Ascend Sierra 1 Reference vs. Era D5

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.

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.

looks like loomis disliking the eras unleashed a little squall ...actually, while i do enjoy flapping my jaw now and again, i've got no personal stake in dissing your tastes, or hyping my own--hell, i'm not crazy about some of the gear i've bought and still own. i still stress, however, that choice of speakers (which, in my view, is as important as choice of spouse) shouldn't be made in a vacuum. now, a couple of months ago some yokel off of craigslist came to my office to buy some bose cubes i'd picked up at a garage sale. i set 'em up and played 'em for him, and he was rhapsodic--he couldn't praise 'em enough. until, of course, i connected and played my proac responses, whereby his jaw dropped, he got all gloomy and left bose-less. caveat emptor.

i've made a mental note to audition the eras again to ascertain whether i'm delusional, which is certainly possible. when i heard them previously, they were paired in a dealer showroom with a really good integrated (i believe a classe) and music server, so i don't think the associated gear or room setup was the issue, but obviously system synergy can be quirky. paulsax et. al., feel free to rip me any time--after most of my marriages, public pillorying would seem like club med.