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Apogee Minor

124.171.110.61
Posted on March 12, 2017 at 03:19:10
digda_beat
Audiophile

Posts: 1723
Location: Canberra
Joined: July 31, 2003
 Listening to a pair this afternoon driven by 80 watt Rotel amp- wow, what a great speaker, a real audio bargain.
Not only foes it sound good but being tall, the sound is good when you are standing (I do a lot of listening when I am in the kitchen cooking, and the speakers face me from the sitting room.
I am wondering how they would sound with my 175 watt mosfet amp, but maybe that will blow them

 

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RE: Apogee Minor, posted on March 12, 2017 at 08:41:02
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since: June 17, 2003
 speaking of Apogee, I just spotted a Diva, a Scintilla, and the rarest of the rare: Apogee Grand (their flagship; only 25 ever made); all described in excellent condition. I've never seen these (top) three offered at the same time.

*Absolutely no affiliation to any of the above.









 

RE: Apogee Minor, posted on March 12, 2017 at 14:54:09
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
 the Centaur Minor is not that difficult to drive and higher sensitivity so if you find one don't worry about your amp. If it is not refoamed already it will likely need to be refoamed on the bass drivers. that is not difficult to have done at any speaker service lab. Some have replaced the woofers with higher quality modern ones.

 

RE: Apogee Minor, posted on March 13, 2017 at 08:29:08
Davey
 The woofer in the Centaur Minor doesn't have a foam surround.
It's a polycone driver with butyl rubber surround.

In this application you won't find "higher quality modern ones" that perform appreciably better than the original Vifa driver. If the woofers are working okay, they should be left as-is.

Dave.

 

RE: Apogee Minor, posted on March 13, 2017 at 11:01:03
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
 Good to know the original woofers were butyl rubber. They should have lasted for ages, yet the owner who posted on DIY audio (IIRC) about a decade ago had a rotted surround and was asking for options on repair. Do you think that was a one time fluke?

 

Wild guess., posted on March 13, 2017 at 12:04:16
grantv
Manufacturer

Posts: 7722
Location: B.C.
Joined: January 15, 2002
 May be way off base, but perhaps a previous owner replaced them with what he perceived as "better" woofers?

 

RE: Apogee Minor, posted on March 13, 2017 at 13:47:40
Davey
 DIYaudio link please???

Dave.

 

RE: Apogee Minor, posted on March 14, 2017 at 09:42:20
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
 Don't remember exactly where it came from...

 

Aren't the Scintillas the notorious amp-killers? nt., posted on March 14, 2017 at 14:06:36
MWE
Audiophile

Posts: 2202
Location: Burlington, NC
Joined: June 8, 2000
 nt.

Mark in NC
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon

 

RE: Aren't the Scintillas the notorious amp-killers? nt., posted on March 14, 2017 at 16:44:30
Davey
 Yes, they could be. The Scintilla's came in two impedance versions.....a nominal 1 ohm version and a nominal 4 ohm version. Both were very inefficient.
A hefty amplifier is required in all cases and usually it was a good idea to call in an electrician to wire a dedicated circuit for the amplifier(s).
I got the chance to listen to numerous pairs of Scintilla's and did some repairs also.

http://www.reality-audio.com/scintilla.html

Dave.

 

RE: Aren't the Scintillas the notorious amp-killers? nt., posted on March 14, 2017 at 19:01:55
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since: June 17, 2003
 $3500 new back in '85?! Wow









 

Worth every damn penny of that, and more!, posted on March 15, 2017 at 09:00:02
David S.
Audiophile

Posts: 3552
Location: Mountains of WNC
Joined: August 31, 2000
 Given the space & the budget for amps, I'd have a pair of Scintillas today. Never much liked any form of the Duetta or Caliper. Quite liked the (much bigger) Divas, and had fun with the "toy" sized Stages for a few years.

 

RE: Worth every damn penny of that, and more!, posted on March 16, 2017 at 05:00:33
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since: June 17, 2003
 agree, there was a pair offered locally about a year ago going for >$10K. Although they performed well they looked fairly worn. I bought my Duetta Sigs from the same gentleman who was driving those Scins with a modest tube amp : )

If I still had the money I did 4 yrs ago I'd seriously consider grabbing the one offered above. However I'm good with the 20s I grabbed back then as wel









 

RE: Worth every damn penny of that, and more!, posted on March 22, 2017 at 08:02:02
InfinityApogee
Audiophile

Posts: 237
Location: Sk
Joined: February 14, 2014
 I have Diva's, Scintillas, Duetta Sigs, and Stages, My fav, Scintillas, simplicity at it's best, do require a decent amp to drive them, Diva's are a real pain in ass to set up properly, and midrange ribbons won't handle high db's.

 

RE: Worth every damn penny of that, and more!, posted on March 22, 2017 at 12:40:02
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
 My favorite was the Diva - but you have to swap crossover points on bass to midrange for louder playback so the load on the mids isn't as bad when playing loud. I don't know which crossover the dealer used on their demo but it never failed to impress me and the Diva did no seem to have that much of a limit on midrange output. The scintilla was just less impactful and had less of a scale of sound. But I did think that the mid/tweeter handoff was better and you had less of a head in a vice issue than with the Diva - not that it was a substantial hindrance for that model. . .

 

RE: Worth every damn penny of that, and more!, posted on March 22, 2017 at 14:07:08
InfinityApogee
Audiophile

Posts: 237
Location: Sk
Joined: February 14, 2014
 Satie, Yes when you raise the xo point of the Diva mids up, you can play them louder, but trouble is you sacrifice imaging, the stock dax nor passives work for me, I use my IRS xo set to 350hz, then they image better, but not in the league of the Scintillas, just because thier bigger, don't mean they gotta be better, you really need to listen to a set of Scintillas set up well :) they will leave an impression you won't forget in awhile.

 

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