Ascend Acoustics Sierra LX Review

[Penelinfi]

Ascend Sierra LX and some GaN amps are something I'd like to try. Those small monoblock ones with the tubes seem interesting but more expensive than a stereo power amp, which is the same cost as Purifi ones.
I already have gear that measures very similar coming so I should wait for that. Especially amplifiers being a wire with gain effectively these days

 

[CleanSound]

Ascend Sierra LX and some GaN amps are something I'd like to try. Those small monoblock ones with the tubes seem interesting but more expensive than a stereo power amp, which is the same cost as Purifi ones.
I already have gear that measures very similar coming so I should wait for that. Especially amplifiers being a wire with gain effectively these days

Do you have links to GaN amps that is currently on n the market

 

[AscendDF]

GEICO: everyone here alreay knows that.

And, yet, the vendor still sent the S1V2 in to Erin for review. So, apparently, Klippel results don't preclude a hands on review.

Erin had reached out to me and asked to review our original Sierra-1 because he was specifically looking for speakers under $1K. That was 11 months ago. I told him that would be boring considering the age of the Sierra-1 (~20 yrs old) and how many Sierra-1 reviews were already out there. It was at that point that I told him we were working on the V2 version and that I would send that to him once available. This is the entire reason Erin reviewed the S1V2. Feel free to confirm with him directly.

 

[tw 2022]

Erin had reached out to me and asked to review our original Sierra-1 because he was specifically looking for speakers under $1K. That was 11 months ago. I told him that would be boring considering the age of the Sierra-1 (~20 yrs old) and how many Sierra-1 reviews were already out there. It was at that point that I told him we were working on the V2 version and that I would send that to him once available. This is the entire reason Erin reviewed the S1V2. Feel free to confirm with him directly.

I'd love to see a review of the lx, we know they're great, but an Erin review carries decent weight...

 

[Penelinfi]

Do you have links to GaN amps that is currently on n the market

Orchard Audio
AGD

Peach tree
May be others

 

[CleanSound]

I'd love to see a review of the lx, we know they're great, but an Erin review carries decent weight...

I prefer it sent to Amir this time, @AscendDF, we need to make sure there is a healthy science based review ecosystem.

 

[tw 2022]

I prefer it sent to Amir this time, @AscendDF, we need to make sure there is a healthy science based review ecosystem.

Got no arguments there... I think either is going to give us pretty accurate subjective view... I enjoy Erin's vids .. I know Amir is kinda busy to be doing vids on a regular basis...

 

[Xcaliber]

I bet both Amir and Erin are going to be impressed by this LX whenever they get their hands on them in the future.

 

[CleanSound]

I bet both Amir and Erin are going to be impressed by this LX whenever they get their hands on them in the future.

I am so glad, you took the leap of faith based on the scientific measured data and are now enjoying them.

Just another statistic, that with loud speakers, rarely if ever, a speaker won't sound good, if its scientific measured data are good.

 

[Xcaliber]

I am so glad, you took the leap of faith based on the scientific measured data and are now enjoying them.

Just another statistic, that with loud speakers, rarely if ever, a speaker won't sound good, if its scientific measured data are good.

The minute I saw the measurement of both S1V2 and LX, I just knew I had to go straight for the LX as it looked like the S1V2 on steroid, same Titan tweeters but the LX woofer is a hell lot beefier, I wouldn't rest well to go for S1V2 knowing the LX existed.

 

[tw 2022]

The minute I saw the measurement of both S1V2 and LX, I just knew I had to go straight for the LX as it looked like the S1V2 on steroid, same Titan tweeters but the LX woofer is a hell lot beefier, I wouldn't rest well to go for S1V2 knowing the LX existed.

Given an adequate budget it's a good call, but if the budget is hard capped at $1000 the s1v2 is gotta be in the top 2 choices , the other being the Philharmonic ceramic mini...

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Settle down my man, no need to be this confrontational.

Dave made his comment already as to why he has not sent the LX in for a review, his comment makes perfect sense to me and I have no reason to not believe him. Are you waiting on a NFS measurement by a third party before you buy the LX? If so, then you just have to wait away if you don't trust the manufacturer's published NFS measurements.

For the folks who already purchased the LX, we took a bit of leap of faith and trust the manufacturer's published NFS results. So for us who already purchased it, we are good and enjoying the LX.

And there's nothing wrong with taking that leap. I'm certain anything KEF or Revel makes are going to be very good speakers and will score extremely well. I'm getting the same vibes about Dave Fabricant and Ascend Acoustics. I do trust what Dave has put out there.

But, for me, the data set is incomplete. The example I'll cite is the Kef R11 just reviewed by Amir. It's a really great speaker, but probably falls a little short of some others in the Harman Preference Score, but clearly that doesn't tell the entire story. If you look at distortion and dynamic compression you will see that the R11 plays all the way to 102 db with little compression or distortion--almost as impressive a performance as Erin way able to show the the Kef Blades Meta 2 which had absolutely zero compression over the entire frequency range out to 102 db. Yet the R11s only score a 6.1 on the scale while the LS 60 Wireless score a 7.4 despite demonstrably being unable to play over 100 db.

And that's the kind of data I'm looking for before even considering any speaker from any manufacturer. No insult meant to Dave, or Ascend. They very clearly seem to be on the right road. And I also understand that if the LX's get the kind of review I am fairly certain they're going to get, Dave's team will get absolutely slammed for orders, and I think that's why he's holding back until he can get all the ducks in a row. So no problems. It's all good.

 

[Matt34]

Just a note on the bass capabilities of these speakers running full range. I'm in the dining room and my son is watching Spider-Man Across the Spider Verse episodes, and it legitimately sounds like there is a small, sealed subwoofer in play. Getting great energy and impact in the 30-60hz range at moderate levels. I have a mild +3.5db house curve starting at 100hz down to 30hz set with Audyessy Multi-EQ. Holding me over until I finalize a subwoofer decision.

 

[CleanSound]

And there's nothing wrong with taking that leap. I'm certain anything KEF or Revel makes are going to be very good speakers and will score extremely well. I'm getting the same vibes about Dave Fabricant and Ascend Acoustics. I do trust what Dave has put out there.

But, for me, the data set is incomplete. The example I'll cite is the Kef R11 just reviewed by Amir. It's a really great speaker, but probably falls a little short of some others in the Harman Preference Score, but clearly that doesn't tell the entire story. If you look at distortion and dynamic compression you will see that the R11 plays all the way to 102 db with little compression or distortion--almost as impressive a performance as Erin way able to show the the Kef Blades Meta 2 which had absolutely zero compression over the entire frequency range out to 102 db. Yet the R11s only score a 6.1 on the scale while the LS 60 Wireless score a 7.4 despite demonstrably being unable to play over 100 db.

And that's the kind of data I'm looking for before even considering any speaker from any manufacturer. No insult meant to Dave, or Ascend. They very clearly seem to be on the right road. And I also understand that if the LX's get the kind of review I am fairly certain they're going to get, Dave's team will get absolutely slammed for orders, and I think that's why he's holding back until he can get all the ducks in a row. So no problems. It's all good.

Very fair. One thing you can do is order them and have it shipped to Amir or Erin and if the measurements are bad, just return it since Ascend offers a 30 day return policy. I know Dave won't like this idea, or maybe he will, it'd be two birds with one stone and he is very confident with his product, so his risks are super low.

 

[Xcaliber]

Given an adequate budget it's a good call, but if the budget is hard capped at $1000 the s1v2 is gotta be in the top 2 choices , the other being the Philharmonic ceramic mini...

Here's the thing, if I was short on cash, I would rather wait longer for a few more months or a year to save up enough to cover the LX. S1V2 is great, but LX is greater, I'm sure I would be happy with S1V2, but most definitely much happier with LX in the long run instead..... lol

Love the Espresso color, under bright camera flash it looks like cherry, but in normal lighting condition it's roasted dark coffee color.

 

[CleanSound]

Just a note on the bass capabilities of these speakers running full range. I'm in the dining room and my son is watching Spider-Man Across the Spider Verse episodes, and it legitimately sounds like there is a small, sealed subwoofer in play. Getting great energy and impact in the 30-60hz range at moderate levels. I have a mild +3.5db house curve starting at 100hz down to 30hz set with Audyessy Multi-EQ. Holding me over until I finalize a subwoofer decision.

The bass slam is real with these the LX.

 

[Xcaliber]

And there's nothing wrong with taking that leap. I'm certain anything KEF or Revel makes are going to be very good speakers and will score extremely well. I'm getting the same vibes about Dave Fabricant and Ascend Acoustics. I do trust what Dave has put out there.

But, for me, the data set is incomplete. The example I'll cite is the Kef R11 just reviewed by Amir. It's a really great speaker, but probably falls a little short of some others in the Harman Preference Score, but clearly that doesn't tell the entire story. If you look at distortion and dynamic compression you will see that the R11 plays all the way to 102 db with little compression or distortion--almost as impressive a performance as Erin way able to show the the Kef Blades Meta 2 which had absolutely zero compression over the entire frequency range out to 102 db. Yet the R11s only score a 6.1 on the scale while the LS 60 Wireless score a 7.4 despite demonstrably being unable to play over 100 db.

And that's the kind of data I'm looking for before even considering any speaker from any manufacturer. No insult meant to Dave, or Ascend. They very clearly seem to be on the right road. And I also understand that if the LX's get the kind of review I am fairly certain they're going to get, Dave's team will get absolutely slammed for orders, and I think that's why he's holding back until he can get all the ducks in a row. So no problems. It's all good.

To be fair, and on the flip side of the coin, no matter how good the measurement was, if it doesn't suit your taste then you won't like it. The Polk R200 got a pretty bad review by Erin, he simply didn't like it. The R200 isn't as refined or as good as the LX but it works VERY well in my 2nd room for me, and I absolutely love mine, it's a great value bookshelf for not so critical listening, hell...I have a JBL Charge 5 bluetooth speaker on the kitchen counter that I enjoy very much for when I cook too!

 

[tw 2022]

Here's the thing, if I was short on cash, I would rather wait longer for a few more months or a year to save up enough to cover the LX. S1V2 is great, but LX is greater, I'm sure I would be happy with S1V2, but most definitely much happier with LX in the long run instead..... lol




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Love the Espresso color, under bright camera flash it looks like cherry, but in normal lighting condition it's roasted dark coffee color.

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I can't argue against that...

 

[Xcaliber]

Just a note on the bass capabilities of these speakers running full range. I'm in the dining room and my son is watching Spider-Man Across the Spider Verse episodes, and it legitimately sounds like there is a small, sealed subwoofer in play. Getting great energy and impact in the 30-60hz range at moderate levels. I have a mild +3.5db house curve starting at 100hz down to 30hz set with Audyessy Multi-EQ. Holding me over until I finalize a subwoofer decision.

Last week, i put the LX in my living room in place of the 10+ year old Emptek E55Ti towers that I would soon retired, just to see how the LX would perform in a much bigger space, those Emptek was all i could afford over 10 years ago, but they have 2x 5 1/4" midrange PLUS 3x 6.5" woofers, significantly more total surface area, the tower technically "SHOULD" move more air, but the LX kicks the living crap out of the tower in bass extension, and it got all the way down to 30hz, while the Emptek towers ran out of steam at around 50hz. Dave wasn't exageratting when he said these LX woofer compete with some 12" woofers, the double layer copper voicecoil is even bigger than a lot of subwoofer out there. LOL But a dedicated SVS sub is still a must for me though, to cover 30hz~5hz for HT contains, you will love the extra depth with the addition of active sub to cover the extreme low end.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

To be fair, and on the flip side of the coin, no matter how good the measurement was, if it doesn't suit your taste then you won't like it. The Polk R200 got a pretty bad review by Erin, he simply didn't like it. The R200 isn't as refined or as good as the LX but it works VERY well in my 2nd room for me, and I absolutely love mine, it's a great value bookshelf for not so critical listening, hell...I have a JBL Charge 5 bluetooth speaker on the kitchen counter that I enjoy very much for when I cook too!

Absolutely, that as well. These are flat baffle speakers with very wide dispersion like the Philharmonics and the Revels. That's not everyone's cup of tea. And with me being a Kef guy for most of the last decade or so, and very happy with them, IDK if I would really like them. OTOH, maybe after I hear them, I go head over heels. Just don't know, but might want to find out.

Thing is, they're so very reasonably priced, nothing says I would have to sell my Metas. I could have days when I want to hears the Kefs, and I just put them in and dial in their setup on Jriver by selecting their zone. And there could be days when I crave the LX's and could just move them in and set the Metas on the dresser for a while.

I'm also interested to see how closely they come to the Sointuva AWG's. Granted they have different design goals (wide vs narrow dispersion again!). But, even so, it should be interesting to see how close they come to Alan's exemplary speakers on distortion and power handling at 1/3 the price.