Ascend Sierra-1 V2 Speaker Review

[MZKM]

I looked at the linearity test and wondered how that large ~3KHz dip manifested. Might the mic not have been on axis?

It’s a near-field and non-anechoic measurement I believe; all that matters is relative difference though.

 

[Dmitri]

Way to go Amir! You’re an “influencer!”

 

[napilopez]

"NFS Optimized"

Disappointing, hopefully not another company going similar route after the Chinese pushing the DACs to godknowswhat SINAD levels with NFB and other tricks to get to the top of the chart but forgetting about the most important - sound, something which is purely subjective and it's what it's about in this hobby - It has to pleasure the ears (and eyes!) and not a cold piece of electronics to plot a nice looking chart.

That's a misguided takeaway from all of this. Clearly the speaker sounds good, and apparently better. Earlier ascend models had measurement issues which, while perhaps overblown, have clearly been improved this time around.

Optimizing loudspeaker design isn't like with DACs where we're well past the point of what's audible. Almost any change to the frequency response or directivity is going to be audible.

Also, music is subjective, but sound is not entirely. It's most certainly not "purely" subjective.

 

[peniku8]

It’s a near-field and non-anechoic measurement I believe; all that matters is relative difference though.

Reflections causing such a uniform and wide dip in the measurement would be quite weird. I don't think this is due to the room, unless some object is *very* close to the speaker (so close that it would be inside the NFS's operating range).

 

[audiotron]

Hats off to Ascend Acoustics for providing real measurement data for their speakers. I wish some big names did that too...

 

[thewas]

The spins of vendor, Erin and Amir:

 

[Matias]

Hats off to Ascend Acoustics for providing real measurement data for their speakers. I wish some big names did that too...

AFAIK both Magico and Polk also own Klippel's NFS too and they don't publish their measurements...

 

[AscendDF]

The SIERRA-2EX V2 is $1648.
EDIT: Hmm, it jumps to $1698 on the product page vs the product offering gallery page.

This is because the pricing varies based on the finish, from $1648 - $1698. It's a weird built-in shopify thing how the product gallery page lists prices.

 

[mj30250]

"NFS Optimized"

Disappointing, hopefully not another company going similar route after the Chinese pushing the DACs to godknowswhat SINAD levels with NFB and other tricks to get to the top of the chart but forgetting about the most important - sound, something which is purely subjective and it's what it's about in this hobby - It has to pleasure the ears (and eyes!) and not a cold piece of electronics to plot a nice looking chart.

This is an odd take. Please point out on the nice looking chart where the sound quality would be unpleasant (keeping in mind its small woofer / form-factor).

Really the only potential concern I see is its lower sensitivity. It seems that the goal was to squeeze out as much extension as possible with the result that it's not the easiest speaker to drive. But, with plenty of excellent class D amplifiers and subwoofers to choose from, it shouldn't be a big deal for most.

Subjectively, its big(gest) brother the ELX tower is the best sounding speaker I've had in my home by a significant margin, and it's had some pretty robust competition.

 

[Billy Budapest]

"NFS Optimized"

Disappointing, hopefully not another company going similar route after the Chinese pushing the DACs to godknowswhat SINAD levels with NFB and other tricks to get to the top of the chart but forgetting about the most important - sound, something which is purely subjective and it's what it's about in this hobby - It has to pleasure the ears (and eyes!) and not a cold piece of electronics to plot a nice looking chart.

Oh brother. This again?

 

[Billy Budapest]

The idea of NFS Optimized is to get good frequency response and afterwards what you do with that with PEQ is your business. This speaker will respond well to PEQ as it is a well designed speaker. As per DACs what is wrong with negative feedback in audio amp circuitry? The last time I sat down and crunched the numbers negative feedback made good sense.

There is an audiophile myth that negative feedback sounds bad. Must be because it *decreases* distortion.

 

[AscendDF]

Glad to read about them getting and using the NFS, that's great news!
I looked at the linearity test and wondered how that large ~3KHz dip manifested. Might the mic not have been on axis? From the directivity plot it looks like it could've been a little too low for that specific test maybe. Same thing shows up in the waterfall, which masks eventual resonances in that region.

Glad to read about them getting and using the NFS, that's great news!
I looked at the linearity test and wondered how that large ~3KHz dip manifested. Might the mic not have been on axis? From the directivity plot it looks like it could've been a little too low for that specific test maybe. Same thing shows up in the waterfall, which masks eventual resonances in that region.

It is because for these transfer function measurements, Amir tests the speaker at only 1/3 meter and then normalizes to 1 meter. This is necessary because these are not Anechoic measurements so to reduce the influence of the room, these tests must be done at the rather extreme nearfield position. At only 1/3 meter (13 inches), the response of the woofer and tweeter do not fully blend together yet, thus that dip you see.

Klippel now offers a way around this using their ISC module (In-Situ Compensation). Basically, this module calculates the room response based on the full multi-hour long scan. The user can then remove the room response from the non-anechoic transfer function response (which is used to generate the THD, CSD, and compression measurements shown by Amir). ISC now works quite well and will allow true 1 meter transfer function measurements with essentially no influcence from the room. At 1 meter, that dip you mentioned would not be there.

It would be difficult for Amir to start using ISC and take these transfer function measurements at 1 meter compared to what he has been doing because it could invalidate comparisons from pre-ISC usage to post-ISC usage.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[Mikig]

A couple of years ago I tested an Ascend speaker and found the performance wanting. Needless to say, the company owner/designer, Dave, was not happy. But instead of taking his anger on me, he reached out to Klippel to learn more about the Near-field Scanner I had used to test his speaker. He quickly ordered one and started to revamp his speaker designs. We have seen an example of this in electronics area and benefits it brings to the company and its buyers. Such is happening here in speaker design

this paragraph of the review has a lot of meaning:
the right approach of the manufacturer, the usefulness of objective reviews and the sincerity of those who write them, the importance of seeking real solutions to problems.
this is very important not only for customers, but also for the entire audio world.
Well done Ascend, good product and excellent approach.
Thank you Amirm and ASR, your work is confirmed to be very important for this sector.

 

[DanTheMan]

SIERRA-1 V2 PAIR

Our World-Renowned Reference Monitor, Now Even Better! "Innovation, performance, intensive quality controls and environmental-friendliness all precisely balanced in a truly unique loudspeaker." Our new Sierra-1 V2 is a complete reimagining of our true classic, the Sierra-1. It fully represents...

ascendacoustics.com

I love how they look like ordinary 2 way speakers but measure with smooth(ish) horizontal directivity in the crossover region like something with waveguides. Wide dispersion though. Fortunately I prefer wide dispersion. Anyone know how the ribbon version measures? Their towers are probably sweet as well.

 

[JAJDACT]

SIERRA-1 V2 PAIR

Our World-Renowned Reference Monitor, Now Even Better! "Innovation, performance, intensive quality controls and environmental-friendliness all precisely balanced in a truly unique loudspeaker." Our new Sierra-1 V2 is a complete reimagining of our true classic, the Sierra-1. It fully represents...

ascendacoustics.com

I love how they look like ordinary 2 way speakers but measure with smooth horizontal directivity in the crossover region like something with waveguides. Wide dispersion though. Fortunately I prefer wide dispersion. Anyone know how the ribbon version measures? Their towers are probably sweet as well.

They publish data on the website for every speaker. Also some are available on Spinorama.org

 

[DanTheMan]

They publish data on the website for every speaker. Also some are available on Spinorama.org

I just saw that. Great! Life would be simple if every manufacturer did. Thank you

 

[Somafunk]

"NFS Optimized"

Disappointing, hopefully not another company going similar route after the Chinese pushing the DACs to godknowswhat SINAD levels with NFB and other tricks to get to the top of the chart but forgetting about the most important - sound, something which is purely subjective and it's what it's about in this hobby - It has to pleasure the ears (and eyes!) and not a cold piece of electronics to plot a nice looking chart.

…………..

 

[AuricGoldfinger]

"NFS Optimized"

Disappointing, hopefully not another company going similar route after the Chinese pushing the DACs to godknowswhat SINAD levels with NFB and other tricks to get to the top of the chart but forgetting about the most important - sound, something which is purely subjective and it's what it's about in this hobby - It has to pleasure the ears (and eyes!) and not a cold piece of electronics to plot a nice looking chart.

What is your complaint against negative feedback? It reduces distortion by orders of magnitude, lowers intermodulation, flattens and extends frequency response.

Please don’t tell me you subscribe to that “Theory of Transient Intermodulation Distortion” bullshit white paper by those two snake oil subjectivists, their claim being that feedback is too slow to correct at audio frequencies (even though it works into the GHz).

 

[Mikig]

Deve piacere alle orecchie (e agli occhi!) e non un pezzo freddo di elettronica per tracciare un grafico di bell'aspetto.

in all likelihood, if a device is poorly engineered, even if very aesthetically pleasing, it won't really please your ears...

 

[Chrispy]

in all likelihood, if a device is poorly engineered, even if very aesthetically pleasing, it won't really please your ears...

Aesthetics don't include ears?