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**Official Ascend Acoustics Tower Thread** - Page 43

post #1261 of 1437
1/9/13 at 4:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryder125 View Post

Hey does anyone know if Ascend offers a raal upgrade to the tower after one buys it, like they do with the Sierra-1?....

We are happy to offer this but due to some significant modifications and the need to fully re-test ad certify the speakers, it is best handled at our facility. Give us a call or send us an email and we would be happy to further discuss.

Take care!
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post #1262 of 1437
1/11/13 at 7:49pm
Since I have two extra amps om my AVR-A100 I am thinking about bi-amping the towers. What is the consensus on this, is it worth it?
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post #1263 of 1437
1/11/13 at 8:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sebis View Post

Since I have two extra amps om my AVR-A100 I am thinking about bi-amping the towers. What is the consensus on this, is it worth it?


Try it , and let us know smile.gif


DJoel
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post #1264 of 1437
1/12/13 at 8:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sebis View Post

Since I have two extra amps om my AVR-A100 I am thinking about bi-amping the towers. What is the consensus on this, is it worth it?

Passive bi-amping is not worth it AND hard to accomplish with just one set of binding posts.
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post #1265 of 1437
1/12/13 at 12:18pm
With Sierra towers and horizon (w RAAL) front speakers and equally nice speakers in the back, would it make any sense to use a pair of micro speakers for the side surrounds? I'd like to move to 7.1 and have the speakers just for some sense of direction (music from the sides) but I don't want to introduce speakers that will just ruin the rest of the sound quality. The issue is that there is really no way to put speakers on the side. Though if I get those micro speakers (like the Sony golfball speakers or energy etc etc) I could stick them on the wall - they'd only be a few inches from someone's head but with the smaller drivers I'm hoping that wont be too much of an issue.

thanks.
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post #1266 of 1437
1/12/13 at 12:48pm
Have you consider high-fronts instead? That would interest me more than another set of sides/rears.
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post #1267 of 1437
1/12/13 at 1:41pm
I am seriously considering purchasing a pair of Ascend HTM-200 SE to use as front highs, together with the Sierra Towers.
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post #1268 of 1437
1/14/13 at 7:42pm
For front speakers with towers I would suggest the Sierra-1's instead of the 200's. The tonal match would be better especially with a speaker facing your ears rather than behind you (direct radiations vs reflections).
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post #1269 of 1437
1/15/13 at 11:56am
Unfortunately the Sierra-1 are too big to suspend in my room, so I figure the 200's can get me going until I move to a bigger house.
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post #1270 of 1437
1/15/13 at 7:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by makutaku View Post

Unfortunately the Sierra-1 are too big to suspend in my room, so I figure the 200's can get me going until I move to a bigger house.

Good point...they are pretty heavy to mount unless you do stands...which take a lot of space. What about the 179's? I was thinking of using them as side and rear surrounds and maybe wides.
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post #1271 of 1437
1/15/13 at 8:55pm
I'm using Pinpoint AM-40 mounts with Sierras (surrounds) and they work very well.
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post #1272 of 1437
1/15/13 at 9:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by holt7153 View Post

I'm using Pinpoint AM-40 mounts with Sierras (surrounds) and they work very well.

How well do they hold the Sierras? Do they mark them?
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post #1273 of 1437
1/15/13 at 9:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryder125 View Post

How well do they hold the Sierras? Do they mark them?

I'm pretty confident with their ability to hold the Sierras firmly in place, and I'm in earthquake central here in Southern California. I put adhesive felt pads over each of the clamps so I really don't think marking them will be an issue (although I can't say for sure as I haven't removed them since I mounted them). They're rated for 50 lbs each although that's probably a bit generous.
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post #1274 of 1437
1/16/13 at 10:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveR1952 View Post

Good point...they are pretty heavy to mount unless you do stands...which take a lot of space. What about the 179's? I was thinking of using them as side and rear surrounds and maybe wides.

I had a pair of 170's and used them as main fronts until I upgraded. Since they were still to big to suspend on my room, I sold the pair.
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post #1275 of 1437
2/19/13 at 4:36pm
Hi, I recently purchased a pair of Sierra Towers (w/ RAAL) and am going to complete my 5.1 setup (also recently picked up a Power Sound Audio SV-30). I will be adding a custom Horizon center (also with RAAL), but I wanted to get some input as to what fellow Sierra Tower owners are using for their surrounds. It seems that my options are either a pair of Sierra-1s or CBM-170SEs. I pretty much do all of my music listening either 2 channel or 2.1, so I would skip the RAAL on the Sierra-1s if I went that way. Obviously a subjective question, but I'm looking for some opinions as to whether the $500 price difference between the Sierra-1s and CBM-170SEs is worth it for the surround speakers? Thanks for any input.

Mike
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post #1276 of 1437
2/20/13 at 3:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mpo1977 View Post

Hi, I recently purchased a pair of Sierra Towers (w/ RAAL) and am going to complete my 5.1 setup (also recently picked up a Power Sound Audio SV-30). I will be adding a custom Horizon center (also with RAAL), but I wanted to get some input as to what fellow Sierra Tower owners are using for their surrounds. It seems that my options are either a pair of Sierra-1s or CBM-170SEs. I pretty much do all of my music listening either 2 channel or 2.1, so I would skip the RAAL on the Sierra-1s if I went that way. Obviously a subjective question, but I'm looking for some opinions as to whether the $500 price difference between the Sierra-1s and CBM-170SEs is worth it for the surround speakers? Thanks for any input.

Mike

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?5306-Best-Speaker-for-Wides-with-RAAL-Tower
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post #1277 of 1437
2/22/13 at 3:49pm
in the next week or so will be buying the sierra towers with the nrt twetters and the horizon center just would like to know how much of a upgrade would i get with the ralls for the horizon or should i just stick with the nrt has anyone got the towers with nrt and horizon with ralls. thanks.
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post #1278 of 1437
2/22/13 at 4:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by swallan View Post

in the next week or so will be buying the sierra towers with the nrt twetters and the horizon center just would like to know how much of a upgrade would i get with the ralls for the horizon or should i just stick with the nrt has anyone got the towers with nrt and horizon with ralls. thanks.

I went through a similar decision last year when I purchased the Ascend Sierra Towers/Horizon with RAALs and spent many hours going over and over this. It really depends on your usage, likes, budget and personality.

My use is almost entirely home theater with very little music. I was very focused on making sure I purchased a speaker with easy-to-follow dialogue at low to mid-level volume for movies. Dave strongly recommended going with the Horizon center with RAAL ribbon upgrade. This ribbon tweeter is a very detailed and smooth (non-fatiguing) tweeter. It offers intelligibility at all listening levels. That combined with the dedicated mid driver of the Horizon and you have what is a really good center speaker. The other big advantage of the ribbon is that is has extremely wide and linear horizontal dispersion which adds to dialogue clarity and a natural sound both on and off axis. To date, the Horizon has performed exactly as Dave stated to me. I've not had to play this game of turning up the volume to hear dialogue and turning down the volume during action scenes of which I've experienced in the past with a Def. Tech monitors system (nothing against Def Tech). Bane's dialogue in The Dark Knight Rises is clear as day, much clearer than in the movie theater that I went to to see the movie over the summer. Every word was audible and understandable behind the mask.

For movies usage, Dave also recommended going with the standard towers (NrT domes) for the left and right speakers. He stated the overall timbre remains the same when panning from left to right and the soundstage is seamless. So you have an owner of a speaker company recommending a solution where $700 additional revenue is forgone for what he believes is the right solution for a customer.

I decided against his recommendation and went with all RAALs across the front. Dina chuckled at me because my my decision was not what with Dave recommended. While listening to speakers during my search I feel in love with planars, however, didn't want to deal with some of the reported headaches such as very fickle placement issues and additional investments to drive less efficient speakers (i.e. Magnepans). I felt the RAAL ribbon would get me closest to the benefits of planars without some of the issues I read about and experienced. I also envisioned I would eventually spend more time listening to music (has not happened to date) and figured a good system for music would also be advantageous for movies as well (good sound is good sound), Yes, I was concerned about the dynamic range of the Sierra towers with RAALs for movies, however, I've not found this to be an issue at all. I have a Denon 4311CI driving my 5.1 system (no external Amp) and have not had any issues cranking up my volume during movies when I want to. There's been no distortion at higher levels.

As for my budget, I was ok spending the extra dough on the RAALs and as for personality, I believe I would second guess myself over and over if I didn't go with the RAALs due to my interest in planars. Hope this helps. I'm sure regardless you will enjoy the Sierra Towers/Horizon.
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post #1279 of 1437
2/22/13 at 4:43pm
What is everyone using for surrounds? Seems strange that the surrounds drop down to a dome tweeter ...but the tower has NrT tweeter as default. No option to even use a Raal for surrounds. Not sure if that isn't over kill..but still you want your sound stages to match if possible.

I know surrounds dont really need to match your fronts but still nice to have.
Edited by Newbie01 - 2/22/13 at 4:49pm
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post #1280 of 1437
2/22/13 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbie01 View Post

What is everyone using for surrounds? Seems strange that the surrounds drop down to a dome tweeter ...but the tower has NrT tweeter as default. No option to even use a Raal for surrounds. Not sure if that isn't over kill..but still you want your sound stages to match if possible.

I know surrounds dont really need to match your fronts but still nice to have.

Check out the Ascend Community forum. I believe Dave mentioned today in a post that he's made custom Sierra-1s with RAAL for customers. I currently use the CBM-170s for surrounds, mounted to my side walls. Thinking about going to a 7.1 system later this year. Possibly adding surrounds on stands to the sides of my couch and will consider a more musical system with potentially ribbon bookshelves. We'll see what develops.
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post #1281 of 1437
2/22/13 at 5:28pm
I bet we are talking in the 1300 plus range though...thats allot of bread for surrounds.
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post #1282 of 1437
2/22/13 at 5:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob from NJ View Post

I went through a similar decision last year when I purchased the Ascend Sierra Towers/Horizon with RAALs and spent many hours going over and over this. It really depends on your usage, likes, budget and personality.

My use is almost entirely home theater with very little music. I was very focused on making sure I purchased a speaker with easy-to-follow dialogue at low to mid-level volume for movies. Dave strongly recommended going with the Horizon center with RAAL ribbon upgrade. This ribbon tweeter is a very detailed and smooth (non-fatiguing) tweeter. It offers intelligibility at all listening levels. That combined with the dedicated mid driver of the Horizon and you have what is a really good center speaker. The other big advantage of the ribbon is that is has extremely wide and linear horizontal dispersion which adds to dialogue clarity and a natural sound both on and off axis. To date, the Horizon has performed exactly as Dave stated to me. I've not had to play this game of turning up the volume to hear dialogue and turning down the volume during action scenes of which I've experienced in the past with a Def. Tech monitors system (nothing against Def Tech). Bane's dialogue in The Dark Knight Rises is clear as day, much clearer than in the movie theater that I went to to see the movie over the summer. Every word was audible and understandable behind the mask.

For movies usage, Dave also recommended going with the standard towers (NrT domes) for the left and right speakers. He stated the overall timbre remains the same when panning from left to right and the soundstage is seamless. So you have an owner of a speaker company recommending a solution where $700 additional revenue is forgone for what he believes is the right solution for a customer.

I decided against his recommendation and went with all RAALs across the front. Dina chuckled at me because my my decision was not what with Dave recommended. While listening to speakers during my search I feel in love with planars, however, didn't want to deal with some of the reported headaches such as very fickle placement issues and additional investments to drive less efficient speakers (i.e. Magnepans). I felt the RAAL ribbon would get me closest to the benefits of planars without some of the issues I read about and experienced. I also envisioned I would eventually spend more time listening to music (has not happened to date) and figured a good system for music would also be advantageous for movies as well (good sound is good sound), Yes, I was concerned about the dynamic range of the Sierra towers with RAALs for movies, however, I've not found this to be an issue at all. I have a Denon 4311CI driving my 5.1 system (no external Amp) and have not had any issues cranking up my volume during movies when I want to. There's been no distortion at higher levels.

As for my budget, I was ok spending the extra dough on the RAALs and as for personality, I believe I would second guess myself over and over if I didn't go with the RAALs due to my interest in planars. Hope this helps. I'm sure regardless you will enjoy the Sierra Towers/Horizon.


I really enjoyed this read, I have the the same AVR, along with the same front stage and I'm incredibly happy..At the moment I'm not running a sub, and I can say in my 19X 14 and 9' ceiling I'm good with the sub, but I'm sure a pair will be tons of fun for sure.
Also planing on adding an amp, 5 ch amp that is to see what's that like even though the 4311 is plenty of power for the towers and the horizon but still want to experience the over head with these babies.

Bottom line these are one of the sweetest sounding speakers I've ever own from top to bottom cool.gif

DJoel
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post #1283 of 1437
2/22/13 at 6:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djoel View Post

I really enjoyed this read, I have the the same AVR, along with the same front stage and I'm incredibly happy..At the moment I'm not running a sub, and I can say in my 19X 14 and 9' ceiling I'm good with the sub, but I'm sure a pair will be tons of fun for sure.
Also planing on adding an amp, 5 ch amp that is to see what's that like even though the 4311 is plenty of power for the towers and the horizon but still want to experience the over head with these babies.

Bottom line these are one of the sweetest sounding speakers I've ever own from top to bottom cool.gif

DJoel

DJoel,
Thanks. If I recall correctly what's so interesting about your setup is the NRT Towers as surrounds or in the back. Even though I remember you mentioning your usage is primarily music, how do you like surrounds that are towers instead of surrounds mounted to walls (higher up) when watching movies? Also, so many people are interested in the differences between the NrT tweeter compared to the RAAL. Have you experimented with 2 channel music, comparing the differences between the tweeters? If yes, what's your impressions?
Regards,
Rob
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post #1284 of 1437
2/22/13 at 6:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob from NJ View Post

DJoel,
Thanks. If I recall correctly what's so interesting about your setup is the NRT Towers as surrounds or in the back. Even though I remember you mentioning your usage is primarily music, how do you like surrounds that are towers instead of surrounds mounted to walls (higher up) when watching movies? Also, so many people are interested in the differences between the NrT tweeter compared to the RAAL. Have you experimented with 2 channel music, comparing the differences between the tweeters? If yes, what's your impressions?
Regards,
Rob


Hey Rob you remember correctly, I do have Towers with NrT tweeter in the rears, and they are perfect match with RAAL fronts as you can see in my signature I'm heavily involve hi rez/multi ch music athey and they do the job. Dave said to try the NrT tweeters and if I feel they're not a match I can always do the up grade, maybe in the future at the moment I'm perfectly fine.

I did start a thread over at the Ascend Forum about some dipole/Bipole surround speaker, me being a fan of diffusing sound for movies, I don't think it will happen as most folks are fine with Mono in the array. Not too sure I answer you question bit all in all they do a great wonderful job for music, not as diffuse as I would like it though, I own a pair of Dali W200 rear speaker with ribbon tweeter and it was pure magic. The whole front would be pulled together in the most beautiful way..This was perfect for movies, cant say it had the same affect with music.Cant win wink.gif

Hm, I never experimented with the two tweeter, but I've constantly wonder on what made Dave think of these two tweeter design that are so different yet so similar confused.gif It still makes me scratch my head, they're the same tweeter on the same coin's face. I've become very sensitive to dome design tweeter, and they're harshness, I guess it's one of the reason I never been inclined to do some sort of experiment. At the moment I'm listening to Bjork Homogenic dts/dvd-a??? and the mix/ sonic bubble is amazing...Well put together!!!!Just love these babies..I'm sure you're enjoying your as well wink.gif

Dan
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post #1285 of 1437
2/22/13 at 6:45pm
Dan-I still want to see you squeeze a 3rd set of towers in your room eek.gifbiggrin.gif.
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post #1286 of 1437
2/22/13 at 6:59pm
thanks rob for the feedback going to talk with the wife and see if we can spend the extra money for the raals.
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post #1287 of 1437
2/23/13 at 6:32am
Cab anyone confirm whether or not Dave has announced the Sierra-1 upgrade?

I have read in this thread that Dave is now doing the Sierra-1's with the RAAL, but does anyone know if the regular Sierra-1's can be modified to fit these RAAL tweeters that Dave is apparently
using in these new, updated Sierra-1's?

I wonder what the price of the upgrade would be? I would be thrilled if this were to be true!
And if so, I would completely cancel my Corn-Scala build that I plan on starting Monday!


Please Please tell me more about this???!!!
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post #1288 of 1437
2/23/13 at 9:03am
I'm a 100% HT guy and ended up going with Towers/Custom Horizon all with NrT tweeters. I listen mostly to moderate levels and movie dialog has been crystal clear and easy to understand. I have a 5.1 system and use the HTM-200 for my surrounds. These are the original 200s, not the 200SE's and they blend very well in my system. I may one day upgrade to Sierra's for my surrounds, but honestly it will be tough to spend that much $$ on surrounds. My sub is a SVS PC12-NSD. I will be upgrading that to a Rythmik in the near future. I'm driving all of this with an Anthem MRX-300. My wife and I have been watching the tv show, The Killing, on blu-ray. If you have ever seen the show, you know it is shot in Seattle and many of the scenes have heavy rain in them, the Ascend's do an incredible job of making it seem like we are getting rained on while watching the show. I've never heard the RAALs so I am not sure how they compare to the NrTs, but I figured if I felt that something was lacking, I could always upgrade at a latter time.
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post #1289 of 1437
2/23/13 at 2:09pm
I just setup my Tower/Horizon/RAAL last night. For surrounds I wanted to try my old towers (dual 8" sealed) and so far I'm liking it. I have them on small car ramps, maybe elevated 4", but kicked up since it's a ramp. If it works out I'll cut off the ramps (hopefully - they're some kind of light weight material that I assume I can saw through) to fit.

The bass was disappointing to start. I have two pairs of satellite speakers that both have deeper base to the ear, and audyssey backs up my ear by setting a 120hz x-over to start. I got it down to 90, but I dunno, something is funny here. I have a CD on repeat as I type so I'll check it out tomorrow. They sound better already, but this is new to me, having a speaker actually develop better base (if it in fact does.) They're extremely well balanced within their range, but the bass would be unacceptable without a sub.

We'll see ...
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post #1290 of 1437
2/23/13 at 2:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fjames View Post

The bass was disappointing to start. I have two pairs of satellite speakers that both have deeper base to the ear, and audyssey backs up my ear by setting a 120hz x-over to start. I got it down to 90,

Try setting your amp to run the towers at full or set the xover to 40 or 50Hz.
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