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Spares
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Buying
Secondhand (a guide)
This
resource is intended as a guide so as to explain the possible problems
when
buying second-hand APOGEE ACOUSTICS speakers, to help save on
disappointment,
and anticipate possible problems before being stuck with them!! And
to inform
you of my spares service! Most Apogee ribbon spares are
available (not dusty
old or "B"stock - that's not me!), but newly manufactured
product
made using the original foil alloy & kapton but manufactured
using dedicated
CNC equipment using the Perigee Processfor predictable and accurate
results. If
you are simply looking for MRTW (Mid Range or Tweeter) spares please
email me
with your requirements, and don't forget to include your speakers
serial number!
Email us
BUYING SECONDHAND - a friendly word of caution
Second hand Apogees were a massive bargain in the first
couple of years
after the companies closure in 1998/9. Many panicked (rightly so!)
about the
availability of spares and skilled instruction to replace ribbons (much
information was withheld by people with grievances over the closure, or
simply
lost), and as answers seemed few and far between for both owners and
second hand
buyers, prices went through the floor!!! Literally a few
cents on the
dollar. I have even heard of speakers being found
at the dump!! This
was at a time when most speakers were in prime condition, and in the
hands of
original owners. The company that bought Apogee Acoustics found after
evaluation
that the business was not what they had hoped for, and terminated the
company
operation as it was considered not commercially viable to them with
large
losses. The "high end" market was contracting, the "high
end" product options expanding and they made a choice. No name calling
and
cries of "unfair", this is simply the way large businesses work in our
times, and it is always somebody's prerogative to change their mind
about a
company they have bought. Think of it as a way that many people that
would never
have had a chance to own such fine speakers had a twist of fate that
helped
them! Certainly these were the darkest days for the
brand&
As speakers changed hands and news of panel failures and descriptions
of the
infamous BUZZ (panel wearing problem) hit the planar forums, prices
fell still
further. A forum
dedicated to the brand was started by proactive Apogee
owner/enthusiasts Matt
Carnicelli and Lewis Brown to help focus information. Retail based
ribbon spares
were all but dried up, and those holding them were charging VERY high
amounts
for them and offering no technical instruction, in line with gambling
on buying
another second hand pair of speakers or greater!!! Many speakers were
lost to
this, being broken up as spares. From the forum sprung up a historical
info
site, created by UK based Jon Oakey - on this apogeespeakers.com
site a singles bar was started to put people in touch with each other
to deal to
pair speakers, some successful matches being made. Threads were
dedicated to
BUZZ, and while some bass spares were available out there the few with
the
knowledge of bass tuning chose to not reveal the procedure.
Often overlooked is the standard basic requirement for amplification to
drive
Apogee speakers PROPERLY. Not only the Scintilla and mighty FULL RANGE
can bring
an otherwise competent amplifier to it's knees! As a guide your
amplifier should
be a good CURRENT source, and the best way to check this is to compare
the
specifications for the amplifier driving both 8 and 4 ohm loads. A good
current-source amp will double it's rated output into 4 ohms. Many of
the well
known Apogee's such as Caliper Signatures tweeters are not famed for
being an
unkind load, however at about 2 ohms dc resistance and very low
efficiency they
represent a task to most amps!! The Scintilla and Full Range are
particularly
bad in this respect dipping below one ohm - serious amplifiers are
required for
this. I will refrain from listing them here to avoid debate but would
advise
potential owners to contact our Apogee
forum and ask the questions themselves after searching the
archives.
See http://www.apogeeacoustics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9
and for Scintillas http://www.apogeeacoustics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=40&p=145#p145
Despite time and inflation having marched on, damaged Apogees for
repair still
represent GREAT value for money for those willing to invest time and
money in a
repair project, however for some this is simply not an option. Here is
a simple
guide for those seeking second hand bargains, and while I agree that
there are
still some serviceable Apogees to be had, they are fewer than a decade
of years
ago, and the phrase BUYER BEWARE certainly applies.
Meet the second hand bargains;-
HYBRIDS
These are simple, and much easier to fix in the event
of problems. Cones are
sometimes found at www.madisound.com
,
and Apogee used the Vifa brand. The original cones are
getting VERY scarce
these days so the best option here is to have the cone repaired by a
specialist.
The usual failure modes are un-attachment of the spider (back) or cone
surround
(front) both best done by people with jigs for centering. Look
for
horizontal curl of the ribbon, excessive dust build up, or signs of
grill burns
on the ribbon surface, listen for break-up or
discontinuity in high
frequency and even sound crackles! Extra line detail and slight visual
imperfections and even small "bubbles" are fine. Replacing the tweeter
ribbons requires some solder skills, but I would liken the skill level
to
changing plugs and points on a 1970s car. Listen for breakup or
discontinuity in
high frequency and even crackles. Fairly priced these can still be an
interesting project, and worth buying. Types include the Centaurs,
Slant, and
Cepheus speakers - ribbons to suit these are in stock, all in
"standard+" versions, some in advanced versions. All of these spares
use high silver content aluminium solder, and high quality gold plated
circuit
boards.
Inter-track exposed adhesive on the Kapton was often a cause of
premature
failure with these ribbons as the adhesive attracted dust over time,
the magnets
attracting conductive debris where present, sometimes leading to
shorts. These
ribbons were etched for Apogee by a subcontractor originally, and the
Kapton
didn't always survive the etching process intact. All
replacements for these
speakers are now made using mechanical and NOT chemical processing for
maximum
life, and all stock is freshly made, in house, no exceptions.
FULL RIBBONS Tweeters/Mids
These are harder to fix due to access and
weight considerations, and
will require physical strength to move the speakers and disassemble for
replacement parts to be fitted. Look for horizontal
curl of the ribbon,
excessive dust build up, or signs of grill burns on the ribbon surface,
listen
for break-up or discontinuity in high frequency and even sound
crackles! Extra
line detail and slight visual imperfections and even small "bubbles"
are fine. Fairly priced these can still be an interesting project, and
worth
buying.
Foil ONLY tweeters and mids as in the
Scintilla's and Full range are more
difficult as they tend to be quite fragile. Handle with care!!! Look
for obvious
sagging, touching or bends in the ribbons. The Scintilla mid/hf unit
has to be
replaced as a complete set, and takes several hours to replace the
ribbons
properly the first time the task is attempted. Not impossible, but
slow,
careful, methodical work!!
FULL RIBBONS Bass
Bass is ONLY supplied to our
Installer-Service associates or direct at
Apogee Acoustics in Australia. Se http://www.apogeeacoustics.com/installers.html
We have an arrangement with the Installers and teach them how to repair
the
vintage Apogees how they should be repaired, giving backup and service
at a high
level on difficult repairs. If your speakers need new bass ribbons,
they will
need to be repaired by an Installer.
Bass - the hardest of all repairs, often required prematurely due to
breakdown
of the edge damping foam or accidental damage. Look
for holes, vertical
crease lines (indicating the speaker has been dropped), granular dust
on the
bottom clamp frame behind the front grill this indicates foam
breakdown. Even
slight fractures are a certain worry as they can spread in a drumbeat -
potentially harming your amplifier. Also inspect the aluminium quality
for signs
of cat spray! This is a ribbon killer... Listen for
BUZZ. This can come
in many forms, and some consider that a little buzz is not a problem!
This can
be true for the speaker will still do many things fine, only being
excited by
combinations of volume and frequency. Buzz can sound like a slight
sympathetic
rattle at best, to a kazoo tone in sympathy with certain instruments at
worst!!
Test by disconnecting all but the bass on one side, and playing a
stepped tone
disk with tones set at 5 hz steps from 30 500 hz. No need to play loud,
about
1/3 volume is usually fine to show this up. And remember your overall
volume in
the room will sound lower playing only one panel. Also listening for
such buzzes
off to the side of the ribbons is a good idea, as you will not get the
intensity
of the bass but will hear the impurity of the BUZZ. Not all buzzes are
ribbon
problems, some being a lack of damping of the front cover, this is
something
that can be harder to track down, usually manifesting itself in the
form of a
low level sympathetic clank. Easy to locate using a cardboard tube and
listening
down the tube about an inch or so away from the ribbon moving to find
the source
of the resonance.
IS IT WORTH THE EFFORT?
Costs is it worth it? Of course this varies with
speaker and owner. As a
guide budget on 80% of the speakers cost when new to be the likely
ribbon parts
cost for a full ribbon replacement of full range type Apogee panels,
and your
repair time to take a couple of weeks at an installer. Better news for
the
HYBRIDS, or MRTW ribbon only repairs, these as a guide work out 20% of
the
speaker's "when new" cost. Add a couple of hundred dollars of
repainting and you have an essentially NEW speaker for a fraction of
todays
manufacturing costs. Some consider this too high, seeing a second-hand
Apogee
cost as the newprice reference, ignoring the possibility they could not
have
heard an Apogee at its best, and considering selling their problem to
buy
somebody else's. Here the forum membership mentioned is particularly
good (free
to join), as members often are kind enough to demonstrate their prized
speakers,
and are represented almost all over the world!!
Our bass ribbon kits come with installation damping edged made to
outperform the
original 1980/90s by some margin on life and damping. Tweeter/mid
ribbons are
gradually being upgraded from the standard install sheets to full photo
html
manuals as well.
CONTACTING US and RIBBON ORDERS
Most ribbons are in stock, and as more products are
coming on line, lead
time is getting shorter. Please contact us via email for a price quote
- we may
not be the cheapest, but bottom dollar prices often equal substandard
product
and service, never more so than high end audio!!! Email
us and be sure to include all details of your speakers
possible, including
the serial numbers!
HOW DO GRAZ RIBBONS COMPARE TO THE ORIGINAL FACTORY
ITEMS?
A good question, and one I get most often! This has
come up many times on
the Apogee Forum many times, feel free to search the archives here or
ask the
question yourself!
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