Damaged Sierra 1

[Blake1214]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone gone through the process of cosmetic repairs on a Piano black Sierra 1? I had a family get-together yesterday and one of my Sierra was accidentally knocked over by my niece. Since I have tile floors, the damage on the cabinet was pretty bad. It currently exposes the bamboo material in 3different corners of the speaker (the bamboo material is damaged as well exposing a little bit of foam like material). I've also realized the speaker is no longer working so i'm suspecting something either came loose or damaged internally as well. Does anyone know if this is something that can be fixed and refinished or will it make more sense to get a new cabinet from Dave. I haven't been able to sleep and productivity at the office is non-existant. Any advice/help will be greatly appreciated. It HURTS!!!

:(

Thx.

[curtis]

Sorry to read this. I would give Ascend a call. I would think it would make more sense for Dave/Ascend to have a look/inspection and give you an estimate.

[debo]

Oh that hurts. So how old was your niece?

[Blake1214]

She's only 4 and extremely adorable so it's impossible to fault her. I'm still waiting to hear back from Ascend so let's just hope the repair won't be too much.

[davef]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone gone through the process of cosmetic repairs on a Piano black Sierra 1? I had a family get-together yesterday and one of my Sierra was accidentally knocked over by my niece. Since I have tile floors, the damage on the cabinet was pretty bad. It currently exposes the bamboo material in 3different corners of the speaker (the bamboo material is damaged as well exposing a little bit of foam like material). I've also realized the speaker is no longer working so i'm suspecting something either came loose or damaged internally as well. Does anyone know if this is something that can be fixed and refinished or will it make more sense to get a new cabinet from Dave. I haven't been able to sleep and productivity at the office is non-existant. Any advice/help will be greatly appreciated. It HURTS!!!

:(

Thx.

Oh my -- I am SO sorry to hear this. The only way we can determine the extent of the damage is to send the speaker back to us so we can evaluate. We have an incredible cabinet repair person at our disposal, someone who specializes in fixing $100K pianos but he is quite expensive. Cabinet replacement might be the best option but we won't know until we see the cabinet.

Please send the unit back to us for evaluation - and don't feel too bad, just hug your niece and laugh it off. We will help you out :)

[davef]

Blake,

Thanks for dropping the speaker off and it was good seeing you... Glad you loved the look of our soon-to-be-announced little secret... ;)

[sbeveraggi]

Little secret??? How "little" is it exactly? ;)
How soon can we expect the announcement? :p

[davef]

Little secret??? How "little" is it exactly? ;)
How soon can we expect the announcement? :p

Ha -- ask Blake :p

Not really a huge deal but I don't mind spilling the beans now. I would say we are 6-7 weeks out from announcing 2 STUNNING new finishes for the Sierra-1. Something that has taken us a very long time to figure out how to accomplish. These are totally unique and something you won't find anywhere else or on any other product, be that loudspeakers, furniture etc...

Hope to post some pictures this weekend.

Blake -- feel free to post your comments if you wish.

[c_smith]

Not really a huge deal but I don't mind spilling the beans now. I would say we are 6-7 weeks out from announcing 2 STUNNING new finishes for the Sierra-1.

:eek::eek::eek: More beans! We need more beans!

[DaveHo]

Ha -- ask Blake :p

Not really a huge deal but I don't mind spilling the beans now. I would say we are 6-7 weeks out from announcing 2 STUNNING new finishes for the Sierra-1. Something that has taken us a very long time to figure out how to accomplish. These are totally unique and something you won't find anywhere else or on any other product, be that loudspeakers, furniture etc...

Hope to post some pictures this weekend.

Blake -- feel free to post your comments if you wish.

That's awesome! I'd love to see the Sierra available in different finishes.

-Dave

[Blake1214]

Ha -- ask Blake :p

Not really a huge deal but I don't mind spilling the beans now. I would say we are 6-7 weeks out from announcing 2 STUNNING new finishes for the Sierra-1. Something that has taken us a very long time to figure out how to accomplish. These are totally unique and something you won't find anywhere else or on any other product, be that loudspeakers, furniture etc...

Hope to post some pictures this weekend.

Blake -- feel free to post your comments if you wish.


OK guys...

Before commenting on this little "Secret"...

I would just like to say thanks to Dave. We've heard a lot over the years on the emphasis Ascend put on customer service. It is also one of the reasons why I took the plunge and went for a whole theatre setup without seeing or listening to the speakers. Since receiving my Sierras, besides communications that went on over the forum and email, I've never really had the opportunity to "experience" their customer service ....UNTIL now!!

Right after reading Dave's post yesterday, I immediately called Ascend and arranged to bring my damaged speakers for repair. The cabinet was obviously too damaged for repair and made more sense to replace. The woofer is also toast which caused the speaker to be non-functional which will need replacing. Since they're completely out of stock and are not expecting the cabinets to be in until May, Dave voluntarily recommended for me to leave the speaker with them so they can get it up and running for me in the meantime. Once the new shipment gets in, they will swap out the cabinet and get my baby back to new. Keep in mind, I'm only being charged for the parts. For your normal company, they may have used this opportunity to make a quick buck and charge some ridiculous fee. This was not the case with Ascend. Needless to say, their customer service is superior than that of any other company I have worked with. I hope my experience can give assurance to all current and future owners that we are in GREAT hands!! (that sounded like an Allstate commercial didn't it?)

Now on to the little secret...

During the short time I spent at the warehouse I attempted to get some confirmation on a few topics that's been floating around the Ascend forum. One post regarding the Sierra .5 caught my immediate attention, unfortunately, not much luck here as I wasn't able to get anything out of Dave. He did confirm the front firing 15 SE is in the works and should be available in 3 months. I think Dave realized I was curious on future products that Ascend will be offering in the near future so he told me to wait. He came back with not 1, but 2 Sierras in brand new finishes. All I can say is WOW. I've never been a huge fan of any variation of "brown." But let me tell you, both of these finishes are SWEET. The first one is more of a cherrywood color. But in this case, the lines from the bamboo really made everything pop. This one looked very exotic. The second finish was more of a dark coffee color. Due to the darker color, the lines from the bamboo was not as pronounced and required you to look closer. Both are lacquered and have that glossy finish which makes the speaker look extremely high end. Anyone that knows me know I buy everything in black. But seeing these new finishes really got me thinking about a trade in. The fact that they will be much easier to maintain compared to the piano black is a huge plus. I was going to snap some pictures of the new finishes but all I had was my phone cam. I didn't want to post any pics as it just won't do them justice. I'm sure Dave will get some pictures of them up soon. But they really have to be seen in person. Great GREAT job to everyone at Ascend!!!

Thanks again and I'm looking forward in getting my baby back!!!

[davef]

Blake -- thanks so much for your wonderful comments -- I was not expecting that :o

Regarding the new finishes, there will be 2.

One is a glossy espresso finish, think of it as a rich coffee color. (this is both mine and my wife's favorite).

The other is a glossy cherry finish, different than what was raffled off -- not as much red, more of a brownish orange.

We are calling these our "premium" finishes. I have not worked out pricing just yet -- they cost us quite a bit more to manufacture. Keep in mind that these are not veneered and staining bamboo is a complex process so these speakers require additional manufacturing processes. However, we ordered a HUGE quantity of cabinets that is scheduled to arrive early May (perhaps 6 weeks) and I am hoping to try and workout a larger volume discount.

I absolutely love both of these finishes and it has taken us a long time to figure out how to do this right. We could have taken the easy method, simply wrap the bamboo cabinet with a veneer (which is what my vendor wanted us to do) but I feel that would have taken away from the uniqueness of the grain pattern and the speaker would have lost its true eco-friendliness -- no trees sacrificed here ;)

I hope to post some pictures on the forum within the next week. Like most things with Ascend -- this is once again a true original, something totally unique in the audio industry (and even in the furniture industry for that matter)

Stay tuned...

[Blake1214]

No, Thank YOU Dave!! I don't praise people or companies often. I say it like I see 'em and in this case, Ascend certainly deserved the recognition.

Without taking any credit away from these 2 new finishes, I wonder what other attributes can be given on top to the Sierras for a even more distinctive look. My idea includes the new cherry color finish with a piano black face. Use a silver cone and aluminum rings around the woofer and tweeter. Since both the cherry and piano black finish are/will be available, I'm assuming it's possible with added labor.

Something like this:

http://www.studio-22.com/focal/images/1951-2.jpg

or for an even more contemporary and daring look. A red cabinet with piano black up front and silver cone and rings.

http://www.excelia-hifi.cz/focal/test/focal-diablo-utopia-hifi_plus_01_09.pdf

Boy that Sierra 1 will look killer on that speaker stand!!

[davef]

As promised, some pics of the new Sierra-1 premium finishes.... 100% bamboo of course :)

I will post more info tomorrow, including some pre-order specials :D

Production and shipping will start next month.

Gloss Cherry

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/ch1.jpg

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/ch2.jpg

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/ch3.jpg

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/ch4.jpg

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/ch5.jpg

Gloss Espresso

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/esp1.jpg

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/esp2.jpg

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/esp3.jpg

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/esp4.jpg

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/esp5.jpg



http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/images/ascenduploads/both.jpg

[GirgleMirt]

Wow, these look very good!!!

[ccotenj]

dave dave dave... WHY are you doing this to me??? :)

i don't suppose we'll be able to send in our existing speakers and have them refinished?

trade-in program? :D

calling jason... calling jason.... might be time for a refinish job on some stands... :)

[GirgleMirt]

To be frank, really no offense intended, but I was half expecting these to be ugly. :p By ugly I don't mean that nobody would like them, just that I wouldn't! I usually don't like the cherry finishes, which often turns out to be a bright orangy color, but these look pretty different than any I've ever seen before, with the gloss, almost like a subtle variation on the piano black... Anyhow, very very nice! And I'm sure they look even better in person... I'm impressed! Congratulations :)

I think Dave got sort of traumatized from when people were comparing the 170/340 speakers to others, and said they didn't like the look of black matte finish of the Ascend... Now he's going a bit overboard with the Sierra! :p Which I guess is good for everybody, well almost... This will make some competitors look even more silly... :D

[ccotenj]

i REALLY like the way the finish highlights the bamboo, rather than hiding it like the piano black does...

[debo]

Those look FANTASTIC!

[spunky721]

I'd love to be able to trade in my 340's for a set of the cherry

[DaveHo]

Hot damn those look great! How resistant are they to micro scratches & other issues that plague piano black? Any chance for magnetic grills? That would really set them off.

-Dave

[Mag_Neato]

Very nice!

Can't wait to see them on the site as an option. Very hi-end finish indeed.

[curtis]

I am more of a fan of light colored woods....but WOW!

[ebh]

absolutely fantastic looking. very "handsome" I would say. the espresso is especially unique. i just love the depth of color and richness in it.

[Blake1214]

The Espresso has more color in them than I remembered (even better). Most likely had something to do with the lighting in the warehouse. The bamboo lines on the cherry gloss aren't as pronounced in the picture. I think they're much more "exotic" in person than what the picture suggests.

The pictures are "decent"....but they look wayyyyyy better in person!!

Dave, you mentioned a possiblity of a trade-in program. I think a LOT of people will be interested including myself. Any estimates so we can start saving our pretty pennies?

[ccotenj]

Dave, you mentioned a possiblity of a trade-in program. I think a LOT of people will be interested including myself. Any estimates so we can start saving our pretty pennies?

c'mon dave, i'm all ready to call dina and order... :)

[Sam1000]

Wow, these finishes look spectacular.. Way to go Dave.

I had a similar situation as Blake when my friend's daughter toppled one of the speaker while playing hide 'n seek with my son:). Although the speaker is functioning fine, the finish was damaged. It's not visible from the front and I thought I'll never have to trade these in soon without losing significant value, so I'm happy with PB for a while.

[c_smith]

Amazing! I'm thinking this might what finally pushes me over the edge and has me order....that is barring cost. Great looking finishes! :D

[curtis]

Maybe we should start a new thread for this.....agreed?