Way back in 1991, I heard my first pair of Apogees at a Hi Fi store in Melbourne. In 1992, my brother was stationed in the US and he purchased a pair of Apogee Centaur Majors for me. He bought them back with him, following his posting in 1994. At the time they were $12,000 in Australia but $3,000 US so this was the only way I could afford them at the time. I still have the Centaurs as the rear channel in the surround sound theater system.
In 2011, I decided I would upgrade the Centaurs. I flew to NSW and spent time at Bill McLean's listening to Magnepan 3.6's and then to Audio Connection where I listened to Martin Logan CLX's. I settled on the CLX's and was extremely happy with the sound, but one day I noticed that the speakers were starting to fall apart, with the crossover box beginning to separate from the rest of the speaker. Martin Logan replaced these speakers under warranty and have addressed this issue in the new ones.
While this was happening, a pair of Apogee Diva's came up for sale in Australia, so I purchased them sight unseen. Unfortunately they were not in a good state and I was forced to look at my options. I sent them to Graz for an assessment and the report back was far from encouraging. I has some aged Jarrah hardwood that I wanted to be used for the fronts but Graz convinced me that it was a bad idea as it would compromise the sound. He said that he could come up with a Diva design, that incorporated the Jarrah wood and would surpass that speaker in all areas of performance. This was the start of a three year journey, visits to his home where the build was taking shape, many emails, swearing's of secrecy, friendships made, illnesses and accidents to us both at different times, listening sessions, input into crossover values etc. etc. and the wait.
I have to say that during this whole process, Graz has been the consummate professional, at no stage has he skimped on any parts costs and his build quality would put many car manufacturers to shame. His attention to detail and attitude to tolerances would have to be second to none and I have nothing but praise for the work and effort that he has put into these speakers. I have attached images so that you can see the finished product which is currently the only pair in the world.
Unfortunately with the current pandemic, I am locked at home with these amazing speakers.
In 2011, I decided I would upgrade the Centaurs. I flew to NSW and spent time at Bill McLean's listening to Magnepan 3.6's and then to Audio Connection where I listened to Martin Logan CLX's. I settled on the CLX's and was extremely happy with the sound, but one day I noticed that the speakers were starting to fall apart, with the crossover box beginning to separate from the rest of the speaker. Martin Logan replaced these speakers under warranty and have addressed this issue in the new ones.
While this was happening, a pair of Apogee Diva's came up for sale in Australia, so I purchased them sight unseen. Unfortunately they were not in a good state and I was forced to look at my options. I sent them to Graz for an assessment and the report back was far from encouraging. I has some aged Jarrah hardwood that I wanted to be used for the fronts but Graz convinced me that it was a bad idea as it would compromise the sound. He said that he could come up with a Diva design, that incorporated the Jarrah wood and would surpass that speaker in all areas of performance. This was the start of a three year journey, visits to his home where the build was taking shape, many emails, swearing's of secrecy, friendships made, illnesses and accidents to us both at different times, listening sessions, input into crossover values etc. etc. and the wait.
I have to say that during this whole process, Graz has been the consummate professional, at no stage has he skimped on any parts costs and his build quality would put many car manufacturers to shame. His attention to detail and attitude to tolerances would have to be second to none and I have nothing but praise for the work and effort that he has put into these speakers. I have attached images so that you can see the finished product which is currently the only pair in the world.
Unfortunately with the current pandemic, I am locked at home with these amazing speakers.
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