Apogee Diva with Infinite Baffle

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
6,774
1,198
580
Boston, MA
I am sweating! Impressive!
 
  • Like
Reactions: the sound of Tao

Zero000

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2014
2,988
1,141
478
I have always liked the lux. It has good current and drive and organic. Apogees need both current and power to wake them up, so I think the Luxman m900u will be better.

I can't say as standalone demo because I prefer Henk's duetta (which I heard with biamped plinius though in a much larger and better room) and the US duetta (which I actually hard with push pull, the TRL). But since you already preferred Justin's you will like it much better with the Luxman, as I thought it is much better than his previous amps.

Imo he still needs to change his pre which is weak link from decades ago.

Apogees just need lots of drive and power. It is because of this lack of headroom that you have problems playing them at low volumes and have to play them ear splitting levels

Ked I truly don't think you realise how your posts read to people with some understanding of audio engineering. You think you are an Apogee expert yet actually you haven't got much of a clue technically. You also have not heard a lot of the options I have tried, and your claim you have been recommending Luxman to me for the last three years is a lie. So far all I have ever known about it is a WhatsApp message from 2 years ago about one sentence long.

Of the three solid state amps in my house at the moment, the Luxman is the least powerful. Yet it is the best.

Also, at low volume, you have the most headroom, so where does the logic that I listen so loud because of lack of headroom come from? Answer it doesn't. It's an idiotic claim.

FYI low volume performance is very good. And usually when the wife is in bed I listen to them at low volume for long periods of time. And it is you that sits there with the volume cranked up listening to classical music. I'm not saying I don't usually demo them loud, I do, but they are also very good at lower volume. Much better than any Martin Logan I have owned, for instance

I also find your continued insistence that Henk's Duettas are somehow miraculously better to be a bit of a joke. By your own admission, Jon's are better made than the ones you have seen made by Henk. Just what is this mystical property you claim Henk's Duettas have that mine don't? Just like Jon, Henk is capable of making an average Duetta or a really seriously good one, in my opinion. I wonder if you have ever seen Henk's best effort..

Also what's this about my preamp being from decades ago? It isn't. I preferred it to an EAR 868PL, for instance, by a margin. It is just more lively and engaging.

I also never tried my old Air Tight ATM2 on Apogees, Just the Air Tight passive pre. The Ayon's were not silly and they were yours anyway. They were fine on the four Ohm taps in pentode mode. They just shutdown in triode mode on the four or eight Ohm taps.
 

Zero000

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2014
2,988
1,141
478
It's used price is excellent. Yes logic says because it has less class A it might not be musical. But it is quite. I never compared next to each other. But apogees need loads of power. Hence I say it and the Kraft over it. I know you don't agree.

Just where is this supply of cheap used Luxman M-900U's? The answer is it doesn't exist.

Luxman is about the most scammed manufacturer I have seen recently. When I bought the M-800a, there were three scams running simultaneously using the same auction pictures, all at stupidly low prices.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,650
13,687
2,710
London
Sorry Justin, there are many other texts. There are my posts all over this forum. Just search m900u.

I have also compared m800a to Ypsilon hybrids and Joel's and found it better.

The fact that you don't like me saying it is another think. The whatsapp is just one data point coz you said it never happened.

Comparing a preamp to Ear 868 is not really a valid data point at least in my book. Might be in yours.

Yes, I agree Jon's have excellent build quality.

The thing is you are not interested in listening to other apogees. Your hobby is following your own projects. Your apogee is your project. As is buying a used Accuphase from 50 years ago and upgrading it. The fact that it does not sound good on apogees does not mean power does not sound good. Get some serious amps - get a Krell FPB 750, Dagostino, Symphonic Line, and then let me know. All are available in the UK to demo.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,650
13,687
2,710
London
Just where is this supply of cheap used Luxman M-900U's? The answer is it doesn't exist.

Luxman is about the most scammed manufacturer I have seen recently. When I bought the M-800a, there were three scams running simultaneously using the same auction pictures, all at stupidly low prices.

If you keep a watch out they occasionally turn up. Also as I said the retail for them is ridculously low in HK. It is high in the US and midway in EU
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,650
13,687
2,710
London
Another sample of my Lux post on an apogee thread https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...re-builder-restorer.21094/page-30#post-409059

Sent you another whatsapp text from a month before the last.

You can snarl and spit that I say you are not optimizing your set up, but I am out of this discussion since you have nothing better to do than insult instead of appreciating that there are apogees out there that sound better than yours that you have zero interest in investigating.

There is no expertise required except listening to different set ups. Listening is not hard. Having an open mind and not being stubborn about one's own system is.
 
Last edited:

Zero000

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2014
2,988
1,141
478
Another sample of my Lux post on an apogee thread https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...re-builder-restorer.21094/page-30#post-409059

Sent you another whatsapp text from a month before the last.

You can snarl and spit that I say you are not optimizing your set up, but I am out of this discussion since you have nothing better to do than insult instead of appreciating that there are apogees out there that sound better than yours that you have zero interest in investigating.

There is no expertise required except listening to different set ups. Listening is not hard. Having an open mind and not being stubborn about one's own system is.

I've just followed that link and all you are doing is talking to microstrip about class A. How is that a Luxman recommendation?

If there weren't better Apogees than mine out there I'd be disappointed. In what way have I ever claimed mine are the best?

You say I am insulting you but your comments are such utter pap they are an insult in themselves. I am am not insulting you I am just trying to make you realise you don't know what you are talking about. Which of course is an indirect insult, necessary I am afraid to make you realise.

You won't, of course, realise it. Your ego is too monumental to allow that to happen:)
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,650
13,687
2,710
London
Justin just do a search on Luxman and by bonzo75. Even you should be able to read what you cannot in multiple texts sent to you to spell it out to try the Luxman
 

Zero000

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2014
2,988
1,141
478
The thing is you are not interested in listening to other apogees. Your hobby is following your own projects. Your apogee is your project. As is buying a used Accuphase from 50 years ago and upgrading it. The fact that it does not sound good on apogees does not mean power does not sound good. Get some serious amps - get a Krell FPB 750, Dagostino, Symphonic Line, and then let me know. All are available in the UK to demo.

Incorrect again. The M-60s are 100% original, I have not touched them.

I think they sound pretty good and definitely so compared to quite a few other solid state amps, even contemporary ones they will lick in a lot of cases. Not M-800a territory, though.

And why are you knocking old equipment? The M-60s are classic amps actually well reviewed by Tone mag.

You like vintage Tannoys (on my recommendation to go see Tom and that is real) and spend more time at Munich in the WE room than just about anywhere else. You claim you like the Radord STA-25 on them. How old is that?
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,650
13,687
2,710
London
Incorrect again. The M-60s are 100% original, I have not touched them.

I think they sound pretty good and definitely so compared to quite a few other solid state amps, even contemporary ones they will lick in a lot of cases. Not M-800a territory, though.

And why are you knocking old equipment? The M-60s are classic amps actually well reviewed by Tone mag.

You like vintage Tannoys (on my recommendation to go see Tom and that is real) and spend more time at Munich in the WE room than just about anywhere else. You claim you like the Radord STA-25 on them. How old is that?

No the Radford wasn't good. I preferred silvercore and KR much more, and the lux in another system. I heard the Radford 25 in two, and the 100 as well.

That accuphase, new or old, is not a good amp. That's what I think. Your valve amp, the parasound, were all better than that. The parasound showed what good drive and power can do to the apogees but lacked the finesse and tone associated with the better SS amps.

There is no ego. Just listening. I kept knocking apogees down, till I heard them with the right amps, and then love them. That's how it is
 

Zero000

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2014
2,988
1,141
478
That's enough friction for today. We can do another onslaught in a few months or so. Like normal.:)
 
  • Like
Reactions: bonzo75

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,626
5,435
1,278
E. England
Justin, you have a new Duettas based project under way? How's that shaping up?
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,626
5,435
1,278
E. England
Total rebuild? And you know who you have to have visit when all done.

Maybe you boys can compare notes on posts, and PMs and screenshots.

Like something out of one of those Scandi detective dramas.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bonzo75

Zero000

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2014
2,988
1,141
478
No not a total rebuild. Same speakers just morer betterer hopefully.

Ked is banned. You are most welcome:)

(Not really Ked:))
 

christoph

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2015
4,689
4,077
825
Principality of Liechtenstein

christoph

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2015
4,689
4,077
825
Principality of Liechtenstein
Thanks Christoph. I don’t have the time, or, frankly, much inclination, to post in forums these days.
That is a pity (for us old Apogee devotees) but I certainly understand your position :(
The more I would like to thank your for your elaborate how-to check the polarities of especially the 3-way Apogees. I just re-read it and it is certainly VERY helpful :cool:
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing