ramagochi

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $580.00 from Old stock from Italy

Summary:
I had several years ago a pair of Apogee Stage (I needed to sell by personal reasons), I loved this speakers (I chose this speakers over a Duetta Signature). Now, I found two month ago a pair of Centaur Minor in new condition, I bought this speakers, yes the Minors is a hybrid, but share the same tweeter as the Stages. I started to try with several amplifiers, the Minor is a hard to move speaker, low impedance, low sensitivity, finally I found an amplifier to move it (I tried with MF A1000, VTL 75/75, Ars Sonum Filarmonia), the amplifier is the Counterpoint NP100 (A modified SA100), the distortion was gone, and the dynamics got new life, and his limited bass got more energy. I believe that this speaker, need a very good amplifier with at least 100W at 8 ohms (The 50W pure class A Musical Fidelity A1000 can't manage this speakers), this is very important. With the NP100 this speaker have the best mid-highs I heard (IMHO the Minor bettered the Merlin VSM), the bass is very short and limited, but clear and fast ( A Vifa P17 in acoustic suspension), not enough for orchestal or rock, but I tried with a Rel Strata III and solve all the problems of the bass frequency. The combination with the Rel and the NP100 have dynamics (I measured 107dB SPLA in my room) without distortion (Is easy forget the sound level), cristal clear mid-highs, tonal accuracy, ultra big soundstage, very wide coverture (not vertical, good thing), overall sound as good as the Stages. Is very easy to place, need a bit of toe in, and almost 1m from the rear wall, this wall best without damping material. If you find a pair, buy it (Remember, you need an very good and powerfull amplifier and a real sub, and stands), you will get one of the best sound reproducction systems at any price, with a close to reallity sound, but not for all (All the Apogees need people that usually listen live music, not can music audiophiles). I give 4 stars because you need additional devices, 5 stars if you have a Counterpoint NP100 and a Rel Strata.

Strengths:
Very low distortion, fast transient response, wide coverture, cristal clear mid-highs (The best of the market at any price), fast bass response,

Weaknesses:
limited bass deep, low sensitivity, low impedance (3 Ohms at 1,5kHz), difficult to find spares (Bass units), need a very good and expensive amplifier.

Similar Products Used:
Apogee Stage One, Spendor SP1/2, Spendor S3/5se......

Price Paid:  $450.00 from A friend

Summary:
These Apogees are very excellent with vocal. Treble & mid are very smooth. Just notice that they require a good quality record. They could cast their spell when drive by a powerfull and warm amplifier. Different from other reviewers, I found that the placement of these Apogees was quite easy

Strengths:
3D soundstage, very clean & very musical

Weaknesses:
Lack of deep tight bass. Narrow sweet spot

Similar Products Used:
KEF, Tannoy Oxford, B&W CDM 1 SE, Infinity Reference Series

Price Paid:  $400.00 from employee discount

Summary:
purchased these in 92' and coupled them with a musical fidelity b200 and later with classe 70. sounded better with the b200. the prior reviewer is right treble through mid is very smooth and fast. at the time i though it made music come alive. in 9 years of listening couldn't figure out were the xover was..which is as it should be. i understand they did a lot of work to get the small 6.5 inch woffer up to speed. anyway, if your intrested in great sound at a good buy..but do take a look at the weaknesses..there are a few. lastly choose a warm amp in the bass/lower mid.

Strengths:
exellent top and mids..good soundstage. if set up right..exellent.

Weaknesses:
very position dependent. must be willing to jog them around the room, not kidding at all on this one. in the same 10x11 room i've heard them sound so great. and so bad. not a lot of bass. suck out in lower mid to upper bass. 70w wasn't enough. a good 125 and a high bias amp.

Similar Products Used:
just replaced it with the thiel 2.3 with tweeter upgrade. at 3 times the price. to get as good.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I bought this pair back in '93 after auditioning almost a dozen of different speakers. I bought the demo from the store but the original price was very reasonable. I was very impressed by the Apogee Grand but obviously out of my price range. I asked if they have something easier on my wallet and was introduced to the Minors. The first thing I noticed was the similarity in terms of sound between the Minors and the Grand. The good attributes such as clean midrange and exceptional sound stage were there. The only thing missing was bass but was not a major issue for me. I took it home and drove it with a Rotel 980. It was good but clearly not as good as at the store. It took me another year before I bought a Halfer 9505 to drive it with satisfaction. I have also replaced the speaker wire by a 12 foot pair of MIT T2. Now, it has better midrange and sound stage than I have ever experienced almost anywhere. The bass has also improved to the extent that I can begin to feel it. I cannot overemphasized that the midrange and the treble are very, very pure; they are neither thin nor sizzling. The sound stage is deep and slightly recessed in my system. I have fooled so people into believing that I was not using the Minors because they only heard the stage but not the speakers! Finally, placement is critical to achieving good sound.

Strengths:
Exceptional midrange and treble. Excellent sound stage.

Weaknesses:
Need a powerful amp to drive. Bass could be better, but acceptable (to me). Picky about placement.

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Hifiwinkel

Summary:
I recently ( one day ago)bought the Apogees for my brother. Straight out of the box they sound ok but the midrange had no body. After four hours the sound improved a lot. Exceptional rhythm and pace compared wiht other tranducers. I heard the Apogees several times at the shop with different Krell amplifiers and with Tranparent cable and of course the AH tjoep cdplayer. It sounded a little bit soft but my sister in law liked the design and sound. Now connected with Symo loudspeakercable and a Linn Intek amp it''s hard to sit still. Metal and rock music sounds great, so i''m do not agree with the other reviewers. My friends own Proac 2.5 & Copland amp, Vienna Acoustics Beethoven & Rotel amp, Duntech regent & Krell amp , Focal speakers & Accuphase amp, they all have their strong points but none has the pace off the Minor''s. components used: Marantz CD80 ( Ennemoser c37, opamp ) Linn Intek (Ennemoser c37) Interlink Transparent Super ( Bullet plug) ssc feet Symo loudspeaker cable. Apogee minor with optional stands

Strengths:
rhythm and pace

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Translator Stylus one