SE upgrade?

[MikeQ]

What is the deal? Is there an upgrade for my less than a year old 340s?

anyone know?

[Wharf Rat]

Yes, there will be. Last I heard it was $160 per speaker in exchange + shipping for speakers less than a year old. The bad news is because of "incredibly high sales volume" the upgrade program that had been scheduled to begin in late Feb. has now been pushed out until at least late Apr., maybe more if you aren't already on the upgrade list. You can email David and get the exact details.

[Asliang]

$160 per speaker? Ouch! That's 60% of the value of the old 340s!

[BradJudy]

$160 per speaker? Ouch! That's 60% of the value of the old 340s!

Well, it is new drivers, new crossover, new port tube, and modification to the cabinet for the new port tube. That amounts to more than 60% of the speaker being updated.

[MikeQ]

Thanks.

Next question would be...is it worth it?

[KojiroTakenashi]

I've crunched the numbers myself, and I tend to think not - selling your old speakers then buying new SEs straight from the website not only costs you less, it brings Ascend more money.

[MikeQ]

Are the SE's that much better than the old 340's??

[sensibull]

Are the SE's that much better than the old 340's??

I don't think David would have bothered with the whole project (and the significant amount of money invested) if there wasn't a marked and demonstrable difference. The question is, are the improvements in areas that will greatly impact your setup? If you have a sub, are happy with its sound, and it is well integrated with you mains (no holes or frequency dips) then the SE's deeper extension would likely go to waste. If you listen at moderate levels, and have never perceived any distortion or breakup in the highs, then the new and improved tweeter won't do much for you either. If, on the other hand, you have had trouble blending your mains and sub, want to run your mains full-range, listen at reference level, or desire that extra boost in upper range performance, then the upgrade would be probably be worth it.

I'm still on the fence, but leaning towards keeping the Classics, as I've been very happy with the sound of my setup lately and have very little disposable income at the moment.

[Disclaimer: I have not heard the SEs and this is obviously just my interpretation of what David and others have said about them. Hopefully we'll get a few more head-to-head comparisons soon.]

[Quinn]

I think it is a whole new cabinet for the 340 as the tweeter doesn't fit the tweeter cut out on the baffle. Basically, you're trading the original 340s in for a pair new 340SEs as the tweeter, drivers, crossover, port tube, and cabinet baffle are all different.

You'd likely make out better selling your 340s and buying the 340SEs.