If you're Erin..... It depends on what you want...
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Ascend Acoustics Sierra LX Review
- Thread starter Narek
- Start date
You should listen to them before you get involved with this rabbit hole..... Tune this thread out and fire them up...
You guys shouldn't take Erin's thoughts too seriously here... He really didn't pan them hard, they are the next upgrade from the s1v2 that he raved about...built from the same tweeter a better woofer, same cabinet , by the same designer using the same tech to design.... Does anybody think this is going to be a bust?
Yes, Erin's picking nits here... And that's ok...but it sure has created some hysteria. Lol... There are some great options around this price point from the s1v2 all the way up to the $1500 range...this speaker can hang with any of them depending on what the consumer wants..
kidprofessor
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Yes I’m listening to them now, they’re actually pretty great, and I’m not noticing any distortion. I lowered my crossover to my sub to 60Hz. I’m coming from Dennis Murphy AAAs and the LXes are capable of a lot more output before getting “congested”. Would like to get his Spinorama data though to try the EQ. The AAAs have this perfect midrange that I’m missing. My REW measurements show the LX as a bit bumpier in the mids than the AAAs, so probably not my imagination. The low mid punch of the LXes are impressive though. They are a lot bigger and sound bigger, but maybe I’m imagining that. Haha
These and the BMR’s are two of the most highly regarded speakers in this price range
Haint
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As full range general purpose bookshelves, the bass extension on these is going to be wildly and significantly preferred by like 95% of people against any other bookshelf that doesn't also have unusually low bass extension. Just the facts of the matter, bass has a massively outsized effect on our "sound quality" preferences. Distortion at very high sustained volumes and a mild crossover scoop won't even amount to a fart in the wind by comparison.
Maybe some are reading too much into Erin's demeanor. He seemed much more upbeat about the S1 V2s but as you said, look at the data and this is essentially the same speaker with a more robust woofer. The S1 doesn't show quite as much multitone distortion as the LX in the specific region being discussed, but is that enough to be audible to any appreciable extent? The price difference is $600 per pair, so as is almost always the case when you climb up within a model line, diminishing returns will apply.
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Pareto Pragmatic
Addicted to Fun and Learning
I did my research, things worked out well.
For context, I've had my pair for 1.5 years, and have tried them in 10 different placements, various toeing, though the majority of my measures are at 1/3 or 1/6 into the room for placement. I am quite sure I have done over 1000 measurements over that time, just did some for a new window open situation.
I just got HUGE value from the CEA 2034 measures. I have floor and room issues that extend quite high, and while I have been getting good results from very narrow PEQs, it seems my room issues overlap with some broader speaker issues. So I now can approach things differently, when I see certain things.
It is complicated though. I can extend that 3kHz notch all the way out to 10k. By toeing them in.
So, the video (pausing to comment, not time stamping):
He's right on placement. I have mine MAINLY at the 1/6th position, which is about 12'/4m from the MLP... and has plenty of sidewall reflections. What I hear, and EQ for, in the 1/3rd position matches, and sidewall for that is very minimal at the MPL.
Neutral tone is high praise from him. I agree but don't trust my ear.
Because of my flexy floor, they hit 30hz
81dB efficiency anechoic is on the Ascend website, might have been 81.5 which sticks in my memory, so yes they need power. But being 8 ohm nominal and dipping to 5.6, current is not an issue so many amps will work. I use a Purifi 1ET400a from Buckeye on medium gain, balanced inputs. That plays up to what I expect from a 6" small 2 way with room to spare. Am I ever going to try to put 350w into them? No, but that does make them safe if some amps lose control. Not mine, but some.
Midrange distortion at high SPL. Having looked at many speakers, I expect distortion to kick in at 96db/1m... the question is how much? And since I mainly stay below 80, rarely go to 90... not an issue for me. If you want to play louder than that without distortion problems get a bigger speaker.
He liked the horizontal dispersion. The vertical is true, but it sounds fine to me walking around. Hit the right level though, seated, and it locks in.
That estimated in room response for the price seems pretty darned good to me. But then again, it's a big reason I bought these for 2 channel. BTW, I think other options with a sub are probably a better way to go. Why get the extension if you are not going to use it?
I do think he could have done a bit better on explaining the tolerance issues, partially because he teased it at the start (stylistically, there should be a good payoff for a teased finish), but other than that I think he did a good job with what he does. I would also have liked his comments on how they take to EQ, but that's just being greedy.
Tone? Not his cup of tea, so he wasn't excited. But he was fair. If you want smaller, neutral, with 40hz, and don't want to play at levels that will damage hearing in a few hours.... then yeah, it's a good choice, and a great one for the price.
For context, I've had my pair for 1.5 years, and have tried them in 10 different placements, various toeing, though the majority of my measures are at 1/3 or 1/6 into the room for placement. I am quite sure I have done over 1000 measurements over that time, just did some for a new window open situation.
I just got HUGE value from the CEA 2034 measures. I have floor and room issues that extend quite high, and while I have been getting good results from very narrow PEQs, it seems my room issues overlap with some broader speaker issues. So I now can approach things differently, when I see certain things.
It is complicated though. I can extend that 3kHz notch all the way out to 10k. By toeing them in.
So, the video (pausing to comment, not time stamping):
He's right on placement. I have mine MAINLY at the 1/6th position, which is about 12'/4m from the MLP... and has plenty of sidewall reflections. What I hear, and EQ for, in the 1/3rd position matches, and sidewall for that is very minimal at the MPL.
Neutral tone is high praise from him. I agree but don't trust my ear.
Because of my flexy floor, they hit 30hz
81dB efficiency anechoic is on the Ascend website, might have been 81.5 which sticks in my memory, so yes they need power. But being 8 ohm nominal and dipping to 5.6, current is not an issue so many amps will work. I use a Purifi 1ET400a from Buckeye on medium gain, balanced inputs. That plays up to what I expect from a 6" small 2 way with room to spare. Am I ever going to try to put 350w into them? No, but that does make them safe if some amps lose control. Not mine, but some.
Midrange distortion at high SPL. Having looked at many speakers, I expect distortion to kick in at 96db/1m... the question is how much? And since I mainly stay below 80, rarely go to 90... not an issue for me. If you want to play louder than that without distortion problems get a bigger speaker.
He liked the horizontal dispersion. The vertical is true, but it sounds fine to me walking around. Hit the right level though, seated, and it locks in.
That estimated in room response for the price seems pretty darned good to me. But then again, it's a big reason I bought these for 2 channel. BTW, I think other options with a sub are probably a better way to go. Why get the extension if you are not going to use it?
I do think he could have done a bit better on explaining the tolerance issues, partially because he teased it at the start (stylistically, there should be a good payoff for a teased finish), but other than that I think he did a good job with what he does. I would also have liked his comments on how they take to EQ, but that's just being greedy.
Tone? Not his cup of tea, so he wasn't excited. But he was fair. If you want smaller, neutral, with 40hz, and don't want to play at levels that will damage hearing in a few hours.... then yeah, it's a good choice, and a great one for the price.
I agree.. with this: if *I* were going to get sierra's at full retail I think i'd go with the s1v2 based on value..but.. this speaker is certainly better at a few things (ability to go "deep" being one)...Erin's demeanor is a good observation, he obviously had issues with driver malfunction (that was corrected) he may well have been a bit frustrated with the entire thing this time around... but , if you listen to what he actually said it wasn't a hard pan....he even referred to this at the beginning of the vid (iirc)...
Perhaps it can be a moment to stress use case. For me, with a large family I needed a compact system in the kitchen/dining area since it is where I spend a lot of time and am not able to sit down for sessions like I would like to. I was tired of listening to speakers a room away! Focal and others did not work as well, even w good measurements. The LX eq’s very well and has more heft. My wife would NOT be ok w a sub in the middle of the kitchen. I did not need huge spl and it’s easy to find good small amps and dacs these days. Also I have three other systems set up in the house with a stereo pair always in reserve in storage on the bench as it were. I appreciate Erin’s review and I think it stresses the importance of picking the right tool for the room and placement and knowing the tradeoffs. Like real estate you can’t have it all. To end this post I would say Dave’s approach of using the same cabinet size for many models also come into play. He offers upgrade kits so many can keep the speakers and pay for the upgrade keeping the speakers for many more years. But in this scenario he is limited by the cabinet and volume. Knowing this tradeoff I like the upgrade path availability.
Just quoting for the measurement, to the people who claim these are tiring to listen to, it seems the area between 2-6k is the obvious culprit. I had a similar issue with the original KEF R3 and it was a much smaller directivity issue around 1-3k, because of the directivity issues in that region if you EQ that low Q peak out they will likely sound a bit dull in the highs but also not be tiring to listen to.
PristineSound
Addicted to Fun and Learning
If you saw Erin's review, then you need to read Dave's initial response.
The short of it is, Erin's review of the LX raises some eyebrows, mine included after reading this.
I've noticed some posts are being removed, which is disappointing. As a Sierra LX owner, I was drawn to the brand for its small-company ethos and the owner's open, transparent engagement with the community.
PristineSound
Addicted to Fun and Learning
PristineSound
Addicted to Fun and Learning
It appears that Erin commented on the Ascend forum to Dave's initial reaction and statement on Erin's review, but it was temporarily blocked out. Of course that doesn't sit well with people and accusing him of all sorts of things.
But turns out Dave has purchased the Klippel add on module and is trying to replicate Erin's distortion tests. And he is also dealing with some business crisis pertaining to new import duties. Looks like Dave is learning how to use the new software and creating standard tests so he can further investigate the distortion that Erin speaks of so that he can address it head on. Dave also is getting physically exhausted from so much on his plate (running his business, dealing with import duty crisis, learning how to use a new software and developing standard tests and investigating the distortion complaints that Erin brought up).
I think the community should give Dave some space and time to handle his business crisis wrt to the 162.2% new import duties and conduct his full investigation after he gets the new NFS software module up and running. He appears to be eager to address the LX review by Erin head on, but he needs time.
If you plan to ask Dave about the LX as it pertains to Erin's review, please hold off, the more time Dave spends on answering your questions, the longer time it will take him to conduct his investigation. And the poor man, needs a day off.
But turns out Dave has purchased the Klippel add on module and is trying to replicate Erin's distortion tests. And he is also dealing with some business crisis pertaining to new import duties. Looks like Dave is learning how to use the new software and creating standard tests so he can further investigate the distortion that Erin speaks of so that he can address it head on. Dave also is getting physically exhausted from so much on his plate (running his business, dealing with import duty crisis, learning how to use a new software and developing standard tests and investigating the distortion complaints that Erin brought up).
I think the community should give Dave some space and time to handle his business crisis wrt to the 162.2% new import duties and conduct his full investigation after he gets the new NFS software module up and running. He appears to be eager to address the LX review by Erin head on, but he needs time.
If you plan to ask Dave about the LX as it pertains to Erin's review, please hold off, the more time Dave spends on answering your questions, the longer time it will take him to conduct his investigation. And the poor man, needs a day off.
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