Sierra-2 Upgrade instructions with video!

[pj-]

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to post a piece of information which could help some of those who wish to perform the upgrade on the 1st generation Sierra-1 cabinets.

First of all, yes, I did the Sierra-2 upgrade to my already NrT-upgraded Sierra-1's. Christmas was better than planned!

Having done the NrT upgrade to my 1st gen cabinets, the issue of the different crossover board mounting hole pattern had already been addressed. Also, I had replaced the original fiberglass in black mesh netting bags with Dacron material as in the videos.

The issue I had this time was that the woofer recess cutout in the baffle was too small for the new woofer's mounting flange diameter.....by a pretty good margin(1-2mm). After speaking with Dina on the phone she suggested sanding the surface to open it up. The final option would be to send the speakers to Ascend and have them do it as they could address that issue. I was already in the DIY state of mind so there was no way I was going to let this stop me!

After sanding and sanding and sanding, the woofer still would not fit. The opening had actually become truncated, or chamfered, from the top down to the flange mounting surface, so while the woofer flange fit into the opening near the top, it did not fit as the inside diameter became smaller towards the bottom. I had a drill-powered flapping wheel on hand, which is a wheel made up of strips of sandpaper bonded to a center hub. I tried to straighten the sides with this but it did not prove very effective. I ended up using a utility knife and applying a score-and-carve method around the diameter where the side meets the mounting surface. I was able to open up the base of the cutout enough o allow the new woofer to fit.

This was very time consuming and resulted in several scuffs/scratches in the cabinet finish. At this point I was a little aggravated. I would suggest anyone with the early cabinets who are thinking of the upgrade to consider their woodworking skill level and comfort level of modifying these cabinets before deciding whether to do it themselves or having Ascend do it.

Other than that, the -2's sound absolutely amazing!!

This is a bit worrying.

I have Sierra 1's that were part of the first batch of Espresso cabinets. Has anyone else upgrading from older Sierras had this problem?

[curtis]

This is a bit worrying.

I have Sierra 1's that were part of the first batch of Espresso cabinets. Has anyone else upgrading from older Sierras had this problem?

Expresso cabinets came long after the first generation of cabinets.

When the Sierra-1 was first available (late 2006/early 2007), the only cabinet choices were piano black and natural.

[pj-]

Expresso cabinets came long after the first generation of cabinets.

When the Sierra-1 was first available (late 2006/early 2007), the only cabinet choices were piano black and natural.

Oh ok. I was aware of the cabinet timeline, but wasn't sure how the "generations" were defined.