Hi Esotheric,

i'd rather make love to my girlfriend. She is far more interesting then some audio n00bs trying to get someones attention on an audio forum. Your loss, not mine :-)

Cheers man

florianw August 23, 2008 12:56

Dear Esotheric and Mapman,

i have no interest in posting (again) pictures of my setup. It is very unique and i am the only public owner of an Apogee Grand.

Here is the rundown: (i wrote this down before, so i just copied it)

* 89in tall
* 35in wide
* 47in deep
* 1300lbs per side
* 4 way speaker

1. Subwoofers are big brothers of Krell MRS
2. Speaker sits on "pured aluminium base"
3. Speaker frame is made out of steel
4. Two computer displays mounted inside the speaker shows status info and user settings
5. User can via remote control change volume level, rake, phase and presets of each driver
6. 4 Krell KAS Monoblocks build in for Subwoofer and Tweeter rated at 600 watts each with external powersupplies.
7. Crossover frequencys are 70Hz,250Hz and 9000Hz
8. Measured with Tact RCS 2.2XP inroom response is flat to 9.6Hz and signal stops at 7.8Hz
9. 17 pairs exist worlwide (2 in Israel, 1 in Germany (mine), 1 in Belgium (for sale), 1 in Bangkok, 2x in USA, 1 in Moskau) and i am still looking.
10. They also employ a motion sensor on the bass ribbon which then gets syncronized with the subwoofer! The sensor measures the foil excursion!

Here are some pics of the movement to my new place.

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/tubehifi/vpost?id=2797745

Enjoy

PS: I dont toss stones, but know a ton about Apogee users, placements and many models.

florianw August 22, 2008 18:08

Esotheric and Chad is dont own the Studio Grand! is own The Grand! 2.3meter tall, 4way!!! you guys dont even know the Model but claim to know something about apogees. lol

florianw August 22, 2008 10:20

Dear Esotheric,

long story short:

I own currently Apogee Stage, Apogee Caliper, Apogee Grand

I used to own Apogee Scintilla and Apogee DIVA

... The Scintilla, DIVA, Caliper and Grand have NEW ribbons. The ribbons in my Grand are unique as they are made specifically for the magnetic field! One of a kind, uniqe and special order from Graz. I used both stock passive and new active crossovers.

I dont believe you know the Grand, but thats ok, almost noone does as it was never for sale in a store etc.. While the Fullrange was 18K the Grand cost more then 85K and was to special order only. 17 pair exist and only 8 owners worldwide.

With over 6 KW of power, fully active crossover network with display, remote control and a 4 way system employing 2 Krell Master Reference Subwoofers it makes the Fullrange sound like a toy!

No offense, i love all Apogees and own many. And i wish Chad and Vince a lot of fun with their systems, but i been there and know their limits while they do not. No offense!

PS: The Grand does over 120db per side at 4 meter distance, from 7.5Hz on up (measured in room - my room)..... For "real" comments about this system search for the user "Morricab" under the Planar Asylum and Apogee Grand. He heard a pair actually.

I agree that most Apogees cannot with real power and dynamics put a drumset in your room. The Grand is very uniqe and can easily hold a match to a fully blown horn system.

Cheers

florianw August 21, 2008 18:57

Thank you, i think the same about you and Vince too!
You position yourself and your opinions and state them as facts while i dont think you are in a position to do so. You talk about new ribbons, crossovers, class-d etc... i have been there, done that.

You just dont like it that when it comes to new ribbons, crossovers and apogees i simply dont take your "word" for it....because my experience is much vaster then yours or Vinces. And you dont like that....well..too bad!

florianw August 21, 2008 10:35

Dear Esotheric,

i own the Nr.7 Apogee Acoustics GRAND. I used to own Apogee Caliper, DIVA, Scintilla and more. My dedicated listening room is 40 feet long and 28 feet wide. It is backed up by a 160 Ampere @ 230Volt line for 8 amplifiers. All of my Apogees use new GRAZ ribbons, my Apogee Grand uses GRAZ Meridian Mapped Ribbons ( one of a kind, the ribbon is made specifically for the magnetic field in my Grands).

Please, dont asume things about me. Feel free to write me at [email protected]

PS: My experience with Apogees, new ribbons and crossovers is far higher then Chads, Vinces etc...

florianw August 20, 2008 09:30

I guess this is me. When both of you have "reached" a speaker that can actually tell you what all your stuff is doing, we can talk again. Both of you have "good" but not best or let alone "ultimate" speakers, neither the rooms or acoustics. Chads room is way too small and the placement is crap! Vince has a decent room but horrible acoustics.

Both of you "display" and attitude that is frustrating. Thats why you BOTH talk to each other, but noone else replys. LOL

PS: The Duetta while great has a LOONG way to go up the line (DIVA, Scintilla, Fullrange, Studio Grand etc....

PS for Vince: Your Scinitllas are great, but they aint no Fullrange.....let alone anything more complex and larger. You "asume" you know what sounds real, but your speakers can never play "real"...... simply not possible from your speakers.

Quote of the day "The greatest super cars from the 1970s and 80s would easily be beaten by an average modern family car these days."

<---- and what does an mid-80's midrange speaker from Apogee do with super modern class D amps?

florianw August 12, 2008 08:43

Chad,

i dont question your resolution. I know what resolution you have, i know what speakers you have etc... I am simply asking you to please stop with this class D fighting. We respect your choice of class D amplifiers, and expect you to fully understand why we choose not to buy it. We simply do not like class d amplifiers and nothing you or Vince says, will change that.

And please for the love of god, read up on Vinces track record. Do not fall in with the wrong crowd.

Best of luck

PS: And about resolution, i am not kidding on this, we are worlds apart. No offense!

florianw January 20, 2008 08:13

Hi Chad,

its nice that you are repeating a lot of what Graz says, but the chages are not as dramatic as you might think. I have here a pair of Caliper Sigs., DIVA Reference, Grand and owned Scintillas also. I tried Big Class A monos, Class A/B hybrids, class D. I also have heard extensively CD players and TT's from Forsell and Goldmund, and there is no way i would put a class D amp on a high resolution pair of Apogees.

There are no laser cut ribbons, the ribbos you have in your Duettas are cut with a rotating knife, controlled by a plotter. The Kapton and Aluminium is the same, the magnets are the same and the glue is identical. You do get more "exact" cuts in the corners, but thats it.

I have two friends close by with rebuilt Duettas (same as yours), one friend with a rebuilt Scintilla, and more with rebuilt Fullranges and DIVA. So believe me, i know the difference between a stock ribbon and Graz CNC cut ones. ;-)
Apogees where built with horrible qualitys back in the day, with huge tollerance on the frame, magnets etc. and a 1mm difference in the cuts make close to no difference. I would recommend that you try your class d amps on one of the higer resolution speakers from Apogee like the Fullrange. I think you might be suprised ^^

Muralman with always agree with you when it comes to Scintillas or Class D amps, i suggest you check out his "track" record on this and other sides, just to make sure you know what you get yourself into.

Best of luck

Flo

florianw January 19, 2008 08:06

"What other technology would you want that is that old or is still relevant in the 21 century?"

How about "ribbons", its from the 20's ;-) I am a tube guy and have not heard any class d amp that i would buy. But its all about tastes!

Cheers mate

florianw January 18, 2008 20:47

Welcome to the Apogee club :-)

Enjoy

Flo

florianw January 10, 2008 00:16