***The Official Ascend Acoustics Sierra Thread*** - Page 2

Chris (Tex-Amp) - If there is any interest in this, please open a new thread, and feel free to copy-paste the guidelines I posted here.

Tony ... No worries. I won't mention another word here about a comparo...

I don't work for Ascend. You claim on another thread you always get the manufacturer's permission before you do these tests. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&#post10412131

Chris, It is not a claim, it is what I do. I was asked via PM's to do this comparison. I have asked openly if there is any interest. You asked if David had signed off on this. As I was not planning on any comparisons until asked to do so, and as of now, there is no set plans for a comparison, there was no reason to ask David anything.

I thought you might like to be involved in assisting with a listening comparo made up of AVS members. Apparently, I was in error. Please, accept my apologies, and we will move on.

I am purchasing a set of Sierras for my own personal use, and we can leave it at that.

Tony is correct, this is a support thread. After receiving mine, if anyone needs assistance in obtaining the maximum performance from his or her Sierras, I will attempt to help.

From the graphs on the Ascend forum it appears the Sierras have a sensitivity of 85dB @ 2.83 volts @ 1 meter. Can anyone confirm this is correct?

David posted 87dB.

Although not scientific, they do seem to be 3dB less efficient than my 340SE's.

Given that it obviously varies by frequency, the sensitivity could be pegged as 87 or 85, depending on how you want to call it. I'd probably peg it at 85 from what I see, but its not like that will compare with what other manufacturers pull out of their rears.

Agreed...when using my 340SE's or 170SE's as baselines, other speakers' sensitivity ratings vary by a fair amount when compared to the manufacturer spec.

No matter what you do Craig.... in some peoples eyes, you are going to be wrong. A shame really, when someone with your resources and passion for the hobby tries to do on a regular basis, something that a lot of us can only dream of doing. You always end up getting way more grief than you deserve.

I, for one, am VERY interested in the new Sierra's and how they might compare to my Ref 1's. ANY comparative testing you do, most especially with the Saphire XL's, since I'm extremely familiar with those, would be appreciated.

Thanks for your efforts.

Doesn't Craig have access to the Strata Mini's as well? Now *that* would be an interesting comparison. While it is obviously an unfair fight in terms of bass capabilities, it would be extremely interesting to see how they compare in spatial imaging, tonality, etc. And given the fact that it competes in the 1500-4000 range (and that was originally quoted in its debut), I would think that should be fun.

I'm sure many would love to discuss the Sierra vs other products, but this isn't the place to do so. If you want, you can start a new thread for Sierra vs ACI XL, or whatever other product...

Here, I created the thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=850414

If we could keep this to the subject at hand it would be great. Still waiting for my pair to arrive.

Yeah, let me know how that's working out for you...what a great way to throw fuel on an already blazing fire. I think the thread existed for about 10 minutes before being rightly axed.

J.

Tony,

Are you already an owner, or have you just purchased or plan to purchase the Sierras?

J.

With all the other versus threads on this forum, I personally think its a load of BS. We aren't asking to definitively crown a winner. We just want to know what people think of the differences. But hey, if the admins want to censor, by all means, they can censor.

Without comparisons, describing sound is quite difficult.

Xcjago, Can you give us your thoughts regarding the 170SEs and Sierras?

I am really looking forward to the reviews, that price kills me, I am going to have to see how much I can get for some of my audio and video equipment I am not using. I really shouldn't be spending any money at the moment but they sounds like they are going to be some great speakers. I still love my 340se, but if these are a decent upgrade I am going to want to upgrade.

Before this I was thinking I had to spend a good bit more than what I spent for my 340se to get a good upgrade but it sounds like this could be the upgrade I would like at a price I can do. Why do they have to do this too me, just charge 1500+ and make it so I wouldn't think about upgrading.

Well hopefully this thread (unlike the others) can stay that way.

J.

Okay, I'll bite:

There are very few, if any, circumstances where we know what the "real thing" sounded like when we listen to a recording.

Another thing: what the heck is a "support thread" when it comes to a loudspeaker?? What kind of support are we talking about?

Well, I haven't put the 170SEs back up since I got the Sierras. The 170SE is a great speaker, especially for the price, but the Sierra is in a whole different league, as it should be for more than twice the price.

First the build quality on the Sierra is outstanding. I have the piano black finish and it is beautiful. If you tap your knuckles on it, it feels very solid with no resonance. The 170SE cabinet feels very hollow in comparison.

The next big difference is the bass. With the 170SE, you could barely live with them without a subwoofer, IMO. The Sierras are a whole different story. I have no desire to turn on my sub with them for music. A sub would probably help if you wanted to play at very high volumes, but I don't usually go above 95db or so.

Lastly, I always felt the 170SE was a little weak in the soundstage/imaging department. Imaging is a little fuzzy and the soundstage doesn't extend much beyond the width of the speakers. Although, I don't know of any speakers for $350 that are any better. The 170SE is very neutral and that is what I really like about them. I still think they are the best speaker for $350. The Sierra, however, has excellent imaging and soundstage. I was listening to Tool's Jambi from 10,000 days and the electric guitar solo around the 4 min mark sounded like it was going to burst out of my TV. Razor sharp imaging.

If you ever make it to the Los Angeles area...

Please help me out. I just bought these speakers and I'm not sure how to connect them to my DVD player. The DVD player has a bunch of connectors on the back panel and all the speakers have are these red and black thumb screws! HELP!

That kind of support? Yeah, 3/4 of the the thread are that kind of support.
He he he.

Tony...that's great! Hope we can all hook up....eventhough I currently work for UCLA.

where can I see a pic of these sierra's ? link?

Here you go:

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=2597

That's cool. Even though as a Banana Slug I say a pox on both your houses.