Sierra - Summary, Pricing and Shipping!
In summary, I think it is important to highlight the effort involved in bringing the Sierra-1 to market. This was an intense project with many highs and lows. What we have managed to accomplished was not an easy task. Getting five companies to cooperate and do their specific part was quite the challenge, each company being larger than us and most located in different countries. Language barriers aside, the time-zone difference alone was enough to make one crazy. This went on for over four years -- many of you have wondered what I was doing answering your emails at 2 and 3 in the morning ;) It may be a while before I can get back on a normal sleep schedule…
What we have accomplished has not been done before. Our market studies have concluded that there are a select few loudspeaker manufacturers that have also realized the substantial benefits of bamboo. I believe they exist in a small niche market and I am unsure if they have the technical know-how and engineering facilities we possess to maximize the potential of this material. These other loudspeakers start in the neighborhood of $4000/pr for bookshelf-sized speakers. We have also developed an exceptional piano-black finish for the bamboo cabinets, and I don’t believe this has been accomplished before.
I honestly do not believe a loudspeaker with this type of performance, build and component quality has ever been offered at anywhere near the price we are going to sell it for. Internet direct, retail or DIY kit, I feel the price is simply outstanding. Our cabinet vendor actually gasped when I told him what I intend to sell them for -- he was not happy about it and I believe this might, unfortunately, affect future pricing.
In addition, I thought it important to mention how we intend to handle production and quality control on the Sierra. These capabilities are unique to Ascend and are simply impossible from companies that assemble overseas…
All units will be hand-assembled in our factory. Each left/right pair will be precisely matched to within a ±1dB window from 200 Hz through 10 kHz. Included in every pair of Sierras will be a printout of the actual production line on-axis frequency response of the speaker, identified by serial number. This data is also stored in our production database for easy reference. We are so confident of the component quality that each Sierra will be covered by a comprehensive 7-year parts and labor warranty.
Innovation, performance, intensive quality controls and environmental-friendliness all precisely balanced in a truly unique loudspeaker worthy of the term “pride of ownership.”
I feel the Sierra is a considerable step up from our 170 SE and 340 SE. Please don’t fall into that audiophile trap where a speaker must sell for at least a certain price before it is worthy of consideration. We are all well aware of the high profit margins on those products. I feel the Sierra will compete with any (and lay waste to most) loudspeakers on the market today, in all factors, regardless of price. We have chosen to sell at a price point that we hope will allow most of you to enjoy our hard work and to shake things up a bit much like our CBM-170 did over seven years ago. ;)
So how does it sound? I think my wife summed it up best… we were listening to Fiona Apple at very loud levels and discussing what we heard. Suddenly we realized that we were speaking to each other at normal volume levels yet listening to very loud music. We were able to clearly hear each other distinctly and easily. It was quite an experience and something you should try for yourself. The Sierra is quiet and clean like few loudspeakers I have ever heard, yet it is dynamic and punchy, extremely refined and airy, and most important -- incredibly easy to listen to. I got completely lost listening to a track on Santana’s Supernatural, a CD that I have used to audition speakers since its first release (a CD that I have probably listened to at least 500 times). I heard a background keyboard on one track that I had never noticed before -- it was clear and distinct on the Sierra and I found it quite hypnotizing… I can go on and on about performance but after nearly 6000 words already, I think it best I come to a close and just say that I feel the Sierra is simply in a class by itself. This is a truly unique product and the release of this loudspeaker is my finest moment in the 25+ years I have been in this industry. I am just happy to finally be able to discuss it :p
So what the heck’s the price already???
We are going to offer these speakers at the absolute lowest price we can. Since the majority of the engineering time has been my own and engineers’ employed by other companies, we do not have to recoup the majority of the development costs. Thousands of hours have been spent on development, with the majority of it being my time, rather than employees’ time. I want to get the Sierra out there, in your hands – to experience the beauty of bamboo and, perhaps, make some positive changes in this industry. In order to do this, I have decided not to add developmental costs into the retail cost of the speaker.
Our introductory price for a pair of Sierra-1’s is $858 + $26 shipping for piano-black, $798 + shipping for natural.
The piano-black center is $438 + $20 shipping, while the natural center is $408 + $20 shipping
Our standard package price discounts apply for 3 or more speakers.
Due to the complexities of manufacturing, production volume is limited and slow and we fully expect this introductory pricing to increase by about $100 once the first production run is sold. We will absolutely TRY to keep the intro pricing for previous Ascend customers but I can’t guarantee it.
Many have asked if we will have a trade-up program --- yes, we most definitely will. Please email me for details but please be patient.
So when will these be available? Pending any hang-ups, we expect to start full production and shipping by Tuesday of next week :D
We hope to have the site updated with the new product for online purchasing by Sunday evening, but it could take a bit longer…
You may absolutely call and place orders for the Sierra starting tomorrow!!!
Enjoy, and thank you for your time and support….
