***The Official Ascend Acoustics Sierra Thread*** - Page 89

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That's good advice. Since your setup will be mostly for movies a decent subwoofer or two is a must. The Sierra-1s are excellent speakers but the CMT-340SEs are more efficient which translates into more output. That may or may not matter to you especially if you like to listen at high volume levels.

Thanks for your feedback. I am still researching for a good sub for my set up.

I've decided to purchase Sierra-1s as my LCR and HTM-200s as my surrounds, but need a decent sub to go with my setup. However, since I'm blowing my budget on the Sierras, I'm looking for a good sub that will play well with the Ascends that sells for under $500.

I'm not interested in shaking the house as I usually don't listen to movies at extreme volumes; I'm more interested in clarity. Any recommendations?

Edit: I've been looking at the Klipsch Sub-12HG or the RW12D.

How about this?

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-1mk2.html

Or, you could go with one of the smaller models like the STF-2

I used an Epik Legend for about a year with my Ascend setup. I think it blended really well and sounded good.

Outlaw lim-1 plus
I believe they are doing a special, 500 bucks shipped

http://www.outlawaudio.com/promo_pages/hohoholiday.html

Really nice sub for the money!

The Epik Legend is sold out at the Epik website, but I am looking at that VTF-1 mk2 and the Outlaw LFM-1 Plus... at the sale price looks like the Outlaw might be the better buy.

Thanks!

Agreed. That would be a very good choice as well. That's a really good deal right now.

Hi All,

Planning to choose between CMT-340 and Siarra-1. Due to space limitations , I was advised to place Seirra-1 (L& R) horizontally. Any performance issues with horizontal pacement of Sierra-1?

Thanks,
VG

Only the Sierra-1 center is designed to be placed horizontally. Is there no way for you to place the speakers vertically as intended? The Sierra-1s aren't as tall as the CMT-340SE (14" versus 21"). That should give you better flexibility.

The Sierra-1 center is actually the same speaker as the L/R, the only difference is the full length grille.

Not the wave guide on the tweeter?

Pstrokfan& Cschang - Thanks for the responses. Ascend rep mentioned that they are going to rotate the tweeter (I guess?) with full length grille for L& R. Is it work without any compromise on performance?

"laid back" is the perfect statement. I did some critical listening at similar spl levels vs a pair of b&w nautilus last night. Typical b&w punchy midbass/crunchy midrange stood out much more pronounced against the sierra. The sierra really does sound "balanced" I tried w/o and with a sub (velo dd-18) and think that within 60hz (as mentioned previously in this thread) is the sweet spot for the crossover on this speaker. I guess room acoustics are heavily involved...

I now have my sierras across the front, and my rears are bp7004 towers from deftech lol. Everyone is going to ask me... why you have the big ones in the back?

Oh, ok. I thought they changed the orientation of the tweeter.

There will be little change in performance if any.

You are both right...they rotate the tweeter. I was being too simple.

Yes, the Sierra center has rotated tweeter (as well as the full length grill). I wouldn't think you'd have any performance issues as you're actually getting three Sierra 1 centers. You can always double check with Ascend ; )

hey sierra owners - is there anyone within an hour drive of 06401 that would be amazing enough to demo them for me? please inbox me or quote a reply thanks!

Justin

would it be a waste to get the Sierra Horizon but power it with a Emo UPA-500? I have an XPA amp for the mains which I'm sure is more than sufficient but it's only 2 channel.

They are very easy to drive. I have used both a upa1 and denon a100 to power the horizon and both did a very admirable job. If its strictly for HT use the added headroom is not really necessary. Now, if your looking for ear bleeding 5.x music headroom is never a bad thing.

Has Dave announced what the new upgrade for the Sierra-1's are yet?? I am dying to know!!!

I believe it's supposed to be a RAAL tweeter upgrade.

Dave has not made an official update. Nothing new at this time.

I'm pretty sure the power is enough, just now that I've decided to go with the Horizon I was wondering if I should be powering a $1300 speaker with a UPA-500 when I have the chance to send trade up for a xpa-500.

how do people pic the finish? I've been ready to buy but I can't decide on a finish - because I've never seen any of them. Most of the pics really aren't all that great, esp on the asend site. I was just going to pick glass dark cherry since I normally like cherry but I've seen pics of satin espresso that looked too good. I saw some older pics of light cherry that looked awesome but I guess that one went away.

They are all beautiful. What goes best with your room decor and equipment?

Hard to say since I'm not exactly sure what they look like. Sometimes Dark Cherry looks very dark and sometimes it looks orange.

I recently installed the NRT upgrade kit on my Sierra 1 and it does have a slightly more open sound compared to the original tweeter but I was just curious if it well sound any better after some breaking in and open up even more?

I would say the piano black finish is the most flexible as it makes it easier to blend with any decor. I have the dark cherry finish. They look very classic as opposed to some other speakers where the dark cherry/cherry finish looks a bit cheap.

I think I caught the upgraditis bug that's going around on AVS because I'm looking at the Sierra-1's after just recently purchasing the CMB-170 SE's.

I have a few questions for you guys and I'd appreciate your input.

Originally I had planned on getting the CBM-170 SE's, CMT-340 SE Center, and a ~$500 subwoofer. Now I'm considering LCR Sierra-1's and a ~$500 subwoofer. The setup will be for all around use - movies, video games, and music. While I may be focused on one (or two) of the three at any given time I still want all of them to sound really good.

My room is small at only 11'x11'x8' and I don't listen at very loud volumes. I will be using a Denon AVR-1712 which has 90 WPC.

Based on what I've read about the Sierra-1's I'm expecting music to sound better compared to the CBM-170 SE's. What I want to know is if I would be losing anything with movies and games with the LCR Sierra-1's, particularly in regards to the center (CMT-340 SE vs Sierra-1), taking into account my small room. Would the Sierra-1 setup be a step up in all regards for movies, games, music? Does the CMT-340 SE Center match well with the Sierra-1's or would I be better off with the Sierra-1 center?

If I go with the Sierra-1's I will most likely choose B-stock. What has been your experience with B-stock?

Thanks
Edited by p3Orion - 1/25/13 at 9:20am

Hi

I can't speak to the CMT-340SE as I don't own one and have never heard one.
I do own Sierra 1s as well as CMB-170SEs.
I use my system for movies, tv and way more music than I had ever intended!
I am not sure how large your space is but in a small to medium sized room the
Sierras should, with the help of an appropriate sub be very very satisfying for most anything
you want to hear-see.

Not sure if you need to sell the 170s to get the Sierras but together they make
a really fine sounding system!

As always, your room contributes a great deal to the way your gear sounds, so any tweaking in that
area will also make a marked difference in what you hear, (for example, speaker placement, subwoofer placement, room treatments and so on)

just my 2 cents

good luck.