Ascend Acoustic Sierra-1 for the PC

[seanp789]

I have an pair of CBM-170 SEs and I have been very happy with them. It's been a few years so I figured it was time for an upgrade. I just ordered a pair of Sierra-1s that will be attached to a Denon 1907 and my PC.

• Has anyone else purchased these?
  What did you think about their near-field performance?
  Did you use a sub?
  Anyone else use an HT class audio setup for gaming?

 

[Snakexor]

My setup is contains:

Auzentech Prelude analog ---->Yamaha 5960 ----> Pair of Vienna Acoustics Haydn's' and a Martin Logan Dynamo

I used to play CS competitively and this setup rivals the placement i was able to achieve with an audigy ZS2 and a pair of Sennheiser pc160s way back (3 years ago).

I can always tell if someone is behind me and precisely where just with a 2.1 setup, amazing!

 

[seanp789]

Originally posted by: Snakexor

I can always tell if someone is behind me and precisely where just with a 2.1 setup, amazing!

I know what you mean. I got kicked from a couple servers pulling 180 headshots based on sound.

I really like the idea of having a premium audio setup for gaming but I feel like so much of it is negated by the fact that games don't use audiophile quality like a music CD. Most games use compressed source audio and get run through Direct Sound which notorious for altering audio.

One of the better examples is Battlefield 2 which I thought had great sound for a game. Users with an X-Fi can set the sound setting to very high. Aside from the fact that this setting didn't do anything when the game shipped, a later patch enabled it properly. It did not increase the sound quality but simply increased the number of voices played at once.

 

[Snakexor]

Originally posted by: seanp789

Originally posted by: Snakexor

I can always tell if someone is behind me and precisely where just with a 2.1 setup, amazing!

I know what you mean. I got kicked from a couple servers pulling 180 headshots based on sound.

I really like the idea of having a premium audio setup for gaming but I feel like so much of it is negated by the fact that games don't use audiophile quality like a music CD. Most games use compressed source audio and get run through Direct Sound which notorious for altering audio.

imho, there are two reasons why this is a non-issue.

1. when you are playing a game, I am not critiquing the sound coming out of my speakers from a clarity/accuracy standpoint, I am playing a game and focused on whatever that game calls me to do.

2. most game soundtracks do not make sounds that have a reference and something to compare it to. I KNOW what a guitar sounds like, and I expect to hear that sound when it comes out of my speaker.....however, I DO NOT KNOW what a sentry gun sounds like in real life, so accuracy to a reference is not important here.....as are most sounds that come out of a game.

 

[alcoholbob]

1) Has anyone else purchased these?


The Sierras are good speakers (hah). They're very non-fatiguing and makes music sound pretty smooth, the tweeter is exceptional. Before I bought them I had considered the SVS MBS-01, it's about $100 more...the tweeter in the MBS-01 is $400/pair, very impressive. But I really didn't dig the looks and went with the Sierra.


They're very full in the bass side, in fact I would argue they shouldn't be close to walls, you might get a bit of "bass bloom"

The sound is a bit more forward than the CBM-170s, a bit peaked in the midrange, so voices are a bit more intelligible.

2) What did you think about their near-field performance?

When I had them for fronts on my PC they were about 9 feet away so I can't say. But I've sat near them in my bedroom setup and in my opinion they are better off a little further back...the dispersion characteristics on the tweeter are great. It sounds like a "big" speaker, I certainly wouldn't place these on a desk, at least a meter away. It's not that they are bad near field...its just that they were designed for, and excel at open placement.

3) Did you use a sub?

For music, no, it wasn't necessary. Some people use a sub only to reduce the load on their amplifier (bass takes a ton of power to amplify). These speakers play deep, crossed over at 60hz I could barely hear the sub from the listening location.

4) Anyone else use an HT class audio setup for gaming?

Heh, HTIB counts as HT class too right? ^^

HT class audio setups are the bomb...once you make the investment it's good until you run it to the ground (well within its limits amp failure is really the only thing you face). A gaming setup only lasts you 2 years or so so the investment is long term.

 

[seanp789]

The Sierra-1s finally came in. I'm a little shocked on the improvement over the CBM-170SEs.

I tested them in the living room and they were incredibly smooth. Comparable to some B&W 800 series speakers I've heard.

I've moved them into the bedroom to test them with my PC. Admittedly some of the HiFi details I noticed in the living room are lessened in the near field PC setup. They still sound fantastic even in a less than ideal configuration. To get the most out of these they need to be setup textbox style. I would venture to say the same holds true for any speaker regardless of price.

In the knuckle rap test the bamboo Sierra-1 is barely audible compared to the MDF CBM-170SE. This is a good thing and might explain how the Sierra-1s manage to stay so smooth at high volumes.

 

[alcoholbob]

The bamboo enclosures definitely are dead as you can get. The Ushers I have has 1.63" of MDF/wood/composite walls, when you go with more traditional materials you need a ton of more of it...bambo is supposed to have about twice the resonance control of MDF according to David Fabrikant, and the Sierra's are able to have 3/4" thick cabinets instead of 1" MDF for the 170SEs, and still perform better.

The reduced cabinet resonance really brings out the details in the sound, even if the Sierra's aren't as critically neutral as the 170SEs.

 

[seanp789]

These speakers could easily last 10 years yet the upgrade bug is always itching. When do you guys decide enough is enough? I'm very please with the sierra-1 performance but I cant help but want to compare to something else in the price range.

 

[alcoholbob]

Lol well I think upgrading your source is the most important lol, there are gaming cards (X-Fi based, lots of DSP modes, but all audio is resampled to 48KHz) and cards geared more towards playback (more sampling rates) and for pure audio (in terms of bit-perfect sampling rates I can only think of M-Audio revolution and Prodigy 7.1).

As far as the Sierra the only weakness I can think of is it goes a little too deep for its size. And with the rear port design you can really load up the bass easily...I think 60hz crossover with a sub is optimal.

As far as speakers...definitely diminishing returns at this point given how complete the Sierras are in their price range...they aren't the best at anything but performs/measures very well in all areas.

I spent more than twice as much on my Ushers compared to the Sierras...they aren't close to being twice as good, maybe 15-20% better. The big cabinet limits resonance to the same or slightly better than the Sierras, not a big difference, but the tradeoff for the regular MDF cabinet is massive weight (one Usher Be-718 weighs as much as a pair of Sierras). The highs extend further and the Usher's are as linear as the CBM-170SE (or even more so) which I like quite a bit, the Sierras do get a little forward with when playing pop music. The bass is more controlled, the driver is a bigger long-throw and doesn't have as much "bass bloom" as the Sierras while having the same bass extension...the larger driver simply has an easier job doing it with less distortion.

There are a lot of speakers that cost more than Sierras that aren't as good, or are marginally better. I thought the Ushers were a worthwhile upgrade but you could get a 3 pairs of Sierras for the price of a pair of Ushers...diminishing returns indeed.