[fido]

I've a pair of Apogee Duettas that have begun the dreaded "buzz" from the bass panel. These were referbed back in 96(?) at the now gone factory. They've served me well for almost 17 years but I found myself with this growing annoyance and a sizable bill to repair by a NV shop that has taken up the Apogee banner along with an Australian concern (another story).

While deciding what to do I pulled a pair of B&W DM600's down from their perches (having served a surround "ambiance" role for many yrs) wondering how these might sound as mains plugged into my system. I bought these in '92 (around $250 IIRC) when they first came out with a new alum. dome tweater - quite good write-ups at the time, though in comparison to a pair of Spica TC50s I had at the time they seemed a bit flat & uninvolving. I relegated them to surround work & kept their woofer surrounds in shape with occasional ArmorAll treatments.

I've been playing with the B&W's for several weeks now & each tweak has me quite surprised! They're mated with a pair of Hsu Research 10's (early 90's, perhaps 1st product from this company - the standup cylindrical 10 inchers). Bi-wired to an early '90's Adcom GFA555II driving them and a late '80's dbx BX1 driving the subs (admittedly and over-the-top 512 watts @ 8 ohms) - an older Rane active crossover at 70 hz. I'm getting amazingly good sound! Ultimate volume is limited of course as these are pretty small monitors (8"X8.5"X13" with a 5" woofer). Front end is a modest Pioneer DVD player 96kHz, 24bit DV-C302D. All of this equipment could be had used for a song nowadays. I haven't priced any of it individually but I'm sure (with the possible exception of the big dbx amp driving the subs) one could match this entire setup easily for less than $1k.

This experience has opened my eyes to what careful purchasing in the used market could net. Truly high-end sound can be coaxed from older equipment at a fraction of today's new prices. I've been amazed at how close to the sound of my Apogees I've been able to coax from these modest old bookshelf monitors! 

[J Fallows]

Amen.

[PTCannizzaro]

Sometimes the older stuff is better if you get lucky!!

[Jon L]

I've a pair of Apogee Duettas that have begun the dreaded "buzz"

B&W DM600's down from their perches

 '90's Adcom GFA555II driving them

To be honest, every time I've listened to Duetta's in the past, the sound has always been lacking.  I get the feeling it's extremely difficult to set them up correctly in the room and to pair them with synergistic equipment.  Or..most may have a range of aging and wear not meeting factory spec. 

On the other hand, every time I've listened to B&W DM600's through various series, they've always sounded at least fun and involving, if not dead neutral or refined.  I get the feeling it's much easier to set them up. 

The Adcom 555 II..  I can see how it may be synergistic with the B&W, but if I were looking for reasonable amps of that vintage, I would look towards a good used Aragon, Adcom 5800 (Nelson Pass designed), Marsh, etc.