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Apogee s versus a haircut

A couple of years back I went out for a haircut, stopped in at my local dealer and snapped up a mint pair of Apogee Caliper Signature II's for $500
Got them home and set up with my Krell Kav 300i, in place of trusty old QLN sig's.
Sound was kind of ok for a while, but felt the room/amp didn't really do them justice. Sounded a bit thin, imaging was average, soundstage wide but not deep, bass fast and tight but not low.

Couldn't move them more than 18" from front wall, and had them firing long ways down a 12' X 35' room.
I've since moved, changed amps to a CJ CAV 50, though the room problems are the same.

Question - does anyone have any ideas on how to best position and drive these beauties? What are they worth (9/10 years old)? Is it worth me dragging them out of the basement to try with my CJ amp? Can anyone recommend a really good speaker that works best up against a wall (no Linns please)

Thanks for any help.
128x128rooze
jim
418 posts
 
Despite their vintage status, Calipers are still very capable speakers. However, they need lots more juice and air to strut their stuff. My old Stages were best approximately 60" from the wall with ample space between the speakers and the side walls (something like 55-60" inches as I recall). Need plenty of current to sing. If you can do this you *stole* your speakers. Makes me want to go out for a trim right now.
rcampbell
13 posts
 
The Cqlipers demand current and room to breath to sound their best. In their time Krell was their best mate. A cheaper option would be a Classe 25. A low powerd tube amp may sound ok but will not have the current to drive them properly. You may consider the Innersound amp which should be more than capable. If you can't get the speakers out into the room, I would not spend money on an amp, but sell the Calipers and buy a pair of Gradient Revoulutions. I have a pair in a secondary system. They are great and can be placed against a rear wall with good effect. Email me for details on the Gradients.
rooze's avatar
rooze OP
577 posts
 
Thanks to all above for your advice, and for taking the trouble to respond.

Rooze
jamestakamatsu
25 posts
 
I've heard this model of Apogee sound absolutely, incredibly great. Set-up is important with most speakers; with Apogee it's critical.

The speakers do need to be pulled out at least 3 feet from the reflecting wall. The wall should be free from damping material. Make sure your tilt back and toe-in adjustments are as the owner's manual suggests. The amplifiers of that era that work best with the Calipers are Krell (both KST-100 and KSA-250 great) or Classe (DR8 and DR9 again great). There are now many high current, low noise, amps that would probably work well with the Calipers. Apogee always recommended Symo cables, but Nordost (Blue Heaven and above) and Goertz (MI-2 and above) would be more up-to-date choices (and don't forget to biwire).

The Apogees, due to their inherent transparency and speed, were among the most critical to set-up in its time; now days, with really high-end equipment proper set-up is a given. The Apogee's musicality comes through when you take care to treat them right. Over a decade later, they can still sound beautiful.
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