whats going on with this Raal tweet upgrade for Sierra1 ?

[jenkzy56]

I don't seem to be able to find any info on this.
Is it happening? has it been done yet?
anyone have pics?

I have three Sierra1s and am contemplating having them modded.

cheers

[Mag_Neato]

I don't seem to be able to find any info on this.
Is it happening? has it been done yet?
anyone have pics?

I have three Sierra1s and am contemplating having them modded.

cheers

Dave said in the "Next phase" thread that these are completely custom requiring extensive cabinet modification. That is why there is no mention on the website. Give Ascend a call to discuss. The cost to modify a pair of Sierra-1's is $800 according to Dave, so plan on $1,200 for 3. You will have to ship them to Ascend to have this done.

[jenkzy56]

Ok, got it
Thanks

[curtis]

Just so there is no confusion, there are two upgrades.

Sierra-1/Sierra-1 NrT to Sierra-1 w/RAAL 70-20XR...the same tweeter that is used in the Sierra Tower w/RAAL. This is a customization that Mag_Neato is referring to in his post.

Then there is the Sierra-1/Sierra-1 NrT to Sierra-2. We still don't know what this entails.

[jenkzy56]

Ok, I remember hearing about this at some point.
I guess I somehow got the impression the Sierra-2 will be a different enclosure and therefore, a completely different animal.
I wait with great interest!

thank you

[GirgleMirt]

To muddy the waters I was on the exact opposite, I think the new RAAL upgrade would be available to current sierra owners; aka; same as NrT upgrade; ship you the crossover and tweeter and you operate yourself...

[Mag_Neato]

To muddy the waters I was on the exact opposite, I think the new RAAL upgrade would be available to current sierra owners; aka; same as NrT upgrade; ship you the crossover and tweeter and you operate yourself...

With the amount of modification this involves Dave stated they are only doing them in-house. Not only would the tweeter cutout need to be cut, the port tube likely requires being modified or replaced.

[GirgleMirt]

Ok so I guess I missed that... I found this, where Dave mentions that the Sierra-2 uses the same cabinet as the Sierra-1;

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?4978-Sierra-1-NrT-Next-phase&p=43170#post43170

Yes, Sierra-1, Sierra-1 NrT will be user upgradeable to the Sierra-2 – and while this complicates matters, this plan will not change. In addition, the Sierra-2 will not replace the Sierra-1 or Sierra-1 NrT, it will be an additional product in our lineup. The Sierra-2 will indeed use the same cabinet as the Sierra-1.
and I guess it seemed a bit... Natural... That if they used the same cabinets, could be upgraded in the same way as the NrT tweeter/upgrade: http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?4978-Sierra-1-NrT-Next-phase/page24

But again, if it uses the same cabinet, no cabinet modification should be necessary, since it's the same cabinet... If it does require modifications, then the cabinet is not the same...

[FirstReflect]

Just to make it clear:

1) there's the standard Sierra-1

2) there's the Sierra-1 with NrT tweeter upgrade.

3) if you already own the standard Sierra-1, you can do the upgrade to the NrT tweeter & crossover yourself.

4) there's an upcoming Sierra-2 that - as far as we know at this point - will use a new tweeter, a new woofer, and a new crossover, but the same cabinet as the Sierra-1. Therefore, if you own a standard Sierra-1, or a Sierra-1 NrT, supposedly you will be able to upgrade to the Sierra-2 yourself.

5) The standard or NrT Sierra-1 can be modified to use the same RAAL 70-20XR ribbon tweeter that you would find in the Sierra Tower RAAL or Horizon RAAL speakers. But you cannot do this upgrade yourself. It requires the cabinet to be modified.

6) The standard Sierra-1 can also be customized to use the RAAL 70-20XR AND the mid-range driver from the Sierra Tower/Horizon. This is a highly custom speaker that rolls off at about 90Hz, but provides a perfect mid-range and treble match to the Sierra Tower RAAL and Horizon RAAL.

7) The most confusing part, I think, is that the Sierra-2 will likely use a RAAL brand tweeter. But this is NOT the same RAAL 70-20XR tweeter that you would find in the Sierra Tower RAAL or the Horizon RAAL, or the modified/customized Sierra-1.

8) As far as what you'll likely find on the Ascend website - you'll see the standard Sierra-1, the Sierra-1 NrT, and the Sierra-2. And, as stated before, since they all use the exact same cabinet, you can upgrade between those 3 speakers yourself.

The Sierra-1 using the RAAL 70-20XR tweeter, and the Sierra-1 using the RAAL 70-20XR tweeter AND Sierra Tower mid-range driver - those are custom speakers that will likely never show up on the Ascend website, but if you contact Ascend directly, Dave seems perfectly willing to build these as custom speakers for you.

9) One final note is that custom finishes are also possible for any of these Sierra speakers. But, again, you need to contact Ascend directly and order them as custom speakers :)

[jenkzy56]

Say what ?
Seriously though, thanks for the in-depth info.
Very much appreciated.