow.