Is solid state on the brink of extinction?

Won't get into the politics in this thread.However...I too believe the Scintilla is "without any doubt", the undisputed king of the apogee speaker line-up.Because of their load on a given amplifier,I sincerely doubt many people have ever really heard them at anywhere near their best.When they were first introduced,here in the Toronto area, they were always demo-d with the latest high powered Krell, Mark Levinson,or Classe A gear of the time.Good sound to be sure,but a long way from the live experience. I had the recent pleasure of listening to the Scintilla set up with FM acoustics gear[do not recall models] in an optimized room. They were mesmerizing to say the least...goose bumps galore!Even though I have been a planar speaker fan for more than 30 years, and a devoted "tubie".... the experience was a revelation to me.A new found appreciation for an old speaker.I cannot help but think that present owners of Scintillas must be very excited about the future of this new digital amplification medium we are only beginning to embark on and I am quite certain it will mature at a very brisk pace.We: as music lovers, must applaude these designers that embrace new technology,as they will surely improve upon it. All the best in your endevour. The world would be a very sad place without music. Enjoy. Cheers David

Ecclectique (fabulous moniker BTW) of course owners of low impedance speakers will find digital amplification synergistic, much as those with high impedance speakers embrace single ended triodes. To each their own, except for those of us who champion the sound of music in real time.

Thank you very much, Ecclectique. You are one of the only people I know that have heard the Scintilla properly powered. I absolutely thrill at the performance of mine powered by the eAR. On the down side, the 250 watts of my little amp doesn't have the unlimited current the FM Acoustics amps, and I keep the volume down to 90db, short of some live events. I have peeked at higher levels, but the eAR wasn't created to push <1 ohm. I went to the FM site, and came away with more questions than answers. Lacking large heat sinks, these have to be digital module amps, don't they?

Thanks for the tip.

Khyrs,

"To each their own, except for those of us who champion the sound of music in real time."

Meaning there is always an advantage had by latter production speakers? You can go on believing that. There are very few Scintillas to go around anyway.

Hmm, I remember hearing the Scintillas at the Audible Difference in the 80's. I was impressed with the volume and power, but I remember that when they switched over to the Timpanies that my ears gave a sigh of relief! The voices and music were just...better. At least far more enjoyable.

My wifes comment was that the Apogee was like a brash malt and the Timpany like a fine wine.

At the time they were powered by BIG Mark Levinson Amps.

I was pretty soured on Apogee until I heard the Duetta's at another store 4 years later. Now that was a presentation! I guess set-up is everything.

I have been told that the Spectron Musician II drives the Apogee Scintilla quite well; at least that owner thinks so.

Muralman, I don't know how you came to interpret my last statement to mean that here is always an advantage to latter production speakers. BTW I certainly do not think there is always an advantage latter production amplifiers either. I've heard remarkably good low and high impedance systems but none can yet truly get the sound of music quite right. That's all I meant really. I am truly glad you have found a combination that evokes so much passion. In fact I'd love to hear it! I never liked SETs until I heard the right setup either. You congratulate Ecclectique for being one of the few people who have heard the Scintilla properly powered. And that is part of the problem: so few of us can hear for ourselves and make our own judgments regarding your claims. I have found that any speaker sounds much better "properly powered". Only most speakers have a greater range of "proper" amplification choices than your Scintillas, allowing for more individual tastes and preferences to be considered (ie row E or H from your listening chair?) Not to mention choice of Pre-Amp. What is the rest of your system besides the eAR and the Scintillas? For the record I'm running koetsu/triplanar/delphi V, Shanling SCD-T200 and MD 108 front ends into an HP 100 to JA 100s to W/P 7s. Just ordered the HP 200 and the Radia however the latter being the most amazing SS amp I have heard at least on the W/P 7s. We are more alike than you may think with my running cutting edge dynamic speaker design with "antiquated" amps and your running quite the opposite.