Apogee Acoustics repair

gmosley, I owned DIvas for 6 years. I live in NH just 30 miles from the original factory. They are way too fragile. Over time the ribbons lose tension and replacing them is not a simple process. They are way too much of a PITA to justify their sonic quality. Sound Labs ESLs are better sounding, reliable and difficult to hurt. They are a much better proposition all around. 

Apogee Divas are one of the best speakers I have ever heard, period. Worth talking to Rich Murry at TSW about restoring them. Full restored they are reputed to be among the best sounding speakers in the world! Ken Kessler of HiFi News certainly thinks so. Certainly going to cost way more the $1,500 to restore, because of the wight and size, freight shipping is going to be very expensive.

No, I do not currently own a pair of Apogee speakers, keep thinking about it though. Rich at TSW is the man I would go to for a fully restored and upgraded pair of Divas.

Bill Thalman at Music Technology in Springfield, VA is very well versed in the repair of all models from Apogee and has restored close to 100 pairs of Apogee speakers. If you are located on the East Coast it makes no sense to ship your speakers all the way to Minden, NV as the freight costs will be significant for these heavy speakers.

 

I love great sound, but not at the expense of reliability. I would rather listen than fiddle or repair my equipment.😀

They age like any other speaker. The Duetta II Signatures have been super reliable since my dad bought them in ‘88. I acquired them from him 2 years ago. I’m driving them to Music Technology in VA this coming week to have them totally redone, including crossovers (Wilson caps). The refresh is going to cost me $8,200 and worth every penny. They are very special speakers when paired with the right components and interconnects. 

  I have spoken to Rich Murray about restoring a pair of Calipers. New bass panels and tweeter ribbons. I inguired about upgrading the crossover to Signature status also. Price about 2 years ago without shipping was $7200.00. About $1400 less if you don’t upgrade the crossovers.

    Shipping was expensive and requires custom built crates so they arrive back to you in working order as the original boxes are inadequate. Or you can drop them off and pick them up if a road trip works for you.

   The expense is having an installer put in the bass panels that are sourced from Graz in Australia and sent direct to the installers. They won’t ship them to you direct any longer, forcing you to get them redone by an authorized installer.

  There is a company that makes Apogee clones, called Clarysis Audio. On the web page is a link to Apogee ribbons which they manufacture AND are sold direct to the consumer. Prices are essentially the same as Gratz’s prices so if you want to restore them yourself, you now can. They also link you to Apogee videos on how to install the ribbons. Though full of them I thought and they also have a PDF on how to tune the panels all for free, file and videos.

    I am now going to bite the bullet and redo my Calipers for a DIY project. Hope this information helps out a few looking to fix there ailing Apogees.

 

Or, you could buy a NEW pair of Analysis Audio speakers with a full factory warranty. They are much more robust and better built. They also benefit from newer technology and materials.

Bill Legal at Miller Sound in PA is the only person you should speak with.

My Divas were build by TrueSoundWorks. Absolute world class speakers.

My Wilson Maxx II have been sitting since the Divas showed up, Will sell my

Maxx's. Rich is a great person to deal with.

Of course... no surprise here. Cone speakers can no way compete with ribbons both in soundstage or transparency.

I agree with mijostn. If you’re a fan of the ribbon sound, the old Apogee speakers can be very hard to resist. However, it you want to go down that path, expect the worst, just because of they way they were built, their age, and the deterioration factor. With the old as well as refurbished Apogee speakers, there will always be a dark cloud looming over your head, as you wait for the inevitable buzzing and rattling start happening.  Yet, the wonderful sounding old Apogees are so compelling to so many, they may remain well worth all the fuss to them.  

@kennymacc If you like that kind of sound Sound Labs ESLs are the way to go. They are bulletproof. You can not blow them out and they do not wear out. They are even more reliable than a dynamic speaker, much more reliable. I use the best drivers in my subwoofers, but I lose one every 3-4 years. I keep two spares handy. My old Acoustat 2+2s that I got in the early 80s are still in use and look brand new. By 6 years of age I already had to replace all three ribbons in the Divas. When the company went under I sold them immediately. Ribbons are best used as tweeters. The Maggie ribbon tweeter is the best tweeter ever made, but they blow frequently enough that Magneplanar has a tweeter replacement program.

@mijostyn I love Sound Labs ESLs, as well.  In years past, I've also owned Acoustat, Magnepan and Analysis Audio ribbon speakers. Currently, I own Revel Salon 2 speakers, which represents the end of the road for me as far as speakers go.  Still, I certainly wouldn't mind having a nice pair of Apogee Duetta Sigs on the side just for fun.  Happy Listening.  

I have always liked the Slant 8 loudspeaker. That model was my gateway into Thiel Audio speakers.

 

Happy Listening!