Ascend Sierra-1 V2 Speaker Review

[Labjr]

I want the voices to sound better with more emotion. I'm not sure if this is possible . I've already listened to the Evoke 10 and AE500 speakers and they sounded better. But i cannot test the Sierra speakers here in Europe.

I think Ascend speakers add less coloration then other brands. If you like how the original recording sounds, and rest of your system is neutral, you'll probably like the way it sounds with Ascend speakers. However, asking a speaker or any component to give a certain type of sound to every recording seems like "audiophile" speak.

 

[AVKS]

I want the voices to sound better with more emotion. I'm not sure if this is possible . I've already listened to the Evoke 10 and AE500 speakers and they sounded better. But i cannot test the Sierra speakers here in Europe.

I'm not sure what exactly more emotion means, but those Wharfdales do appear to a have a dip in the midrange that might reduce vocal clarity and presence. particularly if you have them on a desktop and are getting a lot of 'floor bounce' off of the surface. The Sierra speakers you mention do not appear to have this same voicing and would likely provide better vocal presence in your scenario even vs the Wharfdales with EQ. that said, as a general question, have you attempted to EQ your current speakers and see if they sound better to you?

 

[moonthink]

I am still not sure if the Sierra 1 V2 speaker would be an upgrade for my wharefedale diamond 12.1 speakers since they also have a 5" woofer.

I had both speakers, and the 12.1 is very nice for the price, but the Sierra 1-V2 is easily a class above.

If you want more vocal emotion, try something like classic Rogers speakers. I recently found a pair of LS6a's, and they have been described by some as a poor man's Harbeth.

 

[lordhumungous]

I'm not sure what exactly more emotion means, but those Wharfdales do appear to a have a dip in the midrange that might reduce vocal clarity and presence. particularly if you have them on a desktop and are getting a lot of 'floor bounce' off of the surface. The Sierra speakers you mention do not appear to have this same voicing and would likely provide better vocal presence in your scenario even vs the Wharfdales with EQ. that said, as a general question, have you attempted to EQ your current speakers and see if they sound better to you?

Emotion=Distortion

 

[mrmojo]

How are these at low/moderate volumes in an apartment?

 

[valerianf]

The large dip around 3.5 kHz is not admissible for a speaker labelled as NFS optimized.
Something is going wrong with this design.

 

[valerianf]

@amirm , just a simple question: how the 3.5kHz large dip can disappear in al measurement but 2 of them?
As the worst case scenario needs to be taken, this large dip is a product weakness but for an unknown reason hidden in most measurements.
Is it a deliberate action or a measurement error?
An explanation would be welcome.

 

[AscendDF]

The large dip around 3.5 kHz is not admissible for a speaker labelled as NFS optimized.
Something is going wrong with this design.

There is nothing wrong with the design of the Sierra-1V2. You should not be using a CSD waterfall plot to evaluate frequency response. CSD plots are for examining resonances. All of the many different frequency response measurements should be used to evaluate frequency response.

You see a dip in the CSD fundamental because the NFS is not capable of producing anechoic CSD plots unless the user is also using an additional module for the NFS known as ISC (In Situ Room Compensation), and even then it is not truly anechoic. This NFS module did not exist when Amir first started measuring speakers, it is also an expensive add-on. We own it, but don't use it very often so I am not sure if it is worth the expense for Amir.

As such, in order to minimum room effects in the CSD measurement, Amir takes this measurement using a mic distance of only 1/3 meter (about 1 foot) with the mic at the reference axis (the tweeter) At only 1 foot away, there isn't enough distance for the woofer and tweeter to properly blend so you see that dip at the crossover frequency. With Sierra-1V2, you need ~18 inches of distance for the tweeter and woofer to properly blend.

Again, you should not be trying to evaluate frequency response from a CSD measurement's fundamental.

Hope this explains it for you!

 

[tw 2022]

There is nothing wrong with the design of the Sierra-1V2. You should not be using a CSD waterfall plot to evaluate frequency response. CSD plots are for examining resonances. All of the many different frequency response measurements should be used to evaluate frequency response.

You see a dip in the CSD fundamental because the NFS is not capable of producing anechoic CSD plots unless the user is also using an additional module for the NFS known as ISC (In Situ Room Compensation), and even then it is not truly anechoic. This NFS module did not exist when Amir first started measuring speakers, it is also an expensive add-on. We own it, but don't use it very often so I am not sure if it is worth the expense for Amir.

As such, in order to minimum room effects in the CSD measurement, Amir takes this measurement using a mic distance of only 1/3 meter (about 1 foot) with the mic at the reference axis (the tweeter) At only 1 foot away, there isn't enough distance for the woofer and tweeter to properly blend so you see that dip at the crossover frequency. With Sierra-1V2, you need ~18 inches of distance for the tweeter and woofer to properly blend.

Again, you should not be trying to evaluate frequency response from a CSD measurement's fundamental.

Hope this explains it for you!

great explanation, i am always learning new things in the hobby and now i learned another new thing..

 

[kyuu]

To be fair, there is a small, somewhat broad Q dip in the on-axis FR at around 3.5kHz which is not present in the estimated in-room response (showing that the speaker is optimized for that, similar to Revel). Also, Amir's EQ has a 2dB bump at 3.2kHz which is part of what he found to improve the subjective sound. Doesn't mean there's a "problem" with the speaker, of course. Asides from the rather low sensitivity and power handling (though that's an issue for pretty much all two-ways in this size class), this is an excellent speaker.