***The Official Ascend Acoustics Sierra Thread*** - Page 88

Hi Frank,

Between the two speakers, I would describe the Sierra-1 as being more musical, smoother sounding and more refined but yet capable of resolving more detail. The Sierra-1 is also considerably more transparent sounding combined with superior imaging – thanks to its extremely inert cabinetry and higher end components.

The 340 is capable of playing louder and will demand less power from your receiver. It is also a music lover’s loudspeaker but is not capable of the disappearing act or refinement presented by the Sierra-1.

Bang for buck, the 340 is nearly impossible to beat and is an overall very well rounded loudspeaker. If you want serious emotional involvement with your music listening, the Sierra-1 is the better choice.

80 percent movies / tv, 20 percent music I think is a safe guess. Could even be a bit more lopsided, actually.

Thanks,
Frank

Happy friday Ascend owners!

I'm going to be getting my audio system professionally calibrated really soon. I'm sure the Sierra's will sound better than ever after it's all done. And perhaps that slight uniformity issue I posted on earlier in this thread will finally be resolved.

I recently moved my Definitive Technology BP-30's and c/l/r-2000 (front's) to a storage room so that I can box them up and get them ready to sell. I also moved my Sierra-1's and Sierra Center to the front of my home theater in place of the BP-30's.. I must say that after running audysse(sp?) this setup works freaking awesome! I will always have a soft spot in my heart for my BP-30's and I really do not want to sell them, but due to financial problems, I am now forced to combine my home theater setup and my 2 channel setup, which means the BP-30's have to go.



Edit- If any one is interested in my Definitive Technology BP-30's, then please hit me up. They are practically new as I had all of the drivers (all 4 mids and 2 tweets per speaker) in both speakers, replaced by Definitive. They have less than 20 hours or so on them, perfect A+ condition! The BP-30's are exactly the same as the flagship BP-7000, which sold for almost $4,000 new,, only difference is that the BP-30's do not have built in subs.

I vote for the Sierras. Even if you now think it's 80/20 movies/music, you'll rediscover music listening and be happy you have those glorious Sierras on the wall.
(I'm listening to mine right now and after owning them since they first came out, I still smile as the soundscape washes over me.)
And unless your room is a stadium any reasonable receiver will be able to drive the Sierras sufficiently.


Mitch

For those wishing to really display the Sierra 1's excellent response and punch check out Face to Face by Wayman Tisdale. All of the songs are awesome, imo.

So much activity around the Sierra 1's then nothing for three weeks.

The Sierra-1 has been around for five years now (maybe longer?).

It is not like a lot of others speakers on the forum that are the "flavor of the month", so it doesn't get constant mentions or posts for a number of months and fade away.

Like all Ascend speakers, it is a solid performer, and can always be at least mentioned with best in it's pricerange and above...a testament to Ascend's engineering and production capabilities.

Just out of curiosity, has it been mentioned here what other high end speakers they have been compared to?

I'm not knowledgeable enough to sell them but I have a friend that is shopping for Paradigms and he had asked which model Paradigm could they be closest to. All I told him was to come over and have a listen.

Kind regards,

-Drew

As far as Paradigms are concerned, you could compare them to the S1 and S2.

Talked with Brian at Ascend today. Man great customer service coming from Ascend. They are now officially on my radar...

What do you guys think about the Sierra Towers? If I went with Ascend I'd go that route and get the new monster center they have. I'd also likely upgrade to the RAAL. I've not heard them though, which is the downside.

I really enjoy the PSB Imagine T2's and the Salk SCST's...I think these towers would definitely compare with those two from everything I've read.

Does any know the cross over points for the drivers?

There is a dedicated Tower thread here on AVS:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1290568/official-ascend-acoustics-tower-thread

And on the Ascend Forum
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=4630

I don't recall if driver crossover points have been disclosed by Dave. To my ears, the integration of the drivers is outstanding.

I have not heard the SCST's, they are fairly new, and I am sure you have read the GTGs where the SongTowers and Sierra Towers were present.

A great speaker and center channel.

Haven't been able to locate those GTG threads, if you know of one or two by all means post it or PM me please!

PM sent.

If anyone has a used sierra-1 they are thinking of selling, let me know. I can manage with any finish and either stock or NrT tweeter. I also need a HTM-200SE for the center channel. I am putting together a system for my Dad for Christmas and all speakers are behind fabric in a cabinet.

PM if you have anything for sale.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brandon

Brandon...you saw the sale post on the Ascend Forum, right? Will that do?

Hey Curtis,

Well probably not. I only need one Sierra since I've got an extra one to complete the pair. Plus I can save more going used;)

The only issue is that he can't fit a Sierra for the center so a HTM 200se will have to do.

Are there any Sierra-1 owners out there in the Raleigh/Durham, NC area who would be willing to let me listen to them? They're high on my audition list.

Hello everyone,

I've decided on Ascend for my speakers, now I'm just torn between which speakers to get. Here are the scenarios (please let me know if I missed a compelling one). Right now I am 40/40/20 movies/gaming/music respectively. However, I am sure music will increase with a better system.

Scenario 1
Sierra-1 LRC & Surrounds - 1958
3 NRT Upgrades - 900
2 F15 Subs - 1948
TOTAL - 4806

Scenario 2
2 Sierra Towers - 1898
Sierra Horizon Center - 998
HTM-200 SE Surrounds - 298
2 F15 Subs - 1948
TOTAL - 5142

Scenario 3
2 Sierra Towers - 1898
Sierra Horizon Center - 998
2 Sierra-1 + NRT Surrounds - 1098
2 F15 Subs - 1948
TOTAL - 5942

Alternative to Scenario 2 and 3 - Add RAAL Upgrade to Sierra Horizon Center and keep NRT in Towers. What would you do? I am leaning toward scenario 2 with the RAAL upgrade to the Horizon. The Sierra 1 for surrounds seems like overkill, but I could be wrong.

Here's a sketch of my floor with the Scenario 2 gear.

Scenario 2 with RAAL upgrade for the front three would be the way I would go. Keeping the same tweeter in the front three would keep ensure a seamless front soundstage. Is there a reason you only want the RAAL in the center?

How close will you be sitting to the front speakers?

I considered just doing the center since it's so critical to have excellent clarity there for home theater. The NRT seems to be very well received in home theater installations when used in the fronts so I wasn't sure if that swap would be worthwhile.

My sitting distance will be about 9' in the sweet spot and 7' on the sides. Straight horizontal distance from the speaker to the center of the couch in the diagram is 7'1"

The clarity of the NrT is not lacking. In HT, the RAAL does a little better at lower volumes than the NrT, and is just as dynamic. That benefits the left and right channels as well. If you anticipate listening to more music, then IMO the RAAL in the L/R is cause for considieration.

That said, I can't emphasize enough, that the NrT in itself is an excellent choice.

I think you're right, it makes sense to go with RAAL for L/C/R. It's $700 more for L/R but that isn't much relative to the total system. I intend to keep this system for a while and use it well, so it will be worth it. Thanks for the info.

Has Dave mentioned what the new upgrade is going to be for the Sierra-1 yet? I would like to order the Nrt's to upgrade my Sierra-1's but I am hessitant due to the fact that Dave has mentioned that there will be an upgrade. I wonder what the upgrade will be? I would absolutely kill to have an RAAL optional upgrade for the Sierra-1, but from what I have seen, that would be almost impossible as the cabinet would have to be modified and the woofer would most likely not be able to cross high enough to make it work.

Supposedly it is a ribbon tweeter that will fit in Sierra cabinets, and would think he would provide a different crossover as he does for the NrT...

I got to hear the prototype, but can't say much else. Nothing about the speaker has been finalized other than current Sierra-1's/NrT's will be upgradeable to a Sierra-2. So, an actual product is still a ways away.

This is a good thread to watch for information:
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=4978&page=5

Wow, that would be really cool! I wonder if it is a custom version of the RAAL that is made specifically to fit in the Sierra-1 tweeter cutout? I also can't help but wonder if the woofer/mid will have to be upgraded as well because most ribbons, whether they are RAAL's, or something else, would have a hard time crossing over to the current mid-woofer?

I am finally ready to order the Nrt tweeters but now that I know something better is coming, I am sooo torn!

Hi all! Total newbie here trying to upgrade his monstrous, unbalanced 12 year old Kenwoods and a mid-range (and-kinda-crappy) Sony receiver.

I purchased a set of Take Classics 5.1 on a whim recently because they were on an insane sale of $129.

But I really want some great front-end speakers. I'm looking at either the Sierra-1s or the CMT-340s for LCR.

I am getting the Pioneer Elite SC-61 receiver to replace my Sony. 70% TV/Movies, 20% Games, 5% music.

Three questions. Bear in mind I have had uncalibrated cabinet Kenwoods for 10 years now, so I'm not accustomed to a great, calibrated setup.

1. The CMT-340s have DUAL 6.5 inch woofers, whereas the Sierra has only the single 5.25 inch woofer. Am I naive in thinking that 2 is better than one? Isn't the Sierra supposed to be the superior speaker?

2. I'm more of a videophile than an audiophile. As a prosumer-level listener, would I really notice a difference between the Sierras and CMTs? Would it be worth the extra cost?

3. I'm considering using the Takes for the surround setup with the Ascends in front, again, as a prosumer-level listener. Their piano black finish would match well with the Sierras. Would anyone consider this a mistake? Should I shell out for the 170s?

I have had my Sierra 1's with Nrt option replacing front mains for 2 weeks now. Couldn't be more pleased with them. Tremendous sound and value.

BTW you didn't mention a sub woofer in the above. If you do not have one, or better yet 2, you are really missing the full experience. For reference 95% of my audio/Video is BD movies and TV.