I definitely will, I had booked a trip in November that I had to cancel at the last moment
Alsyvox planars...prepare to sell your Magico's, YG's, Wilson's, Cessaro's. Maggie's, and all others!!
- Thread starter DaveyF
- Start date
I definitely will, I had booked a trip in November that I had to cancel at the last moment
Does anyone realize that for 200K for a system featuring these, you could hire a 3 piece ensemble to play for you for 2 hrs 3 times a week (20 man-hrs@50/hr= 1000/wk for 4-6 years. Just trying to put a bit of reality in the discussion. You could setup a rotating schedule of various musicians. Heck, if solo piano or cello is your thing, you could splurge for a 100/hr musician and do about 6-9 years, mix in some more pedestrian musicians and you could get 10-15 yrs. You could even interact with them. Setting up the talent and schedules would take less effort than what's spent here. Heck, you could even miss your own private performances and not worry about it just like when you travel and your 200K system is sitting idle for weeks. Oh yeah, that's what the Singer heiress did when living in Paris 100yrs ago.Full disclosure: I like nice gear too.
I don’t like people in my home. Ew.
I have a pair of Apogee Caliper Signatures I purchased in 1991, still going strong.
The only work any Apogee has needed that I know of is new foam, and, if you so desire, new Graz ribbons. I had my Caliper Signatures redone at the 18 year mark in 2009 and there have not fallen in quality since, now at the ten year mark since their rebuild.
I can't count how many people I know who have needed new cone drivers in their speakers over the same time interval of ownership, particularly Infinitys of the same era which have all needed new drivers due to rotting surrounds.
If one of the Botticelli owners could contact me, I'd appreciate it - I'd really like to know how they're getting on and I have a few questions the general audience here might not care about.
Personally I walked out of RMAF willing to pick up a pair as they had all of the Apogee magic and none of their shortcomings, and that includes dynamics.
Compare to the Analysis Audio Omegas which always looked like Apogees but never captured the magic the Apogees did, always instead sounding dull and lifeless.
Of all the speakers I have heard over my life, and there have been thousands including the Wilson Alexandria XLFs with Thor's Hammers, the single best pair of speakers I've ever heard have been a pair of rehabbed Apogee Full Ranges at the home of Apogee restorer Rich Murry.
I have never heard better sound before, or since.
Last edited:
Does anyone realize that for 200K for a system featuring these, you could hire a 3 piece ensemble to play for you for 2 hrs 3 times a week (20 man-hrs@50/hr= 1000/wk for 4-6 years. Just trying to put a bit of reality in the discussion. You could setup a rotating schedule of various musicians. Heck, if solo piano or cello is your thing, you could splurge for a 100/hr musician and do about 6-9 years, mix in some more pedestrian musicians and you could get 10-15 yrs. You could even interact with them. Setting up the talent and schedules would take less effort than what's spent here. Heck, you could even miss your own private performances and not worry about it just like when you travel and your 200K system is sitting idle for weeks. Oh yeah, that's what the Singer heiress did when living in Paris 100yrs ago.
Unfortunately, it's a bit difficult to hire Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Karen Carpenter or Prince to swing by the house, and anyone I could hire would merely be a poor imitation of them.
Having owned 3 pairs of classic Infinity speakers in the last 30 years, and being an Infinity lover, I need to correct you there. The foam surrounds on some Infinity models from the mid 80's to early 90's were prone to rotting over time. But the drivers did not require replacement in that case. There are several repairers such as Watkins Stereo and Miller Sound who can refoam & service the drivers (incl: realigning the vc). And the replacement polyether foam and Airflex adhesive used by Watkins Stereo lasts much longer than the original foam. That said, the foam surrounds on my Reference 60's bass units lasted 18 years before needing to be serviced.
@William
I'd love to agree with the reliability aspects of your post but the facts just don't line up with reality. Go and look at the Apogee forum archives. Your experience is unusual to say the least.
Obviously I am only re-iterating what I have already said.
Graz reckons the lifespan is about 10 years.
One thing is certain in hi-fi. And in most walks of life. If you say something, someone, somewhere will disagree with you.
I'd love to agree with the reliability aspects of your post but the facts just don't line up with reality. Go and look at the Apogee forum archives. Your experience is unusual to say the least.
Obviously I am only re-iterating what I have already said.
Graz reckons the lifespan is about 10 years.
One thing is certain in hi-fi. And in most walks of life. If you say something, someone, somewhere will disagree with you.
Last edited:
You don't have to disagree - you could sit quietly & let someone share THEIR experience.
I bougent m'y Ap
I bought my Apogee caliper signature in 1990/1991 and they works perfectly. I am going to send them to Henk to get them overhauled at the end of the year.
I never heard the Calipers, but I bought my original Apogee Stages (which are sitting in front of me but extremely modified at this point) in 1990. They lasted a long time in original form, but eventually they did display the "acid etch" impedance drift in the bass panels aka they did not wash the panels sufficiently at manufacture and they changed impedance over time. However, that was after 15 years or so. I don't know if Calipers ever had the problem because they had different composition.
A guy gave me another pair of Stages for free at some point, I hooked them up many years ago and remembered the 'Wow' of just loving the sound of the original models. I had too much stuff at the time, and sold them for $500.
A guy gave me another pair of Stages for free at some point, I hooked them up many years ago and remembered the 'Wow' of just loving the sound of the original models. I had too much stuff at the time, and sold them for $500.
Well I did say I'd love to agree.
All I am doing is painting the bigger picture so people realise the truth.
This is a forum. Violent disagreements far in excess of the above have been known to occur. Keeps everyone glued when they do
Well I did say I'd love to agree.
All I am doing is painting the bigger picture so people realise the truth.
This is a forum. Violent disagreements far in excess of the above have been known to occur. Keeps everyone glued when they do
I think everyone should be made to take some hifi wigwam (Popular UK forum) training so that they get used to bar room brawls.
All the good stuff is back in the past. It's much tamer these days, since many moved to the Abbatoir.
@Believe High Fidelity I'm guessing the Tintoretto is circa $65kUS? At that price point (and below) there is some stiff competition.
No question about the Tintoretto panels being up to task. Sorry if my post came across otherwise. I was just making the point that at circa $65kUS there is some stiff competition. For example, the GT Audio Works GTA3r panels + 2 x 12" Sound Insight servo subs and amps are $23.5k, plumb down to 15Hz, and have the same efficiency (93db @4 ohms) as the Tintoretto's. Are the Alsyvox speakers more than 2 1/2 times better? I'd find that a stretch.
Are your Magico's 4.0 times better than DeVore's 096 or Lenehan ML5's - not a chance in hell - but that was not the point of my comment. The Alsyvox combo sounded brilliant - in my opinion it was the synergy of the turntable/SET/pre/poweramp - with the speakers that was outstanding.