2. speakers
  3. 1263565995

Ascend Sierra 1 Reference vs. Era D5

Anybody familiar with these monitors who can compare their sound? Both are extremely well reviewed and similarly priced. I have a smallish listening room, about 15 x 13 with an 8 foot ceiling. I have good amplification: a Manley Shrimp tube pre, feeding a Bel Canto S300 (150 w/channel into 8 ohms).

I value detail, neutrality, soundstage and imaging. I don't listen to music incredibly loud. Steely Dan, James Taylor, Joe Jackson, Paul Simon, some orchestral stuff and jazz, a little rock. I have a pair of Ohm Walsh 100's that I'm quite happy with, but I've got the itch to hear what a pair of good monitors would sound like in my room.

Thanks for any insights.
rebbi
loomisjohnson
1,903 posts
 
i haven't heard the sierras, altho i have heard the 340s, which are, i guess one step down their food chain, and my recollection is that they were ok-but-unmemorable. i did audition the eras against psb imagine/synchrony, kef xq and paradigm signatureand thoughtthe eras were significantly the worst--boxy, narrowsoundstage and tinny. now, if you read my posts, you'll see i'm not generally such a naysayer--there's lots of monitors in the same range i really like--psb/paradigm/rega/vonscheweikert/energy et al--but i really think you should look elsewhere.
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
Loomis,
interesting and somewhat surprising, since the reviews are so good, but I don't doubt your impressions and appreciate your post.
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
I'm gonna shamelessly give this thread one more "bump" and then quietly give up. :-)

No other comments on either of these monitors?
loomisjohnson
1,903 posts
 
ya know, rebbi, like cars, vacuum cleaners or anything else, it's difficult to find a speaker from a reputable manufacturer that doesn't have scads of good reviews somewhere, if for no other reason than people naturally tend to validate their purchases. to me, the really essential criteria is how the particular speaker stacks up in close comparison to another in the same class. to which end i'd really encourage you to listen to your candidates against their peers (you might also include epos, quad, focal chorus and lesser totems in the mix); at the end of the day your's is the only review that matters. good luck.
paulsax
275 posts
 
rebbi the thing is that you asked for a comparo. I have the D5's and think highly of them. I'm baffled by LoomisJohnsons experience but you can take about any speaker and make it sound bad if you try. Clearly his experience and my own differ and I can think of dozens of reasons why that may be so. Given this I've never heard the Accends at all so I really had nothing to say! I really like the D5's myself and auditioned something like 20 speakers before getting them. BUT ultimately LoomisJohnson is correct IMO that you try and listen to everything you can.
More to discover