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Does anyone know how much it costs to upgrade a standard Sierra-1 to the Sierra-2?
Andrew
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TV: Panasonic VIERA TC-P55ST30 55-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma
Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR706, Emotiva XPA-5 Gen 2, Blu Ray: Sony BDP-N460
Fronts/Center/Surrounds: Sierra Towers Nrt, Sierra-1, HTM-200
Sub: HSU VTF-3 MK-4
Are you talking about DIY upgrade kits or something like a complete trade-in?
Upgrade kits are $388 each (one kit per speaker). An upgrade kit contains a woofer, a tweeter, and a crossover.
For original/standard Sierra-1s, you'll also get a $31 refund (per speaker) for sending back the old parts (woofer + tweeter + crossover).
See this post from Dave for more details. The PDF document covers all the pricing and finish options.
-Jacob
The DIY approach relies on the customer's skill and expertise to perform the upgrade. It's a straightforward process, but mistakes could still happen. Quite simply, Ascend cannot ensure the final product is "perfect" even with pre-testing the individual parts.
In contrast, sending the entire speaker to Ascend ensures that each component is installed correctly. The speaker can be fully tested to verify performance. The recertified speakers are then shipped to the customer and are essentially like buying a brand new product.
I would be very surprised if this time was different. Previous upgrades like Sierra-1 standard to NrT worked the same way, as well as the Classic to SE upgrades. Actually, if memory serves, the SE upgrade virtually required the customer to send back the speakers. I think a few folks may have done the upgrade themselves, but most were done at the Ascend factory.
-Jacob
Anyone get their shipping tracking info yet?
To answer a few questions
If we do the upgrade for you, your warranty on the speakers will reset. We also include an appropriate "Sierra-2" serial number on the speakers, since we will be able to test and re-certify the speakers. If taking DIY approach, you will receive a Sierra-2 product label but we will not include a new serial number since we can not re-certify the speakers. For the DIY upgrade kit, the warranty on the speakers will not reset and the components will be covered for manufacturing defects only.
We would normally charge a $55 labor charge on top of the upgrade kit costs and shipping for those customers who would like us to handle the upgrade. We are going to temporarily waive the labor charge so the only additional costs for having us do the upgrade will be shipping (both ways) and new packaging material, if necessary.
Hope this makes sense.
CURRENT SETUP:
JRiver MC and PS3 -> Onkyo TX-SR705 via HDMI -> Sierra-2 LCR & Energy Take Classic surrounds and sub
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The shipping adds to the cost, for sure, but having Ascend handle the upgrade also adds more waiting time to actually listening to and enjoying the Sierra-2! For me it would be a no-brainer since I enjoy doing the work myself. You get to "know" the speaker more intimately after the operation!
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