[biz97]

Up for sale is a pair of Ascend Acoustics Sierras with NRT Upgrade in a custom Matte Espresso finish.  Speakers were used in a audio-only system for less than a year at low-level volumes.  Speakers were used in a smoke-free, pet-free home.  The pair comes with both Q-plug types for sub integration and increased extension, as well as all original packaging and documentation.  More information about these speakers can be found here: http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html
 
Asking price is $800 + shipping fees.  CONUS only; local pickup in in San Diego, CA is available.  See pictures below and thanks for looking.

   

[JLM]

Without searching the Ascend forum, can you explain what the NRT and Q-plug upgrades are (and how much they cost)?

And why are you selling?

[biz97]

The cost of the each item was as follows:
Custom Espresso Satin Finish: $ 250
NRT-1 Upgrade: $300
Q-Plugs Set (Pair of A's and Pair of B's): $31

Selling the speakers to fund another project (non-audio related).

Descriptions for the Q-Plugs:
It is recommended to use Q-Plug A when the Sierra-1 will be wall mounted or within several inches of the wall. Use of this port plug can also improve subwoofer integration as the in-room response of the speaker changes to -3dB at 60Hz with a 12dB/octave roll-off as compared to a stock Sierra-1 which is approximately -3dB at 40Hz in room with a sharp 24dB/octave roll-off.

Q-Plug B creates a mass loaded damped port, lowering the port tune frequency by 10Hz while also damping port tube resonances and dramatically reducing port noise. When compared to a stock Sierra-1, we get 3dB less output in the 50-70Hz range and 3dB more output in the 30Hz range. The speaker will have less “punch” but a deeper bass response.

See http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=3781 for more information.

Excerpt from D. Fabrikant (Ascend Acoustics Owner and Creater) regarding the NrT Upgrade
"The tweeter is a joint venture between [Ascend] and SEAS and we are the only company that will will ever have it. As far as soft domes go, this is among the very best out there with performance designed specifically for our goals, which is based on [Ascend] customer feedback.  This tweeter also allows us to use a different crossover topology with different slopes and not only is the difference in the highs dramatic -- the midrange is remarkable and the Sierra-1 NrT will be about 1/2dB more efficient with a frequency response that is now more linear than our CBM-170 (which is a remarkable accomplishment)."

See http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=4392&page=2 for more information and discussion.