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Ascend Acoustics Sierra LX Review
- Thread starter Narek
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I've just received the Apollon Purifi 1ET7040SA today, came with the Apollon buffer stage and default OPA1656, I bought this 7040 to power a pair of ELX in the future, but thought I'd try it on the LX now to see if there's any audible difference in place of the IOM i250 ( Hypex NC252MP). The new 7040 "sounded" a little bit edgier, colder and dryer out of the box, decided to swap out the OPA1656 with the Sparkos SS3602, which to me....subjectively sounded a little more rounded, smoother, more laid back and neutral, could just be a perception thing, but nothing really stood out to be honest.
The bottom line is that I didn't notice any practical sound quality improvement to be had from the 1ET7040SA over the NC252MP. As a matter of fact, I don't think either one of them sound that much better (if any) than the $50 Aiyima A07 (TPA3255) or the Denon x1800h internal amp either, but if and when I need more juice, both Hypex and Purifi have plenty of powar on reserve.
Moral of the story? These LX sounds amazing with just about any amps I threw at it, be it $50 Aiyima A07, $700 Denon AVR, $800 Hypex NC252MP, or $1700 Purifi 1ET7040SA. If you're contemplating on what amps to pair with the LX, just run what you brung and it should be fine. Well...maybe not Rockwood, Pyle, or something that fell out of the back of some white vans. lol
Edit: After playing them back and forth for a bit, i swapped the OPA1656 back in and actually prefer it over the SS3602, the OPA1656 seems to have a lot more detail and transparent than Spanky, not to mention the OPA1656 is what Bruno recommended anyway, the Spanky just doesn't seems to be a good match with this 1ET7040SA.
The bottom line is that I didn't notice any practical sound quality improvement to be had from the 1ET7040SA over the NC252MP. As a matter of fact, I don't think either one of them sound that much better (if any) than the $50 Aiyima A07 (TPA3255) or the Denon x1800h internal amp either, but if and when I need more juice, both Hypex and Purifi have plenty of powar on reserve.
Moral of the story? These LX sounds amazing with just about any amps I threw at it, be it $50 Aiyima A07, $700 Denon AVR, $800 Hypex NC252MP, or $1700 Purifi 1ET7040SA. If you're contemplating on what amps to pair with the LX, just run what you brung and it should be fine. Well...maybe not Rockwood, Pyle, or something that fell out of the back of some white vans. lol
Edit: After playing them back and forth for a bit, i swapped the OPA1656 back in and actually prefer it over the SS3602, the OPA1656 seems to have a lot more detail and transparent than Spanky, not to mention the OPA1656 is what Bruno recommended anyway, the Spanky just doesn't seems to be a good match with this 1ET7040SA.
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Great to know. I own both a Purifi Eigentact and an Aiyima A07, so it's good to know I won't have to change out any of my amps if I decide I want a pair of LX's anytime soon.I've just received the Apollon Purifi 1ET7040SA today, came with the Apollon buffer stage and default OPA1656, I bought this 7040 to power a pair of ELX in the future, but thought I'd try it on the LX now to see if there's any audible difference in place of the IOM i250 ( Hypex NC252MP). The new 7040 "sounded" a little bit edgier, colder and dryer out of the box, decided to swap out the OPA1656 with the Sparkos SS3602, which to me....subjectively sounded a little more rounded, smoother, more laid back and neutral, could just be a perception thing, but nothing really stood out to be honest.
The bottom line is that I didn't notice any practical sound quality improvement to be had from the 1ET7040SA over the NC252MP. As a matter of fact, I don't think either one of them sound that much better (if any) than the $50 Aiyima A07 (TPA3255) or the Denon x1800h internal amp either, but if and when I need more juice, both Hypex and Purifi have plenty of powar on reserve.
Moral of the story? These LX sounds amazing with just about any amps I threw at it, be it $50 Aiyima A07, $700 Denon AVR, $800 Hypex NC252MP, or $1700 Purifi 1ET7040SA. If you're contemplating on what amps to pair with the LX, just run what you brung and it should be fine. Well...maybe not Rockwood, Pyle, or something that fell out of the back of some white vans. lol
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Edit: After playing them back and forth for a bit, i swapped the OPA1656 back in and actually prefer it over the SS3602, the OPA1656 seems to have a lot more detail and transparent than Spanky, not to mention the OPA1656 is what Bruno recommended anyway, the Spanky just doesn't seems to be a good match with this 1ET7040SA.
All three of my TPA3255 amps (Aiyima A07, A08 Pro, and Fosi TB10D) are more than capable to rock the LX, they put out roughly the same amount of power, enough to shook my living room and sent my puppy and cat running for cover at around 12 to 1 O'clock on the gain/volume.
These LX aren't terribly hard to drive, which is kinda insane considering the amount of bass output they dishes out.
rageworm
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I just placed an order for LX. I don't know Dave's email (I'm a new member here) and so I left a comment with my order asking for magnetic grills. I wonder if that's enough... can I ask where can I find his email?
Also, I'm really excited to compare LX to JBL HDI-1600, which went on sale recently, and I was shocked how good they sound, my JBL studio 530 and 580 used to be my favorite, but I don't really want to listen to them anymore after I've heard HDIs.
Dave's address is: [email protected]
I think you're in for a real treat. I went from Revel M106 to the LX's and there was no turning back. Prior to the Revel's I had 580's and still have a pair of 680 in the basement system.
rageworm
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Oh wow, much appreciated Sir
rageworm
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I hope so! I even purchased Emotiva basX A2(cheap power!), which I just hooked up to HDIs to make them sing, as these speakers sounded pretty mediocre with my Marantz nr1200, not to mention Rotel a11, so before Emotiva was delivered, I had to use Onkyo nr7100, which I brought from what I call "the movie room", to deliver enough power for 2 ch... Enjoying HDIs right now (a11 preamp, a2 amp) while I'm waiting for LXs to be delivered. I'll see how LX does in the same setup.
Honestly I've never heard of them before I read this thread... also, I think it's incredible that speakers assembled in the USA, very good.
I have the same amp, just the 3 channel version. I've ran the LX full range using the Emotiva and my Denon x3800h AVR and could not really tell a difference over multiple days and different media. I ended up taking the Emotiva out of the mix to simplify my system.
I think you're going to thoroughly enjoy the LX, it's great speakers and so versatile, the titan tweeters are amazing with lots of detail without sounding harsh or fatigue to me at all, i keep hearing people said the RAAL tweeters from 2EXv2 are great for acoustic, jazz and classical music, but the Titan tweeters from LX kicks ass in a lot of acoustic guitars recordings that I've been playing through them.
Pretty much everything from Spencer Elliott, Estas Tonne,Tommy Emmanuel, Chris Jones, Adrian Bellue, Antoine Dufour, Dom Flemons, Calum Graham, and Billy McLaughlin, etc. I can hear all the micro details, the plucking, the finger sliding, the note decay and resonance. These LX have super competence midrange and beefy low end, providing plenty of weight, fullness, and dynamic. To my ears the LX are pretty much a "full spectrum" speakers that covers a lot of ground.
rageworm
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Thank you for this. This gets me really excited. It's hard to believe that there's such an amazing (according to folks in this thread) domestic product in this price range in the market. For many years I thought I won't hear any real difference between the speakers, as I watch and read a lot about all sort of budget speakers (Jamo, Sony, JBL studio, Emotiva zero+) where people say how this *whatever* speaker is amazing, etc, only to find out that it may sound a bit different but there's nothing exciting about it really, and I won't even go listen to it purposely on the next day, I just don't care. JBL studio were somewhat engaging, but I also just stop listening to them, they're good, but for some reason I would choose do anything else instead of listening to the music in my living room, which is weird considering how much I love music, well I guess we all do
And so these HDIs were just eye opening for me. I was listening to the music for a several evenings in a row, and was enjoying the music like never before. Now I'm a believer there's more out there, and based on the info found on ASR, the LX might be my end game speaker.
I just wanted to highlight what a gentleman Mr. Fabricant is in light of current events. I am proud to own the LX and happy to see they are starting to get more attention on the platform. The way Ascend has learned and invested in technology and worked with the asr community is commendable. It makes me feel like the future of audio is bright!
My Sierra LX pair came in. In summary, they sound incredible. Not sure if I can add much to the numerous reports in this thread. Here is a photo with 2 other forum favorites, the KEF LS50 Meta and the Revel F206. Not pictured are a couple more ASR budget darlings that I also own, the Elac DBR62 and the JBL Studio 530.
How does it compared to the others as far as the top end detail and mid? better imaging and sound stage? i'm pretty sure the bass extension from LX is going to overshadowed the others.
I prefer the LS50 Meta and its coaxial driver for near-field at my desk (which is the application where I have them), but everything else, I prefer the LX, which sounds as big as the Revel F206. The imaging is very holographic - big, wide, and deep. Tonally, all 3 are pretty neutral so not much to complain about there. I would say the F206 being a tower and the LX being a bookshelf, they sound similar in spatial qualities, but the LX seems to be more dynamic. I used to have the Sierra 2EX v2, and I would say the F206's mids edge them out a little bit, but the LX can now keep up with a 3-way tower in the mids, which is very impressive.
awesome, my LX woke up big time after Audyssey's room correction and little bit of EQ from the Denon AVR.
rageworm
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It looks beautiful. Mine arrives on Friday, can't wait. Ordered espresso as well. Probably a stupid question, but would you ever listen to 530s after hearing LX?
If you have the capacity to replace 530s with LXs, there is no contest. The 530s are great performers at their price point and even a little above, but the LXs are just flat out better, and it's not all that close.
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