I have used this exact same stuff -- Quakehold. Works great.
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Hi Tom,
Differences are purely cosmetic and you can see the differences on the photo gallery page. The domestic made cabinets do use a port tube with a larger flare, but I haven't found that it offers any benefit
Dave, how does the Sierra 2 EX compare to the Horizon? I know the Horizon has higher sensitivity and you had stated in a previous thread that the Horizon was more dynamic than the Sierra 2. However, the new Sierra 2 EX model is said to have better dynamics and an improved midrange, which are two areas that other listeners of the Horizon said were better than the original Sierra 2. How close does the EX come to the Horizon’s performance?
Thanks for working with SEAS to make the EX upgrade an option for existing Sierra owners.
I will be ordering a pair of the upgrade kit soon, but what should we do with the old cross over and woofer from s2? Any suggestions?
After doing the Sierra 1 -> Sierra 1 SE upgrade and then the Sierra 1 SE -> Sierra 2 upgrade, I think this time I might just sell my Sierra 2's and buy new 2EX's. Crazy to think I originally bought them over 10 years ago.
The used market for S2's is pretty good so it would end up costing about the same as upgrading, plus, the S2 woofers were a tight fit and I'm not sure how easily I'd be able to pull them out.
I thought about doing the same thing, especially with the intro pricing on the 2EX. But I figured it could be a fun project and a way to learn, since I had never done an upgrade before.
I bought the S1 12 years ago now (they had just launched). I skipped the NRT upgrade and heard that early cabinets didn't do well with the S2 upgrade. So I sent my S1 into Ascend... and they were unable to upgrade the cabinets. So I'm glad I didn't try myself! Ascend sold me new cabinets at cost and I got brand new S2 speakers with a fresh warranty about 4 years ago.
So I debated it too and honestly it would cost you roughly the same and as a bonus someone else gets a set of amazing speakers! I didn't get any takers from friends for the S2 so I went ahead and ordered the upgrade kits. I just completed my S2 -> S2EX upgrade for 3 speakers (LCR). Not sure yet what to do with my spare parts.
They're breaking in and then I'll need to redo calibration, but I'm already loving the additional clarity and punch/dynamics!
I have an original pair of cabinets from the first Sierra-1’s as well, but I have been able to do both the NrT and Sierra-2 upgrades myself. The Sierra-2 woofer did give me a difficult time as it had a larger outer diameter and would not fit without enlarging the opening. The original cabinets also had different spacing for the threaded inserts that the crossover board mounts to so I had to use self tapping wood screws to mount the new boards.
I will do the EX kits at some point as well.
I just upgraded/down graded from the s2 to a custom pair of nrt with ex woofers. The ribbons were too tame for my taste and personally preferred the nrt dome for rock. I personally can't imagine a woofer sounding any better. Special thanks to Dave for working with me and making my speakers custom. American made cabinets look great for any one considering and imo the ex woofer is well worth the additional cost. Thanks Dave and Dina. You guys are the best!!!!!
That sounds awesome! With all the attention the RAAL tweeters get it's easy to forget how good those NrT tweeters are. I had them prior to converting them to Sierra-2's. They definitely do rock.
The main thing I got from going to the RAALs was how more "Real" things sounded. The NrT has huge energy as frequency rises rather than rolling off, so it could get a bit "Bitey" at times, really good for certain genres of music like rock, metal, etc. On the downside to that it could over emphasize sibilance......to me. The RAAL gave me all the detail without all that "SSSSSSSSSSibilance", presenting a natural sounding presentation.
I wouldn't mind having a 2nd set of Sierra's w/NrT's to listen to on occasion.
Omg I haven't been following the forums and this news drops?? Big congrats to the entire ascend team! Really believe this is the greatest value in HiFi. I'm literally dying that I missed out by two months, I just bought Sierra 2s and could have gotten the EX for $50 more... People need to be jumping on this, that's a crazy deal. Wish I was a little more patient!
One thing I would love to hear is if the new woofers add weight to some of the transition frequencies that I think are limitations of the bookshelf comapared to tower.
One of my benchmark songs is Hotel California, and the vocal track being over weighted by the treble hihat and guitar work (which are compelling in their own right). Or the low-mid bass weight of sound of silence by disturbed. It's one of those songs that a good tower can add presence to that some bookshelves can struggle to fill. Would love to hear those that have made the upgrade report how these challenging bands have changed
Sierra-2EX (or any speaker for that matter) doesn't "add" weight to specific frequencies. This speaker is designed to reproduce frequencies as recorded. However, because the S2-EX has greater bass extension combined with a shallower bass roll off, there is more bass and mid-bass -- which adds "weight" to all frequencies.
Just catching up on the EX's, wow! I consider myself a "junior audiophile", with little exposure to most of the industry, but since a kid, always trying to maximize sound quality (so happy when I bought a demo-model stereo VHS/TV tuner to connect to my used Luxman integrated amp!).
Just have to say, with all of the upgrades I have done in the last couple years, the Sierra-2 w/RAAL as my main L/R has been fantastic. I am seriously considering the upgrade to EX, while at the same time considering "relegating" the Sierra-2's to L/R surround duty and getting towers for main L/R...decisions, decisions...
But, thanks Dave and the Ascend team for the great products!
very excited to learn if tower upgrade will also be coming in future 😀
Watching this thread with great interest!
I'm really hoping those members who have bought the SIERRA-2EX will post their listening impressions - including which speaker they have moved-up from and which amp they are using.
Appreciated.
:D :D :D
I used to be a Sierra Tower w/ RAAL owner, then got on the Salk bandwagon, mostly due to custom finishes not about sound quality because I was really pleased with the sound of the Towers. Now that I am in a smaller place, I am considering going back to Bookshelfs with BIG bass. Was considering the Salk Silk but now thinking about the Sierra 2EX. Dave, I would be curious to hear your opinions if you have compared the two and also as to why you, didn't opt for the 70-20 instead.
The 2EX was created as a result of the EX woofer that was developed specifically to complement the SEAS White Diamond tweeter. It got such high praise that Sierra-2 owners overwhelmingly asked Dave to try and make it work with the Sierra-2's RAAL tweeter as another upgrade path.
I am sorry but I have no personal experience with the Salk Silk monitor. That said, no company has sold more 70-20xr ribbons than we have, and other than the designer himself - has more experience with the 70-20 than I do.
There are only 2 advantages of the 70-20 over the Sierra-2 tweeter, one being that it can play louder and the other being that it can be crossed lower. With regard to playing louder - there is no single 5" - 6" woofer that I know of that can be properly mated to the RAAL 70-20 that can match the max output levels of the 70-20. (massive overkill) The fact that it can be crossed lower can definitely be advantageous -- it makes matching it to a woofer easier. In the case of the Sierra-2EX, the EX woofer is incredibly linear up to about 5kHz, it is a terrific match with the Sierra-2 ribbon.
That said, the 70-20xr costs considerably more than the S2 tweeter, thus we would be looking at a very significant price increase to the Sierra-2EX (retail price would be at least $2800/pair). In addition, the S2 ribbon tweeter has wider horizontal and vertical dispersion, which is what you want in a bookshelf sized speaker.
So, given the advantage of a lower crossover point with the 70-20xr combined with significantly higher pricing, vs wider dispersion and a much friendlier price point with the S2 ribbon tweeter - this was one of the easier decisions to make.
Today should be the best hump day in quite a while. My pair of Sierra-2EX Espresso are on the UPS truck out for delivery to me as I type this. They will be replacing a pair of CBM-170SE's I purchased about a year ago that pull music duty in my family room. The 170's punch way above their weight class, and they will be moved downstairs to upgrade the man-cave. My son is in for a treat. I had actually been set on purchasing Sierra-2's last year, but life happened and so the 170's came instead. Perhaps good luck in the end as the 2EX's hold much promise.
The system they will become a part of is tube based with a Manley Labs Stingray II, with a Mag-Lev ML1 TT attached, as well as a Bluesound Node 2i to stream from my NAS and the web. The best of old-school meets digital....
nice integrated amp - the Manley Stingray. I have their Chinook phono pre-amp. Great piece of equipment. Awesome service as well from EveAnna and team... just like Ascend.
Thanks, and I agree, the Stingray is a great amp. My system at home stands in contrast to the all digital Devialet system at the office... and I enjoy the sound of both immensely.
Speaking of sound... I'm not able to get into any detail yet as I've not had the chance to really push the 2EX's. I've played a few good jazz albums, and some high-rez digital files from the NAS, Alan Parsons I Robot, Led Zep x, and some others. I'm more struck by the RAAL tweeter than the new woofer, but like I said, I've not been able to really sit back alone and turn it up. First impressions vs the 170's are of course very positive! Huge upgrade!
I'm really looking forward to getting some hours on these and seeing how they settle in.
[IMG]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d4c1dd8f_b.jpgHifi by Eric Mack, on Flickr[/IMG]
Pic of the system before swapping in the Sierras
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b475193f_b.jpgHifi2 by Eric Mack, on Flickr
Wow I can’t believe I hadn’t heard this news until the Black Friday email! Sadly, I’ll probably have to wait several more months before I can spend for the upgrade kit for my Sierra 2s, but you better believe I’m doing it as soon as I can get my wife on board!
I’ve had my Sierra 2s for over a year and a half and am still amazed by them every day. I haven’t had the speaker upgrade itch since I bought these (well until the EX was announced anyway)!
I don’t use a sub, so seeing the bass extension go from 46Hz to 38Hz anechoic while only sacrificing 1dB in sensitivity is very exciting and downright impressive!
Many thanks to Dave and Dina for continuing to innovate and for offering upgrade kits at relatively affordable prices to your customers!
Can’t wait to hear these. Cheers!
Haven't been on this forum for a while, last thing I was closely following was the Luna development. I just very recently caught up on the S2 Diamond development, which of course led to the S2-EX (or sex for short). The improvement of this speaker over the Sierra-2 is almost inconceivable to me, the performance of the regular 2 being stunning in it's own right.
I have a pair of nice gloss espresso cabinets with Sierra-1 NRT drivers, so wanting to experience what is in my mind one of the best two way bookshelf speakers available at any price, I ordered upgrade kits for this stereo pair to Sierra-2EX components. I'm still almost unable to grasp the idea that the Sierra-2 is able to be substantially improved upon, but that is the reality of Dave's passion for creating top tier performance in an affordable package. What a truly remarkable individual!
I think Ascend owners are a bit of a jaded lot, able to sample performance levels once relegated to the privileged few that could afford astronomically priced high end equipment. Even in that exclusive arena, there is no guarantee that the ridiculous costs of that gear results in sonic excellence, nowhere is the mantra "Buyer Beware" more appropriate.
Jay
Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on pairing the Sierra 2-EX with the CMT-340 center?
Thanks! I actually spoke with one of your helpful associates on Friday and she provided the same guidance. I ordered the 2-EXs and the Luna Duo center on Saturday 🙂