I bought these speakers a couple of months ago. I was actually in the market for floorstanders, but I was impressed with the reviews of the Sierras, and I was thinking that at my budget I was probably going to need to eventually augment whatever I bought with a sub or two anyway.
My unboxing impression is that these are very nice looking speakers (I got the walnut), and heavier than I expected. I also bought the matching stands.
The only amp I had at the time was an older Harmon Kardon receiver. The source for the time being is a Yamaha CD player.
My first listening impression was, well, not good. In particular, the vocals sounded very muddy and compressed. However, I got the impression that it wasn’t the speakers that were at fault. I had been wanting a small amp for my desk anyway, so I bought a Fosi ZA3.
This sounded far better IMO. The bass, as has been widely reported, is surprisingly strong for speakers of this size. The speakers can handle the ZA3 at 0db, and they produce a pretty impressive SPL for their size and, for the most part, did justice to my initial selections (Yes, Supertramp, Allen Parsons Project, Led Zeppelin).
However, I can’t say that I’m completely satisfied. I can’t get away from the impression that all this sound has been stuffed into two smallish boxes. Obviously, this is an entirely unscientific listening opinion, and I don’t know the cause. But listening to some selections (Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly comes to mind in particular), I just get the idea that I would be happier with larger speakers. And I think I’m probably going to need to double my budget. I may consider eventually trying to sell the Sierras, or I may decide to use them in a multichannel setup.
In the meantime, I bought a Purifi amp. Unfortunately it arrived DOA, so it’s on the way back to Apollon for replacement. I may post a review of the difference between the amps with these speakers, if I think it’s significant enough to warrant it.