Ok, thanks!
I should remove a woofer tonight and see if i have the same cabinet, then I can make sure I have the proper screws on hand.
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Ok, thanks!
I should remove a woofer tonight and see if i have the same cabinet, then I can make sure I have the proper screws on hand.
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
Upgraded two last night -- not as smoothly as I would have liked, but done nonetheless. Ditto on the screwdriver warnings (or a loose drill bit, which was my worry). I would add to this:
1) Watch out for a "stuck" woofer -- I had to push mine out from the inside and then proceeded to nearly miss the catch.
2) The smaller (black) connects to both tweeter and woofer I had to pry open before they would slot in.
But now I have them and they appear to sound great. (I did one at a time and tried to compare but fat chance.) The only problem here is that the original Sierras sound so damn good.
Any tips for getting the most out of my upgrade??
Excellent tips! Yes, the original Sierra-1 used fiberglass batting as damping material. When we switched to a new vendor, we also switched to the heavy Dacron batting in order to fully comply with various OSHA regulations and to meet ROHS standards. The new vendor is fully compliant which is a good thing
100% correct, and this is where the upgrade might become more difficult. Cutting the crossover lead wires and then resoldering is a good choice. Another option, which we have done here, is to drip a few drops of "Goo Gone" or a similar solvent onto the posts which breaks up the glue and makes removing the nuts much easier.
An even simpler option, if you have a soldering iron, is to desolder the two crossover lead wires on the original crossover. Simply apply the hot tip of the soldering iron to the corresponding solder pad on the underside of the crossover network and while the solder has liquefied, pull the wire out from the PCB. You will then reinsert and resolder these same crossover lead wires into the NrT crossover. Using this method, it is not necessary to cut and splice any wires and it makes for a cleaner installation.
We are happy to do the upgrade for anyone and remember, if we do it -- your 7 year warranty resets and begins anew and we will also include the new measurements.
Another option is to lean the speaker forward against your chest and position your left hand in front of the woofer to catch it. With the palm of your right hand, give a good quick whack to the back of the speaker. The woofer should pop free and safely fall into your hand.
That should not be necessary. When inserting the female connectors, be sure to insert them onto the male terminals on an angle such that only one edge of the male terminal goes into the female terminal first and then move left and right to fully slide the connector onto the terminal. It is a tight fit but this is necessary. It takes a bit of practice
Well, I took one of the woofers out when I got home. I see the black-net covered fiberglass. Guess I'll need to pick up some #4 x 1/2" long drywall screws. I have a big bottle of Goo Gone already, so I will try that on the binding post nuts. Just need the kits to show up tomorrow!
P.S. One thing I noticed when I pulled the woofer out: The video of the upgrade shows what looks like the internal brace of the cabinet to be made of bamboo like the cabinet. In my cabinet the brace looks like it's made from particle board. Am I seeing things that are not there in the vid?
Last edited by Mag_Neato; 12-07-2010 at 04:15 PM.
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
Ok, I went to Home Depot to find some 1/2" long drywall screws. No luck. Shortest is 1". There were some #6, 1/2" and 5/8" Spax construction screws. Would those be ok?
Last edited by Mag_Neato; 12-07-2010 at 05:51 PM.
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
I finished one upgrade. I don't think that soldering is a great option because the crossover wires on the old crossover are only about half the depth of the cabinet, so I would need to be soldering inside the cabinet. I am off to Home Depot to get some Goo Gone for the last four upgrades.
I used #4 5/8" flathead Phillips screws with a washer. The new crossover (including the attachment pads) is pretty thick, so the 5/8" screw did not seem to be much of a problem, and the washer keep part of the tapered screw head above the washer surface.
One warning. The bamboo is very hard, and I was unable to start the #4 screws using only a screw driver. It is certainly not like starting a screw into plywood. Therefore, I snugged down the new crossover using the front left mounting screw, and then took a Dremel tool with a drill bit and drilled small pilot holes for the other three holes. There is not a lot of room to work inside the cabinet, and my Dremel tool barely fit. A screw hole starter might work, but the ones I have seen are too big. I think a #6 screw will probably be OK with a pilot hole, but the #4 screw I used seemed to work well.
Finally, the internal brace in my speaker is particle board, and I agree, it looks like bamboo in the video.
Before I wrote this, I used the upgraded NrT with an un-upgraded Sierra-1 to listen to some 2-channel music. They both sounded great. The first song I listened to sounded pretty similar from each speaker, but the second song had an acoustic guitar, and the slight squeaky sound of the guitarist positioning his fingers over the strings sounded so much more realistic with the NrT.
Anyway, I have four more to go.
-Dave
-curtis
main/living room (5.1):
- LG OLED 77" C3
- Anthem AVM70, VTV AMPLIFIER 5 Channel 3+2 Purifi + Hypex
- Sierra LX for LCR, HTM-200SE for surrounds, Rythmik F15HP
- Eversolo DMP-A6, Oppo 205, AppleTV
bedroom (2.1):
- Vizio 65" P9
- WiiM Ultra, Fosi V3 Mono x 2
- Sierra Luna v2, RSL-10e sub
- AppleTV
I use Roon to manage the music streaming.