Sierra 2EX upgrade kit questions

[SunByrne]

That's strange.

I've done probably more of these than anyone who doesn't actually work at Ascend (I have four pairs of Sierra bookshelves and not a single one of them currently hold the components they shipped with), and I've not really had that level of problem getting the tweeters out. I've had a couple that were a little reluctant, but nothing that couldn't be solved by tilting the speaker forward and either just thumping the cabinet or prying a little on the edge of the faceplate. (Make sure you have a towel or something so the tweeter has a soft landing.)

[racrawford65]

I think we may be tied or may even have you beat, SunByrne.
I believe my count is:
* ELX Tower/Horizon upgrades: 9 drivers & 3 cross-overs
* S2 to S2EXv2: 2 drivers & 2 cross-overs (plus a tweeter swap on 1 that I blew a couple of years prior to the upgrade)
* Duo v2: 1 cross-over


I do agree it's strange. The tweeter (or drivers) should come out with a little finesse.

[Robert]

Yeah....upgrades add up quick. I earned my Ascend upgrade merit badge for the following:

1 pair of Sierra v1 towers to ELX + 1 Horizon v1 to ELX, along with a Horizon ribbon tweeter swap out to send to Dave (it ended up not being torn or having debris in it....just a cosmetic only "wrinkle"), but Dave swapped out the ribbon and it works great. 2 crossovers for the Sierra 2 EX to EX v2, and two crossovers for Luna v1 to v2. Honestly, I liked the Horizon upgrade the best as I could just place it on a table and work at my desk. That one was the most enjoyable for me as soldering was involved AND everything fit perfectly.

Only one tower gave me a ton of grief as it was just big enough to hold the original drivers, let alone the new ELX drivers.....they were stuck in there pretty well. I had one Sierra EX woofer that was also more challenging than the other. The screw method did not work on these like the others, but I used a small dental pick to gently pull on the driver at each screw hole, along with a narrow plastic prying tool used for laptop/mobile repairs in the hole as well. I also had it tilted downwards as I gently "pried" at each screw location to use gravity as my ally.

I had a towel directly underneath the driver to gently catch it when it decided to drop and just in case I got clumsy. My wife helped as an extra set of hands to angle that tower, but the bookshelf speaker was more manageable. A little extra work involved, but not too bad thankfully.

[davef]

I don't know if this is relevant to this thread but I'm trying to rotate my tweeters in my Sierra 2 (nonEX) for horizontal placement. I can't seem to get the tweeter out. I removed the 4 Phillips screws and tried flipping it over and couldn't get them to budge. I even tried putting a stick into the soundport and tapping on the cork backing of the tweeter mount (not the tweeter itself. It just won't budge. Any suggestions?

I shouldn't have to remove the hex screws holding the tweeter itself in right?

Hi Falkon,

Sometimes the gasket in between the phenolic isolator / spacer bonds to the cabinet due to suction (it means it is doing its job). Once you break that seal, it should be quite easy.

I recommend picking up a cheap dental pick like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Care-P...dp/B0C5HWHZCM/

Insert one end of the pick into one of the holes where you removed the screws, get the tip behind the tweeter (you will have to feel it) - wiggle/twist the pick around a bit and pull. If it still doesn't come loose, repeat this in each screw hole. You shouldn't have any issues.

[muzz]

That Horizon is the one I'm looking at to replace my 340SEC.
Been thinking about it since it came out, but the 340SEC is underrated.. hardly anyone talks about it.
It's a decent CC.
The Horizon is pretty pricey, otherwise, I would already own it...size means nothing here, No old lady to complain.

[davef]

That Horizon is the one I'm looking at to replace my 340SEC.
Been thinking about it since it came out, but the 340SEC is underrated.. hardly anyone talks about it.
It's a decent CC.
The Horizon is pretty pricey, otherwise, I would already own it...size means nothing here, No old lady to complain.

Considering the component quality and performance, the Horizon is a steal at the pricing we are selling it for.

[curtis]

No old lady to complain.

Then who is in your avatar pic?

[muzz]

Then who is in your avatar pic?

Ha.
I Love you guys. Sierra 2EX Is ridiculously good, it did take me a lot of to make it work with Sierra 1 boxes... serious work.
Seriously, it took a serious amount of work unless you have a router.
.
Was worth it.

[Mag_Neato]

Ha.
I Love you guys. Sierra 2EX Is ridiculously good, it did take me a lot of to make it work with Sierra 1 boxes... serious work.
Seriously, it took a serious amount of work unless you have a router.
.
Was worth it.

C'mon Muzz....... we wanna know who the lady in your avatar is! (But only if you are ok with revealing that!)

As for the mod work to the Sierra-1 cabinets, are they from the first batches of cabinets when the Sierra-1 was originally released? My Sierra cabinets are of that generation. The biggest mod I had to do was when going from the original Sierra-1 woofer to the original Sierra-2 woofer. The cast mounting flange on that woofer was ever so slightly larger than the original woofer and I had to open up the recess cutout.

[muzz]

Hahaha 🤣

Hey Mag, been awhile bud.
My Sierra1's we're pretty early, I didn't wait long... I upgraded from 130's.
Great upgrade for Bass, but I had a sub, so it ended up weird.
130's are WAY Underated.. tweeter gets a bit harsh at high volume(bass doesn't matter MUCH with good sub/s.).
BTW, I LOVE the 130 look that many hate.
That speaker needs a new Tweeter and XO IMO.
Kinda sideways move, Sierra 1 was better, but how much....much prettier obviously...
Those early S1 cabinets(that I have) took a LOT of trimming to get the 2EX Driver's to fit, NFW they fit easily, if I didn't know my way/have tools they'd still be sitting on the floor.
Hope all is well bud.

BTW, her name is...ahhh, been so long, on the tip of my tongue...🤣

G