There are 2 reasons for this. First one is because of the extremely wide dispersion of the small RAAL (64-10x). The dispersion does not narrow above 8kHz and this results in a flattening of the estimated in-room response at higher frequencies so the EIR does not have the ideal slope needed to generate a higher preference score. Second, the Sierra-2EXv2 does not dig down as deep as the LX. Our EX woofer has about 1/2 the moving mass in comparison to the LX woofer, it is why the Sierra-2EXv2 has higher sensitivity.
We have customers who prefer the LX over the Sierra-2EXv2 and also those who prefer the Sierra-2EXv2 over the LX. It comes down to usage and what music genres one listens to the most.
In addition, there is very little difference between a score of 8.6 without a sub, and 8.0 without a sub.
Hope this makes sense.
It makes perfect sense.
With that said, I'm curious....is there any correlation between the dispersion pattern and the precision of imaging? And is it safe to presume most RAAL tweeters tend to be more "diffusive"? for the lack of better term.
I own the Sierra 2EXv2 and am considering "side-grading" to the LX after reading the almost over-the-top rave reviews but then started reading about the ELX towers and I may consider doing that instead. Sigh, this isn't good for my wallet.
The "sidegrade" to LX probably would give you quite a different experience, better vertical dispersion and midbass, with more pronounce and heavier kick and slam that you can actually feel, but in the mean time....if you already have a 10" or 12" sub, you probably could get away sticking with 2EXv2 for now and save up for the ELX.
Personally, if I were coming from LX or 2EXv2, the next logical and more substantial upgrade have to be the ELX towers since the ELX have the best of both worlds, the airier and more detailed high from the RAAL70-20xram , PLUS a hell lot more slam in mid and down low than LX
The ELX should stop all the speaker upgrade-itch permanently, or however long they would last, as far as upgrade path goes...the ELX seems to be the end game, hence, your wallet is going to thank you in the long run, since you're skipping all the detours and going straight for the finish line. Assuming you have the space for them that is.
You need to stop right now. You still have 2 more weeks to wait until your speakers come in, keep this up, you will suffer from sleepless nights until your speakers comes in.
Shopping and waiting are part of the fun in this hobby right? lol Getting all excited and doing all the reading to find out more about them, gave me a fuzzy warm feeling. If the LX live up to its reputation, rest assure I will continue to run them in my office and save up for the ELX so i could replace my living room's 10 year old cheap floor standers. Too hard to ignore how well these ELX is competing with other $35K speakers. lol
The Blade 1 Meta's substantially higher preference score is aided by the fact that it digs down to 23 Hz. When this advantage is compensated for with a subwoofer, the ELX Tower and all the top KEF's have around the same score.
Once the subwoofer steps in, all of a sudden those Kef Blade 1 and 2 Meta aren't looking so impressive anymore, almost seems like snake oil.