The Apex Club

[RickyDeg]

Anyway, you and your XT32

HaHa!

Thats right, Rick! (possibly cause I dont yet have the latest version?) Besides, all competing systems I've tried (including MCACC, YPAO and ARC) have done nothing but disappoint in conjunction with Apex. So far Audyssey have proven to be 'the sh*t' as far as I'm concerned. The main contributor I believe is Dynamic EQ however, with its advanced form of "loudness" that make my Apex sound bigger and more engrossing than the other systems (without being gimmicky).

 

[Anonymous]

So, day 1 of being an apex owner, also picked up the pioneer lx55 (why not...), and what can I say.

No calibration, no setup, just plugged it in and said go.

Dark knight. Awesome.

Avatar. Felt like I was watching for first time. blown away. Literally unbelievable.

I have fallen in love with home cinema again.

 

[RickyDeg]

Hello all :wave:

Finally got my entire system posted in the appropriate thread. Plenty pictures! Check it out!

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/your-system/rickydegs-sleek-system-with-monitor-audio-apex

 

[Anonymous]

Hello All,

I'm looking for a bit of advice from the Apex club members, so if you have time & suggestions I'd appreciate it...

I'm looking at 2 Apex A10's (or possibly the new B&W M1's) & a rel sub to start off my hifi setup in my new games room. Because of the pool table I wanted wall mountable speakers, nothing too bulky, & something stylish. Apex fits the bill for me. I can't stretch to the Apex sub, so was looking at a cheaper alternative from Rel. (T5 or T7).

My tentative question is, do you think these speakers will fill the room with sound? With just having 2 of them plus the sub? I will be listening to all sorts while playing pool, rock/acoustic singer/songwriter/blues and folk & would like to be able to crank them up.

I am considering pairing with a hifi integrated amp for now (yam,denon, marantz mid range) possibly extending the system to another two A10's & an AV reciever when the budget allows.

There will be a TV in this room, but it's not my room for home theatre.

Any advice would be welcome ...

Thanks

 

[RickyDeg]

Hello All,

I'm looking for a bit of advice from the Apex club members, so if you have time & suggestions I'd appreciate it...

I'm looking at 2 Apex A10's (or possibly the new B&W M1's) & a rel sub to start off my hifi setup in my new games room. Because of the pool table I wanted wall mountable speakers, nothing too bulky, & something stylish. Apex fits the bill for me. I can't stretch to the Apex sub, so was looking at a cheaper alternative from Rel. (T5 or T7).

My tentative question is, do you think these speakers will fill the room with sound? With just having 2 of them plus the sub? I will be listening to all sorts while playing pool, rock/acoustic singer/songwriter/blues and folk & would like to be able to crank them up.

I am considering pairing with a hifi integrated amp for now (yam,denon, marantz mid range) possibly extending the system to another two A10's & an AV reciever when the budget allows.

There will be a TV in this room, but it's not my room for home theatre.

Any advice would be welcome ...

Thanks

I never listen to my Apex speakers as stereo-pairs as I want them all to play in conjuction with eachother to really kick some ass (that includes the AW-12 sub ofcourse). I doubt any smallish pair of speakers would be able to "fill the room with sound", as you put it, but everything is relative to your expectations (and the room itself aswell). It's a capable little gem of a speaker though, without doubt. You can crank them (as I do with mine from time to time) though naturally there are limits. The receiver/amp you chose to drive them with need to be of high quality if you truly want to make them sing. I would personally not pair Apex with any other sub than AW-12 as they integrate fantastically well with eachother, but others seem to have found suitable partners (cant remember what brands though, sorry). If you can - definitely demo a stereopair of these!

 

[Anonymous]

Hey.

Thanks for your comments. I'll try to demo them. I'm worried I'm going to be underwhelmed...after reading all the positive things about them on here, I was hoping they would do the trick...but at the end of the day they are made to work as 5.1 / 7.1 etc & my 2.1 set up might be a bit measly.

But they look sooooo good!!!

 

[ric71]

I reckon you will be able to use them as a stereo pair with a decent sub. Consider pairing them with a BK XLSS 400 sub. As long as your room is not massive it will work. As you build the system and add more speakers you can play music in 5 channel music modes from an AV receiver filling the entire room with music.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Anyway, you and your XT32

HaHa!

Thats right, Rick! (possibly cause I dont yet have the latest version?) Besides, all competing systems I've tried (including MCACC, YPAO and ARC) have done nothing but disappoint in conjunction with Apex. So far Audyssey have proven to be 'the sh*t' as far as I'm concerned. The main contributor I believe is Dynamic EQ however, with its advanced form of "loudness" that make my Apex sound bigger and more engrossing than the other systems (without being gimmicky).

Hi RickyDeg

I think i saw a post from you that you were considering a PR-SC5509. If you are looking at a processor then also have a look at Audiolab's new 8200AP. Even though the 8200AP has no EQ its quality of performance easily betters the PR-SC5509 (with or without Audessy XT32 engaged).

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Rick71 - Thanks for your comments... I'll look at that sub. & yes, extending the system is the aim, but gotta start small... & then rob a bank

 

[RickyDeg]

Hi RickyDeg

I think i saw a post from you that you were considering a PR-SC5509. If you are looking at a processor then also have a look at Audiolab's new 8200AP. Even though the 8200AP has no EQ its quality of performance easily betters the PR-SC5509 (with or without Audessy XT32 engaged).

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Thats correct, I been playing around with the idea of switching from integrated to separates, but so far its only a thought. I really wanna squeeze as much quality out of the Apex as possible, without squeezing the wallet too much ofcourse. Also I'm not interested in an abundance of bells & whistles. Plus, I'm limited on space for the processor & amp so they need be pretty compact too.

Not familiar with Audiolab, but just had a look online at your suggestion - the 8200AP (and matching 7-channel amp 8200 X7). Are you using these yourself? I read on AVSFORUM that you used the Onkyo with Rotel 5-channel amp previously? This processor reminds me very much of the Tag McLaren AV32R. It seems very scaled-down and simplistic, plus in my country its half the price of the PR-SC5509 so how much could one really expect.....? Have you heard it with Apex?

 

[greedy]

Hi everybody.i'm new here, i have Monitor audio apex 5.1 and doesnt have receiver.Has anybody subwoofer control problems with pioneer lx-83?becouse pio MACC doesnt control low frAquency range...sorry for my English ,it isnt my language..

 

[michael hoy]

Hi everybody.i'm new here, i have Monitor audio apex 5.1 and doesnt have receiver.Has anybody subwoofer control problems with pioneer lx-83?becouse pio MACC doesnt control low frAquency range...sorry for my English ,it isnt my language..

Never had any problems with my 85 or previous 72, therefore do not see a problem with the 83.

You could use a Antimode for setting up the bass if you are having major bass issues.

 

[RickyDeg]

Hi everybody.i'm new here, i have Monitor audio apex 5.1 and doesnt have receiver.Has anybody subwoofer control problems with pioneer lx-83?becouse pio MACC doesnt control low frAquency range...sorry for my English ,it isnt my language..

I've tested both SC-LX83 and 85 (both apparently utilize identical MCACC-versions) and frankly I was never pleased by what they did to the AW-12 subwoofer. It sounded pretty bad in my opinion (compared to what I had with the Denon). No matter how I tweaked or re-calibrated it never gave an impressive result. Then again, I wasn't at all impressed by the overall result from Pioneer with Apex, but thats just me. Like Michael Hoy recommended above; try DSpeaker Antimode, or possibly look at a receiver with Audyssey MultEQ XT32, as it has an extremely effective way of calibrating subwoofers (and the rest of the system aswell naturally).

 

[greedy]

Thank you,RickyDeg..I'm thingking about Denon avr-4311 and Onkyo TX-NR 3009..never demo tx-nr3009..which of these can drive my Apex harder? >)

 

[RickyDeg]

Thank you,RickyDeg..I'm thingking about Denon avr-4311 and Onkyo TX-NR 3009..never demo tx-nr3009..which of these can drive my Apex harder? >)

Sadly I would not be able to give you a fair answer to that as I have not had a chance to compare those two machines myself with Apex. Given what I've heard and read though I suspect however that the Onky might have a slight edge in power and current over that otherwise excellent Denon-model. Power is not everything though, but I suspect it might offer a bit more grunt. I know What Hifi gave it raving reviews, as have others. But as always, only your ears can decide. Both have the more advanced version of Audyssey though so that part is covered. Just follow Audysseys own guidelines most carefully and carry out the full 8-point calibration process in your listeningroom and you'll have a good startingpoint.

Would be interesting if you left some feedback if you get one of these, especially in terms of how it takes care of your subwoofer since you had issues with it through Pioneer.

 

[greedy]

RickyDeg> ok,when i buy my new receiver with Audyssey MultEQ XT 32, i will write how it works with Apex

 

[Anonymous]

If you looking for a cost effective way of getting Audyssey MultEQ XT32, the new <£1K Onkyo TX-NR818 looks interesting.

Could make a nice upgrade from the Sony STR-DA2400ES I'm currently using with my APEX sats, B&W PV1 sub setup, which I am damm sure is not getting the most out of my speakers.

Although XT32 is highly spoken of in this thread of a way of extracting the best out of a APEX speaker setup, I'm guessing the associated amps fundamentals need to be upto scratch as well otherwise it would be a bit like sticking a turbo on a morris minor.

Roll on the What HiFi review

 

[RickyDeg]

Although XT32 is highly spoken of in this thread of a way of extracting the best out of a APEX speaker setup, I'm guessing the associated amps fundamentals need to be upto scratch as well otherwise it would be a bit like sticking a turbo on a morris minor.

I'd just like to second that opinion. The Apex completely bloom with quality amplification, without question. Integrated a/v solutions can be more than decent, but I've heard them with a handful of dedicated separate poweramps (NuForce, Primare, Rotel) and with each of those the benifit is anything but small. Not only do the Apex sound bigger but present audio with more authority, presence and musical impact. I myself hope to drive mine with such an amp soon.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

Just looking for some opinions. I have:

- MA Apex speaker package

- Pioneer lx55 amp

- Sanyo vpl z-3000 projector

Looking for a blu ray player to go with the setup above. Looking at the pioneer Lx bdp 55 player as seems to get good reviews, but wondering if something cheaper might be as good, or worth spending more. Any thought welcome. Primary driver is awesome sound for movies. No interest in music.

Thanks in advance.

 

[RickyDeg]

Hi all,

Just looking for some opinions. I have:

- MA Apex speaker package

- Pioneer lx55 amp

- Sanyo vpl z-3000 projector

Looking for a blu ray player to go with the setup above. Looking at the pioneer Lx bdp 55 player as seems to get good reviews, but wondering if something cheaper might be as good, or worth spending more. Any thought welcome. Primary driver is awesome sound for movies. No interest in music.

Thanks in advance.

Well, since you got the SC-LX55 the matching BDP-LX55 player would be a definite no-brainer so you can utilize PQLS for jitter-free HDMI. Thanks to the revealing nature of the Apex you're bound to appreciate the subtle improvement. No other brand of player will give you that with your receiver. Just make sure when/if you get it to update the firmware as I've heard many users having issues with non-updated samples.

Good luck matching it all with your Apex and let us know how you get on.

 

[greedy]

hi all, want to buy new receiver with audysseyMultEQ32, so i need to choose from Denon avr-4311 and Onkyo Tx-nr3009 or maybe Tx-nr5009.It's a matter of personal taste, but what you would recomend for me to use with Apex?How sounds Onkyo compared to Denon?Maybe it's more "fast sounding" or more "detailed than Denon.Becouse i cant demo ONkyo this time, but i demoed Denon and liked it.Will Onkyo give more advantages to my APex 5.1 setup than Denon?

 

[gosalh]

I have the Denon AVR-A100 which is the same as the 4311. I've never heard the Apex with Onkyo systems you have mentioned. But im very happy with the Denon and IMO it partners very well with the Apex, the sound is clean, crisp with lots of detail and clarity and the subwoofer is deeper and tighter with the Multeq XT32 (big step up from the Multeq). Its down to your personal preference.....ideally go for a demo of both systems.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't forget Onkyo TX-NR818 as potential MultEQ32 option

 

[greedy]

Thank all for response Onkyo receivers sound more on the "bright side" or "warm side"?

 

[gosalh]

Watched Spielberg's War Horse on bluray over the weekend. I liked the movie, but I have to say the Artillery, trench and battle scenes sounded "phenomenal!!!" on the Apex. The rumble from the Artillery literally made my room shake thanks to the awesome power of the AW-12. Those scenes were really immersive due to the sonics pumped out by the Apex. Be interesting to hear from people who may have watched War Horse or other movies with a fab soundtrack on their Apex system.