pmr@drufl.UUCP (01/30/84)
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CAUTION: subjective evaluation! The surgeon general has determined
that statistic-type audio people may be highly offended at the
content of this review since it contains no distortion figures. :-)
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Seriously now, I've just heard the best reproduction of sound in
my life. I know that this is a rather rash statement to make but
it's true. There have been ads in the national audio rags about
a new full-range ribbon loudspeaker by the company name of Apogee
that aroused my curiosity. However, nobody in the Denver area
carried them. Finally, an inner-city Denver salon snatched up
the contract and sold six (yes, six pair) in the first week!
The Apogee loudspeaker isn't cheap at $6,100/pair but the sound and the
appearance is unique! These 80" high monoliths contain three elements,
two of which are true ribbon drivers. The inner-most sections of these
dipole radiators (right side of the left loudspeaker and left side of
the right loudspeaker) contain a long, 1/2" wide ribbon tweeter that is
suspended from the top and bottom only. The midrange ribbon is next to
the tweeter and is about 2" wide and suspended in the same manner as the
tweeter. The elements of these two drivers are corrugated. An edge
view of these elements are shown below.
___/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\___
\/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/
The midrange ribbon on loud transients even wobbles a small amount
from side to side. The woofer is not a true ribbon. Its construction
is similar to the Magnepan drivers except that the 12" metal corrugated
element is alternately slotted to within 4" of the sides causing the
electrical signal to wind back and forth as it passes from top to
bottom. These 300 pounders come in a silver-grey or light beige frame
and grill. The grill is so transparent that the ribbons are easily
seen.
Well, enough about the appearance, on to the reference system. The
system consisted of two Mark Levinson ML-2 mono amplifiers driving the
mid and tweeter ribbons, a Levinson ML-3 driving the woofer panels, a
Levinson ML-6A preamp, Levinson loudspeaker wire to the woofer panels,
Kimber Cable to the mid-tweets, Nakamichi Dragon turntable, Audioquest
909 cartridge, Levinson interconnect cables, and a Sony CDP-101 compact
disc player. The reference disc was Sheffield's "Growing up in
Hollywood Town" featuring Amanda McBroom. We listened from side 2,
cut 2, through the end of the Sheffield and a drum solo on the Sony.
Now for what you've all been waiting for: the sound. When cut 2 of
the Sheffield started, the sound did not appear to come from the
speakers. A very stable sound stage was generated about 4-6 feet
behind the speaker plane. Instrument placement was easily identified
and remained rock stable during the whole disc. This is the first
time I have ever observed this. Pianos always seem to drift a little
even on the best loudspeakers, until now. The next thing I noticed
was how muddy even polypropylene woofers sound. The woofer panels
of the Apogee reproduced the electric bass so accurately I started
thinking of which amplifier the guitarist was using. I used to
play this instrument and I'm quite familiar with the sound so I
had to catch myself and start listening to the speakers again.
Then the sax started playing. Let me say this. As the artist
approached the mike you could clearly hear the valves open and close.
I've heard the acoustic illusion of the sax player "walk" toward
the mike but I've never heard such detail. The bell sound of this
instrument was so well re-created that I could practically feel
it vibrate in my own hands. If you like saxs, you'll love the Apogees.
This level of detail continued with all of the instruments. The piano
was especially full in the bass and mid-bass regions. I was not
expecting what happened next. With all of this phenomenal accuracy,
the cymbals sounded a bit strange. I was expecting a crisp, succinct
tap of the cymbal's center but what I heard was a mediocre klunk.
Becoming completely confused I gazed behind the speakers finding the
Kimber Cable. This cable has always made the last two octaves sound
unnatural and this loudspeaker was no different. The salesperson
assured us that a type of 4-wire Litz would be coming soon but was
not available at this time. A full review of this speaker's top end
with the new cable will be forthcoming. The bass was not extremely
deep. If you're a fan of organ pedal notes you may not like the
Apogees. From my best judgement in this room, I thought the system
cornered about 36-38Hz. This is adequate for most material but
for bass drums, etc., it doesn't have the same dynamics that a
well-tuned reflex sub-woofer does.
Overall, I was impressed. If you've been following my opinions of
things in the past you know that I'm very critical and praise things
only rarely. The Apogee loudspeakers introduce a new reference to
sonic reproduction. Even the best dynamic or leaf loudspeakers
cannot compete with the Apogee accuracy. If you can afford them,
buy them. You may want a sub-woofer for the real deep bass but you
may not be able to handle the way the dynamic driver sounds in contrast
to the Apogee bass panel. I'd personally put up with the weaker deep
bass for now and hopefully Apogee will come up with a super sub-woofer
add on some day. The Apogees are definitely a five star loudspeaker.
I'd love to audition them on some fine tube electronics.
Yours for higher fidelity,
Phil Rastocny
AT&T-ISL
..!drufl!pmrpmr@drufl.UUCP (Rastocny) (02/09/84)
Mike, It's surprising how people can read something and totally misinterpret it (or not read it fully). The Sony CDP-101 sounded good at the low end of the spectrum only (<5KHz). This doesn't even qualify for what I call low-fi. Phil Rastocny
michaelk@azure.UUCP (Michael Kersenbrock) (02/12/84)
I think Phil's article on the Apogee speakers is also an interesting tribute to the performance of CD players in general, and the SONY player, phase shifts and all. Mike Kersenbrock Tektronix Microcomputer Development Products Aloha, Oregon