Upgrade video of Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers, V1 to ELX (easy and effective)


Just upgraded my towers. They sound amazing. Upgrade was straightforward.

6 new drivers

1 new crossover

total time about 2.5 hours

Here is a video of the process of the upgrade of V1 Sierra Towers with RAAL to ELX: https://youtu.be/FhrClRuHTxo

 

Anyone who wishes to share this video with anyone is welcome to do so. It is for informational/educational purposes only.
 

128x128hilde45

@spydrwebb44 I included a video and the instructions from Ascend are clear. Your overestimating the risk, unless you are a profound butterfingers.

Have been looking for help in the area (MI) to upgrade my Sierra towers to ELX, just don't trust myself to not make a costly mistake.

@roxy54 I had two different pairs of Fritz speakers. In general, the RAAL tweeter on the Ascend is clearer and crisper than the Carbon 7s with more air; compared to the Carreras, the Ascends have as much crispness and clarity but without some of the forward, harsh highs that the beryllium tweeter delivered (in my space). The sound stage is a bit bigger, vertically. There is a warmth and human intimacy to the Fritz Carbons which I've not heard anywhere else, but the Ascends do intimate very well. The bass is more powerful on the Ascends than on either Fritz speaker, but the Fritz speakers do bass remarkably well. 

@hilde45 

That's great. They must be amazing. I would love to hear them! They're not very large either which is nice.

@roxy54 I upgraded to the ELX level.

In other words, these are effectively what I now own:

https://ascendacoustics.com/products/elx-tower-pair?variant=40602626850870

It's rare to see a speaker maker post so many detailed graphs and measurements. Dave Fabrikant is a talented and confident designer and the speakers show why.

@hilde45 

Have you ever heard the ELX towers? I have never even heard the speakers that you have, but I went to their website and I see that the ELX is their top model, so I was curious.

@thecarpathian The upgraded Ascends are quite excellent. I really love them and think they are a speaker delivering better value than many others I've auditioned.

I'm still curious about speakers, but not I'm curious about different kinds of speakers -- wide baffle, planar magnetic, high efficiency (much higher than mine).

I don't want to trade in the Ascends -- they're pretty astonishing-- I just want a second pair!

Hats off to Ascend for offering such a nice upgrade option rather than coming out with another speaker version - only. A helpful and creative solution for their customers.

You can pick up a pair of used towers for $1800-$2000.

So, $2100 for the upgrade and you've got a pair for $3900!

@roxy54 The original cost was about 3k so this brings it to 5.1k or so. It's really outperforming many other speakers I've heard, and is playing very friendly with tube amps.

In an age where many makers come out with new versions of their speakers every year or two, David Fabrikant worked 11 years on the upgrade. There's a nice post about them at the following link, and I hope to write a review, too. https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/ascend-acoustics-elx-towers.1166600/

Thanks @hilde45 . That's a substantial amount, but I don't know the original retail of the speaker, so it might be well worth the cost.

So, the RAAL ribbon stays the same, correct?

I've been looking at the towers for years. Thanks for sharing.