CMT-340 Ribbon tweeter option?

[swest]

Greetings,

New to the forum, longtime lurker/stalker on the website.

I think I am finally going to make the move to normalize my LCRs. Currently I have all B&W LCRs, but the LRs are 20-year-old 803 Series IIs, and the C is an FCM8. For a while I was looking to acquire two additional FCM8s to use for the LRs, but I never acted on that impulse, and the well seems to have gone dry - I don't see those on the secondary market any more. I know, I could probably wait it out, and something would show.

But... I was always taken by the look and specs of the CMT-340s, and thought that a trio of those as LCRs would suit me nicely.

So, as I begin to work on my short list, I return to the AA website. I guess it has been a while, because the various Sierra offerings are new to me. Alas, for the same reason that I had always leaned toward the CMT-340s the Sierra towers are excluded. Mounting the L+Rs in space, to the left and right of the screen, is a must for me, so towers are out.

And, now to my question: I am wondering if anyone knows if AA has toyed with offering their new ribbon tweeter as an upgrade to the CMT-340?

I don't know if it is even possible, not knowing the form factors of the two tweeters (i.e., the stock CMT-340 tweeter vs. the ribbon tweeter). Obviously, the crossover would have to change, but would the ribbon tweeter fit into the same space as the stock tweeter?

Anyone?

Thanks.

- s.west

p.s. Lack of such an upgrade would not diminish my interest in the CMT-340s, but, on the other hand, if that upgrade were available, my interest might be even greater

[Mag_Neato]

Greetings,

New to the forum, longtime lurker/stalker on the website.

I think I am finally going to make the move to normalize my LCRs. Currently I have all B&W LCRs, but the LRs are 20-year-old 803 Series IIs, and the C is an FCM8. For a while I was looking to acquire two additional FCM8s to use for the LRs, but I never acted on that impulse, and the well seems to have gone dry - I don't see those on the secondary market any more. I know, I could probably wait it out, and something would show.

But... I was always taken by the look and specs of the CMT-340s, and thought that a trio of those as LCRs would suit me nicely.

So, as I begin to work on my short list, I return to the AA website. I guess it has been a while, because the various Sierra offerings are new to me. Alas, for the same reason that I had always leaned toward the CMT-340s the Sierra towers are excluded. Mounting the L+Rs in space, to the left and right of the screen, is a must for me, so towers are out.

And, now to my question: I am wondering if anyone knows if AA has toyed with offering their new ribbon tweeter as an upgrade to the CMT-340?

I don't know if it is even possible, not knowing the form factors of the two tweeters (i.e., the stock CMT-340 tweeter vs. the ribbon tweeter). Obviously, the crossover would have to change, but would the ribbon tweeter fit into the same space as the stock tweeter?

Anyone?

Thanks.

- s.west

p.s. Lack of such an upgrade would not diminish my interest in the CMT-340s, but, on the other hand, if that upgrade were available, my interest might be even greater

Since you mention the Towers as unsuitable due to their form factor rather than price, and are interested in the RAAL ribbon, the Sierra-2 monitor makes the most sense here.

A ribbon 340 does not make sense from a value standpoint and I doubt if that option is even realistic. A M-T-M version of the Sierra-2 (Sierra-2.5?) has probably been tossed around, but then cost would likely approach that of the Sierra NrT tower.

That's just my $0.02, maybe Dave will add his wisdom here!

[swest]

Since you mention the Towers as unsuitable due to their form factor rather than price, and are interested in the RAAL ribbon, the Sierra-2 monitor makes the most sense here.

A ribbon 340 does not make sense from a value standpoint and I doubt if that option is even realistic. A M-T-M version of the Sierra-2 (Sierra-2.5?) has probably been tossed around, but then cost would likely approach that of the Sierra NrT tower.

That's just my $0.02, maybe Dave will add his wisdom here!

Cost, or relative 'value', wasn't what I was wondering about, and I'm not sure why the discussion would immediately go there.

If, however, the configuration doesn't make sense, then that's another matter. Although, I've seen numerous MTM configurations employing a ribbon-style tweeter as the T, so I'm not sure that it is a given that the configuration is unrealistic.

[curtis]

Cost, or relative 'value', wasn't what I was wondering about, and I'm not sure why the discussion would immediately go there.

If, however, the configuration doesn't make sense, then that's another matter. Although, I've seen numerous MTM configurations employing a ribbon-style tweeter as the T, so I'm not sure that it is a given that the configuration is unrealistic.

So to clarify, it seems you are looking for an MTM speaker using a RAAL tweeter, not necessarily an upgraded CMT-340SE with RAAL tweeter, correct?

[swest]

So to clarify, it seems you are looking for an MTM speaker using a RAAL tweeter, not necessarily an upgraded CMT-340SE with RAAL tweeter, correct?

Here is my main question, from the first post:

And, now to my question: I am wondering if anyone knows if AA has toyed with offering their new ribbon tweeter as an upgrade to the CMT-340?

Now, technically, I did ask a second question:

... would the ribbon tweeter fit into the same space as the stock tweeter?

but that is really just part of the main question.

So, that's it. If no one knows, then that's one possible answer. If someone knows, and AA has, so-toyed, but didn't take it any further, then that will be another possible answer. And so forth.

[curtis]

As you alluded to, it isn't just plugging in a new tweeter and calling it a day, working on a crossover is only one task.

The application needs to be correct, as well as cost-effective.

If you read about the development of the Sierra-2, the woofer was designed to match the custom RAAL tweeter and create a great synergy.

I would imagine, the same type of work went into the current CMT-340SE with its woofer and custom SEAS tweeter.

[Mag_Neato]

If the custom RAAL used in the Sierra-2's would, theoretically, fit in place of the standard 340 tweeter, they would require being paired with the sierra-2 woofer to perform correctly. Using two of those woofers with a new crossover in a 340 sized cabinet is an intriguing idea. If you used MDF rather than bamboo you may get them down near Sierra-2 price but with a loss of some performance by going MDF. Wonder if Dave has toyed with anything like this.

[white_darren]

Another option to be aware of would be custom Sierra Horizon. A little bigger than the 340 but being custom you would have some flexibility in the dimensions.

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/sho...0484#post40484

[davef]

Hi Swest,

Welcome to the forum. It is interesting that you brought this up. We actually designed the Sierra-2 tweeter size, mounting configuration and transformer taps so that we could, at some point, give it a try in our CMT-340. Having said that, since the introduction of the Sierra-2, we are selling out of the components very quickly so regrettably, I have not given this a try to see how it would perform. My educated guess is that it would perform well and be at a nice price point, but not at the level of a Sierra-2.

The tweeter we use in the towers (our custom version of the 70-20XRAM) would not be an option without extensive cabinet modifications and would bring the price point into the range of the Sierra-2 and, other than being able to play louder, it would not offer the same level of performance. As others have mentioned, the better option would be an MTM version of the sierra-2.

I am curious, are you interested in this possibility because of the higher efficiency of the 340?

[swest]

Hi Swest,

Welcome to the forum.
.
.

I am curious, are you interested in this possibility because of the higher efficiency of the 340?

Yes, exactly.

And, although I didn't know to ask it, I like the greater flexibility offered by this configuration, that was just posted by white_darren.

- s.west