They are wonderful, the one time I heard them, but the amps were unseen...maybe in a bus out back? The Classe amps quoted are dated, to be sure, but the list went from the DR3 to a ca400 pretty quick, LOL!
The Scintillas exemplified the idiotic design of speakers in the 1980's. Just because they could Apogee designed a speaker that actually dipped beneath a 1 Ohm load. The amplifiers that drove these speakers were then named "amplifier of the month" by the likes of H.P. at TAS. Any amp that tried to drive these speakers would need to be capable of arc welding as the load is not far from a direct short.
The personification IMO of speaker designers who designed whatever the he!! they wanted and then dared the amplifier designers to build something to make them work the Scintillas were an exercise in the exuberant over consumption of everything during the Regan administration. Yep, they sounded good for the very few minutes any reasonable amp could survive but, GoodLord!, a pair of Quad 63's were just as neutral through the middle and could be driven by amplifiers designed to sound decent not just to withstand the load of a direct short. The Scintillas impressed more by what they were than by what they did.
What they actually did was give license to any speaker designer out there to design speakers that are stupid loads which eventually landed us where we are in today's market. Give me a Lowther any day over these ridiculous abominations of audio excess.
Slant 8's and Duetta's if I remember correctly. One is an electrical engineering student and the other owns an audio store and has owned his own service business for 30+ yrs. Knows more about audio than anyone I've ever known. He uses Audio Research electronics and a beautiful Sota turntable with an SME arm in the system. He recently retired the Apogees (they are in the store as he just can't get rid of them yet) after many years of service and runs a pair of NHT Classic 4's. He recently moved to a much smaller home which didn't have room for the old system. The kid with the Duetta's (I think that's the model) recently took his down to some Apogee guru in Nevada to have them rebuilt and he hung with the fella who rebuilt them. He loves 'em...I like Jim's better, the way he had them setup anaway. Still never heard a hybrid that I would want, not even his. I gotta go hang with Gabe and give his a listen. Last time I heard the full range ribbon Apogees was at Echo Audio...not bad, but not all that either.
I heard the Duett's for an afternoon Art, and I agree with the integration , it seems distant somehow, the crossover from the bass was very fast, maybe a very high order. I head a real dropout where ya want the punch, 80 or so for me, but the void was almost to 110 or o(?). It was a big hole. Maybe the room...
That is just one listen, keep in mind... I would like to hear more of the Duetta's
Talkin' to yourself again...lol! Jim's Slant 8's definitely sounded better to me than the full ribbons at Echo. Jim had his setup very nicely, completely custom. However, none of the ribbons or electrostats are my cup.
"So JV, you wanna come over and see the 1.21 Jiggawatt amps?"
Naw, but I have an iron gate that needs some repair. Toss that thing in a pick'em up and haul it on over here. I'll even pay ya'll for the fix 'cause I gaurandamntee ya that sucker's gonna draw some amps.
