Audio Science who?
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
Exhibit A for: If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
Object Lesson: If It Ain't Broke, Don't Say It's Broke and Damage the Good Reputation of A Well Regarded Company So You Can Make Money on Gullible Viewers
This is a critical review by Audio Science Review regarding a speaker crossover upgrade kit sold by GR Research for the Ascend Sierra-2EX V2 speakers. The video features a neutral A/B comparison and argues, with evidence, that the measurement methodology was flawed, that the performance was made worse, that false concerns about impedance are asserted, and overall there is no objective evidence of improvement and that the Ascend Sierra-2EX V2 is already a well-engineered speaker that does not require aftermarket modifications.
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- 79 posts total
@hilde45 If we are judging business' reputation based on measured performance specs only and how well those specs correlate, why are we calling out Danny for not measuring distortion specs without calling out Dave for phase response errors and impedance mismatch in drivers? Dave has a klippel, wouldn't they measure for that? Heck, even a umik1 and REW could do it. I could understand big mfg turning a blind eye to that on their base level speakers, but seems to me there was some engineering "good enough" and some cost analysis to fit a market point at Ascend. Time and phase alignment is one understated key point to set great speakers apart from the good ones while driver quality, crossover components and cabinet construction being the others usually get more attention. |
@nlitworld The "good enough for the price point" insinuation runs directly against the documented evidence. The Sierra-2EX woofer is a purely custom SEAS Excel build developed with SEAS's CTO — originally a cost-no-object driver from an $8,000/pair speaker — and the V2 crossover took 1.5 years of development using the Klippel NFS. Dave even offers buyers a full CEA-2034 measurement suite of their individual pair. More pointedly: Dave publicly documented why he set the tweeter crossover where he did — specifically to ease the ribbon's workload, lower distortion, and improve power handling. That's the exact parameter Danny altered, resulting in 6% tweeter distortion. It wasn't a compromise. It was an engineered decision, explained in writing, before Danny touched it. Measurements: https://www.ascendacoustics.com/products/sierra-2ex-v2-pair?variant=40428361777206 Other descriptions: https://forum.ascendacoustics.com/home/forum/ascend-acoustics-discussions/loudspeakers-subwoofers-accessories-electronics/6347-introducing-the-sierra-2ex?7401-Introducing-the-Sierra-2EX!!!=
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But again, we just ignore the time and phase issue built when using those components? It's OK to say it was an engineering decision to insist on using that tweeter and to trade lower distortion and better power handling by giving up phase interference. Really it sounds like Dave and Danny probably just favor different design ideologies when building speakers. Both sides are guilty of throwing shade at the other's design and both bring valid points to the table on how their design has merit. Both sides use measurement systems that work well for the design parameters they want to hit, and are willing to make engineering sacrifices for the parameters they deem less important.
I think Danny's v2 mod was a great compromise between the two design ideologies addressing all those issues, and was still done on the "old-school" clio system. |
- 79 posts total