Updated 10th April 2001
Updated 10th April 2001
This section will cover projects to improve the sound of your Apogee's. You might think that is impossible, but I have found out for a relatively small cost you can improve the sound to a surprising degree.
If you have modified/upgraded any Apogee in any way please let me know.
Added 10th April 2001
Upgrading the crossover
provides an across the board improvement to the sound of Apogees. This is simply
because the original components used were not of that high a quality and they severely
compromise the sound of the speakers.
The reason for this is simple, for example, a pair Divas which sold for $8000 in 1989 would have cost
about 10% of that
to build, so Apogee could not afford to use the best components as it would have
consumed a high percentage of the build cost.
The components which
improve the sound the most are the capacitors and inductors, admittedly about
the only parts left would be resistors and the wiring, but these can be upgraded
also.
The Sprague capacitors in the crossover are partly responsible for the
occasional rattles/buzz you can get from certain powerful sustained vocal
sounds, upgrading them can help greatly in this respect..
I would say that doing
modifications like this void your warranty, but as nobody has a warranty
anymore, I will restrict my comment to "All modifications done at you own
risk" and be careful with tools when near the speakers.
The work requires some
soldering experience on your part, or having a friend who is useful with a
soldering iron would be handy.
If you are uneasy about doing these modifications I suggest you modify one speaker at a time as you will then still have the
other one for reference. Also you will clearly be able to hear the improvement, direct proof that you aren't imagining
the difference!
Apart from ordinary tools like screwdrivers and a socket set, you will need a
soldering iron, solder (preferably silver-loaded solder) wire cutters, Allen
keys (the ones supplied with the speakers will do) silicone sealant, or PVA type
glue, some additional wire (more on that later).
Replacing Capacitors
Upgrading the standard
grade Sprague capacitors
on the mid/tweeter and bass section of the crossover will result in a much
cleaner, three dimensional portrayal of music.
Originally I was a bit dubious about the possible improvements
myself, but the effect is NOT subtle. Changing one side first, the difference was obvious,
more perceived dynamic range, more relaxed with no tendency to "shoutiness"
at higher levels. Grain and edge (which did not seem apparent before) disappeared from vocals and the depth and
three dimensionality of the midrange was so much better that I started hearing parts of recordings that I had never heard before.
It becomes difficult to tell that the sound is coming from the speaker at all,
even my room filling Divas almost manage a disappearing act!
The replacement cap I suggest you use for the midrange/tweeter is Reliable Capacitor - type Audiocap
Metallized Polypropylene (PPMF) these are very good capacitors at a price that won't break the bank, they
will also easily fit in place of the originals.
You could go for the better Reliable Capacitor - type Multicap
Metallized Polypropylene, however
the cost is
nearly doubled, and there they may not be enough available space. (see Note.1)
I bought mine from Audiocom
(UK). Their website is at http://www.audiocom-uk.com/
they are great people to deal with, talk to Steve for orders/pricing, or
if you want more technical information speak to Mark, he has been
extremely helpful with advice about
other upgrades I have done to my CD player. They also sell the Superclock
upgrade for CD players which I can't recommend too highly.
In the US the best place
would probably be Michael Percy Audio. Their web address is http://www.bainbridge.net/percyaudio/
from here you can download the catalogue in Adobe Acrobat format (there
is a link to get the Acrobat reader if you need it) Reliable Capacitors
are on page 5.
Other US parts supplier are:
http://www.northcreekmusic.com/CrossoverComponents.html
George Short of North Creek Music (above link) was on the design team at Apogee during the eighties. He now designs and sells speaker kits and high end crossover parts. He makes coils from 18 gauge to 8 gauge in many values, and has custom built resistors and caps. He has helped people with Apogee upgrade suggestions.
http://www.partsconnection.on.ca/pages/main.html
(If anyone knows other audiophile parts
suppliers let me know and I
will add them here).
Note.1 - There are a wealth of other audiophile grade capacitors out there, other
possibilities are Infinicap/Wonder Cap and Hovland Musicap. Just
bear in mind the size considerations, the best capacitor in the world is no good
if it won't fit in the speaker!.
I suggest you buy some good quality solder at the same time, the 2% or 4%
silver-loaded solder is worth buying for three reasons - it conducts better,
melts at a lower temperature and the flux residue is less.
Replacing Inductors
The original inductors are
pretty nasty unevenly hand-wound items made at Apogee to fit in the available
space.
Think about it this way, if a few meters of speaker cable can make such a big difference to the sound of your system, imagine what harm the
many meters of non oxygen-free wire in the inductors are
doing.
I know comments like this are likely to keep die-hard audiophiles up at
night, but I had to say it!
Upgrading the inductors
increases the midrange depth, detail and timbre. The imaging is more pin-point accurate, and there is a much better layering effect to the depth
perspective across the whole image width. The definition and control of the bass is
much improved. Also the extension seems greater, this is probably just a side effect of the bass being clearer,
overall there is a sense of greater coherency, with the sound being more dynamic and realistic than before.
The downside, if you could call it one, is the sound also becomes smoother, I
personally don't find this a negative trait at all, and if your regular sound is
a bit forceful then it would probably have a very positive benefit.
There are not so many options when it
comes to replacing inductors, this is mainly down to the space available inside
the speakers.
So far I have only found two, these are:
Goertz
Alpha Core air core foil wound
inductors, available in copper
or silver*
*As the price of the silver versions are approx 10 times the cost of the
copper I very much doubt if the benefit is worth it!
Website address http://www.alphacore.com/inductor.htm
you can buy online from here.
Alternatively if you are in the UK
speak to John Barrie at Audio Direct, Tel: 02897 561348, email audiodirect@btinternet.com
he based in Northern Ireland and is the only source for Alpha Core inductors in
UK/Ireland, he also sells Goertz cables, audiophile components and Nordost
off-the-reel chassis wires which are perfect for speaker re-wiring
work, and the smaller versions make truly excellent interconnect cables. If you
do speak to him, please tell him that you heard of him from this website.
Solo
Copper foil air core inductors
The only supplier I know of is Michael Percy
Audio. Their web address is http://www.percyaudio.com/
from here you can download the catalogue in Adobe Acrobat format (there
is a link to get the Acrobat reader if you need it)
Both of these are available in 12, 14 and
16 AWG gauges. (With AWG sizes the smaller the number the larger the
cross-section of wire, hence better current carrying capability).
I have used the Goertz personally but the construction of both is nearly
identical, the Solo's are slightly more expensive, and use polyester as an
insulator whereas the Goertz use polypropylene, whether this has any effect on sound quality I couldn't say.
The diameter of these is equal to or less than the originals, but the limiting
factor is the height, as the originals were designed specifically to fit inside the
speaker.
Both the Goertz and Solo inductors are 2" high in 12 AWG
which would be the best replacement for the bass section, but these simply will
not fit inside most of the Apogee full range ribbons speakers as the available
height is limited to about 1.5" (see Note.2)
The Solo's in 14 AWG are 1.25" high, (the Goertz are
1.42") so should fit as direct replacements, and the thinner gauge should
not be a limiting factor on the sound quality
The 14 AWG size will also be fine for midrange/tweeter replacement.
17th November 2000 - After
speaking to John Barrie of Audio Direct who supplied my Goertz inductors, he
said that the difference in resistance between the original 12AWG bass inductor
and the 14AWG Goertz (or Solo's) would not have any significant impact on the
sound of the speakers.
Note.2 - The 12 AWG can be used for both midrange and bass sections in the
Diva as the crossover is external, so the size restriction does not apply,
although it does require cutting a hole in the hardboard support, full
information will be in the Diva crossover modification section.
Note: Interestingly Magneplanar
owners are fond of upgrading there crossovers, look at this page on the Maggie
Users Group. The improvements they talk about are very similar to what I
found with Apogees.
Getting Started
The first step for
crossover upgrading is being able to get to it, so here are instruction for removing the
front cover from Scintilla, Caliper, Caliper Signature, Duetta (I & II), Duetta
Signature and Stage (includes Stage portion of Minigrand also). I have no
direct experience of the Studio Ribbon Array, but I think the crossover is in
the bottom section so cover removal may not be necessary.
Note: The front cover removal procedure is the same for Divas, but not necessary
as the entire crossover is in the external box
The hybrid speakers -
Centaurus, Slant and Cepheus due to their different construction, make it hard
to reach the crossovers. I have been told it is virtually impossible to get into
them
without the danger of damaging the speaker cabinet in some way. If anyone out
there has managed it please let me know.
Apogee
front cover removal procedure
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