Apogee diva setup

[Alrainbow]

I bought a pair of apogee diva speakers they came with a Dax ext cross over
to use this I have to biamp
Ksa200 b woofers
Ksa80b mid tweets
in moving them around to get a good solid image I have noticed a few things about how they sound
in owning a pair of irs v the same type of set up seems to work
the walls behind them is non absorption walls
I chose thin glued on wood strips to Sheetrock walls that are insulated inside
my starting point is 48 inches from front wall
tweeters are now 70 inches apart
does anyone here own a pair of apps and can comment about placement and how they should sound

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

I bought a pair of apogee diva speakers they came with a Dax ext cross over
to use this I have to biamp
Ksa200 b woofers
Ksa80b mid tweets
in moving them around to get a good solid image I have noticed a few things about how they sound
in owning a pair of irs v the same type of set up seems to work
the walls behind them is non absorption walls
I chose thin glued on wood strips to Sheetrock walls that are insulated inside
my starting point is 48 inches from front wall
tweeters are now 70 inches apart
does anyone here own a pair of apps and can comment about placement and how they should sound

I had same incl DAX and 4x Rowland M7 monos and preferred no toe in, about same apart and at least 50 from rear wall
Listening distance 11 feet

 

[Anton D]

I have a pair of Studio Grands and I think your placement seems pretty great!

I did switch from the DAX to a Pass Labs XR V1.

 

[Alrainbow]

I wondered about a newer cross over, but the external cross over is complex . Where DAX allows me to make changes but in a understanding way .
I'm still working through as is ..
Got a new preamp too so now I'm adjusting to it .
I'm using two krells I rebuilt
And one thing I had to do is lower the gain on the mid tweet amp 3 db so far and I'll guess I'll need more .
tomorrow I'll start running sweeps with mic and software .
Once I moved them 48 inches things really took off .
I can sit 6 feet back and speakers are gone
One thing i do notice is all middle .
Stage seems ok but not wide
once tone is correct then I'll try moving them
To try get a wider stage .
my infinity irs v through a massive stage beyond the speakers these so far don't .

 

[Alrainbow]

I had same incl DAX and 4x Rowland M7 monos and preferred no toe in, about same apart and at least 50 from rear wall
Listening distance 11 feet

Does moving more away yield a wider stage ?
I can go back to 11 feet but have not tried that yet .

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

Have to try in your room

 

[Alrainbow]

I did and its just like the irs v is
at 6 to say 7 feet they are here
At 8 to 10 I am there. Needs at least 9 feet to almost full stage
10 it’s wall to wall
I like intimacy more but since I finally have things somewhat under control or understanding I’m just enjoying them.
It’s hard to imagine some 30 year old speakers so fire filling to me.
the room is simple and works great
I’ll post some pics soon and videos too
the Dax is an amazing part and so needed.
while I have two Krell KSA amps in the room behind and the KSA 80b is mids I still had to dial the amp down 3 db to match the KSA 200b on woofer panels
Now it’s much more full on the low end
the woofer panels are about 4 ohms and the mid tweets below 2 ohms so I think it’s simple ohms law
but the Dax gives me so many options to try
even for f I bend down in the middle to of the towers to make an adjustment I can hear the change there
Then when I sit it’s more of a change but in that direction

 

[Alrainbow]

Ps I can’t imagine how much better new Clarysis must be in many ways as Florian is the master of apogees of the past.

 

[cjfrbw]

You are lucky. Divas have a reputation for being one of the most finicky and tweakiest of Apogees, but also one of the most rewarding when finally set up with the room.

You could also tap Florian for advice because he rebuilt and upgraded a pair back in the day, too, along with his other journeyman endeavors.

I would concur that an updated crossover arrangement would benefit.

 

[Alrainbow]

Florian helps a really great guy and loves audio
I will
Get new woofer panels from him
For now I’m paying more attention to how each instrument needs to sound
Like a violin and cello
Have similar sounds but different at the same time. a bud is helping me get things better by listening to my videos and then he he sends me his
one click in the dax really changes things
today I plan to run real tests on mics to see what is happening
So far each day seems better.
at first Maggie’s were soo much better
But once I got a little better I can hear how far off Maggie’s are compared to diva
I’ve always loved panels
The Infinty IRS V are remarkable speakers
but the bass towers always seemed off
Now got 12 new woofers to stop servo bass
when I have time I’ll start to integrate the woofer towers to allow more mid bass and not drive the mid Planer drivers so hard
while
The mids play low but as freq gets lower the acoustic energy drops off fast
The woofer towers can play up
Into the mid bass but the servo amp hurts it
so new woofers and non servo should fix the issues
Let’s see how this goes

 

[Anton D]

I recall a Florian from the old days of the Apogee Forums, same person?

He bought a pair of Apogee Grands and needed a crane to get them into his apartment, as I recall! he gave a very interesting history of his experience and what it toook to breathe life into those babies.

 

[AudioLibertarian]

Ps I can’t imagine how much better new Clarysis must be in many ways as Florian is the master of apogees of the past.

Not by much , if at all, imho. Divas are the Full Range model are legendary for a reason! If you are able, try to audition Symphonic Line Kraft 300 amps from Germany, those will show off some of the hidden strengths of the Divas. I suggest vertical bi-amping with two stereo units, or even bi-amping with 2 pairs of the Symphonic Line Rg-4 monoblocks for a relatively reasonable price. I ve heard this very combo years ago and it was amazing sounding! Also, should you be able to get a pair of the Tube Research Labs 400 monoblocks, with good EL-34 tubes, I highly doubt you should feel a desire for any other speakers at any price for a very long time....

 

[AudioLibertarian]

Me and my audio buddies often wonder how underappreciated has been the genius of Apogee and Jason Bloom . For 9-12 thousands an aspiring audiophile with relatively "average" income could buy the state of the art speakers that were so great sounding that even to this day, one would need to spend at least US$ 70 thousand from other brands just to try to equal their glorious sound signature!

 

[Porsche]

need pics love the old apogees

 

[christoph]

I have a pair of Studio Grands and I think your placement seems pretty great!

I did switch from the DAX to a Pass Labs XR V1.

Holla, I never thought I would meet another fellow Studio Grand owner ever again

Sorry for OT but what amps are you using on your Studio Grands?

 

[Alrainbow]

I love the posts really appreciated
I have a 3 way cross over and could by one more Krell but this means I’m redesigning the entire cross over
so I am good as is lol.
The amps I’ll look up and thanks

 

[christoph]

I recall a Florian from the old days of the Apogee Forums, same person?

He bought a pair of Apogee Grands and needed a crane to get them into his apartment, as I recall! he gave a very interesting history of his experience and what it toook to breathe life into those babies.

Yes, that exact Florian.

 

[Anton D]

Holla, I never thought I would meet another fellow Studio Grand owner ever again

Sorry for OT but what amps are you using on your Studio Grands?

I bought the speakers from 'Stereo +' in San Francisco in 1993. They also carried Krell at the time, and that's sort of the amp line that was associated with Apogee then, so I started with the normal DAX and used Krell KSA 300(S) amps with a Krell KRC (2? HR?) preamp. The amps just didn't please me. Then, I tried semi-vintage McIntosh 2205 amps...which were more fun, but I was sort of simmering about what to do next. (I upgraded the caps.) Those amps did a good job, but gave a sensation, purely subjective,' that the drivers were kind of hanging out with the amps rather than being 'driven' by them. I know, sort of nutso Hi Fi talk.

I even tried some crown amps - it was interesting, because they sounded like playing CD even when playing vinyl - it was antiseptic. But, that was just goofing off - although it solidified how the speaker/amp interface is so compelling.

Then, I met a guy from Montana, who did things to Adcom amps. he loved their transformers and caps, and he did mods to a couple of Adcom 565 amps that knocked my socks off, and they stayed. I am trying to recall his name, he may be retired now, but he had skills.

Later on, I was always slightly dubious of the tweeter ribbons doing a bit of a "wave" at higher volumes, and I met Rich Murry of True Sound Works and went the whole hog. I recommend him, he's amazing.

So, I changed to a three way crossover from Pass Labs and after Rich worked on the woofer box...I use a Dayton Audio amp for just the woofers! It feels wrong, but he really integrated the woofers to the panels in a great way.

Now, I use some Mac MC275 amps, some Acrosound UL-II, and still those Adcoms. (I will try and look up that guy's name....he really did great work) All stereo amps running one per speaker. Rich ran the tweeters with an 8 watt tube amp and they were just fine.

Sorry for the long answer. (HIs mods 'improve' the impedance curve, so they are not such a load.)

As part of my tendency to hoard, I also have a pair of Mini Grands that are great in smaller rooms. Currently, Wyred For Sound amps.

I hope we meet some day!

 

[Anton D]

Yes, that exact Florian.

Thank you!

Does he post here?

I loved what he did and hope he is well.

There are a pair of Grands of his for sale, if I only had the budget! This is where I would put 75,000 grand if I had it.

Apogee Grand – info

Apogee Grand Detailed Info

www.hifi-advice.com

 

[Porsche]

pics