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jerick70
109
May 24, 2017
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These are phenomenal speakers. I traded my KEF LS50s for a pair of these a few years ago. I think they are a better speaker in many ways. You have to choose the right amp for them to shine though. I've gone through a few amps and found the Musical Fidelity gear has an excellent synergy with these speakers!
AlanKong
21
May 24, 2017
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jerick70Can you elaborate on the strengths of this speaker over the LS50s? I'm deciding between the too myself.
jerick70
109
May 24, 2017
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AlanKongHi Alan, I'd be happy to. Here is a list. It's not exhaustive. FYI, there are positives and negatives with both speakers.
1) The Sierra-2 is more natural sounding. The LS50 doesn't sound natural to me, it sounds metallic. The unnatural sound is a big reason I sold the LS-50. 2) Imaging is excellent with either speaker. 3) The LS50 has a greater abundance of micro detail. The Sierra-2 isn't far behind though. 4) The Sierra-2s ribbon tweeter is so smooth and beautiful sounding. Ascend Acoustics did the crossover correctly too. The LS50s tweeter sounds great but again metallic. 5) The LS50 is overly bright. The Sierra-2 is perfect in this respect. You can fix the LS50 partially with various equipment but I hate to have to build my system around a speaker. I would rather have a speaker that plays well with most gear. I tried a tube amp and still couldn't tame the shrillness so I sold them. 6) The Sierra-2 is harder to drive that the LS50. Depending on your taste in amplifiers you may have to spend a bit more to drive them. The LS50 is very easy to drive. 7) Bass depth is better with the Sierra-2. The LS50 isn't even close.
Hope this helps.
1) The Sierra-2 is more natural sounding. The LS50 doesn't sound natural to me, it sounds metallic. The unnatural sound is a big reason I sold the LS-50. 2) Imaging is excellent with either speaker. 3) The LS50 has a greater abundance of micro detail. The Sierra-2 isn't far behind though. 4) The Sierra-2s ribbon tweeter is so smooth and beautiful sounding. Ascend Acoustics did the crossover correctly too. The LS50s tweeter sounds great but again metallic. 5) The LS50 is overly bright. The Sierra-2 is perfect in this respect. You can fix the LS50 partially with various equipment but I hate to have to build my system around a speaker. I would rather have a speaker that plays well with most gear. I tried a tube amp and still couldn't tame the shrillness so I sold them. 6) The Sierra-2 is harder to drive that the LS50. Depending on your taste in amplifiers you may have to spend a bit more to drive them. The LS50 is very easy to drive. 7) Bass depth is better with the Sierra-2. The LS50 isn't even close.
Hope this helps.
AlanKong
21
May 24, 2017
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jerick70Thanks jerick70! I auditioned the LS50s at a dealer and have similar observations. Tipped up metallic treble that was slightly on the edge of being unpleasant. They also would do much better with a subwoofer. I listened to them side by side to the larger R500s. To me the R500 sounded much better. Less sharp and had superior imaging, fuller sounding thanks to the extra drivers.
jerick70
109
May 24, 2017
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AlanKongYou are very welcome. For what they are the LS50 is not a bad speaker but you can get better in this price range. They do have the best micro detail that I have heard though. If that is what you want great. They just aren't very musical in my mind. The Sierra-2 doesn't dig down like a good tower speaker does. But it does a very respectable job for a single 6" woofer speaker. For a tower speaker I have my eyes on the Sierra Tower with the RAAL tweeter upgrade. It is an incredible speaker.
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