\n<\/strong>The red and black Duetta Sigs contain the older KLM2 type ribbons and are using non-standard crossovers with deviating values. Part 3 details\u00a0the change to standard crossovers and part 4 finally explains how the Duettas perform when entirely optimized by Henk van der Hoeven using Graz’ latest\u00a0KLM5 MRTW ribbons<\/a> with new interfaces and wired returns<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Now, take a deep breath, and dive in!<\/h3>\n
The refurbished Duetta Signatures under review here are the very speakers that started my Apogee Listening Sessions. Prior to hearing these I was thinking that they would, at the very best, be similar to my Magnepans, but with added reliability problems. Oh how wong I was…<\/p>\n
![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_0281.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Disclaimer<\/strong><\/p>\n Any loudspeaker is highly interactive with its environment, the room that it is placed in. In all but the most perfect rooms, you are listening to a mixture of direct speaker sound and your room, reacting to the speakers. My room is far from perfect and even though I have heard a large number of speakers in it, my experiences need not be typical of results obtained in other rooms. At the very least though, the results as mentioned as part of comparisons with other speakers, should provide something of a starting point. Ultimately though there is just no substitute for listening to speakers in your own setup.<\/p>\n How they arrived in my system<\/strong><\/p>\n JW, my closest friend and listening buddy has been bitten by the Apogee bug early on. Yet, the only Apogee model he has ever had were the small hybrid Centaurs. So, I teased him for years at end that he wouldn’t be a true Apogee-adept as long as he stuck with his hybrids. In the meantime I did not want to try any full range Apogee model myself due to the horror stories on the forums about impossible loads and panel buzz.<\/p>\n I don’t quite remember when JW’s change of heart started to set in but at some stage I saw a perfect refurbished pair of Duetta Sigs for sale and I notified him, saying that this was his moment: a perfect pair of full range, worry-free Apogees. But still he had doubts, so we arranged with the seller that we would first only come for a listen. We brought along Jeff Rowland amplification and had a listening session at the owner’s home. The owner in question was Toine Dingemans (known as ThingMan on forums) who himself had a long history using various Apogees and there are plenty colorful photos of his setups floating on the ‘net.<\/p>\n The Duetta Sigs under review were refurbished (new KLM2 ribbons) by Henk van der Hoeven, official Dutch restorer. Additionally, Toine himself has made new crossovers, based on the values of the original, but omitting the treble energy switch and associated circuitry, as well as some of the capacitors, effectively\u00a0fixing the treble on a unique “extra high” setting, which would later prove to be rather too much of a good thing.<\/p>\n Toines own amplification at the time of our visit consisted of a passive preamp (I forget the brand), Prefer and vdH cabling and an Usher poweramp, with an Olive music server as source, because his Marantz CD player was away for repairs. First we listened to his own setup. All it took was 1 minute for us to realise that 1. these speakers really do have sublime bass and 2. in spite of some hardness in the midrange and some coarseness in the treble, one of us was likely going to buy these speakers, if not JW, then I would want them myself. For in spite of their roughness, it was clear that these speakers do have sufficient treble openness. They did not sound dark like the pairs of Divas that we heard, or boxy like the Centaur Majors. Instead there was natural, free-flowing sound with incredible bass power.<\/p>\n Above:\u00a0Setup at Toine’s place, with JW in the listening chair and Toine connecting his Olive to the Jeff Rowland Synergy 2i that we brought along, together with the model sixes<\/p>\n We were curious to find out how the Duettas would perform with the Jeff Rowlands, so we switched from Toines own amplification to our brought-along Jeff Rowland Synergy 2i pre and model six poweramps, connected with Transparent Reference XL interconnects but still with Toines vdH speaker cables, as these were hard-soldered to the crossovers. The difference wasn’t subtle. All but gone was the hardness in the midrange, treble lost most of its grain and gained air and bass became even tighter. Also, soundstage layering and front to back imaging was now greatly improved, as was low level detailing and overall smoothness. We were pretty impressed and by now I was 100% certain that even if he did not say anything, JW was definitely going to buy them.<\/p>\n So, JW paid Toine and we loaded the speakers in his car. We agreed that although JW is the owner, we would first set them up in my system, for an extensive comparison to my own Magnepan MG3.6R’s.<\/p>\n Above:\u00a0JW loading the speakers in his car, using a protective sheet of thin MDF outfitted with soft draught strips, to prevent scratching.<\/p>\n First Listening in my own setup<\/strong><\/p>\n The Duetta Sigs sounded pretty impressive at Toine\u2019s but once set up in my own listening room, the sound was even more captivating. Even set up right in front of the Magnepans (that were at first still in their old positions) the Duettas already performed very well on various aspects and only seemed to lack ultimate focus, imaging and soundstage layering. But in this compromised position we already heard more air and a lot more refinement than in Toine\u2019s environment. This is probably mostly due to my components and cabling but likely also a function of the larger area. Set up at first did not seem that critical but in hindsight that was only because I already knew the best positions for the Magnepans and simply put the Apogees in the same spot and worked from there. We would later find that we already found the best spot for them on that very first evening, which is around 30cm more forward from the Magnepans, with the tweeter ribbons in almost the exact same location and with zero toe in. Opinions differ on the latter but I have to agree with the majority that no toe in sounds most coherent and gives the best balance between direct focused energy and room-filling sound. If desired, some toe in will work toward getting a more focused, direct-coupled sound, but it will also exaggerate bad recordings and would sooner make for listening fatigue.<\/p>\n Above:\u00a0Crossovers as we got them from Toine: low and high on separated boards. I would later make nice box for them.<\/p>\n It is at this stage probably good to note that these refurbished models with their new crossovers sound quite different from the original models, but I\u2019ll get into that in detail further below. For now I\u00a0will only say that the refurbished models sound more upbeat and dynamic, and more \u201clive\u201d than the first pair of original Duetta Signatures, which sound somewhat filtered\/rose-tinted.<\/p>\n Tilting proved very important: having one speaker \u201coff\u201d by only a millimetre can throw the balance off dramatically, but this is easily adjusted by glancing from the side across both speakers while turning the spikes.<\/p>\n Van Den Hul Skyline Hybrid<\/strong><\/p>\n Toine chose to use van den Hul carbon-lined speakercable (Skyline Hybrid) and hard-soldered this to both ends of the crossovers, which meant that at first I could not connect my usual Transparent Reference XL speaker cables and had to just use the cheap vdH cables. Listening to the speakers like this made me re-think loudspeaker cables in general. With the Duettas playing so well, would you really need exotic cables to get the best from a system? I left further experiments for later while I pondered about adding terminals to the crossovers in order enable adding my Transparent Loudspeaker cables to the mix. More about that further below.<\/p>\n Compared to Magnepan MG3.6R<\/strong><\/p>\n Comparing these Apogees to the Magnepans makes for some very interesting observations, because in spite of similar underlying technology, the models sound very different and have different strong and weak areas. The Apogees were listened to with their captive, biwired van den Hul Skyline Hybrid cables and the Magnepans were used with their usual Transparent Reference XL speaker cables. This may seem unfair, but things are a little different than one might expect. I\u2019ll explain further below.<\/p>\n Please keep in mind that we are still dealing with Duetta Signatures with unofficially modified crossovers, and that by now (months after this review was written) I feel that using these incorrect crossovers the midrange and lower treble has a hard edge and is too forward.<\/strong><\/p>\n First difference between the Duettas and Maggies is in their dynamic behaviour: where the Magnepans are easy on the ear and smoothly restrained, the Apogees are much more expressive, both dynamically and rhythmically, sounding much more akin to a live concert. On the other hand, the Apogees can sound a little over-enthusiastic and can even sound hard or edgy and sometimes even metallic in the midrange and treble. The Magnepans clearly have the advantage with their true ribbon tweeters. The Apogees\u2019 treble is still better than that of most dynamic tweeters but compared to that of the Magnepans, it is coarse and edgy and lacks fine detail and air. That was a surprise because while I always knew that the Magnepans were very airy, I did not expect the Apogees to be any less in terms of finesse and resolving power.<\/p>\n But smooth and airy treble isn\u2019t the only thing in the audiophile world and what the Apogees give in return more than makes up for this. Firstly their unbridled enthusiasm and live-like sound. Second: their bass! Really, I swear that these speakers have the sort of bass that makes one think that the subwoofers are on. Not only did I fall for that: all my friends and visitors did as well. Without exeption they asked if the subs were still on. You will probably not believe what Restored Duetta Sigs are capable of until you hear a pair for yourself. At least I did not believe what they told me prior to my personal experience.<\/p>\n The Duetta\u2019s bass is powerful, fast, articulate and very deep. The manual states that they go as low as 30hz and you better believe it! Not only do they go that deep; they also manage to have a lot of power that low. Switching to the Magnepans without subs makes them sound like small standmount speakers! Really, this is not an exaggeration: while the Magnepans are very articulate in the bass and also go quite deep, their foils just are not allowed enough excursion to really make waves. The Apogees\u2019s bass foils on the contrary can move lots of air and are quite fascinating to observe while playing loud house tracks. Speaking of which: the Duettas love Deep-House and encourage louder and louder playing. The speakers go amazingly loud but do have limits. If you push them too hard, the foil will break up and start to flabber in an uncontrolled manner, not unlike the effect with normal dynamic speakers. The Magnepans handle that differently and like Martin Logans just seem to dynamically compress without any apparent distortion. Apparently, if you then push them further, the Magnepans will blow their midrange and or treble fuses, but I haven\u2019t had that happen to me yet.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s another important difference between the Apogees and Magnepans: forgiveness. The restored Duetta Sigs are very, very picky and not forgiving of mediocre recordings. I suspect that their treble and midrange is more honest than that of the Magnepans. But with roughly half my collection standing out that way, there’s bound to be something else, too. So, while the Magnepans may have some additional treble smoothing going on, the Apogees do add some roughness, in addition to working like a magnifying glass for recorded imperfections. They seem to enhance sharpness similar to the way that is possible using image software like photoshop. Artificially sharpening an image doesn\u2019t really make it sharper; it just adds edge. While on balance the effect in reality isn\u2019t nearly as bad as I now make it sound, this does have annoying consequences: virtually my entire collection sounds fabulous on the Magnepans, but on the Apogees a lot of CD\u2019s are just not enjoyable anymore. But this goes both ways: loudly recorded, clipped R&B sounds remarkably well-mannered and very enjoyable through the Magnepans and unlistenable through the Apogees while the simplest live recordings consisting only of guitar, piano and vocals can be truely captivating through the Apogees and mildly boring through the Magnepans.<\/p>\n Ultimately I think the Magnepans add some refinement that isn\u2019t really in the recording, but is very pleasant nevertheless. They\u2019re incredibly easy on the ear, as also evidenced by one friends with old, warm-sounding B&W DM6 speakers and another with Sonus Fabers, who both very much enjoyed my Magnepan sound and are both now a little let down with the more accurate\/more agressive Apogee sound. But for me that doesn\u2019t matter. I like what I like. But there\u2019s no denying that the Magnepan\u2019s mild manners can definitely add to the enjoyment. Their restraint however can also work against them, turning to a slightly veiled quality and the sense that music isn\u2019t really set free. However, the Magnepans do sound bigger than the Apogees, in all dimensions: they easily fill the room with ambient sound and they have a very, very wide soundstage. The Apogees have a smaller, more concentrated soundstage but with better focus and depth layering.<\/p>\n Update January 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n Compared to original (not modified or refurbished) Duetta Signatures, still the MG3.6R’s are gentler and more fluid in the treble. Soundstaging was indeed sometimes wider on the Magnepans, but not more focused or better layered. On all other accounts, I’d say that the Duetta Sigs totally cream the Magnepans. Importantly, the Maggies aren’t really more forgiving than the original Duetta Sigs at all. It’s just that it can seem to be this way due to the wrongly modified crossovers of the refurbished models.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amp Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n The picture above shows the new Rowland 725 power amps that I had on visit for a review. Read more about it here. But, as you have by now probably gathered, the Duetta Sigs also work splendidly with the Jeff Rowland model 6 power amps. With 16 transistors per monoblock and up to 50 amps of peak power, they have more than enough current to drive the Apogees well. And Rowlands are just what the Apogee-doctor ordered, it seems, because they have absolutely zero grain. A common misconception is that Apogees must be used with Krell amplification. But in my experience using Krells like the KSA250 and KSA400, this will only add more grain and agression to what already are quite explicit sounding speakers while not helping in other areas at all. On the contrary: the Krells I compared my model sixes with had less definition, less transparency and less articulate bass. They did have bass power, but not a whole lot more than the Rowlands. Maybe their bas was thicker, fatter, but not better. Go figure! Naturally I should add that the Duetta Signatures with their purely resistive 3-ohm load aren\u2019t really difficult speakers to drive. But they are quite inefficient so a good current source never hurts.<\/p>\n Speaker cable experiments<\/strong><\/p>\n I assumed that the vDH cable wouldn\u2019t be \u2018high end\u201d enough, so I cut it off at the receiving end of the crossovers, connected some nice terminals and inserted my usual Transparent Reference XL speaker cables. I was in for a surprise: even though I\u2019ve been advocating system synergy for a long time now, as well as the relativity of it all, still the outcome this time was entirely unexpected! Would you believe that the Transparent dulled down the sound to a level that it just wasn\u2019t enjoyable anymore? Sure, there was a richer texture, smoother treble and a larger, better layered soundstage, but at the expense of speed and dynamics. I know that all Transparent cables need to be used with care, as some equipment can\u2019t cope well, but since the Magnepans work so well with them, I assumed that the Apogees would do even better. Surely there are better cables than the vdH but for the moment the Skyline Hybrid performs so well that well after this review was written, I was not in a hurry to try other cables.<\/p>\n Update January 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n By now I have conducted comparisons with other speaker cables as well as some single wire\/bi-wire\/ bi-amping experiments.<\/p>\n Above:\u00a0The MRTW ribbon is tilted halfway by means of a foam piece. This improves treble response when standing up and walking around.<\/p>\n Apogee refurbished versus Apogee original<\/strong><\/p>\n Lots of friends commented when they were over on how much better the Apogees sounded than my Magnepans. Only one friend (Jan) found that the midrange was simply too rough and hard and preferred my Magnepans. While I can’t deny that this can be the case, they offer a lot in return and mostly they sound fantastic, so at that time I had just settled with their roughness. Jan had had original Apogee Duetta Signatures before, three times even, but never had he heard them the way they sounded at my place. Of course the refurbish is debet to them being so impressive now, but also the amplification plays a very large role. All Apogees are brutally honest and I think it is safe to say that most models can also sound agressive when ill-partnered. Jan had a Krell KSA250 at the time. By now I know how the Krell sounds compared to the Rowlands: rough, forward, edgy and lacking finesse and resolution. While the refurbished Duetta Sigs were surely forward and a little hard at times, this wasn’t to the extent of Krell-ness. So, Jan went off to search for a pair of model sixes. Oh, and he proceeded to search for, and buy a pair of Duetta Signatures for the fourth time in a row!<\/p>\n Jan’s set of original Duetta Signatures was the first to be compared to the refurbished ones from JW. I would later get my own pair of original Duetta Signatures and further below you’ll find a comparison of all three models.<\/p>\n After Jan had aquired a set of original Duetta Signaturs, he offered to drop them off at my place first. This original pair sounded great from the get go, especially if you consider that they’re made in 1991! Inside inspection has revealed that the foam damping is deteriorating but in spite of that, there’s not a rattle or bass buzz anywhere unless you really crank them up way beyond levels that I need. These levels by the way elicit buzz from all Apogees tried, my own Duettas, JW’s refurb’s ones and my current Divas included. The original ones that Jan loaned to me, sound a lot different from JW’s refurbished ones: much smoother, more fluid and more forgiving. They still cope admirably in the bass department, being not too far behind the refurbished ones. But, they’re also a lot more laidback, less well-paced and a lot less dynamic. They’re actually reminiscent to my Magnepans that way, albeit still more dynamic and a lot fuller in the bass. But they also project sound less well, making it stick to the speakers more than with either the refurbished ones or the Magnepans. Speaking of the Maggies: they are actually incredibly spacious, even more so than the refurbished set but I’d still choose this mellowed set of Duettas over the Maggies. Thing is: at this stage we ultimately found them a little disappointing if you heard the refurbished ones first. But we hadn’t started optimising anything just yet.<\/p>\n Above:\u00a0The Original Duetta Signatures have screen material to protect the fragile foils. Especially at night his makes the foils appear darker that those on the refurbished speakers, which don’t have any protection.<\/p>\n Apogee original versus Apogee original and the Buzz problem<\/strong><\/p>\n I had made the comparisons in Jan’s absence but after I told him about the results and he came over to listen for himself, he concluded that they were very nice, but indeed lacking some dynamics and slam. In the meantime, I got the crazies as well because after I had heard his set and knowing that they did not buzz at all, unless playing at orcane-levels, I was now convinced that I could safely buy an original set. I found a set in great shape and Jan himself helped me get them to my home.<\/p>\n Apart from a light buzz mainly in the right speaker with particular pieces of music. I found two tracks on different CD’s thus far that make the Apogees produce some symathetic buzz on certain low bass frequencies: Eric Truffaz – Bending New Corners (I forget which track), and Paul Brown – White Sand, track 3.<\/p>\n However, I quickly found that JW’s refurbished Duetta Sigs behaved exactly the same way, and also it was mainly the right hand speaker. I later found that even my Divas do buzz somewhat but only when pushed even harder. So I must conclude that with Apogees some buzz is apparently unavoidable. The weird thing is that with other bass-heavy cd’s like Maxwell’s Embrya, all Duettas produce ponderous bass without any apparent buzz, so it is particular frequencies that apparently make the foil break up into a resonance. Interestingly, the state of the foam damping doesn’t appear to have a whole lot to do with whether or not the speakers buzz. It’s likely more a matter of wrongly tensioned foil. I do have to note that this buzz is only audible when standing right by the speakers. From the listening position it is not audible and at any rate, the buzzing I noticed is far less obvious than reflex-port chuffing in bass-reflex designs. Perhaps I have yet to experience the rattling talked about on forums but it seems to me that there aren’t actually many problems with Apogee speakers.<\/p>\n Back to the audible differences. My newly aquired original Duetta Sigs simply sounded fantastic: while not as superbly “live” and dynamic, they were much more forgiving and within minutes of first listening, both Jan and I already knew that they performed way more akin to the refurbished set than to Jan’s own set, but without the downsides. This was enough to make Jan decide not to keep his set. Later, his set would be sold to JW, but that’s for another story.<\/p>\n Cross-comparisons in exactly the same spot, with the same cables, revealed that the three sets sound quite different. All have the Apogee character, which is best described as bass-rich yet transparent, dynamic, a little forward in the midrange and a little unforgiving. The best set in terms of dynamics and live-like sound (not necessarily life-like) is JW’s refurbished set. Not far behind is my newly aquired original set and third is Jan’s set. However, as mentioned above, optimisation wasn’t done yet and it turned out that our ranking was about to be shuffled.<\/p>\n Just why would my Duettas sound more lively than Jan’s? JW has a theory that the magnets differ in strength, a suspicion substantiated by information that Jan found on a forum, about 2 different magnets used for the Diva range. This is all still unconfirmed but all I can say is that no matter what we tried on the cabling and amplifier side, nothing could bring Jan’s set to sound as dynamic as the other two. We also inspected the crossovers internally and they are 100% identical.<\/p>\n Above: \u00a0The refurbished set has all screen removed as well as the sock on the rear, making for a much cleaner look. They also have an extra layer of MDF glued to the rear.<\/p>\n After more and more listening, we grew more and more tired of JW’s refurbished set. While they could be magnificent on heavy bass tracks and pure vocal\/jazz arrangements alike, it was now becoming evident that there was something profoundly wrong with them. Switching back and forth between all 3 sets, more and more I liked my own set, with Jan’s set coming in behind them. JW’s refurbished set was now occupying a parallel ranking besides the others: sometimes outranking the others (dynamics and slam), other times clasing below them (agression, forward midrange, rough\/hard edges). At this time I also noticed that biwiring made a large difference, as did the precise type of connector (banana=bad, spade=good).<\/p>\n Bi-wiring<\/strong><\/p>\n Biwiring is another subject that people can’t seem to agree on. Never mind for now why it sounds different. I will simply describe what I heard in experiments with Jan’s set of original Duatta Sigs. I used the same van den Hul cable that Toine used: Skyline Hybrid. I made double runs, connected to the same connectors at the amp end but first only connected one cable set per speaker, on the tweeter side. The biwire terminals on the speakers were bridged using short pieces of solid core OCC copper. With this one cable the speakers sound pretty good but a little lean in the midrange and constricted in soundstage size. Connecting the second run to the woofer terminals, leaving the jumpers in place effectively doubles the amount of copper but retains the single wiring method. The resultant sound was quite different: a lot fuller in the bass, but also woolier and seemingly slower. Midrange was richer but also a little less transparent. Treble was ok both ways but the soundstaging had not changed. The last step was removing the jumpers. Would you believe that this made a huge difference? Shouldn’t do at a length of only 2,5 meters, I know, but it did: bass became tighter while remaining fulness, midrange opened up and became more transparent and the soundstage opened up too, becoming more room-filling and having better projection.<\/p>\n Optimizing<\/strong><\/p>\n What’s more: with the use of better spades (Rhodium LOK types), adding Cerapucs under the amps and switching them in high gain, high input impedance mode, I managed to further tweak the sound into a direction that benefitted the original sets more and more. Now, comparing all sets, the differences were still there, but now Jan’s previously shy set started to come alive, my set became even better and JW’s set, well, you can imagine that matters only got worse for that set.<\/p>\n Further experimenting<\/strong><\/p>\n One thing we still couldn’t be sure of with JW’s Refurbished set, is what exactly the upgraded crossovers contribute to the sound and what the new foils bring. After all, we can only hear the refurbished speakers complete with the upgraded crossovers because the original crossovers have been removed. But Jan agreed to an interesting experiment in which we will connect JW’s new upgraded crossovers to Jan’s speakers. This will show if they lift the speaker’s dynamic performance but also if the extra coarseness that JW’s speakers exhibit is due to the crossover components or to the foils themselves. If they make Jan’s speakers also sound coarse then we know that JW’s crossovers should be modified with smoother sounding components. Also, Jan will know if his speakers really are as good as they can get.<\/p>\n Duetta Crossover swapping – original versus rebuilt<\/strong><\/p>\n When we connected the newly built Duetta crossovers to the original Duettas we were shocked to hear how much the sound degraded! Sure, bass was fuller and the midrange was more forward and lively but the transparency and more so the coherence was greatly reduced, not to mention that the original set now also sounded screetchy and way too forward.<\/p>\n Stop the clock – this meant that my initial assessment of the refurbished Duettas was flawed due to the “wrong” crossover. After some correspondence with the Duetta’s previous owner, it became clear that he had removed some components from the crossover, in an effort to make them sound purer, and in his setup at least, more transparent. But in the process it also made the MRTW much louder than it should be. I guess this was much of a system synergy thing because to my ears, the new crossovers actually sounded less transparent than the originals and although more forward and present, not more detailed and definitely less subtle. The extra perceived dynamics and more “live” feeling is very seductive, but ultimately I prefer the more balanced sound of original Duetta Sigs, or the Divas.<\/p>\n Above: rebuilt crossover, missing some components<\/p>\n Above:\u00a0Original crossover<\/p>\n Deteriorating foam and the impact on buying decisions<\/strong><\/p>\n There’s no doubt that for most sets the foam will have deteriorated after some 20 years. I’ve inspected Jan’s set and could indeed scrape it off with my finger: it was soft and sticky instead of firm and springy. Also, I could see that the foam that is sandwiched between the clamps on both side of the foil seemed to be in the same state. Yet, in spite of this, these speakers did not buzz unless played at ear-splitting levels, and even then, the buzz was only audible when standing right next to the speakers.<\/p>\n When Apogees do start to buzz severely, or even rattle, I’m not convinced that this is due to the foam itself, rather due to the foil losing tension. The thing is: you can’t replace the foam without damaging the foils and you can’t replace the foils unless you are very, very handy. The foil is sandwiched between clamps not only by means of foam but also with silicone sealant and when trying to pry the clamps apart, you will inevitably damage the foil. There are replacement foils from Graz, and also from another supplier in Germany but the former can only be installed by a certified dealer and while the latter can be installed by anyone, this is quite a challenging chore.<\/p>\n Bottom line: listen carefully when buying. If you hear no buzz, chances are that that stays that way for many, many years to come – they might even live longer than your spouse will allow you to have them. Also, these speakers cost so little secondhand that I feel they are quite simply worth the risk. To me, they sound better than any other speaker in any practical price range and while Divas are indeed better, they are also very, very picky and don’t sound any good unless you really pull all the strings.<\/p>\n Serial Numbers:<\/strong><\/p>\n Jan’s original set: 13 998 Long after this review was finished, I conducted experiments replacing the non-standard crossovers with original ones. Read all about this\u00a0on page 3.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Above: setup used for comparisons.<\/p>\n Background<\/strong><\/p>\n I’ll start this review by reiterating my conclusion from 2 years ago, slightly modified to reflect my current knowledge:<\/p>\n There’s no way around it and reviewers at the time weren’t wrong: Full Range Apogees really are something special. Most incredible is their bass performance: at once deep, full, dynamic and fast. All three sets of Duetta Signatures produce bass in a fashion that makes visitors wonder if the subs are still on. Second: they’re incredibly dynamic and fast, in a way that makes Magnepans seem overly well-behaved and sleepy. Lastly, their timbre is very, very good. Piano really sounds like the percussion instrument that it is.<\/em><\/p>\n The Magnepan MG3.6R by comparison often make piano sound too thin, almost like it is a keyboard and not the real thing. And I’m talking about the Maggies with aid of two REL Strata II subs. The Magnepans have tight, articulate bass, but there’s no real drive to speak of. There are advocates for both camps, each accusing the other camp’s speaker of having coloration. I think both have valid arguments: yes, the Apogees can sound too hard and even a little metallic in the midrange, depending on circumstances and equipment matching.<\/em><\/p>\n And yes, the Magnepans sound restrained and somewhat veiled, compared to Apogees. But they’re both great speakers and the Magnepans have at least one big advantage over Apogee DS, which is their treble, which is quite simply sublime. Apogee DS treble by comparison is less refined and less airy. In case of the DS with modified crossovers the treble is even coarse, forward and a little shouty. <\/em><\/p>\n The 2 original pairs both had more fluid treble than the refurbished set, but were both less lively and articulate. The liveliest of the two was still less fluid than the Magnepans and still slightly hot in the treble. The oldest pair was arguably not shouty or hot and actually quite fluid, but also very relaxed. Too relaxed for me.<\/em><\/p>\n While it could be argued that perhaps the Maggies sweeten the treble too much and perhaps the original DS’ treble performance is simply honest and revealing what’s on the recording, the refurbished pair definitely had too much treble energy. But that’s because the crossovers are non-standard and have tipped-up treble. On balance though I find that all Duetta Sigs sound more real\u00a0than\u00a0the Magnepans and I simply enjoy them more, and more actively. Music sounds more real to me, more like a live performance, and it grabs me more because of it.<\/em><\/p>\n So, while I thoroughly enjoy the Duettas, and the refurbished pair is clearly more live, and life-like than the Magnepans, they can also be pretty harsh throughout the midrange and treble. It is my quest to see what happens if these refurbished speakers are connected to original crossovers.<\/p>\n Above: the home made crossovers with which the Red and Black Duettas were purchased. Quality components and made with care, but deviating from the classic Apogee sound.<\/p>\n Above: original Duetta Signature crossover (part of an original pair that I no longer have)<\/p>\n Above: original Duetta Reference crossover (still in its donor speaker).\u00a0The only difference with the regular Duetta Signature crossover is the addition of the square red capacitor visible behind the MRTW coil on the right.<\/p>\n Above: binding post of the\u00a0Duetta Reference donor speakers. This set was about to be refurbished by Henk van der Hoeven, Dutch Apogee restorer. The speakers would also receive new crossovers so the old ones were superfluous.<\/p>\n Above: original Duetta Reference crossover as used for the comparisons<\/p>\n Original Crossovers for JW’s refurbished Duetta Signatures<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s interesting how sometimes puzzle-pieces just fit together. After I posted the announcement for an upcoming review of a new breed of Apogee-like speakers by the name of Clarisys, the state of JW’s Red ‘n Black Duetta Signatures became an active subject again. Although these speakers have been fitted with new KLM2 bass- and MRTW ribbons and have very nice new front covers, their crossovers home made and non-standard, and I’ve always found them to be too forward and brittle in the treble at times.<\/p>\n Although JW’s red ‘n black Duettas have been stored at my place since forever it seems, they are not my own. I use Divas and am very happy with them lately. JW himself has been using an original pair of DS and is completely happy with them, so the thought of modding the DS’ crossovers was never a very pressing one.<\/p>\n Anyway, when I spoke with Graz and Henk van der Hoeven (official Dutch Apogee restorer) about the upcoming review of the Clarisys speakers, they agreed that the DS needed to be brought up to spec, and Henk was more than happy to help me with this. And so he donated a pair of original crossovers for me to connect to the Red ‘n Black DS.<\/p>\n Interestingly, the original crossovers that Henk provided are not for Duetta Signature, but for Duetta Reference. This is a special version for the German market, complete with terminal back plates with German lettering. Naturally I rather had a pair of truely original DS crossovers, but Henk assured me that the only difference was the presence of a single square red capacitor. Just to be sure,\u00a0JW also carefully checked the schematics and photos of several DS pairs, and concluded that this is indeed correct.<\/p>\n Above: originally the crossovers are mostly\u00a0glued to a thin wood board but some parts such as the woofer coil and the connectors are\u00a0screwed to the cabinet. I put all components together on a piece of MDF together with new connectors that are the same as the originals.<\/p>\n Listening<\/strong><\/p>\n Using an Accuphase E260 integrated amp, we prepared for a one on one listening session. The original crossovers had their switches removed and had been hard-wired in the same configuration as\u00a0the modified crossovers are: treble in the HI position. Still the original crossover was missing a few components but closer than this I could not get.<\/p>\n First impression switching from the home made crossovers to the originals is a feeling of much more coherence. Top to bottom all frequencies seem to be more balanced. The sound is also a little thinner, cleaner if you will. Bass has less bold power but still reaches as deep and seems more nimble and articulate. There’s even better low level detail and longer decay on subtle sounds. Treble while still hot, is also much more refined and fluid. Already I’m liking the old crossovers. Now switching to treble NORMAL, things get even better with even more coherence and treble loses much of its edge. Still, the treble can be peaky or metallic and this is something that I do not recognise in the original pairs, nor in my Divas, which also have been fully refurbished.<\/p>\n I have a feeling that either the implementation of the new tweeter foils, or the foils themselves, is not\u00a0optimal. Mind you these tweeters were not installed by Henk but by the previous owner. But even if they were installed correctly, they may have deteriorated. And even if Apogee treble tends to become smoother with the years, none of the original pairs I heard had treble like these refurbished ones, which still seem off-balance, even with original crossovers.<\/p>\n In speaking with Graz about this he recommends going for the latest KLM-5 tweeter models, which he says are much improved. Since these are JW’s speakers, this decision is ultimately his, but I think this will happen at some stage. If it does, I will certainly update this review.<\/p>\n This crossover experiment was sparked by the pending review for Clarisys speakers, but\u00a0these are still not released. You never know, but I’m not holding my breath anymore. Right now, the original ones, or new models\u00a0directly from Graz are the way to go.<\/p>\n Delicate<\/strong><\/p>\n As mentioned before: be careful when modding a crossover. Sure you could potentially improve things in certain areas, but the original crossovers are already of very high quality and chances are that you’re actually degrading the sound, even if you use better, more expensive components. The balance can be quite delicate indeed. One of the first things you lose with mismatched components is cohesion and transparency.<\/p>\n There’s more<\/strong><\/p>\n After completing this review 3 years passed and at some point I decided to have the latest Graz KLM5 ribbons installed with the new interfaces and the new wired returns.<\/p>\n Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n Installing Graz’ latest KLM5 MRTW ribbons with new interfaces and wired returns<\/a><\/p>\n More info<\/a><\/p>\n All models overview<\/a><\/p>\n Listening Sessions overview<\/a><\/p>\n Timeline and History<\/a><\/p>\n FAQ<\/a><\/p>\n Crossover – passive or active<\/a><\/p>\n Speaker Cables – biwire or single wire<\/a><\/p>\n ![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-DSCF0409.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_0162.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-133.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRefurbished Apogee Duetta Signature\u00a0compared to Magnepan MG3.6R<\/h3>\n
![\"Apogee-DuettaSig-Toine_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee-DuettaSig-Toine_550pix-IMG_9638.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_9646.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_9741.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"audioThingMan-nieuw_04](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/audioThingMan-nieuw_04-550pix.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSpeaker Comparisons:<\/h2>\n
Duetta Signature – New foils and new crossover
\nDuetta Signature – Original (two sets)
\nMagnepan MG 3.6R<\/h3>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_9956.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_9663.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee-Duettas](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee-Duettas-IMG_0312.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_0353.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_0392.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_9653.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_0287.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_0334.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_0829.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_0852.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_9675.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Apogee_Duettas_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee_Duettas_550pix-IMG_0853.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nMy original set: 13 182
\nJW’s KLM2 refurbished set: 13 185<\/p>\n![\"Apogee-Duettas-DSCF0406](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Apogee-Duettas-DSCF0406-rotated.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCrossover comparisons:<\/h2>\n
– with newly made non standard crossover
\n– with original Duetta Reference crossover
\n– with original DS crossover<\/h3>\n![\"accuphase](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/accuphase-e260-IMG_6787.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"accuphase](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/accuphase-e260-IMG_6638.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"apogee-duetta-crossover-orig_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/apogee-duetta-crossover-orig_550pix-IMG_0341.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"apogee-duetta-REF-crossover_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/apogee-duetta-REF-crossover_550pix-unnamed.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"apogee-duetta-REF_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/apogee-duetta-REF_550pix-binding-post.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"devialet](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/devialet-duetta-crossover-IMG_6797.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"apogee-duetta-ref-crossovers_550pix](\"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/apogee-duetta-ref-crossovers_550pix-IMG_8098.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSerial Numbers:<\/strong>
\nDS refurbished pair: 13 185
\nDR Crossovers: 13 180<\/h4>\nRefurbished pair ribbon types for the review so far:
\n<\/strong>Bass: KLM v2 (2006, KLM construction, v2 pattern)
\nMRTW: KLM2 (2006)<\/h4>\nMore\u00a0Duetta Signature<\/h2>\n
More Apogee<\/h2>\n
Read Also:<\/h3>\n
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\r\n\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n Final Model 15+ <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Clarisys_FullSizeRender-31_corr_1500pix.jpg\")
\r\n\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n Clarisys Audio Basel Showroom Visit <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AudioSolutions_Ayon_set_4X3A8948_corr_1500pix.jpg\")
\r\n\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n Ayon Scorpio III and AudioSolutions Figaro B2 <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Driade_Premium-Model-9_4X3A7616_1500pix.jpg\")
\r\n\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n Driade Premium Model 9 <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Velikinac-Audio-Lab-Sirius_4X3A7416_750pix.jpg\")
\r\n\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Clarisys_Minuet_Neo_4X3A6228_750pix.jpg\")
\r\n\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Diptyque_DP_140_MkII_4X3A5536_750pix.jpg\")
\r\n\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Reference_Sounds_Sasha_V_Wadax_4X3A4217_corr_750pix.jpg\")
\r\n\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n