Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JustABrah
NrT are an awesome tweeter and a big step up from the tweeter in the Sierra-1, how much of a step up is this next one? NrT tweeter is pretty awesome and doesn't seem to lack anything, imho, oh and the NrT black on the black Sierra-1 looks sooo badass. I also kinda think there is more to this update than just a tweeter for it to be a Sierra-2, I'm thinking there's a new woofer?
The NRT upgrade (and IMHO it was a considerable upgrade) was tweeter and a new crossover.
Unless I'm very much mistaken the -2 upgrade will be a ribbon tweeter and a new crossover.
I suspect the jump from NRT to Ribbon will be much greater than the Stock-tweeter to NRT.
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
davef
Hi Guys,
My sincerest apologies for being so out of touch for the last few months. It has been a whirlwind of activity here since November and while I expected a slow down in January, it hasn’t happened. To be perfectly honest, we have been hit with a sales volume that has far exceeded our expectations and has stressed our capabilities to the max, which thus forced me to put the Sierra-2 on hold until we caught up with everything.
This isn’t a bad thing of course, but it is not my original intentions for Ascend or for me as I never wanted to spend my time, all of my time, dealing with managing a small business. Between daily production, in-house demos, and technical emails – I quickly found myself without a spare minute for the Sierra-2. I think most companies would love this type of volume, but I have been there before and my passion, more so my desire to share my passion, was being squashed and let my just say that I was not a happy camper and drastic changes were needed.
I am pleased to say that we have made several considerable internal changes here at Ascend. We have added 2 additional employees, have now completed leasing another facility behind our current unit which will be used for both engineering and additional warehousing, and we have also doubled the size of our production line while completely re-organizing the warehouse. I have made a sizeable investment back into Ascend so that we can better support higher sales volumes and more importantly, free more of my time for engineering.
Having said that, the Sierra-2 is progressing nicely. I had a slight setback with the last set of prototype components as there was a slight error (not sure if it was my fault or theirs) but I expect the next batch of prototypes to be perfect and “final”. From there it is just a matter of optimizing the existing Sierra-2 crossover to accommodate the changes and then the components head into production.
I know everyone would like a firm time line and estimated prices, but I don’t want to provide information that is not accurate. Without question, it will happen this year and more than likely, by the end of June. 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.
Thanks so much for all of the support and for your patience with us!!!
Considering that you produce World Class products at what can only be described as bargain prices, it would be hard to imagine this scenario not becoming a reality.
As more folks are introduced to Ascend speakers, and in particular the newer high end products, it is becoming increasingly clear to discerning, value conscious buyers that better sound quality would be hard to come by even at many multiples of the cost of these outstanding performers.
I can think of no other speaker line that comes anywhere even remotely close to the price of Sierra Towers that I would consider.
The thought of a bookshelf that can match the high end, and come so very close to the mid-range performance of my Sierra Tower/Horizon front stage will likely create an even higher demand for those seeking audio nirvana. Can't wait to hear a set of these babies when they pass your stringent requirements.
Very glad to hear that you have freed yourself of some of the more plebian tasks, enabling the design genius in you to do what it is you do so very well!
Jay
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
What I'm curious to find out is if people who choose to upgrade to the new tweeter and crossover, but who have already upgraded to the Nrt, will sell their used Nrt tweeters and crossovers possibly creating a used market... Is this possible?
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
aenthusiast
What I'm curious to find out is if people who choose to upgrade to the new tweeter and crossover, but who have already upgraded to the Nrt, will sell their used Nrt tweeters and crossovers possibly creating a used market... Is this possible?
I didn't upgrade my Sierra-1's to Sierra-1 NrT's, but if I remember correctly, part of the upgrade agreement was to send back your standard tweeter and crossover. If that is true, then I think it would be same for the Sierra-2 upgrade.
Someone correct me if I am wrong about the NrT upgrade.
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
curtis
I didn't upgrade my Sierra-1's to Sierra-1 NrT's, but if I remember correctly, part of the upgrade agreement was to send back your standard tweeter and crossover. If that is true, then I think it would be same for the Sierra-2 upgrade.
Someone correct me if I am wrong about the NrT upgrade.
That is not true, so consider yourself corrected! ;) You could send your original crossover & tweeter for a rebate on the upgrade, but you could also do the upgrade without sending in your old parts. :)
So actually, indeed, it could create a 2nd hand market for NrT upgrade... Hmmm... Interesting...
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GirgleMirt
That is not true, so consider yourself corrected! ;) You could send your original crossover & tweeter for a rebate on the upgrade, but you could also do the upgrade without sending in your old parts. :)
So actually, indeed, it could create a 2nd hand market for NrT upgrade... Hmmm... Interesting...
OK...I stand corrected. :)
I wonder how the 2nd hand market will affect warranties.
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
curtis
OK...I stand corrected. :)
I wonder how the 2nd hand market will affect warranties.
Warranties for who? In both cases, for the seller of a used NrT upgrade, or for someone who decides to buy a 2nd hand NrT upgrade from an individual and then trying to install them themselves on their Sierras, I'd say it would void both warranties. I don't remember what the warranty was on a DIY NrT upgrade, don't think it was "at your own risk", but if someone managed to damage something during the installation, while I'm sure Ascend would offer a reasonable warranty, it certainly wouldn't cover damage caused by improper installation by a customer...
So anyway, the warranty would probably be void, usually the case with 2nd hand items. Or at least least it would be 'interesting' to try to get warranty on a 2nd hand 2nd installation DIY NrT upgrade ;)
Depending on cost of the upgrade, was a ballpark pricing mentioned btw? Don't remember... Anyhow, depending on the cost of the upgrade, if it's expensive enough, it might be worth selling your pair of S1s and getting new S1s with the RAAL upgrade installed... Say it's 500$ for the upgrade, which really wouldn't be exorbitant given 2 RAAL tweeters and two crossovers, now on sale 800$ for new PB S1s, maybe adding a 300$ for RAAL upgrade (not paying for original tweeter & crossover on new pre-upgraded purchases, so bit cheaper), minus say 400$ for used S1 sale, total cost... 700$, well plus tax and shipping... Ok, so probably not worth it in this case, but if the upgrade is 600, and you get to sell your S1s for more.. ;) Ok probably won't work too well in the end hehehe All conjecture now anyhow lol :cool: Maybe for a finish change at the same time though...
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
aenthusiast
What I'm curious to find out is if people who choose to upgrade to the new tweeter and crossover, but who have already upgraded to the Nrt, will sell their used Nrt tweeters and crossovers possibly creating a used market... Is this possible?
Seems most folks are assuming this is just going to be a tweeter/crossover upgrade. I was under the impression that one of the major goals was to get the midrange more in line with the Towers since that is the area of the biggest performance disparity, not the high frequency.
My thoughts are that a different woofer (lighter, faster) might be part of this package, which of course might lead to a slight loss of bass extension. In my case, I'd gladly sacrifice some low bass in exchange for a midrange closer to what the Towers produce. I have a big 'ol sub to take care of those frequencies anyway. In fact, I'm more interested in the mid-range performance of the Sierra-2 than the highs, which is already superb with the NRT.
Anticipation, it's making us wait (Carly Simon, or Carole King?) LOL.
Jay
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Its a bit counter intuitive, but the tweeter also affects the mids. How much actually depends on the tweeter and crossover. In truth, mids, highs, bass are a bit abstract, they refer to the frequency; 20hz, 20000hz, etc., so all drivers able handle a certain range. Check out the measurements page, I think they show woofer and tweeter vs freqs.[edit] ok they don't... Ok here's an example. Tweeter and woofer, 2 way. Sometimes, a tweeter can go lower and handle more of the mids, sometimes, it's the opposite, a tweeter will have poor performance at its lower end and will need to be crossed over quite high (often the case with cheap tweeters). So as tweeter goes lower in frequency it will increase in distortion and decrease in volume/power handling... For the woofer, it's usually the same but inverted, distorts more as the frequency increases and also roll off. (both of these extremes get worst because you're going out of the range they were designed to handle...)
So it's all about drivers, if your mid has good high freq performance, you can cross it over higher, and use maybe a cheaper tweeter that doesn't need to go as low... Or, if you have a tweeter that goes lower, than you can use a driver who's high frequency performance isn't so good, but it won't matter because the tweeter will 'take it over' if you will. It always varies from design to design...
So phew, tweeter can increase mid performance! And btw, NrT upgrade improved mids... So RAAL could too ;)
Re: Sierra-1 NrT: Next phase?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GirgleMirt
Its a bit counter intuitive, but the tweeter also affects the mids. It depends on the tweeter and crossover. In truth, mids, highs, bass are a bit abstract, they refer to the frequency; 20hz,,20000hz, etc., so all drivers able handle a certain range. Some higher, others lower... you can look at measurements page, I think they show woofer and tweeter vs freqs.
Btw, NrT upgrade improved mids... So RAAL could too ;)
Yes, the NrT improved the mids because it can be crossed lower than the standard Sierra-1 tweeter.