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Thread: Sierra 1 vs. CMT-340 For Older Music Lovers...

  1. #11
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    5

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis View Post
    What part of the woofer is damaged on the ESS's?
    The edge of the woofers in both speakers has disintegrated; in one speaker it is totally gone. It's amazing that we didn't notice a significant change in the sound earlier. But a month or so ago I began hearing a "puffing" sound from the left speaker. The first thing I did was remove the front cover and I saw what was causing the problem. The right speaker wasn't as far along in the process but pieces of the woofer fell out of the cabinet when I removed its cover.

    Bad Speaker2013-05-2111-40-281 of 1.jpg

    Do you think that I can sell the old woofers on CraigsList?

    The other speaker components are small "horns" made of plastic so I assume that they are OK.

    Thanks for the info about speaker parts and the forum. After I remove the woofer from one of the speakers I'll see what forum members have to say about the feasibility of replacing the woofers. If it doesn't cost very much they would make nice speakers streaming music from my Mac. I'll have a spare Airport Express when an upgrade arrives this week; all I would need is a basic amp to drive the speakers.
    Last edited by Mojo; 05-21-2013 at 11:54 AM.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    SouthWest of Cleveland
    Posts
    1,924

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    Quote Originally Posted by Mojo View Post
    The edge of the woofers in both speakers has disintegrated; in one speaker it is totally gone. It's amazing that we didn't notice a significant change in the sound earlier. But a month or so ago I began hearing a "puffing" sound from the left speaker. The first thing I did was remove the front cover and I saw what was causing the problem. The right speaker wasn't as far along in the process but pieces of the woofer fell out of the cabinet when I removed its cover.

    Bad Speaker2013-05-2111-40-281 of 1.jpg

    Do you think that I can sell the old woofers on CraigsList?

    The other speaker components are small "horns" made of plastic so I assume that they are OK.

    Thanks for the info about speaker parts and the forum. After I remove the woofer from one of the speakers I'll see what forum members have to say about the feasibility of replacing the woofers. If it doesn't cost very much they would make nice speakers streaming music from my Mac. I'll have a spare Airport Express when an upgrade arrives this week; all I would need is a basic amp to drive the speakers.
    Looks like the surround is rotted but the woofer cone is still intact. If so, you could simply buy a re-foam kit and replace the woofer surround. Google speaker re-foaming kits.
    Ed

    * Sierra-2EX's W/V2 crossover upgrade
    * (2) Rythmik F12's
    * Parasound Halo P6
    * Audio by Van Alstine DVA-M225 Monoblock Amps
    * MiniDSP 2x4HD For Sub calibration
    *World's Best Cables Canare 4S11 speaker cables

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    7,032

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    Here you go!

    http://speakerrepair.com/

    They even have re-foaming kits for various ESS drivers:

    http://www.speakerrepair.com/page/ca...edge-kits.html
    -curtis

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,538

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    Quote Originally Posted by Mojo View Post
    My wife and I spent the weekend listening to a variety of music to see what the amazingly small boxes could do... Most of the music was on CDs that I consider to be well-mastered vs. the CDs we own that were released without any perceivable digital tweaking to take advantage of the new format. Here is (most) of what we played:

    American Beauty/Workingman's Dead The Grateful Dead from the remastered The Golden Road boxed set. I hear instruments on some of these CDs that I never even noticed on the LPs and earlier CDs...

    Exodus Deluxe Edition Bob Marley and The Wailers.

    Rhythms of Peace Nawang Khechog. Tibetan flute.

    Love's Illusion Anonymous Four.

    Ravi Shankar- Carnegie Hall 2000

    Live Anthology Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

    We also listened to some music via MOG and iTunes. While the 320kbps MOG music sounded very good (except for rare streaming glitches...) the 192kbps iTunes album (Graceland was definitely missing something... I think that I will be listening to a lot more CDs and I may just have to re-rip some iTunes files.

    To make a long story short, the Sierra 1s are fantastic. We played 'em loud and soft and in-between and they surpassed our expectations. My wife was blown away; she didn't want to let go of our old speakers but after a few hours she wasn't missing them one bit. An added bonus: The Sierra 1 speakers look really good in our living room. I'm glad that we passed on the black 340s and as far as the faux walnut ESS cabinets go, it's simply no contest. We are not going to miss those large dark-brown boxes that dominated the living room...

    ....I think that covers it. Two more very happy Ascend Sierra 1 speakers owners to add to the list!
    Excellent, I am very happy to learn that you are enjoying them and thanks for sharing the experience!
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  5. #15
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    Hi Mojo,

    First, I want to say thanks for mentioning MOG. Never heard of the website before and after doing the trial period, I joined.

    I have a question about how you are hooking up your computer to your AVR for streaming your music. You mentioned that you are using a Mac Mini that does not have an optical out. Are you just using RCA cables from the headphone jack to your AVR?

    The reason I ask is that I am wondering if there is a big difference in sound quality from RCA cables and optical. My computer does not have an optical either and I am thinking about getting an external USB sound card that will allow optical to my AVR.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Milwaukee, WI
    Posts
    711

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    I recently joined MOG (still in free trial period) and so far I like it. I was leaning towards it mainly for the quality of the streaming at 320kbs versus Pandora which is less than half that.

    For those who are familiar with it, anyway of mixing the stations/artists up rather than it just playing that particular station or genre? Pandora was able to offer a "quickmix" which shuffled all of your favorite stuff at once. So far I cannot find if MOG offers this or not?

    Thanks.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    46

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    No reason at all to replace those woofers or trash the entire speakers.

    All you have is deteriorated foam surrounds. Very easy to replace at around $25 for two and the woofers will be like new. I've done ten sets of speakers and all were fine. Replace the surrounds! You'll experience a "job well done" moment and have some fine speakers again.

    As for the Sierra 1s, I've had my standard versions for two years and love them! Maybe the Sierra 2 will push me into an upgrade but I have no, repeat no!, complaints about my Ascend Sierra 1s! Love 'em!

    Good luck and good listening,

    old arkiedan

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,538

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    Quote Originally Posted by merrymaid520 View Post
    I recently joined MOG (still in free trial period) and so far I like it. I was leaning towards it mainly for the quality of the streaming at 320kbs versus Pandora which is less than half that.

    For those who are familiar with it, anyway of mixing the stations/artists up rather than it just playing that particular station or genre? Pandora was able to offer a "quickmix" which shuffled all of your favorite stuff at once. So far I cannot find if MOG offers this or not?

    Thanks.
    I too am looking for a way to quickly make a random mix. I have also been experience some dropouts that I don't get with Pandora, but the sound quality with MOG is definitely superior.
    .
    .
    .
    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Milwaukee, WI
    Posts
    711

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    I too am looking for a way to quickly make a random mix. I have also been experience some dropouts that I don't get with Pandora, but the sound quality with MOG is definitely superior.
    Hey Dave,
    I continued my search using MOG and even spotify which also offers higher quality streaming and still no luck with a "quick mix" type option. Pandoras nice being it shuffles all your favorite artists etc which is great. From what I can tell most other services do not offer this

    If you find one, please do share! Hope all is well!

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    7,032

    Default Re: Speakers Arrived Friday...

    Because of you guys, I am giving MOG a try.

    Using it primarily through my Sonos.
    Last edited by curtis; 06-07-2013 at 09:47 AM.
    -curtis

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