Zero Distortion: Apogee Duetta, Scintilla, and tussle with horns

bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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+1

I cannot believe we keep discovering new speakers!

Kedar -- the next time we are in The Netherlands we should check out BD-Design!

I have been there
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Yes, but not with me! :)

Do they have speakers on display and ready for demo?
 

bonzo75

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spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
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Hey Ron, I thought you were boycotting Europe from now on?
You owe me that visit, my friend
I owe you a chance to FINALLY hear my tt
I'm not sure you'd get on w those horns
Ked, correct me if Im wrong, but the Orelos are purely a digital, Class D based system
Ron, you KNOW you want to hear my lovely Class A NATs 211s and lovely analog
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
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Beverly Hills, CA
Hey Ron, I thought you were boycotting Europe from now on?
You owe me that visit, my friend
I owe you a chance to FINALLY hear my tt
I'm not sure you'd get on w those horns
Ked, correct me if Im wrong, but the Orelos are purely a digital, Class D based system
Ron, you KNOW you want to hear my lovely Class A NATs 211s and lovely analog

Of course I want to hear your system in your new, large, dedicated listening room. But I am do not plan to return to England anytime soon.

Now, back to thread topic . . .
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
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Ha ha, scary lot, us Brits
Enjoy revisiting Holland
If you can, try and make a visit to Amsterdam to Peter Reinders to hear the €3-4K PTP Solid 12 tt reimagined Lenco L75 idler w Thomas Schick 12" and report back
This is my Real World alternative if I go down a different tt to my current choice
Open invite here to you and Tinka in the beautiful quiet countryside of Norfolk
 

Lissnr

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2012
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Native New Yorker
Hey Ked it's Grant (Lissnr)....Speaking of your travels...If you ever get back to the NY vicinity anytime coming up lmk. A friend of mine told me you had visited him and heard the early versions of the GTAudio planars down in his basement...Well I'm actually friendly with the NY area distributor who will be having the new [seriously revised] version of them delivered and set up in his own considerably expansive sound room very soon. The upgrades include a somewhat ground-breaking crossover-less design the prototype of which I heard and was quite impressed with ( and coming from an Apogee guy that's saying something). They are now referred to as the GTA3R's. And of course you are always welcome to another drop in to my room as well! I hope all is good with you. Safe travels and stay in touch. Best regards.
 

bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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Hey Ked it's Grant (Lissnr)....Speaking of your travels...If you ever get back to the NY vicinity anytime coming up lmk. A friend of mine told me you had visited him and heard the early versions of the GTAudio planars down in his basement...Well I'm actually friendly with the NY area distributor who will be having the new [seriously revised] version of them delivered and set up in his own considerably expansive sound room very soon. The upgrades include a somewhat ground-breaking crossover-less design the prototype of which I heard and was quite impressed with ( and coming from an Apogee guy that's saying something). They are now referred to as the GTA3R's. And of course you are always welcome to another drop in to my room as well! I hope all is good with you. Safe travels and stay in touch. Best regards.

That will be interesting - for those wondering what Grant is talking about, these were good ribbon hybrids - think Martin Logan hybrid, replace stat with a panel - then they were 90db, 2 built in woofers, externally adjustable crossovers (just turn the dials). Extremely dynamic. It was a one-man show from NJ, and from what Grant (who has a superb Apogee Duetta room (that trip I heard XLFs and Magicos with much more costlier electronics, and while they were good, Grant's room was way more natural with more natural bass, the Beethoven 9th tympanis and integration that only an apogee can achieve)) is saying, these GTAudio ribbon hybrid planars have gotten even better.
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
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Oh, probably the nicest looking speakers I've ever had (though I do like the look of my Animas). I just could't get the active single 15 inch bass driver to integrate with the 114dB/W mid/high horn. Only the bass level was adjustable and nothing else. No matter what I tried, I just couldn't get it to work properly. Whereas in the Orelos, you have a Hypex DSP unit which allows you to do pretty much what you want with the 3x 15 inch active bass drivers in each speaker.

I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I only paid £5k for the Swings used. And they were in mint condition. I probably should have persevered with them and tried a few other options. In many ways, they actually worked better in my room than the Orelos. And certainly looked nicer, to my eyes. If you ever get a chance to buy a pair of £5k, I'd say take it!

Mani.

If they come with the AER BD3 drivers they alone are worth more than that, although pricing seems to be on the rise....

http://aer-loudspeakers.com/aer-breitbandchassis-bd/

BD horns are a bit too deep imo, the newer clear AER horns are better and turn out to be extremely similar to my design except I don't like the clear plastic. It's not easy to match woofers to horns but it's certainly possible with some effort, much of it is finding the right woofer.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
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If they come with the AER BD3 drivers they alone are worth more than that, although pricing seems to be on the rise....

http://aer-loudspeakers.com/aer-breitbandchassis-bd/

BD horns are a bit too deep imo, the newer clear AER horns are better and turn out to be extremely similar to my design except I don't like the clear plastic. It's not easy to match woofers to horns but it's certainly possible with some effort, much of it is finding the right woofer.

I think the BD you are referring to is a driver? what Mani is referring to are horns designed by a guy named Bert from Holland
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
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I think the BD you are referring to is a driver? what Mani is referring to are horns designed by a guy named Bert from Holland

It's both. BD Designs Swing generally contain AER BD drivers. If he scored a pair of Swing speakers for $5k my point is the drivers alone may cost more than that!
 

planarman

Well-Known Member
Apr 30, 2017
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Greg now has a revised midrange planar driver crossoverless and new corrugated ribbon tweeter.
They are the simply the most natural accurate dynamic transparent speaker I have ever heard inc. Maggie, Martin Logan, Sound Lab, Analysis Sudio and Apogeee

See Review by Kemper Holt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nT_H_IEOVo
 

manisandher

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2011
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BD Designs Swing generally contain AER BD drivers. If he scored a pair of Swing speakers for $5k my point is the drivers alone may cost more than that!

My BD-Design Swing horns contained a BMS mid/high coaxial horn driver and a single BD-Design 15" bass driver in each speaker. 'AER' and 'BD-Design' are two totally separate companies AFAIK.

Mani.
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
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My BD-Design Swing horns contained a BMS mid/high coaxial horn driver and a single BD-Design 15" bass driver in each speaker. 'AER' and 'BD-Design' are two totally separate companies AFAIK.

Mani.

Yes, they are definitely 2 different companies. I've heard the BMS coax CDs, they were pretty good but the AER drivers are better imo.
 

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