Diamond Tweeter?

[white_darren]

I'm thinking a Diamond line might be the perfect time to transition to the magnetically attached grills used in the Luna. And at that price point, perhaps even hidden fasteners for the drivers. Hidden fasteners would make self-service or upgrades more difficult but, really, what are the odds of an upgrade from the Diamond? Just imagine the super clean look of a Sierra Diamond with no visible screw heads or grill mounting points - it would be as stunning visually as it is audibly! I keep the grills on my RAALs to keep dust and dog hair out but I'd be less concerned about that with the Diamonds and would certainly want to show them off.

[Mag_Neato]

I suppose if magnetic grills are possible on the Lunas then why not on the Sierras? Not a big deal for me but would be a logical evolution. As far as hidden fasteners go, a modified faceplate with an outer recessed step could be made where a trim ring snaps in place over the screw heads. Or just use sexier fastener hardware with a nice finish.

My favorite thing about the photo of the Diamond Sierra-2's in the Ascend audition room is the stands they are on. I use the same ones!

[curtis]

I suppose if magnetic grills are possible on the Lunas then why not on the Sierras?

Remember, these cabinets are in full production. It requires a re-design and prototypes before production. Not an insignificant cost.

[curtis]

Had a chance to listen to the Sierra-2 Diamonds yesterday. mikesiskav and I made the drive down to Ascend from the South Bay area of LA.

Another nice gentlemen was there demo-ing the Sierra-2, so we let him do his listening. He's lucky, he works in the area, but his time was limited since he had to get back to the office. He stayed a little while longer to listen to the Sierra-2Di's with us.

I am in agreement with Asliang's impressions. The first thing I noticed was the bass, and I am not a basshead. Deep and controlled for a standmount. Plays as deep as the Sierra-1, but with the control/detail of the Sierra-2. I played some music with pretty deep note/instruments, and it was impressive. No need for a sub with music, unless you like really deep stuff. If you like stuff loud, I would probably get a good sub, for HT too.

The midrange is very open and detailed(as noted by Asliang, especially in the upper mids). The speaker sounds very large for it's size, it would be interesting in these two regards to compare to the Towers. mikesiskav and I wondered how this woofer would work with the RAAL 70-20XR in a bookshelf.

Of course the tweeter shined. Very detailed. Dave mentioned that it handles complexity/many sounds at the same time, extremely well. So I threw what I was familiar with and thought to be complex, and that was Dave Matthews/Crash disc. Excellent. Very clean and detailed. I would like to do an A/B with RAAL.

Imaging was excellent, but I think this is the case with all Ascend speakers, it is a given, and something that is often overlooked with other brands.

After every demo at Ascend, when I get home, I play some of the same music on my system. Hard to do a comparison because it is such a different environment, but I got the sense that my system was not quite as dynamic in the mids and highs. I have a sub, so a comparison there would be way too different. That said, I still love my system.

Dave and Dina, as always, thanks for letting us have a listen, and for your hospitality!


Sometimes people wonder what equipment Dave has in the demo room...

[mikesiskav]

I got to listen to the S2-Di with Curtis yesterday and I was very impressed by them. The bass is stronger and deeper than the S2 but not boomy in any way. Dave said the woofer is a custom design built just for him. It has a much stronger motor assembly and the cone has superior damping than the S2 woofer. It also has a true solid copper phase plug.

The midrange was so good that if I was blindfolded, you could have fooled me into thinking I was listening to the 3-way Sierra Tower with it's dedicated midrange. The S2-Di sounds like a much bigger speaker than it is. I think a lot of this is due to the new diamond tweeter which plays much lower in frequency than RAAL tweeter in the S2.

Speaking of the tweeter, this new diamond tweeter sounded absolutely stellar. The detail in the high frequencies from the diamond tweeter is very similar to the RAAL. The difference is that the diamond can cover more of the lower treble frequency range than the S2 RAAL. I find it a bit hard to describe since I'm sure that in terms of frequency response, both speakers would measure flat and neutral. But I would say that the S2 RAAL sounds delicate and detailed, whereas the diamond sounds strong and detailed but not harsh or bright in the least. Dave said the S2-Di can also handle much more power than the S2.

The last thing that really left an impression on me is that the S2-Di sounds very cohesive from top to bottom, especially with vocals. The diamond tweeter blends so well with this new woofer that it never sounded like the music was coming from separate drivers.

[jimb]

Nice! Thanks, Curtis and Mike. Is that an ATI AT1800 amp to the side there?

[curtis]

Nice! Thanks, Curtis and Mike. Is that an ATI AT1800 amp to the side there?

Yes...it is hooked up to the A/B comparison switch.

The main amp used in the room is the ADA PTM-6150.

[jimb]

Class A up to 30 watts! Nice!

[dtsequoia]

So that woofer...Anything like that sexy beast a possible upgrade for the tower mid?

[curtis]

So that woofer...Anything like that sexy beast a possible upgrade for the tower mid?

Actually, mikesiskav ask that question when went to listen. Dave said there would be no advantage over the current mid in the Tower for that application. The mid in the Tower covers a narrower frequency range, is purposely built for it, and the woofer from the Sierra-2di doesn’t have an advantage in that range.