Please tell us about your system

[Macstereo]

Hello all,

I think it would be great if we could all tell about the gear we use with our Apogees. I'll start. I have two Apogee systems in my house. Both feature all new ribbons made by Graz. Both sets of Apogees were rebuilt by a master craftsman, Rich Murry, of Nevada. My upstairs systems features a pair of Duetta II's. The electronics are a McIntosh C-32 preamp, a McIntosh MCD 7000 CD player (made in 1985, still working perfectly) and a McIntosh MC2205 amplifier. This system is in my master bedroom. Sounds great. Downstairs, I have a pair of FR's driven by a McIntosh MC2255 amplifier, and a McIntosh MC2205 amplifer. The preamp is a McIntosh C2300 tube/transistor preamp, and a McIntosh MCD500 CD player. Sounds glorious. John

[User211]

Go on - post some pics of those FRs - I'm sure we'd all love to see them. It's easy enough to do...

[dasign]

My system consists of heavily modifed DS (Mye stands, rebuilt Xover, internal wiring/ribbon connectors and speaker binding posts) + Krell FPB 350MCX amps + Benchmark DAC 1 HDR + Music server connected to DAC by fiber cable + Acoustic Zen Absolute balanced interconnects + Acoustic Zen Double Barrel biwired speaker cables + Richard Gray RGPC 400 power device + Shunyata DIY power cords.

Next step is to Grazify ribbons.

Dasign

[Eugene]

My audio Nirvana: pair of Full Range's restored by the magic hands of Henk, driven by the very rare Sphinx pj 16 on the woofers en Spinx pj 14 on mid/hi (both upgraded with Eichmann phono en speaker pods, makes a hugh difference). The FR covers are done with high gloss painting and the wings are covered with very fine black leather (Henk's idea). I am a very proud owner of one of the legends in 'audio world'. Everytime I listen to them, they put a very big smile on my face. Nowadays I'm a full time listener of vinyl and it sounds magical through the FR's. Get the audiophile lp of Hugh Masekela Hope and listen to this through your apogee's and you will be FLOORED like never be before.



Eugene

[elpampeano]

hi everyboby, first of all, i have to apologize for my english, i´m not bilingual...
after seen your brutal audio systems, i have to show my modest system.
it comprises a pair of apogee centaurus minor, that i been looking for a long time. maybe i your countries is not a difficult work, but here in argentina is a very, very hard work. after a long time i can get my hands on these beautifull babys, not in very good estetical conditions, whith the woofers replaced by a pair of dynaudio units, but with the ribbons in perfet condition. what about the sound? i can´t believe that a pair of speakers can sound so transparent and fast. in comparison with my older b&w 603 s2, they blow it away. they don´t have the bass of the b&w, but i will change everything for this gorgeus mid-highs. out of this world, whiout words. even without listen to a pair of their bigger sisters. i only can dream about that kind of sound. for my standpoint, i will take them up to (well, down to...) seven feets under.
the rest of the system is :
preamp mc intosh c-29
power amp mc intosh 6100
cd player cambridge 640 v2
audioquest cables.

another question : worth the money a pair of the olther symo transconductance speakers cables (in new conditions)for my centaurus ?? i can get them for 200 u$s...

bye.

[Vansloneker]

Welcome elpampeano.
Most if not all of us have that same experience that Apogees are unveiling the music.

[elpampeano]

Welcome elpampeano.
Most if not all of us have that same experience that Apogees are unveiling the music.

exactly. they´re almost magical.
sorry, i forget a old warrior in my system, a jamo sub 250, that i sometimes use when i listen to pop/rock/metal...for jazz classical and blues, i don´t use it. im happy whith the centaurus bass.
bye.

[geddie]

worth the money a pair of the olther symo transconductance speakers cables (in new conditions)for my centaurus ?? i can get them for 200 u$s...

bye.

You can get much cheaper speaker cables - less than $1 per foot - than the Symos, and they will do the job every bit as well. Blue Jeans Cable has a lot of dirrerent cables:

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

Also take a look at Knuconcept cables. Use them with or without terminations:

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetai ... ID=KLE10BL

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetai ... ID=KAR10SS

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetai ... ID=KLE12BL

Good luck with your system

[ATD]

My first Apogee system.

DIY TT with Michell parts and Alphason Xenon tonearm and Denon DL-103 with thuya wood casing.
Plinius CD-LAD preamp
Audio Analogue Donizetti monoamps
Apogee Centaur Majors

[Forrest]

Apogee Duetta Signatures bi-amped with KLM2 ribbons and DYI elevated 90-degree vertical-stands on Herbie's threaded sliders.

Subs: Two (stereo) Rythmik A370PEQ/GR Research servo in DIY enclosures.

Active crossover: DEQX HDP-Express II calibrated (three-way crossover, speaker correction, sub-woofer time-alignment, and room correction below 120Hz) using an Earthworks M23 mic. The DEQX literally puts it over the top. An improvement like I've never heard before in any system. Needless to say that I highly recommend it. It's the perfect complement for active Duetta Sigs with subs. FYI: Bass panel to MRT crossed over at 930Hz 48db/octave with the bass panel crossed to the subs at 80Hz/24db octave and time-aligned. This seems to work nicely for now but any of these parameters can be changed and compared in a instant.

Power Amps: Jeff Rowland Model 5 (trans-impedance version) for the MRTs and a pair of Jeff Rowland Model 3 mono-blocks for the bass panels. All amps recently recapped. They power the Duetta Sigs nicely.

Source:

Digital Trasnport: SlimDevices LogitechTransporter directly feeding the DEQX Express II.

LP Analog: VPI HW-19 Mk IV with SAMA, SDS, and Herbies Tenderfoot suspension. / Eminent Technology ET-2 air-bearing arm - triple stage precision-regulated air supplied by 25 gallon shop compressor/ Audio-Technica AT-33PTG

Phono Preamp: Jeff Rowland Consonance with upgrade LS module and recapped.

Cables:
> Line level ICs: Audio Art IC-3SE w/Xhadow RCAs and Audioquest Emerald XLR (preamp to DEQX)
> Speaker: Symo LS-5sx (2 sets)
> Phono: Old Mark-Levinson silver.
> Digital: DH Labs D-75 BNC/RCA (Transporter to DEQX)
> Power: NBS Master (on the Model 5) and Synergistic Research Master Couplers on all else.

Mains Conditioning: Furman IT-1220 20A balanced-power isolation transformer with upgraded receptacles on it own 20A circuit for all except power amps. Each power amp plugged directly to the wall each on its own 20A circuit.

Room: 22' (6.7M)W x 29' (8.8M)L x 8.2' (2.5M)H - Carbonized-bamboo flooring and large area rugs.

[Vansloneker]

view from the listening seat (right click - show image)

My system is based around a pair of Apogee Centaurs. I've fitted these with the current KLM-5 ribbons from Graz. Honestly, the Centaurs aren't the best in the Apogee range. It's the low end that let's them down. To overcome this I've added a
MJ Acoustics Reference 100 MKII subwoofer (right click - show image) I like that it says "hi" to me

If you can forgive it for not being planar this is a pretty good sub. Never obtrusive, it puts in anything down from 120Hz. The Centaurs could use even higher Hz, but this sub does not go higher. It's got a remote control and four pre-sets so with the push of a button the amount of bass can be adjusted to ones mood or played track.

My amplifier is this

Advance Acoustic MAP-303II (right click - show image)

It's a class A amplifier capable of 100w@8ohm and over 180w@4ohm. It can be manually set to class A, class AB or auto. For everyday use I switch it to AB to save power and reduce heat. For serious listening it goes in class A. For the money it's a good amp. Probably the Krells et all are better but this is a poor mans system and I'm sure it will beat most poor peoples audio gear.

Input comes from the MSB linkDAC D/A converter. According to Stereophile "the Link redefines entry into high-quality digital sound, as it provided excellent sound and 24-bit/96kHz conversion for the remarkably low price of $349. It is as firmly ensconced in Class C of Recommended Components"
I had it for very little money.
It is connected though with a less inexpensive Xindak FA-Gold Interlink.

Connected to the DAC is my FLAC-Station. This is a computer dedicated to playing FLACs. It looks plain but it's got a sophisticated sound card with digital outputs. I have a 750GB Sata disc in it. And a spare disc being an exact copy of the first disc. Also I got my music backed up on two external discs one of them stored not in my home. I use ASIO For All as output for my music. It gave hiccups every now and then and I went back to Kernel Streaming but that wasn't satisfactory after ASIO For All. Then I increased the buffer size of ASIO For All to the maximum and have less hiccups but still not entirely without them, alas.

My CD player which I hardly ever use is a Marantz CD63 Special Edition. Also I got half a dozen of Digital Tape recorders. I use these e.g. to record satellite TV or radio broadcasts. I still plan on purchasing a good pair of condenser microphones and make my own first hand digital recordings to playback on my Apogee's.


View without listening seat (right click - show image)

I'm still struggling with the setup of the Centaurs. At first, I had them very wide apart. This gave me a superb stereo view with exact placement of every instrument or voice. People thought I'd had a gap in the center but I didn't.
Then I tried the speakers in front of a straight wall in my living and by advice from Graz and Christopher closer together. I liked it but got massive complaints from my neighbor downstairs. It turned out the sound was transmitted into her bedroom.
So I went back to the location as shown above. The wider setup wasn't satisfactory anymore and they are now about 2.17m on the inside edges apart and 1.38m from the rear wall. I will fine tune this but lugging these things around is terrible.

I have had other magnetostatic speakers even pretty good ones that will outclass the Centaurs in several aspects. But none had that special Apogee gift. There's something in the way the music is revealed that no other speaker I've heard can match. For me this is described best as "I've never heard it like this before". And that's why I have to do with these. And the thought of my Calipers that someday will be restored.

[Vansloneker]

My last improvement is a new high quality ultra quiet power supply for the FLAC-Station. It's barely audible. As a side effect, the CPU cooler has become more apparent, so even when it's not the loudest, I'll try to find a quieter one.

Right now I am experimenting with sound isolation. In an attempt to reduce vibrations going to the floor I've placed the subwoofer on airbags.


(right click - show image)

The white cones near the corners are not in touch with the top tile but are there for support in case an airbag blows. I just finished it and right now have no more results then that with my fingers on the top tile I feel vibrations which I do no feel on the bottom tile.

[Vansloneker]

Doubled the memory of my FLAC-Station, and increased all buffers to the max. No more little hiccups!

[TinyTim]

Henk got his Grands finished before me, eventough he started 5 years later
Anyway, i got a new tech for the electronics and currently am using a passive crossover for the ribbon array.

Here is a picture



As a source i use the Olive Audio 4D
New Clock and Jitter Killer is a Monarchy Audio DIP Combo
DAC is a Monarchy Audio NM24
Analog Source is a Watec Analog Drive 5 with Acrylic Arm and as a second arm i use a Magnetic String Arm
Ortfon MC Rondo Red System is used on the Acrylic Arm and a Shure v15Vxmr is used on the Magnetic String Arm
The Preamp is a CAT (Convergent Audio Technology) SL1 Signature
Poweramps are a CAT JL2 and two NAT Audio SE 2 SE which replaced four Krell KRS 200 monoblocks.

Other speakers include the Caliper Signature and Stages as well as some Final Electrostatics.

[serraniruben]

Wow!!!!! Tiny amazing

Why you discard the electronic xover?

Rubén