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GR Research Speaker Upgrade Review (Sierra-2EX V2)

Rate this speaker "upgrade:"

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 348 96.1%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 7 1.9%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 3 0.8%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 4 1.1%

  • Total voters
    362
Well, after a long weekend helping my son and his friend with a school project, I am now in my living room unwinding and enjoying my Ascend Acoustics ELX RAAL, fully original with no fairy dust or make believe magic, as it should be.

Just extremely glad that ASR and companies like Ascend Acoustics exists.
 
Objectively not very impressive. Not even close to best we have seen.
1778477573841.png


All averages drop a bit at top octave so on-axis could hit the max. at lower frequencies. Side wall bounce is unbalanced, but vertical compensates that in total. This is common with ribbons and at least more linear LW would be good target.
1778477619605.png


These were left out of review. Maybe because these also show fundamental features (~weaknesses) of the concept and are not valuable for punishing and torturing Danny. Small rebalancing could be beneficial, but it's best that manufacturer makes the decision and actions.
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These were left out of review.
This was not a review of Ascend speaker. Company provided the two speakers to test Danny's mod. This is why I didn't show all the measurements I normally provide.
 
Objectively not very impressive. Not even close to best we have seen.
Your scaling is not proper. You need to use 50 dB vertically, not 40 per CEA-2034 spec:

"....frequency ratio be equal to 50dB on the vertical scale...."
 
Objectively not very impressive. Not even close to best we have seen.
Not really the point. The mod makes this worse for no meaningful benefit.

These were left out of review. Maybe because these also show fundamental features (~weaknesses) of the concept and are not valuable for punishing and torturing Danny.
The horizontal barely changes. The vertical gets noticeably worse. I fail to see how that is beneficial.
 
Not really the point. The mod makes this worse for no meaningful benefit.


The horizontal barely changes. The vertical gets noticeably worse. I fail to see how that is beneficial.
I'm not sure what you're referring to so I just show possibilities of the design+concept with combination of FIR and two very small IIR PEQs. LW is linearized first with FIR to slope of -0.1 dB/oct. and then two PEQs are optimized with preference rating math using VituixCAD's default values for full space concepts.
I don't have time to evaluate the result right now but for example Side Wall Bounce has still some hump which is unavoidable with this concept. Top octave could have microscopic hump to compensate increase in vertical directivity.
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Your scaling is not proper. You need to use 50 dB vertically, not 40 per CEA-2034 spec:

"....frequency ratio be equal to 50dB on the vertical scale...."
This is off-topic I've already answered once, but let's try one more time.

I have ANSI/CTA-2034-A R-2020, February 2015. It says:
Data shall be reported in graphical form as illustrated in Figure 4. This chart follows the guidance
of IEC 60263, which stipulates that the horizontal length for a 10:1 frequency ratio be equal to 50
dB
on the vertical scale. For the reported data to be useful it is important that the X-Y proportions
and the horizontal and vertical scaling of the graphs be standardized in this manner.
It recommends IEC 60263 aspect ratio of 50 dB/decade. Directivity graph using that spec. would look like this:
1778524073548.png

My conclusion is that text specification is one of many typos, ambiguities and errors in CTA-2034-A R-2020.
Horizontal scaling is not specified in the text, but Figure 4 has 20-20K (K is Kelvin by the way, and 1000 is k). Y span is 50 dB in Figure 4, and aspect ratio is very close to 25 dB/decade. 25 dB/decade is compatible with IEC 60263 so Figure 4 looks okay.
1778524878361.png


For example this image has aspect ratio of ca. 32 dB/decade which is not compatible with IEC 60263 and CTA-2034-A R-2020.
1778524666223.png


I assume that purpose of 50 dB span is to include also extremely bad responses, but normally(/hopefully) it contains huge amount of useless empty space. Common aspect ratio takes care that different products can be compared without using 50 dB span so that magnitude variations look equal, assuming equal width of chart areas.
For example, 30 dB span looks exactly the same as 50 dB span in case aspect ratio is kept 25 dB/decade (/Figure 4) and equal widths:
1778526239575.png

Aspect ratio is primary spec. imo, maintaining possibility to save vertical space with flat responses and applications or exports including multiple windows which don't need to respect some aspect ratio standard.
 
My conclusion is that text specification is one of many typos, ambiguities and errors in CTA-2034-A R-2020.
Then you should have done what I did. CEA-2034 is merely the formalized spinorama that Harman was using in their testing. At that time, Harman was the main source of such graphs. So after I got my first measurements, I worked and overlayed my graphics on top of Harman's. I discovered that the correct aspect ratio is 10:6. And as I noted, vertical is 50 dB:

index.php


index.php


The spec itself also shows an example with 50 dB vertical axis (Figure 4):
1778534454934.png


It is critical that we follow the same standard as otherwise, the visual error can be quite large.

I suggest you follow the same. Magnifying the vertical axis to then complain about variations is not proper, even though the level of exaggeration was not large.
 
Danny came out with "an answer" to the critics video
1 hour and 20 mins, I only speed watched 11 mins so far, his eyes are watery claiming Amir and the folks here at ASR are trying to slander him. Not sure if I plan to finish this video, maybe if I need a good laugh.
 
Wow! Speechless.

After reading some of the comments beneath the video, I have to acknowledge Danny's skills as a cult leader. These people are lost in their bubble and (unfortunately) will chase after the next "hot shit" forever, whenever it is presented to them there. Glad that I broke out of this fruitless cycle.
 
That is his immature way of trying to make fun and attack ASR.
Which, as a scientist, makes me laugh at Danny because it isn't even a good attack. A theory in science is a very well established, substantiated, accepted explanation of a thing.

What a tool.
 
Which, as a scientist, makes me laugh at Danny because it isn't even a good attack. A theory in science is a very well established, substantiated, accepted explanation of a thing.

What a tool.
I think you meant Theorem?
 
Just finished spot watching this latest video at 1.75x speed. The amount of blind arrogant confidence is mind bending. This court jester made an "offer" to Dave to sell his parts and crossover design with "no loyalty" such that Dave can use it in the speakers he sells at OEM pricing.

I nearly fell off of my chair laughing.

Like I said before you have to have confidence to be a con artist. He sure does have quite of bit of manufactured confidence for sure.
 
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