Stereo Times Review of the Apogee Acoustics Diva

Great question Melbguy1...I always remember the Apogee Stage...what a great speaker that was...and for $1K second hand, a steal imho.

I have heard the Genesis 1.1s...remarkable but boy are they BIG!

Would love hear how the big Apogees (Apogee Grand?) stack up as well.

I hear you Melbguy1,

Those things are H-U-G-E. I have a good friend who owns them...he uses all-Kondo electronics...the best of their best stuff. And it sounds remarkable.

Have you heard the Rockport Arrakis? I have heard it tri-amped with VTL Siegried II monos with a Rockport Sirius III and Clearaudio Statement TT...whew!!!

Between the two, close call for me.

Would love to have heard the Scintillas or Apogee Grand...

Yes, the S5s are amazing. I have heard them with Constellations and ARC though never Vitus.

With Arrakis, I would probably stick with my Gryphons since that is what Andy payor uses to voice them, and I really like my Gryphon. But frankly Vitus is exceptional and I believe reasonably similar in voice/character to Gryphon as I understand.

I honestly cannot say which I would go for...I suppose with unlimited space so that Genesis/IRS don't overcrowd the room, I could see myself with those. But there is just something about how deep house sounds on the Rockport Arrakis...incredibly effortless and yet TIGHT...that is just remarkable.

Nice...very nice. Yes, I have heard excellent things about the Masterpiece series.

I run the Gryphon Colosseum into my Wilson X1s (modd'd a bit). Zanden 4-box digital front-end and CJ GAT pre. Velodyne DD18 sub in parallel. Transp RefMM/XL (MM2) cables. All 16 components are each in their own 'isolation sandwich'...even the Transparent network boxes...each one a bit different...but mainly made of Stillpoints Ultra 5s, HRS M3X/Nimbus Couplers and Artesania, HRS, solid brass weight on top (upwards of 150lbs).

Very nice, Melbguy1!

I have the Tripoint Troy Signature and also use Entreq grounding...as well as Entreq AC wraps. Great stuff!!!

Now...
...about that Gigawatt of yours. I was most intrigued to read about it this morning (completely by coincidence).

what have you compared it with? I use the Transparent Ref Powerisolator 8. It is good, has 8 outlets so it works for me...but I know how important power is...so most curious.

BTW, if you ever decide to go for Zanden, it benefits from a LOT of isolation, NOS tubes, EAT tubes dampers and AC wraps around their cables...but it is a different, purer, stronger, more solid (particularly in bass) and yet still 100% Zanden voice. If you ever decide you want to listen, let me know...it sounds quite 'pretty' without the isolation on each of the 4 boxes, powerful rectifier tubes (Mullards) in the PSU and the noise floor drops with the AC wraps and EAT tube dampers.

Thanks for any advice on your Gigawatt and how it compares to other things you've heard/auditioned!

Hi Unsound,

I have heard the Apogee Stages (never liked the Centaurs myself which I think were hybrids as you mention). Those Stages driven by a big ML amp were amazing. But my ear then was quite different than today, and who knows...maybe it was rolled off relative to what I enjoy today.

I do recall Apogees being monsters at absorbing current...in any event, they are barely around now. But they are still part of why I have enjoyed panels...though perhaps it does say something that I have never owned one.