Ascend Sierra-1 V2 Speaker Review

[Humbahodo]

I love the speakers but they seem very power hungry. I'm using a Onkyo Tx RZ50 rated at 250 W/Ch (6 ohms. The source is my computer which I use to play back every type of file Flac ,DSD, Blu ray Dolby Atmos audo ect. I find especially on my older disk recorded before the loudness war I can't get the volume very high. It seems after the receiver after reads 75db, anything past that point there is no difference in volume. Most material plays loud enough but not all. I did not have this problem with my previous speakers. I'm sitting 8 to 10 feet away. I'm Has anyone else experienced this.

 

[Bamyasi]

I love the speakers but they seem very power hungry. I'm using a Onkyo Tx RZ50 rated at 250 W/Ch (6 ohms. The source is my computer which I use to play back every type of file Flac ,DSD, Blu ray Dolby Atmos audo ect. I find especially on my older disk recorded before the loudness war I can't get the volume very high. It seems after the receiver after reads 75db, anything past that point there is no difference in volume. Most material plays loud enough but not all. I did not have this problem with my previous speakers. I'm sitting 8 to 10 feet away. I'm Has anyone else experienced this.

Looks like for this Onkyo's model amp performance is actually closer to 30 WCh @ 4R due to poor thermals / power management, see Amir's review https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../onkyo-tx-rz50-review-home-theater-avr.30842/

The speakers, on the other side, are low sensitivity and measured by Amir as having very high impedance, so can easily bring pretty much any AVR's amp on its knees.

 

[AscendDF]

I love the speakers but they seem very power hungry. I'm using a Onkyo Tx RZ50 rated at 250 W/Ch (6 ohms. The source is my computer which I use to play back every type of file Flac ,DSD, Blu ray Dolby Atmos audo ect. I find especially on my older disk recorded before the loudness war I can't get the volume very high. It seems after the receiver after reads 75db, anything past that point there is no difference in volume. Most material plays loud enough but not all. I did not have this problem with my previous speakers. I'm sitting 8 to 10 feet away. I'm Has anyone else experienced this.

I am not sure where you are seeing that rated power (wattage) for your RZ50. The published specs list the power at 120 watts into 8 ohms. I believe Amir's test indicated about 130 watts. That stated, that is still plenty of power, and at a 10 foot distance, should be able to reach peaks of ~ 100dB, which is far louder than I recommend listening at. Some of these receivers have maximum volume settings, so you might want to just go through the menu in your Onkyo. Also check your left/right trim levels.

In addition, different sources and even different recordings are going to have differing amounts of gain. If you are reaching comfortable volume levels with one source, but not another, the issue isn't the speakers. (it is gain) I am not too familiar with your receiver, but please feel free to reach out directly for assistance.

 

[AscendDF]

The speakers, on the other side, are low sensitivity and measured by Amir as having very high impedance, so can easily bring pretty much any AVR's amp on its knees.

Just the opposite, these are true 8 ohm nominal speakers. The *higher* the impedance, the easier the workload for an amplifier. The lower the impedance, the higher the current demand, it is basic Ohm's Law. The S1V2 do like power though, but they are an exceptionally easy load for any amplifier or receiver.

 

[Bamyasi]

Just the opposite, these are true 8 ohm nominal speakers. The *higher* the impedance, the easier the workload for an amplifier. The lower the impedance, the higher the current demand, it is basic Ohm's Law. The S1V2 do like power though, but they are an exceptionally easy load for any amplifier or receiver.

Except it will also require higher output voltage and cheaper/smaller power supplies often found in AVR's might not be able to cope with the demand. But looking at the actual impedance measurements plot, I agree that it does not look like anything special at all. No idea why Amir called it "unusually high" but he sure has more experience than pretty much anybody else.

He also mentioned issues with the apparent thermal throttling when measuring Onkyo power, causing much lower than rated output. This was during full power test sweeps, so might not be that bad in real life though.

 

[AscendDF]

Except it will also require higher output voltage and cheaper/smaller power supplies often found in AVR's might not be able to cope with the demand. But looking at the actual impedance measurements plot, I agree that it does not look like anything special at all. No idea why Amir called it "unusually high" but he sure has more experience than pretty much anybody else.

He also mentioned issues with the apparent thermal throttling when measuring Onkyo power, causing much lower than rated output. This was during full power test sweeps, so might not be that bad in real life though.

Higher voltages aren't the issue, the limiting factor for receivers' or amplifiers' output capabilities is current demand and thermal issues (which are directly related, high current = high heat generation). Low sensitivity combined with lower impedances is indeed a problem, even more so if you factor in high reactance. But lower than average sensitivity combined with true 8 ohm nominal impedance is easy.

Regarding Amir's measurements of the Onkyo, I believe he ran into those issues at lower impedance loads (6 ohms and lower for example). This goes back to my point, higher impedance = lower current demands = lower heat dissipation = less potential issues.