ribbon hybrids..

Hi Ken - Yes, I have just had a search on the web and found the Mind Grands and Duettas for sale at UK dealers that you mentioned. Don't get buy hi-fi magazines anymore so I miss out on the printed classifieds. It'd be a good 3 to 4 hour train journey (one way) to either of those 2 dealers from where I live, but at least England is still small I suppose in comparson to Oz.

Hi Greg - Have tracked down the ad for the particular set of Stages that you mentioned above.

 

Henry - maybe we should do a mini tour of the UK listening to ribbon speakers?!

From what Ive read, Diva's seem to be the most highly rated, and then duetta sigs..

Ken - how do you rate the Apogee range, both in terms of quality and appropriateness for different sizes of room and driving requirements.

NB

If you're a member of any apogee forums, how would you feel about putting up a post to see if apogee owners wouldnt mind a house visit to get a feel for what they sound like?

Dont want much, do I sorry!!!!!!!!

 

Hi Chris, I think that would an excellent idea if we get it together. :beer: I work shifts and my hours change from week to week, on certain weeks I have a day off during the week like today for example so it wouldn't necessarily have to be a weekend.

BTW, did you see those humungous Genesis 350 hybrids at Hi-Fi Guy? Wonder if they sound any good or if they might be "total hi-fi" as someone around here might say.

 

Oh BTW BTW... Had a browse around the Apogee forum that Ken posted a link to and noticed on one of the thread that they had a link to a photo album with shots of various Apogee user's systems. Eeek, speak about OTT, I mean there was a picture of one system featured Scintillas WITH SUBWOOFERS?!? :ffrc:

 

Ive been reading all round it Henry yeah!!

My favorite parts on it are the re-prints from the original review... let me get a favourite bit...

for those who think they have bass!!>>!>!

The sheer size of the LF panel is impressive - a trapezoidal structure 35cm wide at the bottom tapering to 27cm wide at the top, and again some 118cm high. This is roughly equivalent to the effective radiating area of ten 12in bass drivers, though the allowable excursion of the Apogee diaphragm is probably only one third that of a 12in piston, reducing the equivalence to three such drivers

:O :O :O

 

Chris,

Apogees truly are wonderful speakers, and yes they have "oddles of thwack"

I'd have a pair myself if I could afford a dedicated listening room, but sadly they are far from subtle in your average living room and very sensitive to positioning.

FWIW, I don't like the Stage - it's just too bass light for my tastes as is the Caliper. The larger panels are however awesome.

 

with a 16 x 11 room im thinking it may be total overkill..

but you never know till you hear it in the flesh!

 

I'd agree after hearing the scintillia's don't piss about remember Chris too much is not enough

 

NB If anyone sees an advert for a ''Cepheus 6'' let me know. (or unlikely though it is a Cepheus 8.

This seems more like the original Dali Skyline that I originally wanted...

Chris

 

Hi

Wow, I hardly know where to start.

Bottleneck, I have not heard the Dali Skylines.

I have owned 3 pairs of Maggies and Apogee Stages, the Stages have easily the 'Best Bass". Maggies were up to 6'.0'' high the Stages are around 3'-2''.

It is true that the sweet spot is narrow, but then again Maggies and Quads seem the same.

It is difficult to put in to words but all panels 'drive the room' differently than cones, I don't really pretend to know why, however it is noticeable that when magazines measure the response of panels they do so at a greater a distance than when they measure cones.

Also the perceived volume/loudness of panel speakers is different, whereby panels do not seem to diminish as much as cones when you move away from the speaker face. Therefore when you read 86 dB @ 1 metre for a cone, if you measured again at 2 metres or 4 metres the perceived volume/loudness would diminish substantially, with panels it seems to be about the same at 1 metre as it does at 2 metres or 4 metres.

I suppose when you compare Stages against the larger Apogees the bass would be less, however the likes of Duetta's, Diva's, Scintilla's etc are mighty serious speakers with major bass response, which until now the Scintilla's and Diva's have needed just as serious amps to drive them. (See previous commnets on ICE H2O amps)

The Stage is supposed to measure down to 38Hz, in a room in a normal house given the way that panels drive the room, that is pretty deep bass. According to Martin Columns review the MiniGrand measures below 19Hz in a domestic room environment, that is stomach churning bass in a normal room. So much so that I have occasionally used the Mini Grand subs as stands, and only used the Stage, sure the bass response does not "feel" as deep, but it is hardly noted after the first day.

My room is 4.2 x 6.3 Metres and is dedicated to listening, If I had my choice I think that I would pick the Duetta's, simply because they are easier to work with that the other three up market models.

The Centaur range is a whole different ball game, I think that there are three in the range, Centaur Major, Centaur and Centaur Minor. I know a few people that prefer the C Minors they are much easier to drive and, seem sweater, they can be used with normal world amps including valves, my Leak was magical with the C Minors. Set up correctly, with correct distance from the rear wall, toe in and rake, they can be magnificent, the whole room disapears, so does the equipment.

HenryT, The NS 1000's are the second best box speakers that I have heard, (the best are made here in Perth by a local dealer, but I cannot afford a pair).

I particularly like the fact that I can drive them with S/State amps (Krell / Classe' ) also low power tube amps, I have been listening through a pair of 211 Monoblocks - awesome, and an 8 watt EL84 triode, achieving 85 dB at 4 metres with no sign of clipping. They are detailed and image really well, however, they are not panels, they don't sound like panel and, even though they have a reputation of having good bass, they are easily outclassed by the Stage, without the MG subs.