amey01
Well-known member
As long promised, I heard the Apogee Duettas today, refurbished by Graz's own hands no less!
A lot to think about, and compared to my Vistas, very different.
They were in a large room, about 11m x 4.5m and driven by a McCormack DNA-2 amplifier in turn driven by an Arcam C31, Original A9II and Oracle Delphi / SME3009 / forget the cartridge. They were set up about 3m apart (inner edge to inner edge) and about 3 to 3.5m from the rear wall. This obviously made them quite close (no more than 20cm) from the side walls. Toe-in was minimal. It was silent - totally silent.
As for the sound ( and don't forget, I'm comparing to Vistas, not Ascents), I'll put it in point form.....
* The bass was the best......wow, huge, authoratitive, and best of all deep! Like there was a sub, except it was crystal clear and uncoloured and fast. The dyamic woofers are the worst part about our systems I'd say! Equal (but different) to that of the CLX.
* The midrange was clean and clear, but a bit more laid back that my Vistas. I'd put it at more "polite" and the Vista more "showy". I prefer the Vista obviously, but maybe that's just because I'm used to it. Sometimes the more restrained Apogee shocked me with its realism, but all up, I prefer the Vista. It dances out into the room much more.
* The top end really let it down. Really. Not extended at all. Quite clangy and clashy. It really detracted from the performance for me. While the Vistas are airy and fast, these seemed bogged down, slow and quite harsh in a way. Could it have been that McCormack or the Arcam? Especailly since I'm used to a valve preamp. Not sure.
* Imaging was a mixed bag. It was big - much bigger tham I'm used to, and very stable, however it was not so defined and accurate. The reach out and touch the performers was not there - there was more of a "wall of sound" effect. It also didn't extend too far beyond the speakers / room, whereas my Vistas do. Image wasn't very 3D either - certainly not as much as the Vistas.
* Dynamics were not what I'm used to with the Vistas - don't get me wrong, the bass had impact, but the rest of the spectrum just didn't have that startling effect.
* The Duettas were capable of resolving slightly more detail across the audio band. I felt like I was hearing more of the recording, if that makes sense.
* Duettas win on the value for money stakes that's for sure - he got the Apogees a few years ago for only $2,000 and another $2,000 for the refurb - my Vistas were $8,000! Double the price!
How's that? Any questions?, and I'll do my best to answer them.
A lot to think about, and compared to my Vistas, very different.
They were in a large room, about 11m x 4.5m and driven by a McCormack DNA-2 amplifier in turn driven by an Arcam C31, Original A9II and Oracle Delphi / SME3009 / forget the cartridge. They were set up about 3m apart (inner edge to inner edge) and about 3 to 3.5m from the rear wall. This obviously made them quite close (no more than 20cm) from the side walls. Toe-in was minimal. It was silent - totally silent.
As for the sound ( and don't forget, I'm comparing to Vistas, not Ascents), I'll put it in point form.....
* The bass was the best......wow, huge, authoratitive, and best of all deep! Like there was a sub, except it was crystal clear and uncoloured and fast. The dyamic woofers are the worst part about our systems I'd say! Equal (but different) to that of the CLX.
* The midrange was clean and clear, but a bit more laid back that my Vistas. I'd put it at more "polite" and the Vista more "showy". I prefer the Vista obviously, but maybe that's just because I'm used to it. Sometimes the more restrained Apogee shocked me with its realism, but all up, I prefer the Vista. It dances out into the room much more.
* The top end really let it down. Really. Not extended at all. Quite clangy and clashy. It really detracted from the performance for me. While the Vistas are airy and fast, these seemed bogged down, slow and quite harsh in a way. Could it have been that McCormack or the Arcam? Especailly since I'm used to a valve preamp. Not sure.
* Imaging was a mixed bag. It was big - much bigger tham I'm used to, and very stable, however it was not so defined and accurate. The reach out and touch the performers was not there - there was more of a "wall of sound" effect. It also didn't extend too far beyond the speakers / room, whereas my Vistas do. Image wasn't very 3D either - certainly not as much as the Vistas.
* Dynamics were not what I'm used to with the Vistas - don't get me wrong, the bass had impact, but the rest of the spectrum just didn't have that startling effect.
* The Duettas were capable of resolving slightly more detail across the audio band. I felt like I was hearing more of the recording, if that makes sense.
* Duettas win on the value for money stakes that's for sure - he got the Apogees a few years ago for only $2,000 and another $2,000 for the refurb - my Vistas were $8,000! Double the price!
How's that? Any questions?, and I'll do my best to answer them.
