Apogee Duetta II Signature Crossover Caps Recommendations

@gmosley and @parker65310 

I have a pair of Apogee Duetta Sigs which I purchased new approximately 30 years ago. I still marvel at how well they sound and I, too am a new fan of BAT - I use a BAT VK 42se preamp and a BAT VK 250 power amp. I have driven the Duettas with many configurations in the past including Forte pre and power amps, Proceed PRE and Bel Canto power amp, including a pair of Ref 1000 monoblocks. 

My question, if it is not too personal, is this - how much do you expect to pay for a ribbon rebuild by Bill Thalmann? I have attempted to get in touch with him, but have had no luck. After 30 years of use, I have to believe that my Duettas would benefit by a new ribbon rebuild.

I used to be on the original Apogee forum many years ago when Graz started supplying ribbons and building his own Apogees. We used to exchange Christmas gifts back then - in the form of CD's. He sent me a pair of mid/tweeter ribbons one year along with a great CD another year.

Any info on the rebuild cost would be helpful - Thanks

Richard Moscatelli

Hi Richard, from scratch you should roughly expect to pay $2,500 for all of the needed ribbons, acoustic foam, front and back socks, and wiring kit (for mid/high ribbons which includes (much improved from original) tension clamps) and Bill’s labor is a flat fee of $2,500. They also have an auto shop they use for painting that typically costs $1,200 (I’m doing a semigloss satin black). The only thing left would be to swap all of the Sprague capacitors which is typically about $1,400 when using caps they recommend (the speakers use a lot of them) and potting the resistors with epoxy. If you need shipping crates built they run $600+ from someone like Navis. Bill Thalmann is super-busy and the best way to reach him is via email at bill@musictechnologydotcom (typed out dot due to Audiogon’s filter). Cheers! 

Parker65310...thank you very much for the detailed information. At least now I have a good idea what to expect should I choose a rebuild.

Richard

You’re welcome. Feel free to message me privately if preferred. Same goes to anyone else looking for specific info that may not be appropriate for a public forum. No need to track it all down yourself when I’ve already done countless hours of my own research and amassed various top quality sources and articles.

@parker65310: thanks for the great info. Does the parts cost of $2500 include the bass panels?

How do you like the refreshed Duetta Signatures? I have owned the Duetta Sigs for over 30 years. Fortunately they don't have the dreaded bass buzz, but I may upgrade them.