Sierra-2 Development Thread

[JustaSheep]

I'm trying to remember how Dave did it with the NrT upgrade process.

If I remember right, upgrade costs include returning the old hardware. Perhaps they are used in B-stock?

[Dark Ranger]

JustaSheep,

You're basically right about that. I did some digging around in the forums and found a thread discussing this topic. Dave goes into the details on why it's best to send the parts back. In addition, he offered a 5% discount on a future purchase for those who returned the parts.

Of course, this policy occurred during the NrT upgrade process. This time may be slightly different.

[JustABrah]

So its likely that the upgrade credit would be 5% off your next buy? Might not be worth it for people not in the US then as return shipping would eat up most of that 5% off

[davef]

Hey Dave,

I realize you're inundated with questions, but I was wondering if you could touch upon the upgrade paths. Does the trade-in credit for NrT owners still stand? Any idea what that might be? Thanks again, I'm really looking forward to upcoming details.

The 5% credit given out for returning the Sierra-1 parts when upgrading to the NrT was valid for 1 full year. If the credit is still valid, then it will most certainly be honored.

That stated, I honestly have not given much thought about any upgrade deals just yet, but I am sure we will offer something for returning old parts. Ascend has invested more into this than any other project and we absolutely must make at least some profit. Even with that, it might take several years before we recoup just our R&D expenses.

[Dark Ranger]

Ascend has invested more into this than any other project and we absolutely must make at least some profit. Even with that, it might take several years before we recoup just our R&D expenses.

Wow, that's pretty incredible. Stuff like that can keep one awake at night.

[eliwankenobi]

The 5% credit given out for returning the Sierra-1 parts when upgrading to the NrT was valid for 1 full year. If the credit is still valid, then it will most certainly be honored.

That stated, I honestly have not given much thought about any upgrade deals just yet, but I am sure we will offer something for returning old parts. Ascend has invested more into this than any other project and we absolutely must make at least some profit. Even with that, it might take several years before we recoup just our R&D expenses.

So R&D investment on Sierra-2 was more than on Sierra tower? Does that take away our chances for a special introductory price?

[SGCSG1]

The 5% credit given out for returning the Sierra-1 parts when upgrading to the NrT was valid for 1 full year. If the credit is still valid, then it will most certainly be honored.

That stated, I honestly have not given much thought about any upgrade deals just yet, but I am sure we will offer something for returning old parts. Ascend has invested more into this than any other project and we absolutely must make at least some profit. Even with that, it might take several years before we recoup just our R&D expenses.

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[davef]

So R&D investment on Sierra-2 was more than on Sierra tower? Does that take away our chances for a special introductory price?

Yes, because with the Sierra Towers we were not concerned with upgradeability from prior versions. As mentioned, we are tooling new parts for the Sierra-2 and this is extremely expensive.

[davef]

Hey all,

Just wanted to post another tidbit about the Sierra-2. We now have (2) final prototypes complete and we just spent an hour abusing them in our sound room.

You might find this hard to believe (I was quite surprised myself), but with Boom Boom Pow running full range -- we managed to hit a very clean 108 dB measured at 12 feet (stereo pair). This was with a 150 watt amplifier. Keep in mind that this is in our extremely well damped listening room. Even at this extreme volume level, we managed to have a low volume level conversation between the 3 of us in the room and we heard each other speak with ease. This is most impressive for a pair of bookshelf speakers...

[JustABrah]

Hurry up November!... Well with me buying a new AVR and new TV soon this might have to wait till the new year