Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Hmm.....rotary subs, Beryllium mids AND a Plasma tweeter? All we need now are Kryptonite caps in the crossover and we will have a genuine "Super" speaker!!
C'mon Dave, admit it.....we figured it out!:D
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Oh I missed a part of the email. :cool:
-"You can also send your fiance/wife's engagement ring in for a custom made diamond tweeter".
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kwarny
The first upgrade is the stand for the Sierra. This will host the Rotary sub for the low frequencies. The sierra woofer will also move down here in a separated compartment and be servo controlled.
Uptop on the speaker cabinet, a new beryllium midrange will fit into the hole where the woofer use to reside. The last upgrade will be a plasma tweeter (have not read about this technology but from the looks of it, it should keep those pesky little fingers away after the first touch).
And these upgrades could be ours for the low, low price of $5,000 USD? What a deal! I really want that rotary sub.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mag_Neato
All we need now are Kryptonite caps in the crossover and we will have a genuine "Super" speaker!!
Hmm, I see what you did there. ;)
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kwarny
Oh I missed a part of the email. :cool:
-"You can also send your fiance/wife's engagement ring in for a custom made diamond tweeter".
Now that's gonna have a VERY low WAF!!
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dark Ranger
And these upgrades could be ours for the low, low price of $5,000 USD? What a deal! I really want that rotary sub.
Hmm, I see what you did there. ;)
Uh oh....I'd better add lead shielding to thwart your X-Ray vision!
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GirgleMirt
Ok let me just preface with this. For some reason, maybe it's a lack of golden ears or experience/exposure, I've always been 'fine' with ultra high end tweeters. For example, the tweets in the JMLabs Utopia, in the Dynaudio Confidence series, in the B&Ws Nautilus/800 series, in Wilson Audios, etc., all sound fine to me... They're most often the least of my complaints. I've read some complaints about such tweeters, but I guess I'm just not that sensitive to them, and find complaints about them a bit weird. That said, I've also heard a couple of ribbons in Verity audio, ProAcs, MBL, PSB, Aurum Camtus, etc... And as the metal/soft dome featured in the flagship products of most company, also found most of them very very good, and yeah sure in some case did definitely notice a significant difference between these tweeter types, it wasn't as I had been struck by lighting and thought I could never listen to a dome tweeter ever again... It was enough to intrigue me though, and I decided going for a ribbon in my next speakers :)
Well, FWIW I don't think you're crazy. ;)
The fact that the high-end tweeters all sound good makes complete sense. All of the components in the "elite" loudspeakers are high-quality, so in my opinion there are more similarities than differences. It becomes more about implementation than individual component quality. One runs into diminishing returns at a certain level.
Consider exotic super cars from Pagani, Lamborghini, and Bugatti. They all use extremely high-quality materials for lightness, strength, and performance such as carbon fiber, titanium, and exotic ceramics. Everyone is using the best stuff at this level in the game, so the challenge becomes pushing the envelope and giving physics a black eye. It's about implementation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GirgleMirt
This I think sums up my thoughts on the matter, after the NrT upgrade, another tweeter upgrade, this one probably more expensive than the NrT upgrade, just wouldn't rock my world... I'd most probably skip it as I'm perfectly fine with the top end performance of the NrTs, and wouldn't invest hundreds of $ at this time for a 'marginal' upgrade... But that's me, the 'tweeter sounds fine' guy! A woofer or 3 way upgrade, probably would be more tempting as a mid/bass improvement would imho be more doable or significant than improving the top end...
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'm sure Dave understands only a percentage will opt for the uber performance upgrade. I'm sure he understands that some will be happy with stock performance, others with NrT performance, and there will be some who simply cannot afford the upgrade. However, this upgrade could attract new customers who believed the Sierra-1 didn't quite have the chops to swim with bigger fish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GirgleMirt
But for tweeter upgrade, going from the quote of Dave's quotes on RAAL vs NrT, makes me doubt a little more the tweeter upgrade... Well I don't know, guess we'll just have to see!
...and it'll be the longest year of my life. :p
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GirgleMirt
Oh yeah, and btw, did you hear the Sierra NrT tweeter? I'm just somewhat reluctant or doubtful at the notion of upgrading the NrT tweeter, as my own listening experience and perception of the whole thing is that it's a great tweeter and upgrading it will cost an arm and might even be moot...
I have not yet heard the NrT in person although I've done extensive research on it. I decided to wait on upgrading my Sierra-1s for two reasons:
1) I really needed to replace other equipment in the signal chain
2) The Sierras already sound very darn good
I would eventually upgrade (probably next year), but now I will hold off to see what Dave has cooking. I have a Horizon with RAAL tweeter. When I was planning the center channel upgrade, I originally settled on the NrT. Dave's measurements and feedback on the RAAL's incredible performance caused me to seriously consider the ribbon upgrade. I'm glad I did, it's really quite special.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GirgleMirt
The difference in sensitivity you mean? That would only apply to using the tower's mid, I'd see no reason a new or modified mid couldn't be done...
yeah mids can be smaller, lighter, etc., since the bass woofer will handle the bass so you really don't have to go 5 inch.. Imposing/harder to place, naaaah, I'd be incredibly surprised if 95% of Sierra owners didn't have a couple of extra inches free on top of their Sierras... Most don't put the speakers in a bookshelf!
True, one could use a different midrange transducer. Perhaps SEAS or another OEM just finished baking a brand new midrange woofer with the exact sensitivity Dave needs for a 3-way Sierra-1. :p
To be honest, I'm kinda out of ideas, so I probably won't say too much more...that is until Dave gives us another bone to chew on. :D
Fact is, there are only a few possibilities since this is a DIY upgrade. It has to be reasonably simple (for customers), but offer "significant" improvements. If you're right GirgleMirt, I'm sure there will be a lot of happy customers. I just haven't decided to toss the proverbial coin yet...
Heads: new tweeter/crossover
Tails: "SE" type upgrade
Edge of coin: mid-range upgrade :D :p :cool:
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Just bumpin' this thread!
Dave, any more teasers for us audio nutjobs?!!:D
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
I remember the Phoenix Gold Rotary sub back in my car audio competition days (mid 90's). In fact in 1996 I was top 10 (pro 1-100/150 watt class) at both USAC and IASCA World Finals and the guy that beat me out in the IASCA event used this exact sub. It was really strange sounding as I listened but the low freqs were there just different sensation. FWIW...
Brian in Bakersfield...
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Can somebody please explain to me, what, or if, are the new upgrades going to be for the Sierra-1's? There seems to be some joking around in this thread, but I can't tell who is being serious and never received an email from Dave regarding any Sierra-1 upgrades???
Did Dave really send out any emails with details about the Sierra-1 upgrades?
Does anyone know what, or if, the upgrades are going to be?