Sierra-2 Development Thread

[rkoaudio]

How are you factoring in the NrT upgrade as having any affect on the Sierra-2 upgrade? The Nrt upgrade consisted of new tweeters and crossovers, where the Sierra-2 will be a complete component swap using the original Sierra-1/NrT cabinets.

This is what I think most people are missing. The upgrade is a complete component swap. What one currently has in her/his configuration is pretty much irrelevant.

Based on the price of the regular Sierra-1 woofer, I would think, that the new woofer would cost ~$150, $300/pair. As for the tweeter and cross-over ... the upgrade to RAAL 70-20XR from Nrt is $700. Upgrade from the regular tweeter to Nrt is $300. Theoretically speaking, the upgrade from regular tweeter to RAAL 70-20XR is $1000. The new, custom RAAL, is somewhere between Nrt and RAAL. Let's say Nrt to new tweeter upgrade would be in a range of a little bit more that 1/2 of RAAL 70-20XR. That gives us Nrt to new RAAL price upgrade to be ~$400.
Again, taking into the account the regular Sierra-1 tweeter upgrade to Nrt, the new tweeter upgrade would be in a range of $700 (including cross-over). That gives us the final upgrade price close to $1000.

Note: I forgot to factor in price of the regular tweeter. That would push the upgrade price to more of $1100 range.

[natetg57]

How are you factoring in the NrT upgrade as having any affect on the Sierra-2 upgrade? The Nrt upgrade consisted of new tweeters and crossovers, where the Sierra-2 will be a complete component swap using the original Sierra-1/NrT cabinets.

If the old parts get traded in, then I would think the NRT upgrade would have a higher trade-in value.

[rkoaudio]

If the old parts get traded in, then I would think the NRT upgrade would have a higher trade-in value.

Do you consider Dave's 5% credit for returned parts as trade-in? I would estimate that 5% would be very close to the shipping cost ...

[pj-]

I'm curious to see how the price of an upgrade compares to just selling my existing speakers and buying new ones.

A Sierra-1 is basically 4 main parts: Woofer, Tweeter, Crossover, Cabinet. If 3/4 of those are going to be upgraded, won't the upgrade price have to be pretty close to the price of a factory Sierra-2?

Unless there will be a significant savings from doing it myself, I can't see why I wouldn't sell my current NRTs and get brand new, level matched, sierra-2s with a wider selection of colors than when I bought my sierra-1s.

[davef]

Any updates? Some of us are making purchases as Christmas gifts. Sure the gift is to myself, but a gift nonetheless.
Release date? Price? Sierra-1 to Sierra-2 Upgrade Kit price?

The price is the last factor in deciding to go Sierra-2 or Tower.

I would estimate that we will begin shipping Sierra-2 either the last week of November or the first week in December. Final pricing on the Sierra-2 and upgrade kit is still forthcoming, hope to have this finalized by this coming Monday.

[RicardoJoa]

I would estimate that we will begin shipping Sierra-2 either the last week of November or the first week in December. Final pricing on the Sierra-2 and upgrade kit is still forthcoming, hope to have this finalized by this coming Monday.

Thanks for the good news Dave. As usual, i dont think we will be missing any measurements right?

[Dark Ranger]

I would estimate that we will begin shipping Sierra-2 either the last week of November or the first week in December. Final pricing on the Sierra-2 and upgrade kit is still forthcoming, hope to have this finalized by this coming Monday.

Outstanding news! Thanks for the update.

[Dark Ranger]

I'm curious to see how the price of an upgrade compares to just selling my existing speakers and buying new ones.

<snip>

Unless there will be a significant savings from doing it myself, I can't see why I wouldn't sell my current NRTs and get brand new, level matched, sierra-2s with a wider selection of colors than when I bought my sierra-1s.

I've been mulling this over, too. The upgrade kit will definitely be less expensive, so that is attractive. But for a few hundred more (estimated), one could get an entire Sierra-2 pair--tested, measured, matched, and warrantied. My current pair of Sierra-1 would be a nice upgrade for the bedroom.

Maybe I'll ask Dave about what I should do.

It all depends on the costs involved. We'll find out soon.

[Mag_Neato]

I've been mulling this over, too. The upgrade kit will definitely be less expensive, so that is attractive. But for a few hundred more (estimated), one could get an entire Sierra-2 pair--tested, measured, matched, and warrantied. My current pair of Sierra-1 would be a nice upgrade for the bedroom.

Maybe I'll ask Dave about what I should do.

It all depends on the costs involved. We'll find out soon.

Dave will most likely offer the option to send in your speakers to have Ascend do the upgrade in-house, including testing, frequency graphs and a rebooted factory warranty, just like he did with the NrT upgrade.

[Dark Ranger]

^ I was only half-serious about that.

However, that would be be an ideal course of action for those uncomfortable with performing the upgrade themselves or simply wanting piece of mind and a renewed warranty. The only reason I'd send them in is for the "matched by hand to within +/- 1dB" white-glove service. Otherwise, I'm totally comfortable with the entire upgrade process. The components are also manufactured with tight tolerances.

The other thing is that to pack, insure, and ship them to Ascend for upgrade, and then have them shipped back (I doubt return shipping would be covered by Ascend) would cost quite a few pennies that I'd rather put towards something else. But those are my own feelings, others may see it differently.

I just can't wait to hear the final pricing. It's driving me absolutely bonkers!