Mods to Apogee Scintillas?

Sadly, Baranyi, the Apogees have been all but forgotten by most of the audiophile community.

A great many people feel the Apogees have yet to be surpassed. But, this is a here and now industry. While it is possible to find well engineered, creative, great sounding gear that should ostensibly become a lifetime purchase, it is obviously anathema to most dealers or the press.

You may want to check Audio Asylum or the Apogee devotee's website, as you will find more sympathetic ears there.

One glaring exception to what we face is Ralph Karsten of AtmaSphere. He founded his company in the economically depressed early 1980s. The presumption was probably the company would not be around, but he wanted to do all possible to ensure his customers would be able to enjoy his amplifiers for a minimum of 20 years. It was, and is, a holistic philosophy of analysis, design, and execution. From the tubes chosen, both for the sonics and longevity, to making the circuit design something accessible to an owner, to his world class customer service.

Probably the most surprising thing is that in a hobby where many have perished, AtmaSphere has flourished. I guess doing the right thing does work, and that the truly good people will rise to the top just like the cream in milk.

I guess I should apologize for the lack of interest in this thread, Bob. It is surely a sad day that we have come to when some of the finest loudspeakers ever manufactured generate absolutely zero interest.

While I have absolutely no experience in modding them, I hope you don't mind me brainstorming a little. Personally, you could always try the usual suspects, just go for better quality. Yada, yada, yada. It is very likely that this will take the speakers a step up, as there was nothing equivalent to the big North Creek coils back then or the good caps of today. One caution I would say if you have to replace a big cap is to do it with smaller caps in parallel to lower the ESR.

Again, I am a bit worried about giving specific advice, as there is the very real possibility of taking the sound a step back, but I do remember sites where they discussed crossover upgrades.

One thing I might try if I had the time and energy is some experimentation. Basically, a lot of the Apogees were more or less dead shorts, especially the early ones. Could adding some resistance help out? All I can say is that I would probably do some mad scientist work, and see if that took me anywhere. Apogees are an obvious example of the designer really going all out, with absolutely no concern for the amplifier manufacturer. Thus, you need brute force solid state of the nth degree.

In the end, you may just end up where you began, so keep the original crossovers intact for referece. But, wherever your journey takes you, you still may end up ahead of all the rest of us with your fabulous speakers.

Good luck,
Joe

Congratulations on the new speakers, Bob!

Can you provide a little more information on the H20 amp please? Such as if Henry has a website, and what the cost of the amp is? I was presented with the opportunity to purchase a pair of Apogees over the weekend for a very reasonable price, and have been considering it, but wonder what a good partnering amplification choice would be.

Thank you,
Joe

Hmm, I have always been more than a little curious about Apogees, but have not heard a pair in at least 10 years.

The opportunity to have a good, inexpensive amp to drive them without melting or blowing up entices me. Thanks for the information guys! From the Apogee discussion forums, there seems to also be a consensus that Class D amps, such as the recent Bel Canto products are also adept at driving the speakers. In the short term, the only amp I would have on hand to drive them would be an NAD 2600A, but I am not convinced I should chance it with that amp. It drove the pants off a pair of Acoustats 15 years ago for a long time with no problems, but I am a bit leery to try it with the Apogees.

Now, I guess I have to contact the guy who has the speakers. I'm sure my wife will be thrilled to have another pair of speakers in the house. Especially, ones this large.

Oh, and although I have looked at the website, can anyone provide an idiot's guide to the Apogee ribbons. Which models are good, and which are too be avoided. Also, does the sound tend to natural, clinical, or warm?

Thanks very much,
Joe

Thanks for the information, guys! Sorry I was a bit slow to respond, I just got back from a long weekend vacation.

I am going to look into these Apogees, and hope the guys who are selling them can arrange for me to hear them in addition to seeing them. If I do end up purchasing them, it looks like Henry will be having another come to purchase his amps.

Thank you again!

Are any of you on the East Coast?

I could probably give a listen to the pair this gentleman has(forget which), as he has an absolute warehouse full of great equipment. As he was running down expensive stuff, he mentioned that he has a tremendous pair of Apogees in cherry that he cannot "give away" for $1500. He said no one is interested, to which I said, I might...

The reason I have always been curious is that once I heard the new Centaurs and was totally blown away. Not sure why I didn't buy them, as they were a pretty low cost speaker. People say the "real" Apogees are even better.

This Graz fellow who makes replacement ribbons seems to produce a product far superior to the original.