At the end of July, I had the opportunity to stop by Florian in Bavaria, Germany. I was expecting to listen to a pair of VMPS RM30, but instead, I was pleasantly surprised to see two Apogee Diva. This was the first time I saw a planar/ribbon loudspeaker. I have listened to about five different sound systems (Carlman, Hometheaterdoc, Inscrutable, Rick Craig, Lensman, …) while living in North Carolina. This is the first time that I was really impressed by someone else's system.
My first impression was that it sounded similar to my own system: this is the sound of ribbons! Secondly, I noticed the stability of the image. I could move and turn my head without big sonic changes. My own system is not good in this respect. I have two VMPS 626R beaming at the listener's ears from a short distance (5.5 feet).
Florian was playing music louder than I am used to. After a few minutes, I got used to the high volume without any pain or listening fatigue. That surprised me because there is not much acoustic treatment. I played one of my favorite CD: the soundtrack from the PC game Outcast. The orchestral impact was so strong that I could feel the hair raising on my neck. Something I did no like about the sound was the bass: too much and too boomy. I asked Florian to turn off the subwoofer. At first, he did not understand my request, which is perfectly understandable: there was no sub! The ribbons generated all the bass. My guess is that another bass trap would be helpful, or may be the room is too small for these speakers. Florian, have you checked the room modes?
The treble is smooth but I noticed a small grain (comb filtering between the ribbons?). Compared to the other line-array I had the chance to listen to (Selah Audio Linus 3), I like the Diva's much better. On the other hand, my own system (modded 626R + "Sound Cocoon") has an edge in speed and image focus thanks to all the foam surrounding the listener.
I hope to visit Florian again, may be next time have a beer discussion …
Bruno
