Upgrade existing Sierra-1s or get Sierra-2EXs instead?

[Belows]

I’ve had my Sierra-1s for a couple of years now, having upgraded from my venerable and beloved CBM-170s, which I still own and use as bedroom speakers. I love the Sierra 1s but it’s time to take another step up to the Sierra-2EXs. The only question I have is whether to upgrade or buy new Sierra-2EXs? After the upgrade, would my speakers be identical to a brand new pair of EXs or are there subtle differences in the 1 and 2EX cabinets in terms of appearance, internal bracing, damping material, etc.? The monetary difference isn’t that big of a deal but I may as well save a little if they’ll be identical. Otherwise I’d prefer to buy new.

[Mag_Neato]

They would be identical. I've upgraded my original Sierra-1's from the first run back in 2007 to each of the upgrades, NrT, Sierra-2 and now Sierra-2EX. If you have more current Sierra-1's then you shouldn't encounter the issues I had with first gen cabinets from the original cabinet vendor. Should be plug-n-play.

[theophile]

I’ve had my Sierra-1s for a couple of years now, having upgraded from my venerable and beloved CBM-170s, which I still own and use as bedroom speakers. I love the Sierra 1s but it’s time to take another step up to the Sierra-2EXs. The only question I have is whether to upgrade or buy new Sierra-2EXs? After the upgrade, would my speakers be identical to a brand new pair of EXs or are there subtle differences in the 1 and 2EX cabinets in terms of appearance, internal bracing, damping material, etc.? The monetary difference isn’t that big of a deal but I may as well save a little if they’ll be identical. Otherwise I’d prefer to buy new.

If you like the cabinets you already have, then the full 2EX upgrade would be worth it, although I'm not sure how the warranty goes (another 7 years)? If not, then invest in New Sierra-2EX Monitors and sell the Sierra-1's (just what I did with the Sierra-1 NrT's)!

Ted

[Belows]

If you like the cabinets you already have, then the full 2EX upgrade would be worth it, although I'm not sure how the warranty goes (another 7 years)? If not, then invest in New Sierra-2EX Monitors and sell the Sierra-1's (just what I did with the Sierra-1 NrT's)!

Ted

I'm curious about the warranty situation too. Are the upgraded parts warrantied for 7 years like the Sierra-2EX (which I assume it does) or does the warranty track back to the date I originally bought the Sierra-1s?

[Mag_Neato]

What Dave has done with the other upgrades is that if you send your speakers in to Ascend and have them perform the upgrade, they will take measurements, etc. and the warranty resets to the full 7 years. If you order the upgrade kits and do it yourself then they would warranty the parts against defects for a shorter period. I don't recall the exact details. I've always handled the upgrades myself since I have complete confidence in the quality of the components and figure if something is going to fail, it will be within the first year.

[davef]

I'm curious about the warranty situation too. Are the upgraded parts warrantied for 7 years like the Sierra-2EX (which I assume it does) or does the warranty track back to the date I originally bought the Sierra-1s?

If you send the speakers back to us and have us do the upgrade for you, your warranty on the upgraded components (tweeter, woofer, crossover etc) resets to an additional 7 years.

If you do the upgrade yourself, the warranty continues from the original purchase date. If your warranty has already expired, we warranty the upgrade components for 1 year. Of course, we can not provide any warranty coverage on damage that is not considered a manufacturing defect.

[Belows]

If you send the speakers back to us and have us do the upgrade for you, your warranty on the upgraded components (tweeter, woofer, crossover etc) resets to an additional 7 years.

If you do the upgrade yourself, the warranty continues from the original purchase date. If your warranty has already expired, we warranty the upgrade components for 1 year. Of course, we can not provide any warranty coverage on damage that is not considered a manufacturing defect.

Thanks Dave, I appreciate the quick reply. My boxes are in perfect condition and I'd be more worried about them getting damaged in transit than getting a new 7-year warranty. Heck, I still have my CBM 170s from back in the first year you offered them (which is maybe 20 years ago or more?) and they're going strong! So, if I do the upgrade myself they will be identical to a brand new pair of 2EXs (except for the 2-year old cabinets)?

[theophile]

If you do the upgrade yourself, the warranty continues from the original purchase date.

So, if I do the upgrade myself they will be identical to a brand new pair of 2EXs (except for the 2-year old cabinets)?

Doing the upgrade yourself (2-yr old S1's upgraded to new S-2EX kits), believe Dave's warranty policy means you would still have "5" years remaining to cover the full kit upgrade!

Ted

[davef]

Thanks Dave, I appreciate the quick reply. My boxes are in perfect condition and I'd be more worried about them getting damaged in transit than getting a new 7-year warranty. Heck, I still have my CBM 170s from back in the first year you offered them (which is maybe 20 years ago or more?) and they're going strong! So, if I do the upgrade myself they will be identical to a brand new pair of 2EXs (except for the 2-year old cabinets)?

Awesome news about your 170's!!

There are no component differences between Sierra-2EX assembled at our facility vs upgrading using the kits. I can't say they will be "identical" - because when we build them here they are put through a variety of tests prior to packaging and shipping that you would not be able to perform. However, provided you are meticulous during the upgrade procedure there shouldn't be any issues. We have had many hundreds of customers perform this upgrade.

[SunByrne]

We have had many hundreds of customers perform this upgrade.

And some of us who have performed it hundreds of times... well, OK, maybe not quite that many.

But I've done some version of it at least a half-dozen times (I currently own three sets of cabinets, currently all with different internals) and never had a problem. The instructions are clear and complete, and it's not difficult.