What is the best speaker you have ever owned ?????

rbbert

Well-Known Member
Dec 12, 2010
3,820
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Reno, NV
Not distilled, de-ionized. And it might make a difference in this setting.
 

IanG-UK

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2011
245
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123
I am not Mr A., but perhaps I can help, as I have owned a few pairs of ESL57 (one of my high-end glories was meeting Peter Walker at the factory entrance hall, as I was buying ESL57 replacement panels to built speakers at the Huntingdon factory when I was still a student) and still own ESL63.

The midrange of the ESL57 is very clear and transparent, can even sound crispy with some electronics, but unhappily it is not easy to integrate in a system. Many people modify them from stock, changing geometry , stacking them and removing the back absorbers, but IMHO they only manage to kill the beauty and magic of their sound. They are very limited in dynamics and again IMHO they have more coloration than the ESL 63 (many people, most of them who never listened to both Quad ESL's will disagree ;) ).

Contrary to popular belief, that tells us that placement of the Quad's is not critical, as they are dipoles with a figure of 8 radiation pattern emitting very little sideways and with a very controlled decrease of angular radiation with frequency, I have always found that placement and room acoustics were very critical with them. In the wrong room they sound thin and lifeless, in an adequate one they sound big and lifelike, to the point you will often risk their integrity for the pleasure listening to large symphonic orchestras or the dramatic intensity of "Un bel dì vedremo" of the Puccini "Madama Butterfly" opera.

I once had the pleasure of listening to opera in an all Quad system using the ESL 63 setup by Peter Walker - this great man really knew his speakers!

And yes, Davey, I also have been told that most music lies in the midrange. But other people tell me that you will need to have great bass foundation to have a proper system and I can not support unpleasant treble. It is really a terrible hobby! ;)

I too was lucky enough to meet Peter Walker a few times at shows and also visit the Huntingdon factory to have the same day service offered for electrostatic speakers.

Given that the design of the ESL57 dates from the 50s and that of the ESL63 dates from the 60s, what a remarkable achievement that both still rank in the league of the world's best speakers today. The ESL988/989/2805/2905/2812/2912 are derivatives of the latter - another reminder of what PJW achieved.

I agree that positioning is really important - symmetry in the room, toe-in angle, listening distance. The one concession is that they will work just fine close to side walls. But well away from rear walls.
 

trh8654

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2010
88
1
351
Virginia
$ for $, all around, easy to drive, not fussy about setup, do every thing but deepest bass close to (IMO) perfect. The YG Acoustics Carmel are the best I have owned since my first "real" system in the early 70s. I own better now, but at a big time cost.
 

Kippyy

Well-Known Member
Feb 20, 2011
61
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San Ramon, CA
Wilson Audio Alexia
 

Lee

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2011
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Alpharetta, Georgia
My current Magnepan 1.7s.
 

16hz lover

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2013
234
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Tympani IVa which I sold 2 years ago, but am in the process of getting them back.

 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
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New York City
Too bad Philip Chance hasn't posted lately because it would be cool to see his tripled up KLH9s! :)
 

RogerD

VIP/Donor
May 23, 2010
3,734
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BiggestLittleCity
I have had these since 1979 and have never even thought about owning anything else. My ParAcas satellites with Dynaudio drivers and custom crossover. The speaker was built and designed by Carl Staub.



 

Brian Beck

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2013
57
43
325
USA
Hello fellow audio people. I just joined the forum. I know several people here from other fora.

"What is the best speaker I have ever owned?" After 40 years of audiophilia I "have come home": to Apogee Divas. Frankly, I never knew recorded music could sound so real. For several decades, I have made a point of touring the audio shows and the audio shops around the world as I traveled. I have heard countless systems at friends' homes. I have heard most of the contenders to the throne: the big Wilsons, big MBLs (which are my second bests), the Sound Labs, big Maggies, Magico Q7 ... you name it. But I must say that none of them can capture the essence of music quite like big Apogee ribbons. I'm sure I would love the Scintilla and the FR too, but the Divas seem balanced just right in my room, driven by big ARC tube amps. I may be set for life in the speaker department (famous last words), although a long-term electrostatic DIY project keeps calling to me...
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
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Hello fellow audio people. I just joined the forum. I know several people here from other fora.

"What is the best speaker I have ever owned?" After 40 years of audiophilia I "have come home": to Apogee Divas. Frankly, I never knew recorded music could sound so real. For several decades, I have made a point of touring the audio shows and the audio shops around the world as I traveled. I have heard countless systems at friends' homes. I have heard most of the contenders to the throne: the big Wilsons, big MBLs (which are my second bests), the Sound Labs, big Maggies, Magico Q7 ... you name it. But I must say that none of them can capture the essence of music quite like big Apogee ribbons. I'm sure I would love the Scintilla and the FR too, but the Divas seem balanced just right in my room, driven by big ARC tube amps. I may be set for life in the speaker department (famous last words), although a long-term electrostatic DIY project keeps calling to me...

What a great set of speakers!!!!!!!!!!congrats...I love the Apogee Stages and can only imagine the Divas. If those crazy big Apogee Grands were not probably a maintenance labor of love...I would probably have gone for it and 'been so done'. What do you use to drive your Apogees? I know some of them the scintillas?...had a 0.5ohm impedance load in some areas.
 

puroagave

Member Sponsor
Sep 29, 2011
1,345
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Hello fellow audio people. I just joined the forum. I know several people here from other fora.

"What is the best speaker I have ever owned?" After 40 years of audiophilia I "have come home": to Apogee Divas. Frankly, I never knew recorded music could sound so real. For several decades, I have made a point of touring the audio shows and the audio shops around the world as I traveled. I have heard countless systems at friends' homes. I have heard most of the contenders to the throne: the big Wilsons, big MBLs (which are my second bests), the Sound Labs, big Maggies, Magico Q7 ... you name it. But I must say that none of them can capture the essence of music quite like big Apogee ribbons. I'm sure I would love the Scintilla and the FR too, but the Divas seem balanced just right in my room, driven by big ARC tube amps. I may be set for life in the speaker department (famous last words), although a long-term electrostatic DIY project keeps calling to me...

Divas are superb, I owned duetta signatures when the diva came out and lusted for a pair for a long time, imo, they were leo & jason's best work. the dealer's favorite demo cut was pat metheny's "last train home" the bass line reaches real low and ads a nice undercurrent on the right system, on that speaker it was stunning. they were an obvious match with krell, I never heard them with tubes. the consensus back then was only SS need apply.
 

Brian Beck

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2013
57
43
325
USA
What do you use to drive your Apogees? I know some of them the scintillas?...had a 0.5ohm impedance load in some areas.

I use two modified Audio Research D-250 Mk II Servo amps. I doubled the power supply energy storage to about 1100 joules per amp. I use one stereo amp per channel for vertical bi-amping arrangement. The Diva, unlike the 1-ohm Scintilla, has a nice 3- to 4-ohm impedance so I can use the 4-ohm taps on the ARC amps. I have extensively modified the Apogee DAX 3 crossover (not the crossover frequency choices, just mods for sound quality). The combination works very, very well. The sound is effortless, immense, neutral, detailed yet subtle.

The Grand is certainly interesting, but it is chock full of old opamps in all the electronics in front of all the drivers (I have the full set of schematics), so it would need some work, even if the electro-mechanical parts are the best.
 

Brian Beck

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2013
57
43
325
USA
they were an obvious match with krell, I never heard them with tubes. the consensus back then was only SS need apply.

Yeah, I know that Krell and Apogee were considered inseparable partners, de rigueur. But I have never warmed up to Krell amps. I have always preferred good tube amps. The big ARC D-250s were a high point in ARC history I think (and so does at least one senior employee at ARC who still uses them). I'm sure there are some very fine big SS amps out there these days, but I see no reason to change (until tube replacement time) :eek:
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
I use two modified Audio Research D-250 Mk II Servo amps. I doubled the power supply energy storage to about 1100 joules per amp. I use one stereo amp per channel for vertical bi-amping arrangement. The Diva, unlike the 1-ohm Scintilla, has a nice 3- to 4-ohm impedance so I can use the 4-ohm taps on the ARC amps. I have extensively modified the Apogee DAX 3 crossover (not the crossover frequency choices, just mods for sound quality). The combination works very, very well. The sound is effortless, immense, neutral, detailed yet subtle.

The Grand is certainly interesting, but it is chock full of old opamps in all the electronics in front of all the drivers (I have the full set of schematics), so it would need some work, even if the electro-mechanical parts are the best.

Fantastic...How is the bass on the Divas? I am a bit of a bass freak...not necessarily loud, but always trying to get it tighter and also able to really punch hard. I found the Stages very good in the upper bass with almost too much punch at the time...casual observation not lots of intense auditioning...just wondering if it evened out with the Divas...and also if it packs a wallop down below. Would love to hear a pair. Still remember the Stages.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Brian,

I admit I do not fully understand the lineage of the Apogee line. how should these be ordered:
Apogee Grand
Apogee Studio Grand
Apogee Mini-Grand
Apogee Stage
Apogee Scintilla
Apogee Diva
 

Brian Beck

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2013
57
43
325
USA
Fantastic...How is the bass on the Divas? I am a bit of a bass freak...not necessarily loud, but always trying to get it tighter and also able to really punch hard. I found the Stages very good in the upper bass with almost too much punch at the time...casual observation not lots of intense auditioning...just wondering if it evened out with the Divas...and also if it packs a wallop down below. Would love to hear a pair. Still remember the Stages.

I am quite pleased with the bass as it is. It is purported that the extra fullness of the Scintilla was fixed in the Diva, while they extended the response somewhat lower. The bass is quite neutrally balanced to my ears. It packs quite a wallop, but is also controlled and "tight". Pitch definition is really excellent. Drums are really fine. The panels are so large that excursions are low and as a result distortion is quite low. They sound very clean. I get extension to about 25 hertz in-room, about to spec. I suppose a ne plus ultra option would be to add infra-subwoofers. Maybe someday I will do that, but not for now. I am just listening more to music than ever before. I guess that's the point!
 
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