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

Showing 1 response by bondmanp

Rebbi - If all you want to do is satisfy your curiousity, try to find someone local who owns decent monitors and have them bring them over to your place.

That said, I highly doubt you're gonna have any kind of an epiphany when you go from the Ohms to a small, inexpensive monitor, unless that epiphany is what an incredible value the Ohms are, and that there is no replacement for displacement, even in modest sized rooms. I also doubt you'll find any speaker, of any size, under $5K, with better detail retreival that is not fatiguing and overly-bright. Just MHO, YMMV, of course.