I was one of the fortunate ones to have audition the Apogee Acoustic Stages when they first came on the market in the early/mid 1990's
I have been hooked ever since the first time I heard them. They were being auditioned with a Krell amplifier and a Conrad Johnson pre amplifier and a Krell cd player
The music was something out a dream when I closed my eyes I could place the instruments and vocalist exactly where they were standing when they recorded the cd
No box speaker I have heard in the pass 25 years can come close to the musical presence that the Stages produce
Unfortunately I could not afford the $10k Krell amplifier and the $5k CJ pre amplifier but I purchased the Stages anyway and picked up an Adcom amp and pre amp
It is true that the Stages will expose any weak chain in your musical system be it speaker wires or interconnects along with amplifier, pre amplifier or any source
You need quality components to appreciate the true sonic value of any Apogees
A high current amplifier will give you the bass that most people complain is missing in the Stages of course it will never give the bang in the lower octaves that a large cone speaker will deliver
But the overall music is so true to form that you really don't miss the over exaggerated bass that cone speakers produce
Recently I upgraded my Adcom amplifier and pre amplifier with a used Audio Research amp and pre amp and let me tell you the difference is musical magic
The better quality components you add to the Stages the better they sound
That's what I like best about Apogee speakers they are as good as their supporting cast
I can truly say if you have never heard a pair of Apogee speakers you are missing out on a level of musicality that I believe everyone should experience one time before they die
Yes they are that good!

Clarity,Highs,midrange soundstage,depth of field and they look beautiful

anything I say would just be nit picking.

Very good soundstage. Depth and placement of instruments is very good. Accurate,clear crisp sound.Stages need very clean power and lots of it. I have some very good tube amps and digital/ss amps. The amps I have run with ohms 5 mkII's, Quad ESL 57's, Centaur minors and Apogee Stages. I like the tube better with the Quads but with the Stages the ss/digital wins hands down. As I said Stages need the cleanest power you can supply. Very low distortion. With tubes the low end rolls of on "Dark Side of the Moon". Not with my ss. The stages go as low as they need to. Check out Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra disc Viva. It is a supurb recording. The soundstage depth is acsensuated with the Apogees. I have the speakers 2 ft from the back wall and 2 ft from the side wall. Toed slighty in and 24ft apart. My seating area is 12-15 ft from the speakers. They fill the room. They do strings very well. I like to put on the Irish Harp Orchestra. Friends are amazed at the clarity of the strings and the life like sound. To show off the highs in a different way I have an Sacd version of "shaft" by Isaac Hayes. Quite impressive especially at high volume. My ears do not tier from the sound. No fatigue after hours of listening.. Female vocals (Eva Cassidy,Diana Krall) very very smooth. I did ad a sub and keep it very low. If I did not tell someone they would not know.

Similar Products Used:

Quad ESL 57

system
Shanling t200a SACD
Bel Canto pre3
Digital Amplifier DAC4800A (digitalamp.com)
Von Schweikert vs-1 sub
morrow cables (biwire)
morrow interconnects

Transparency.. attack .. accurate.. detailed ...

Requires a few days to play around with optimal placement
Require good quality power to make them sing.

I feel that these speakers are the greatest audio secret. They can be had cheap ... sound unbelievable .. and would cost up to 5 times more if the company were still around.

If you haven't heard ribbon speakers - they leave box speakers eating their own resonances ! As for these ribbon speakers against other brands ... they hold their own or are even better.(Alot better when you consider the price as well).

The qualities of the speakers that I like are their speed, smooth detailed presentation and imaging. They are extremely involving and ultimately ... enjoyable.

Though they do need decent upstream gear to get the best out of them.

Current Gear:
Kit EL34 Valve Amp (40w/ch) Not ideal for these speakers - I have heard these speakers with Bryston 4BST (250/ch) and the difference the power made was amazing (plus it is a very fine amp). I am in the process of looking at replacement amps to partner my Stages).

HiFi World KLP1 Pre with Sonic Frontiers attenuator.

Assemblage DAC2 (heavily tweaked)
Sonic Frontiers Ultra Jitter Bug
Teac VRDS 10

A variety of quality cables.

In summary ... they may not be the best speakers out there (no doubt there are better out there .. even other apogees .. but these are very very good speakers (hence 4 Stars). I know I would have to spend ALOT more on speakers to get to the next level.

Remarkable transients; tone-colour beauty; transparency.

Lack of tonal weight.

The Stage has the fastest and most ex nihilo transients I've heard from any speaker - the "snap" of a snare-drum is quite life-like in comparison to the muted sound on this instrument from virtually every other speaker on the market. Transients don't sound mechanically generated; they simply seem to appear out of nowhere.
Tone-colours are magical on this speaker; instruments sound lush, beautiful, and strongly differentiated from each other. The only reservation I have here is a slight "tinselly" overlay to the sound and a mild blandness - timbres seem made out of watercolors rather than oils if you know what I mean.
There is however a lack of weight typical of panel speakers. Instruments sound airy and ethereal but somewhat lacking in solidity - they do however sound much better in this regard than electrostatics which in my experience make instruments sound positively spectral and wraith-like. Dynamic speakers (despite their faults) definitely sound more true-to-life on this aspect of reproduction.
Bass has excellent definition and timbre but once again lacks a sense of sonic foundation. Rhythm through the Stages is generated from the midrange rather than the bass; the bass often seems a passive observer of the rhythmic proceedings rather than a participant. The exception is when the large resonance peak at around 42 HZ is excited; suddenly the Stages appear to have weight.
Imagery has a holographic and remarkably focussed quality but can be somewhat insubstantial in comparison to dynamic mini-monitors. Instruments sound a bit two-dimensional and lack the full-bodied roundness of a dynamic transducer.
These speakers are only for enthusiasts. They are extremely placement and ancillary-fussy but definitely worth the effort for anyone looking for a magical listening experience.

Similar Products Used:

Electrocompaniet Qube; ProAc Response 2

Total coherhence & clarity from top to bottom - Midrange excels in it's ability to project a realistic soundstage and presence, with excellent dispersion characteristics in both the vertical and lateral plane - Very impressive overall performance for a dipole of this size.

Absolutly must be Biamped for optimal performance - Cable and Amp sensitive - Needs help from a quality Sub at the very low end.

I have had the Stage Signiture in my system since 1994 and still have never heard anything, that has been able to equal, let alone outperform them. They are just that good! Even when used in a very large space, they still somehow retain an uncanny and almost mystical capacity to project that infamous Apogee Midrange into the farthest corners of the room . Even if your not sitting directly within the "Sweet Spot" (roughly 15-18 inches)the imageing the Stage realizes is exemplary . They are arguably the finest transducers Appoge ever manufactured . Certainly the most practical and far & away the most performance optimized right "out of the box". Especially for the initial cash outlay, which I believe was somewhere around $3000.00 at the time. The most difficult problem for me, has been trying to find a Sub that can match the spectral quality of the Apogee bass.

Similar Products Used:

Appoge Calipers , Duettas

Clarity, Speed, Low distortion, 'Smack you in the mouth' Mid Bass, Vocal presence

Loudness, Low Bass, Fragile!!

What can I say guys that you haven't said already. They are bar-none, the best speaker in the world!! They never fail to amaze me. Cone speaker sound to bright/colored/in your face to me now. The Stages showed me how things should sound. I can never go back!! Right now I have a pair of Adcom 5800 solid state amps driving them(one for the speakers & one for the subwoofers) Per Al Yee, they sound there best with a tube amp. I'll have to give that a try Al. I can't imagine they can sound any better than they do now. In my younger days, all I listened to was heavy metal. But the Stages opened my ears, I listen to all music now(O.K.,except for rap!) I can't understand why they went out of business. Bummer!! I was planning to trade up to the Studio's. Girlfriends have come and gone, but my Apogees are here to stay!! E-mail me fellow Stage owners, I would like to hear what equipment/speaker wires/interconnects/tweaks that you are using. We have to stick together guys, we are a dying breed!!!

Similar Products Used:

Infinity SM-sold, Paradigm 10's-sold, Apogee Stage-sold, Legacy Focus-sold, Apogee MiniGrand-kept, Platinum Duo's-kept, Celestion-sold (In that order)

fabulous image and timbre, great for acoustic music

very hard to drive, and critical placement, bass not as
dry or articulate as box speakers, no service parts.

After 10 years of great service, the right tweeter gave up
it´s soul. I was hoping to find some help, to get them
back in service. Uortunatly it seems that no one has
this spare part. If anyone could give some help, or info
on how to get a spare tweeter would be grateful.

Similar Products Used:

Monitore Audio Studio 50 SE

easy listening, laid back, natural

none

Much apology to Lowell below, but I fail to hear the weakness. The only reason the Apogee Stage doesn't have the base punch found in dynamic speakers is because these speakers produce music and not sensation. I don't miss the boom. My Apogees have a well integrated frequency spectrum from the highest silky treble notes all the way to its bottom end. Of course, the Stages are equipment finicky. If you try to match the Apogee Stage with the wrong front end or amp the result will be lacking in some respect.

We use to turn on the stereo system only during parties and movies when I was running Bostons with Denon. Now I hate to turn my Apogees off. Talking about other brand speakers, I don't think people are aware of their speaker's annoying weaknesses, all they know is they can only listen for so long, and then they have to turn it off. Apogee's famous (scary) realism does help you find enjoyment in a widened music venue because Apogees don't color music. Box speakers are designed to agree with mass appeal music. The downer part in this bias is, the speaker becomes the other instrument, and so it doesn't sound right out of its element (classical just sounds terrible with almost all dynamic speakers).

I carefully chose a supporting cast for my Apogee Stages, looking for the most bang for the buck, while being careful to pick "soothing" influences. I lucked out all the way around. I am using (gasp) Sony CX90ES, Bryston, and B&K 4420 and cables - 12 gauge generic. See the reviews for the above products here at AudioReview. The point is, you just don't have to spend a fortune to enjoy audiophile results. Buy music instead! Be careful, though, Apogee Stages tell no lie.

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics

Everything

Depend on what you are after.

Like Everything else in life, nothing is perfect. No !!! the Stage is not the perfect speakers. But It has alot of different qualities that many others lack. When It comes to transparency, soundstage, imaging, and most importantly, coherent sound,there are few can touch. Now, if you are looking for head bangging bass (usually far from real) and loudness that the whole neighborhood can hear, then go get the Cervin vegas with 15 inch woofer, because the Stage can't do that. It doesn't mean that the Stage is completely flat like some of the pure Stats from Martin Logan (CLS). The Stages, again like all the full range Apogee, have bass, that in my opinion, the most Transparent bass, therefore accurate and true to music, than any other speakers on the market, even when compare to brand names like Thiel, Wilson, Big Infinity, B&W, Ariel, Hales, and the list goes on.

So, If you have a chance to buy the Stage or any full range Apogees, by all means, buy them. Why pay thousands for mini monitor when there's not a single mini monitor out there that can touch the Stage.

Similar Products Used:

Apogee Diva, Scintilla, Duetta II, Duetta Sig. Caliper

Prices paid do not reflect the NEW availability of ribbons

Early 3+3 ribbons tend to sound inferior - better replacements NOW AVAILABLE

Even as the entry level full range ribbon from Apogee, the sound quality reflects that of it's bigger brothers, but to a lesser extent.

As with all Apogee's, the only reason they sell so cheap on the secondhand market is the previous lack of spares. Sound quality is great as with almost all of this brand.
New ribbons are available from graz@graz.com.au