Ascend Acoustics Sierra LX Review

[Xcaliber]

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?

I don't have the 530s but personally the amazing LX doesn't stop me from enjoying the Polk R200, 20yr old Axiom M22ti, or the cheap 16yr old Infinity Primus 150 ($88 for a pair) bookshelf in the bedroom.

You could have filet mignon and lobster tail as often as you'd like, but still continue to enjoy some steak and cheese subs and pizzas or tacos on different days, they made you appreciate the special stuff even more.

 

[iamamadman]

The LX's arrived yesterday and I have listened to them for a good 4 hours. Definitely not enough time to really bring out what these are capable of, but nonetheless, I am impressed. They are large for bookshelf speakers, each one is about 20 pounds and hasabout 14.25 inches of height.

They sound much larger than they appear. I have owned many types of speaker brands, from Focal, SVS, Klipsch, and those sound like they appear, usually very small and narrow. The LX on the other hand, it sounds more full than most floorstanders I've listened to. It casts a wide soundstage and is the most holographic speaker I've heard. They create a "wall of sound" like I haven't heard before.

The top-end is very slightly bright, but not straining or annoying at all. I actually prefer it as it sounds higher definition and more detailed/accurate. Probably will get smoother with burn-in.

The mid-range is "open" and perfect for orchestras and bands. I can clearly hear the entire band, from guitars to drums, bass and vocals. Extremely smooth, especially when playing slow bluesy type songs, such as "Tuyo" by Cande y Paulo. But when switching to worser production with alot going on, such as "Effigy of the Forgotten" by Suffocation, the dirty production and guitar distortions are not as apparent or bothersome as with other speakers such as the Focal Aria 948s. Instead you get accurate sound that is slightly lower in volume, but thanks to the low end, the bass, drums and blast beats are clear and crisp. Men's vocals are great, Women's vocals almost perfect.

The low-end is no slouch. It can create window shaking bass on some bass heavy tracks with too high for listening volume, but on tracks with not alot of bass, they are smooth and non-fatiguing.

I sit about 12 feet away from them, with them spaced about 8 feet apart in an open-concept living room measuring 12x30x20. This is only the second day I'm listening to them, and I gotta say, those kippel nfs measurements show that this is truly a champion on paper, but now listening to them in person, I would have to agree, these are true high end at an affordable price ($1500 US), and a I have no plan on upgrading anytime soon, these may very well be endgame for most people.

I also own a pair of LXs and can only say that they are great speakers, and not just for the money. I don't find the treble overemphasized, just right - smooth, yet detailed. I can confirm that the LXs sound much bigger than they actually are. The bass extension is incredible for such a small speaker and certainly puts many a floorstanders in the shade.

edit: Continue to enjoy your LX!

 

[rageworm]

So I finally got mine...
First of all, I admit, these are very good speakers!
Finish of the cabinets is really good quality.
I didn't like binding posts for sure. My SVS soundpath cables banana connectors are kinda dangle inside and the only reason the cable doesn't fall out is because of the distance between the posts, so cable plugs are kinda stretched between the posts, sorry it's hard for me to explain this better, but basically speaker cable is just hanging and not secured properly... see attached pictures. I've never seen such posts in any other speakers.
While I admit that speakers sound really good, and I mean that, but in direct comparison to HDI-1600... HDIs won me over again. For sure LX has very detailed bass and mids, and Thom Yorke's "Hearing Damage" clearly shows LX is the winner. But maaan... that tweeter in HDI, OMFG... Still makes me drop a tear occasionally when listening to some of my favorite songs. It's just so transparent (some may call it "bright", I guess) like as if a cover was taken off the speakers. It just wins me over and over again, hard to stop listening to them. So, while measurements are great, apparently that's not everything and I, unlike many just prefer different, not neutral sound. Or, maybe I'm just an idiot, which can be the case.
Anyways, that's my initial impression after around 5h of listening and AB-ing with HDIs, so don't judge. I'll listen to it more tomorrow, but as of right now, I'd either return them or even better - sold it to someone on here with a little discount, haha.

 

[Beave]

How are you switching back and forth between the two pairs? And are you doing any level matching to account for the HDI-1600s being about 3-4dB louder?

 

[Xcaliber]

So I finally got mine...
First of all, I admit, these are very good speakers!
Finish of the cabinets is really good quality.
I didn't like binding posts for sure. My SVS soundpath cables banana connectors are kinda dangle inside and the only reason the cable doesn't fall out is because of the distance between the posts, so cable plugs are kinda stretched between the posts, sorry it's hard for me to explain this better, but basically speaker cable is just hanging and not secured properly... see attached pictures. I've never seen such posts in any other speakers.
While I admit that speakers sound really good, and I mean that, but in direct comparison to HDI-1600... HDIs won me over again. For sure LX has very detailed bass and mids, and Thom Yorke's "Hearing Damage" clearly shows LX is the winner. But maaan... that tweeter in HDI, OMFG... Still makes me drop a tear occasionally when listening to some of my favorite songs. It's just so transparent (some may call it "bright", I guess) like as if a cover was taken off the speakers. It just wins me over and over again, hard to stop listening to them. So, while measurements are great, apparently that's not everything and I, unlike many just prefer different, not neutral sound. Or, maybe I'm just an idiot, which can be the case.
Anyways, that's my initial impression after around 5h of listening and AB-ing with HDIs, so don't judge. I'll listen to it more tomorrow, but as of right now, I'd either return them or even better - sold it to someone on here with a little discount, haha.

When i first got the LX, i wasn't too impressed by it and kept going back to the R200, they didn't wake up until i ran Audyssey. Try to use room correction from your AVR if available. Looking at the FR graph of the HDI-1600 reviewed by Amir, they have quite a bit of rolloff above 10K, if anything, the LX should be more detailed and have more pronounced top end, maybe try different rooms and placement as well?

 

[rageworm]

How are you switching back and forth between the two pairs? And are you doing any level matching to account for the HDI-1600s being about 3-4dB louder?

Walk behind speakers and reconnect cables. It's not about volume. Of course I reduced/increased the volume when needed, and within 5h I've done a lot of listening/"testing". Again, LXs do sound good to my ears. If I never heard HDIs, I would call LXs the best speakers I've ever had.

 

[Ron Texas]

These blow the top off with preference score. I'm a bit concerned they don't have a wave guide but maybe it doesn't matter if everything else is right.

 

[rageworm]

When i first got the LX, i wasn't too impressed by it and kept going back to the R200, they didn't wake up until i ran Audyssey. Try to use room correction from your AVR if available. Looking at the FR graph of the HDI-1600 reviewed by Amir, they have quite a bit of rolloff above 10K, if anything, the LX should be more detailed and have more pronounced top end, maybe try different rooms and placement as well?

I used DIRAC Live, quick 3 point measurement. Honestly, there was not much difference, and since I was going back and forth between two pairs of speakers, I've decided to turn DIRAC off instead of switching between DIRAC profiles for each pair, which would make things more complicated. To my ears LXs sounded pretty much the same w/without DIRAC, so I figured it's fair to disable it. Changing the room isn't an option, and why, when I'm so happy with HDIs in this room(without DIRAC as well).

 

[Beave]

Objectively, they're both really good speakers. So whichever one you prefer is perfectly fine. There is no wrong answer.

 

[AVKS]

Walk behind speakers and reconnect cables. It's not about volume. Of course I reduced/increased the volume when needed, and within 5h I've done a lot of listening/"testing". Again, LXs do sound good to my ears. If I never heard HDIs, I would call LXs the best speakers I've ever had.

If you ultimately like the HDIs better than more power to you - there is a flavor for everyone. However, I suggest changing to the LXs and leaving it for a couple of days/a week entirely to let your ears and brain adjust. Then, after that much time, switch back to the HDIs and see how you feel.

It's entirely possible you still prefer the HDIs, and if so then you know for sure.

 

[rageworm]

If you ultimately like the HDIs better than more power to you - there is a flavor for everyone. However, I suggest changing to the LXs and leaving it for a couple of days/a week entirely to let your ears and brain adjust. Then, after that much time, switch back to the HDIs and see how you feel.

It's entirely possible you still prefer the HDIs, and if so then you know for sure.

That's a really good advice! I think that's what I'm gonna do. Much appreciated!

 

[Kishore]

Walk behind speakers and reconnect cables. It's not about volume. Of course I reduced/increased the volume when needed, and within 5h I've done a lot of listening/"testing". Again, LXs do sound good to my ears. If I never heard HDIs, I would call LXs the best speakers I've ever had.

I beg to differ.. louder unit always will sound better. If you want to take effort to do a serious comparison- you will need to level match.. this decision is up to you Anyways there is no wrong answer to audio enjoyment or preferences!

 

[mj30250]

Agreed, it's absolutely critical to level match within reason whenever A/B'ing speakers. That may not ultimately change your decision of course, but you're not hearing a true comparison otherwise. The sensitivity differential between these two speakers is not small. To look at it from another perspective, driving the LXs to the same volume as the HDIs would require double (or perhaps a little more) the amplifier power.

 

[Penelinfi]

Imo if comparing speakers, you should set them up in AB-AB position.

With AB-BA , the wider speakers A will usually sound better. Or at least "bigger sound stage".

 

[rageworm]

When i first got the LX, i wasn't too impressed by it and kept going back to the R200, they didn't wake up until i ran Audyssey. Try to use room correction from your AVR if available. Looking at the FR graph of the HDI-1600 reviewed by Amir, they have quite a bit of rolloff above 10K, if anything, the LX should be more detailed and have more pronounced top end, maybe try different rooms and placement as well?

I accidentally lied about DIRAC making no difference. Long story short - I was using 2 phones, switching between airplay, which in my case was set to "pure direct"(DIRAC disabled) and Chromecast, which can be used with "stereo" preset only(DIRAC enabled), somehow I fd up there a little. Sorry for the confusion.