Nice review of the 'LS-50 killer' - Sierra 2's with RAAL ribbon tweeter

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by ls35a, Jan 1, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    Very thorough and accurate review:

    Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2 Loudspeaker »

    I've owned (still do, actually) LS-50's and the Sierra's (and a ton of other smallish monitors) and the Sierra's are my all-time favorite for the money.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. MikeK

    MikeK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis
    Great review indeed. I think these speakers are often forgot about but should be included in the discussion along with the likes of the LS-50s
     
    mike catucci and Manimal like this.
  3. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    I have owned the Sierra-1 for six years and enjoy them very much. I wish I had a bigger room so I could really see what they can do with proper placement. I have them close to the wall and can't really crank them up in my apartment. I would like to hear the new version as I can only imagine how good they must sound if they really improved them.
     
    mike catucci and scottc1963 like this.
  4. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    I owned Sierra-1's before I had the 2's. It's not 'the 2's are like the 1's, but better'. It's more like the 2 is a totally different speaker - a huge improvement.
     
    mike catucci likes this.
  5. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    Wow if I had the money you would be tempting me to get these haha!
     
  6. ralphk

    ralphk Ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more

    Location:
    Texas
    For the Sierra's, which stands worked best? Would you recommend a subwoofer for a music-only setup? Thanks for your time.
     
  7. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    www.skylanstand.com

    Subwoofer? I didn't want one, but a lot would depend on your room and your personal preferences, music, etc. I ran them with a $500 SVS for awhile, it was a nice setup.
     
    ralphk likes this.
  8. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    I wouldn't even think of using a subwoofer with my Sierra-1's. For my taste and room they put out more than enough bass and sound well-balanced.
     
    ralphk likes this.
  9. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    What do you think of the guys speaker placement in that review? It seems strange to me... it surprises me that the way he has them set up that far apart and that close to his chair pointed right at his ears is how he felt they performed best.
     
    beppe likes this.
  10. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    I think he needs a pair of LS3/5a's for that room.
     
    bhazen likes this.
  11. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    One question I have is, how do the ribbon tweeters perform off-axis?

    Those are extremely good-looking speakers, in my opinion! (I like simple, clean designs like that.) I'd love to hear a pair sometime.
     
  12. basie-fan

    basie-fan Forum Resident

    Excellent in the horizontal axis and less good in the vertical axis. Unlike most speaker makers, Ascend publishes detailed measurements on their website.
     
    johnnypaddock and bhazen like this.
  13. Joe Spivey

    Joe Spivey Forum Resident

    I'd love to hear these speakers. Thanks for sharing the review. Not to take anything away from them, but I much prefer the design aesthetic of the LS50. Did you use the Raven Nighthawk to drive them?
     
  14. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    I heard the Raven on the KEF's (wonderful combination) but not the Sierra's.

    I prefer the Sierra-2's to the KEF's, but it's very close. They are both great speakers. Regarding aesthetics I find the orange cone gets old after awhile. I'd love a pair in black with a silver, gray, or black driver.
     
  15. Joe Spivey

    Joe Spivey Forum Resident

    Totally understandable. I was concerned about the rose gold color prior to finally purchasing the LS50s. However, once I had them home they unexpectedly blended into our living room decor very nicely. Now I just see them as looking very beautiful...the looks have grown on me quite nicely!
     
    timind likes this.
  16. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    They look better in my new house than they did in the old - better color match.
     
  17. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    The Sierra 2's frequency response plot on the Ascend website is astonishing. Apart from a slight rise - probably insignificant in normal usage - above 10k, that's about as close to ruler-flat as a monitor is likely to achieve!

    I get now why folks compare this speaker with the LS50 and other reputationally 'accurate' standmount monitors. I wish John Atkinson would measure them for confirmation of that amazing graph ...
     
    basie-fan, ls35a and bruce2 like this.
  18. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I've yet to meet a ribbon tweeter that does not require your head to be in a vice to really maintain the sweet spot.
     
  19. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    That would be my concern. I tend to prefer wide-dispersion domed tweeters for this very reason.

    I want my 'sweet spot' to be the whole room!
     
    JakeMcD likes this.
  20. basie-fan

    basie-fan Forum Resident

    The horizontal dispersion graph for this ribbon looks better than most domes, to me. The vertical dimension is limited.
     
    bhazen likes this.
  21. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    What did they do, turn it for the test?
     
  22. dmsheehan

    dmsheehan Well-Known Member

    I have had the Ascend Acoustic Sierra 2's for over a year now. I replaced a nice pair of JBL studio 530's with them, opting for the Sierra 2's over the Kef LS-50's after doing a lot of research. It was a close call, but I really liked the reviews that I read and the fact that you could demo them for 30 days, and return them if you didn't like them. Needless to say, that never happened. I love these speakers. I am using sub-woofers with them, but I really don't think that is necessary for the type of music that I typically listen to. If you are a certified heavy metal headbanger then you will need a sub-woofer, but for Jazz Blues, typical Rock and Roll. and Acoustic music these speakers are amazing. If you are a big time classical music, symphonic person, you will most likely want a sub-woofer also, but I am certain that you could live without one.
    I would also like to add that the customer service for this company is probably the best that I have ever experienced. Just some icing on the cake for an already outstanding product. I can only say that if you are in the market for a really good 2 way speaker don't overlook these babies. If you don't like them you can ship them back. They are also direct buy company that doesn't use a middle man to sell their product so you get the best price possible with no middle man markup.
     
    RJPDX, bluemooze and bruce2 like this.
  23. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Beautiful speaker, clean look and I bet they don't suck.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  24. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    If it weren't for the Proac Tablette 10 these would be my favorite speaker in this class. The Proacs are a little more expensive but I think they're worth the difference in price.

    I have a pair of the new smaller ones, the 'Sierra Luna' on order - s/b here in two weeks.
     
  25. racingkaherva

    racingkaherva Forum Resident

    I auditioned the LS50s and the Sierra 2s in home for 2 months each. For me and my personal tastes and my system, it wasn't even close. The Sierra 2s blew away the LS-50s.

    Again, this is subjective opinion and, of course, system dependent:

    The LS50s sound more "hi-fi" and everything is very detailed with a lot of space, but it sounds artificial to me in my system. It's a quality that gave a "sameness" to all recordings. I don't want my Stax records to have the same detail and separation as Paul Simon's Graceland. I felt like the sonic signature of specific labels/eras was completely lost. (BTW Graceland sounds amazing on the LS50s.) Also, the bass response in the LS50s was completely unconvincing to me. There is a gap in the low mids and high bass that does not accurately represent upright or electric bass. This was something I could not get over. My wife even commented when we had the LS50s that I was not listening to music as much. And it was true. The speaker downright depressed me.

    The Sierra 2s are more honest and even. The highs are more extended and consistent. The bass is way more accurate. The transients and detail are derived from the speed of the tweeter and not from a bump in the frequency range. It is true, the vertical dispersion is limited. The difference in high end articulation is dramatically different between standing and sitting. These tweeters really need to be at or above ear level to really hear what the speaker is delivering. On the plus side, you do not need to worry about ceiling reflections, if that is a concern.

    I must have checked out about 15-20 speakers in the $1,500 range and, for me, the Sierra 2s won by a long shot. They are absolutely worth checking out. And Dave and Dina at Ascend are great to deal with.
     
    psuKinger, bdfin, RJPDX and 6 others like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine