@carl
Do you know what amps Kip is using for the bass? The Krell monos he used with his Scinnies back then?
What x-over does he use?
Hello everyone! It has been a long time since I've jumped on any forum discussions, mostly because I've just been so darned happy with the sound of my system the last few years that I'm not on the hunt for any changes. When I was informed that a picture of my dedicated listening room and a discussion of my system was actively in progress, I checked it out, and am now here to share some thoughts and updates. Of course, none of my musical bliss would have been possible without the wonderful work of Graz with his knowledge and hard work on keeping Apogee loudspeakers alive and well, and I have to thank Rich Murry, too, for rebuilding my FRs to such a lovely level (though he now says mine represent the bottom of the heap compared to what he produces now!). ;-)
First, I think the biggest positive change in my system has been the construction of my dedicated listening space. Its internal dimensions are 18 feet W X 29 feet D by 9.5 feet H, and the position of the speakers and room treatments also made an enormous, positive impact. I am thoroughly pleased with the results of this room after I hired Bob Hodas to assist me with these items and layout.
The other positive changes come from the amplification and crossover now used. I discovered NAT amplifiers during an audition a few years ago, and simply could not believe how the same track played at the same db level through the same system could sound so wildly different by just changing amplifiers. It was an unforgettable experience, and as a result, I am solidly in the SET camp, impressed with their uncanny ability recreate nuanced musical cues, natural tone and ambience that is breathtakingly realistic, in my opinion. Because my amplifiers, the SE2SE, are parallel single-ended with GE 211 tubes, I have seen no struggling with driving the midrange and tweeters--even directly through an active crossover when I tried that. However, I have settled on keeping the stock interface box of the Full ranges for the MRTW ribbons, so the impedance the NAT amps now see is very reasonable. Again, all I can say is that their presentation is magical, and I treasure them as a key part of my system.
By the way, the amplifiers I use to drive the bass ribbons--and here I do drive them directly, bypassing the interface box--are fully refurbished Krell KMA-160 mono blocks. I've tried a variety of tube amplifiers in a variety of configurations on the bass, but the results were always disappointing to my ears. Yes, some people will never accept solid state amplifiers in their systems, and I get their bias against them--after all, I just admitted how enchanting the NATs are--but to complete the most realistic picture of music in my room for my tastes, I have found these Krell amplifiers to do the job admirably. These are different sounding than the Krell FBP 350Mcx mono blocks I used to own for the Scintillas I used to own, and I prefer their sonic signature over them, too.
I used to use the stock passive crossover in my system, but a very sharp technician and recording engineer I know coaxed me into trying an active crossover design of his, and I was extremely impressed with the improvement in transparency I heard, so I had him build an active crossover for me, (controversially, perhaps) keeping the same crossover frequency between the drivers as the stock passive crossover. It is a lovely addition.
My front end remains relatively unchanged, and is sure to make some people smile and others grimace, but I love every note that the gear produces. From source to amps, it consists of my fully restored Studer A80 RC MK II with stock electronics (and no dedicated tape preamp which, as another recording engineer once told me, seemed to work pretty well for many of the records we treasure!). It remains my favorite source by a large margin. Next, my Micro Seiki RX-5000 turntable continues its daily trouble-free use, and it continues to imply it will live long beyond me. Though I have two tonearms mounted on it (a Basis Vector MK 3 and the Thomas Schick 12-inch), I have discovered I far prefer the Schick and use it almost exclusively. Of course, this could be that my switch to a fully refurbished (by John Wright in England) Decca SC4E cartridge for daily listening so outperforms my Ortofon A90 cartridge that I will never go back to a modern design. If you've never had the pleasure of literally being startled by the dynamics of a vintage Decca cartridge, then you owe it to yourself to give it a try. It's a perfect match for the speed of Apogee ribbons. My phono preamp remains the venerable BAT VK-P10SE with SuperPak and some interesting NOS tubes. It also remains a delight, and after a shootout with some other heavy hitters last year, to my ears at least, I'm not sure I'll find anything to replace it.
On the digital front, I have added a Mac mini which plays ripped and downloaded files from a Synology 1515+ NAS remotely located in my house and connected to the system via Ethernet. The music player software I have settled on, after trying several, including Roon, is the brilliant Audirvana 2. No metadata issues here! I just moved from a Mytek Stereo 192 DSD DAC to their new Brooklyn DAC, and agree with most users of this piece that ambient cues are improved, and its ability to now play DXD, DSD256 and MQA files is frosting on the cake. Though I will always be an analog fan at heart, this combination and the clear view of every piece of digital music on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro makes for an intoxicating experience.
All of these sources are fed into a BAT VK-31SE preamp which to my ears still sounds wonderful all these years on.
Since the view of the Apogee Full Ranges has already been posted in this thread, I thought I'd include another view, this time looking back from the speakers towards the back of the room and seating area. I hope this answers some of the questions members have posted, and I am thrilled to see such interest in Apogee loudspeakers here. They have impressed me beyond words, and I feel very lucky to own them.
Kip
