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Neutral bookshelf speakers @ $2000?
- Thread starter veeceem
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For anyone that wants to try the upgrade, just an FYI. I cannot recommend the upgrade kit. I tried it, and one of the new woofers would not fit in my Sierra 1 enclosure. It was suggested by Ascend that I could sand out the spot for the driver, but I didn't want to ruin the finish. So I returned it and bought a new 2EX.
I heard from another Sierra owner who had a similar fit issue trying to upgrade a Sierra 2 to a 2EX.
I wasn't suggesting it as an upgrade for current owners, but rather as a way to get the drivers and xover shipped overseas cheaper than the full speaker.
I'd be miffed if your experience was typical.
Ascend's response is not what what I would call a good one.
I'd be miffed if your experience was typical.
Ascend's response is not what what I would call a good one.
The issue here is that the size of the new parts require a slightly larger woofer hole than the old cabinet had. Ascend has no obligation to limit new products to be backwards compatible with people doing field upgrades of their older products. In this case, they have a new version of product and gave people the option to change out the different parts themselves, to retain value from their old speakers. Not all previous cabinets need this (slight) enlarging of the woofer mounting hole. And depending who you are, this enlarging might not be a big deal. Furthermore, they also have done the upgrade 'for free' (meaning no charge for their labor to do it at their factory) - that's what I did with my Sierra2 conversion to Sierra2-EX. I really don't know what more anyone should expect from them. They sell speakers, not kits for people overseas to build their own. I'd say they have gone above and beyond.
Were I buying the kit for the purpose I suggested, ie build your own box I'd agree 100%. And I think it is great they are offering the upgrade to existing owners as well. More companies should.
But, on the other hand, if they know that the new bass driver may not fit existing Sierras they should alert potential buyers.
It's not a biggie in the broad scheme of things and I can't imagine KEF, Revel or some of the contenders mentioned here doing it, but were I a Sierra 1 or 2 owner I'd like to know.
But, on the other hand, if they know that the new bass driver may not fit existing Sierras they should alert potential buyers.
It's not a biggie in the broad scheme of things and I can't imagine KEF, Revel or some of the contenders mentioned here doing it, but were I a Sierra 1 or 2 owner I'd like to know.
AGREED! This is addressed in the forum, but some people might not encounter it. It should be clearer at the point of order. I'll mention that to them.
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I don't know that Ascend will sell the kit for that reason. When I ordered the upgrade kit, they wanted the serial number off the speakers that I had. I think this is to prevent people from doing exactly what you describe.
Ascend has replied that approximately 2% of all Sierras now could have this issue, and that they request the serial numbers of the existing speakers when one orders an upgrade to let them warn those customers about this issue.
For what it's worth, they asked for my serial number after the kit shipped. I was never informed there might be a problem, and there was.
Understood. This might have become a policy after your experience, or, someone made a mistake.
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Did you get new speakers yet?Unfortunately for others: These kinds of offer are strictly limited to France/EU.
PS: Speaking of which, my kitten just destroyed one of the medium/bass driver of my 906s...
And btw, should I expect break-in with the 906?
They sound extremely good out of the box with the Ncore 2x150W amp and a random WinXP PC soundcard and ASIO in Foobar.
Not that much, I guess. Mine sound good since the day I got them.
Nope, I repaired the 906s.I exchanged the pierced driver directly with Focal for "only" 60€ (+16€ shipped). Excellent customer service, BTW.
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They sound as detailed as monitors really. I need to get stands though, because on a table bass is lacking a bit (I hear it a lot more when standing up though).
I think RME ADI-2 DAC is overkill though. No hint of distortion with a random DAC here.
I use them with Official S900 Stands. Definitely not cheap at 299€ (got the pair for 219€), but very stable, heavy and stylish stands. Plus, they are screwed inside the Arias, so these can't fall anytime soon:
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The price of one 906. I will be on the lookout.
Speaker Shootout (Left to Right):
1| Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2EX
+Clean bass & treble, biggest sound, best sub-bass, the attack and decay are astounding but not always noticeable
-Vocals lack presence, needs good positioning
*Currently using MiniDSP SHD with Dirac. These speakers sounded amazing at first but I found myself constantly changing the volume. I was struggling to hear the vocals at times and when I did increase the volume, the bass was overpowering. After EQ-ing, these speakers were by far the best of the bunch as I never found myself nitpicking about it and it just disappeared into the background. It could play loud enough for movies, and I never found myself needing a sub. During the shootout, it got two votes for the best speaker of the bunch. One person found it didn't sound "high-end."
2| Focal Aria 906
+Natural vocals, best mids, driver integration is seamless, best build
-Treble can get slightly sharp, bass has punch but no sub-bass rumble
*During the shootout, this was the best sounding for music right out of the box. Vocals on it was noticeably clearer than the others. However on some music there is a slight harshness or sibilance and detracted from the music. The lack of bass is not as noticeable on music, but for movies the lack of rumble on the sub-bass made explosions unrealistic. During the shootout, it got one vote for the best speaker of the bunch. One person found the harshness/sibilance annoying.
3| KEF Q150
+Point source imaging, easy to position, best when used near-field
-Doesn't play very loud, doesn't have out of room sound when spaced far apart (sounds the smallest), bass gets distorted easily
*During the shootout, this was instantly deemed the least impressive of the bunch. They sounded small, due to being spaced far apart. Also when level matched, this speaker struggled to play at moderate volume levels as we could hear the driver rattle. However, I have since moved them to a small desk to be used just beside my laptop and they sound phenomenal. When listening near-field, the center image and the bass appeared - they now sounded bigger than the box.
4| ELAC Uni-Fi UB5
+Warm sound, best center image, big sound
-Upper treble tapers off, can hear high frequencies distort compared to other speakers
*During the shootout, all three of us really enjoyed this speaker although it was lacking the "high-end" sound. It sounded big, fun and enjoyable. I suspect we just enjoyed hearing a speaker that's more noticeably warm compared to the others. Listening to some tracks however, we found that we couldn't hear the triangle instrument properly and it lacks sparkle.
Gear used: PC (FLAC) -> SMSL SU-8v2 -> Hattor Audio Mini Preamp -> Audiophonics Hypex NC252MP (MPA-252NC XLR) -> Speakers
Test conditions: Untreated bedroom, no stands but head level, no subwoofer, listen at 82dB max SPL@5m, measured 91dB max SPL@1m
I ordered an Asipilin LS3/5a (15 ohm) but it did not arrive in time for the shootout.
Bonus Round| Devialet Phantom Silver (Mono)
+Plays extremely loud, can fill a whole room with sound, plays well off-axis
-Frustrating UI, can't use own DAC/Amp, stereo setup issues
*This isn't part of the shootout as it's located in the living room but we listened to it on the same day. The Devialet sounds huge for such a small unit. The ample amount of sub-bass is the most noticeable compared to the speakers above. We could sit anywhere and be happy to have music played without distortion. After extended listening, the bass gets tiring and I'm considering using the MiniDSP SHD here as the Phantom only has an Optical In connection. Also note that I do not recommend using these on a stereo setup.
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Funny thing is: at the price both @daftcombo and I got the 906s, these would have been the cheapest of all the shootout... (Yes, even cheaper than Q150, no kidding). While for you, living in Singapore, it should be the opposite, right?
Hahaha yup, the 906s were 745 EUR (835 USD) all in. The Q150 & UB5 were half price even after including shipping & taxes all the way from the States.
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