"Toys From My Attic" Ep 2 | Apogee Duetta Signature

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Күн бұрын

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@DonweelsTavern Ай бұрын

A long time ago I was cruising stereo shops down in Vancouver. I walked into a new place called Straight Gain run by a very nice oriental gentleman. I told him I had been just up the road listening to Magnepans. He sat me down in front of Apogee Duetta powered by Krells the ones with the big meters, counterpoint pre and Sota turntable. He put on Dark Side of the Moon on the run, and walked out of the room. I was shocked at the realism and it made my hair stand on end when that guy ran through the room. Only single flaw was occasional luff sound like a sail flapping but not that serious. That was the best sound I ever heard in my life so far.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

That was Peter Chu. He had a store in Toronto, also by the same name

@PatDoyle Ай бұрын

I had a pair of the Apogee Duettas driven by a PS Audio 200CX. Although I no longer have them, they will always have a special place in my heart. Also, they made quite the statement as people would come into the living room and see them! They wouldn’t say “What cool speakers!” they would say “What are those?!?!”

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

Yes they are very cool!

@jimf5160 Ай бұрын

I remember Apogee very well. The Spiegels were good friends of the family (I learned to swim in their pool when we all lived in Florida). I remember visiting their first assembly facility on the second floor of their youngest son's wholesale car dealership. I heard the full range Apogees at CES in Chicago and was very impressed...I heard various other models as they released them. Originally Krell were the hot ticket for driving them; although I think when they released the Duetta, I think they powered them with Meitner or Naim amps. When they were first starting the business, Lee had a pair of the large Magnepans in their living room, but thought he could improve on them. (clearly he did that) Jason Bloom was a serious audiophile and was in the vintage poster business.

@charlesmanneschmidt7587 Ай бұрын

I heard Duettas (maybe mark II, but I don't think Signatures) at the '86-87 circa Stereophile audio show in Santa Monica, and thought they were the most realistic sounding things I'd ever heard, on balance with a wide variety of material. They were indeed being driven by small and modest powered Meitner (Museatex?) amplification. Came pretty close to buying some, a regret.

@Mrdarkcloud88 Ай бұрын

My Apogee dealer suggested I take my buzzing Caliper speakers directly to the factory for repair, which was about 2.5 hours away. I was told they’d be expecting me, but when I arrived, no one seemed aware that I was bringing in speakers. After some confusion, the staff notified Jason Bloom, who promptly showed up and personally took charge of the situation. As we walked through the factory, Jason casually asked what kind of music I listened to. Then, to my surprise, he handed me two vinyl albums featuring acoustic bassists. He listened carefully to my speaker, diagnosed the issue, and then proceeded to disassemble them right there on the spot to replace the drivers. Before putting the outer shell back on, we listened to the speakers, and they sounded incredible-much more open, almost like "naked" Quad 63s. Once the repairs were complete, I was on my way home with my speakers in just a few hours. The whole experience was remarkable. Jason made me feel like part of the Apogee family, and their customer support was beyond anything I could’ve expected.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

What a nice experience! Jason was superb in my dealings with him.

@Acura1NSX Ай бұрын

Jason was the man and he and Leo Spiegals Apogees were far ahead of their time.

@mathiasjohannesson9833 27 күн бұрын

I have a pair and I love them! A bit angry with myself for not buying the Full Range I was offered some years ago. Was up in Norway to get them but was talked out of the buy by a well willing friend knowing how expensive they could become if they needed restoration. But I still regret not buying them sooo much!

@ralfboegel6089 Ай бұрын

I acquired a pair of Duetta References in the 1990ies in the used market for 3 and a half grands. The drivers all have been replaced probably 10 years ago which was not too expensive then (less than two grands). I drive them with 2 pairs of Krell KSA-200 S because a Krell specialist adapted the active Krell Crossover KBX according the needs of the Duettas - So all drivers are directly connected to the Krells with no crossover inserted (approx 2 ... 2.5 Ohms for each driver). When the music demands for it, I add a pair of Martin Logans Depth subwoofers which are adequately quick due to the 3 relatively small bass drivers (they just fill in below approx. 40 Hz). Still, I prefer these speakers without added subs due to the unmatched coherence. These speakers are still a class of its own. When considerig present prices I would pay 10 times more and still would not get something which will sound superior.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

Congrats!!

@matthewnicholas7118 Ай бұрын

The dreaded ‘buzz’ is almost always due to the foam used on the edge of the bass ribbons degrading and loosing its elasticity and sometimes even turning to powder. The fwaaaaarp noise is due to the bass ribbon slapping the hardened foam. Unfortunately there is no simple and reliable fix and replacing the ribbon is the only option. I’ve had two sets done (Duetta Sig and Diva) by Graz and they are like new :) There is one other cause of buzz in that the magnets (or bass ribbon) can be out of alignment (from manufacturer) so the magnetic field is wonky and this also causes a fwaaarp noise at certain frequencies. The ‘sagging’ of the MRT ribbon is almost always from the ribbon being over driven especially when the amp clips. When this happens the ribbons ‘dance’ and if they move enough it will stretch the ribbon. If the bass ribbon has sagged it’s usually due to the MDF frame warping (heat or moisture).

@PMC7027 Ай бұрын

I just checked my Duetta Signature owners' manual and it recommends either no toe in or only a small amount. It also came with a plum line to set up the speaker tilt, which should be slightly back.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

Yes, as always, try and see

@dimitriosklonis2366 Ай бұрын

Very nice video Adrian! Regarding the trick of tilting forward dipoles to increase the image height, I have never tried it and would caution against it. A Duetta leaning forward could be prone to fall on its face should it be accidentally bumped... I would imagine the image height could change due to sound bouncing of the floor? As a long term Apogee user, I have had the pleasure of owning Stages, Duetta Signatures and Divas. For my needs and staying in touch with reality, I can say that I am done with searching for speakers. My advise re Apogees, would be to spend time positioning & tweaking, your patience wiill be rewarded and you will see what the fuss is all about! Definitely not a speaker to "throw" into your listening space and forget.

@chuanyewlee9502 Ай бұрын

Great video. The Apogee's has a midrange and highs to die for and when paired with a great subwoofer can still give many speakers today a run for the money. No question the 80s-90s gave birth to some sterling products such as the Linn LP12 turntable, Koetsu cartridges, Kondo Ongaku amplifier, Cello Audio Pallete Pre and Performance Amplifiiers, Wadia 7/9 CD Transport/Dac, Genesis 1 and 2 speakers....al legends in their own right.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

Yes those were very interesting times

@ptg01 Ай бұрын

YES ! Still have our Duetta's acquired in the mid 80's... driven by David Berning AMPS ! Very surreal experience... especially female vocals.... Haven't experienced anything since.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

Wow, congrats!

@dksculpture Ай бұрын

Wasn’t there an apogee Stage? A very small, inexpensive speaker? I could be mistaken.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

Yes the stage was the smallest of the non-hybrid designs if I remember correctly

@dajikbatarang1 Ай бұрын

Ive always wanted to try apogee, really curious how they compare against Maggies.

@Acura1NSX Ай бұрын

They always beat the maggies hands down and still do to this day.

@sebastianmerker Ай бұрын

I owned a pair of Callipers in the 80ies and 90ies. I used a classe audio DR3 Amplifier. Actually perfect speakers. Music does not live in boxes!!!

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

I had the Classe also!

@quma001 Ай бұрын

Have you ever heard Clarisys speakers, which are based on the Apogees, and what do you think about them?

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

If I recall correctly, I heard their debut pair many years ago at a show. Don't remember the sound or impressions as that was so long ago

@CarlVanDoren61 Ай бұрын

Jeff Dorgay (Tone Audio) recently purchased Clarisys Auditorium Plus ➕️

@stevemd8947 Ай бұрын

The Apogee Duetta was the speaker I was going to buy. Then Magnepan sued them and that was the end of Apogee and end of my dream speaker.

@Kami84 Ай бұрын

When are we getting the Hegel H390 vs H190v video?????

@hifitommy Ай бұрын

a friend has a pair of the Apogee Grands, large mid/tweet with integral sub below the panels. driven with c-j tubes with a ss on the woof. i remember that Tony Cordesman of AUDIO Mag and of course tas and Stereophile had to audition a pair of the 1ohm Scintilla and in the scramble for an amp tried an ADCOM 555 and it drove them just fine and also sounded good. the current versions of that speaker are the Clarisys which I got to hear at (What's Best Forum) Ron Resnick's Audio Cafe in Beverly Hills. they were being driven at the time by VTL but Ron said he was happier with the Jadis amplifier.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

Nice!!!

@brentf6563 Ай бұрын

Love the retrospective review. Where does one “store” an audio collection. Especially speakers of the size of Apogee.

@annebokma4637 Ай бұрын

These speakers should be stored in a room where you can sit down and listen to them 😂 first world problem indeed 😂

@danielbabeux5500 Ай бұрын

The specified sensitivity @3m of the Duetta Signature is 86db, unlike what you mentioned in your video 🙂.

@dksculpture Ай бұрын

I went to an Apogee shareholder meeting. They demonstrated the very large speakers with some track (LP) that had tap dancers, stomping away, moving around the stage. They were sick of it, but everyone loved it! Does anyone know the name of that music?

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

Could have been Manual de Falla's Three Corner Hat with Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, first movement

@annebokma4637 Ай бұрын

Start unpacking that attic. Still prefer the acoustat x 😂. Do have 3 pairs of ESL 57 too, very nice indeed What else do you have.. keep the content coming 😊

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

👌

@Buster_cat Ай бұрын

I’ve owned quite a few pairs of apogee speakers. Duetta, Duetta 2 and The Duetta Signatures. The Signatures is one of the best speakers I’ve had the opportunity to own and regret selling to this day. They are relatively easy to drive and the best sounding amongst the 3 versions. I drove them best with a Jadis Defy 30 integrated amp. The little Jadis drove them better than a Mark Levinson 331 power amp. Really sorry I had to sell them to raise money for something else.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

I had the Defy many years ago. Superb amp

@zizendorf Ай бұрын

Interesting video, review, and reminiscence. I just like your style Adrian. However, I must add that while I've been whittling at what I call Stereo and stereo components since my teen years in the early 70's, I've never heard a "panel" or "electrostatic" speaker. I'm not sure that I want to. I just can't afford another new rabbit hole!

@joejackson-d5j Ай бұрын

Wasn’t there a major battle between apogee and Magnepan that Magnepan won- I’d love to know the details behind that battle. I believe it had to do with Magnepan owning the rights to ribbon drivers. I heard Jim Winnie once say that he wasted a lot of resources and time in that battle and wished he had never done it. Anything you have regarding that incident would be very interesting from a historical perspective - really love your website. Keep up the great work, Adrian and gang.

@matthewnicholas7118 Ай бұрын

Yeah that was appalling. The design is quite different especially that Apogee used true ribbons for the MR and TW at the time. The use of aluminium foil, KAPTON and a trapezoid shape was far superior to Magnepan. They both could have had a decent slice of the market……

@NonyourBiz Ай бұрын

Hi Adrian , not sure if anyone has asked, But I would love to know what you actually have at home today and if you would be willing to do a video on it. It would be like asking Formula One Michael Schumacher what he actually has in his garage that is not a Ferrari. Thank you for your videos, big fan here.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

We moved into a small home a few years ago since all the kids have moved out. I toyed with the idea of a system but since I spend almost all my time at work, I decided not to have one at home. At least for now

@bobr9605 Ай бұрын

I believe you may have just driven up the price on the used market.

@adrianlow2114 Ай бұрын

lol

@shadowofpain8144 Ай бұрын

I just sold my apogee baby grands, I got too old to move them any more. I have verity now. Nothing affordable will ever sound that good again. In fact no speaker at any price can reproduce the female voice like that. Friend had to admit his expensive Wilson couldn't do it.