The Apex Club

Delboi47:

Hey guys,

Just out of curiosity what have you set your speaker configurations for the A10 satellites? large or small?

Delboi47:

Hey guys,

Just out of curiosity what have you set your speaker configurations for the A10 satellites? large or small?

Set to small is the general option to use and if you run the amp at high volume, the can be set to small with a crossover of 80Hz if you run them at lower volume levels.

Collected my Apex yesterday, wall mounted them as soon as I got home, then sat back and ran a couple of hours worth of demo material.

Wow, if your sat on the fence about buying these or an alternative ( like I was ) these are the ones to go for, you just seem to hear much more in the sound track, just little things that didnt seem to be there before, the atmosphere they create is stunning.

Well done MA!

Delboi47:

Hey guys,

Just out of curiosity what have you set your speaker configurations for the A10 satellites? large or small?

I've experimented with both large and small (The auto setup sets it to large by default with my Sony AVR). As much as it goes against the opinion of most, large sounds better to me

shanej66:

Delboi47:

Hey guys,

Just out of curiosity what have you set your speaker configurations for the A10 satellites? large or small?

 

I've experimented with both large and small (The auto setup sets it to large by default with my Sony AVR). As much as it goes against the opinion of most, large sounds better to me

I find you can play louder and cleaner but each to their own and experiment with various settings!

Hi Guys,

 Some great discussion here!

I'm just about to buy a system and I'm looking at the Apex as the main contender. Problem is it leaves my budget a little short but I can buy the Sony STR-DA 5500 ES for just £800... Anyone know how this amp sounds? What about wiht the APEX?

 Thanks guys!

Andrew Steward:

Hi Guys,

 Some great discussion here!

I'm just about to buy a system and I'm looking at the Apex as the main contender. Problem is it leaves my budget a little short but I can buy the Sony STR-DA 5500 ES for just £800... Anyone know how this amp sounds? What about wiht the APEX?

 Thanks guys!

As most people in this thread will tell you, the Apex is an exceptional package. I don't know too much about the sony but the Denon 3311 is similarly priced at around GBP 800-900 that is 3d ready. The Denon and Apex make a good team.

I auditioned the Apex today and compared to the monintor audio BX5 I felt the BX5 was leagues ahead, especially for music.

 As someone who was very excited about auditioning the Apex and after all the opinions on here I have to say I was truly dissapointed. Have I missed something? 

Andrew Steward:

I auditioned the Apex today and compared to the monintor audio BX5 I felt the BX5 was leagues ahead, especially for music.

 As someone who was very excited about auditioning the Apex and after all the opinions on here I have to say I was truly dissapointed. Have I missed something? 

I had been lead to believe that the latest technologies meant you didnt need big floor standers for big sound... the B&W MT-30 were, I was told, as good as any set up you could get for £1,500!

 Wish I'd read somewhere that this simply is not true! Could have saved myself a lot of time! LOL

I demo-ed a few options and although music is not high on my list of needs these Apex do sound excellent for music. It will also depend on how long the ones you listened to had been run in. But the imaging, placement atmosphere and dialogue on the Apex for movies will be much better. I'm just sat watching transformers 2 (happens to be on sky) and I'm hearing things in the soundtrack that I'm sure weren't there before. Sooo glad I changed!

Andrew Steward:

I auditioned the Apex today and compared to the monintor audio BX5 I felt the BX5 was leagues ahead, especially for music.

 As someone who was very excited about auditioning the Apex and after all the opinions on here I have to say I was truly dissapointed. Have I missed something? 

Hi Andrew Steward

I am sorry to hear of this. If you want the best the best of both worlds then at a similar price to the Apex package please also consider and if possible audition Monitor Audio's Silver RX6 AV12 speaker package.

Btw, what AV amplifer did you hear the Apex speakers with please?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Andrew Steward:

I had been lead to believe that the latest technologies meant you didnt need big floor standers for big sound... the B&W MT-30 were, I was told, as good as any set up you could get for £1,500!

 Wish I'd read somewhere that this simply is not true! Could have saved myself a lot of time! LOL

This is why we split our speaker package reviews into style speaker packages and standard set-ups

 

The latter typically give you more for your money, while style packages (like the B&W) carry a premium for their more room-friendly looks/size.

Not everyone has the room or tolerance for the more traditional packages, but pound-for-pound they do outperform (though not out-sell) their style cousins. 

So, while we think you'd struggle to find another style package @£1500 to beat the B&W MT-30s, you could find several traditional alternatives to outperform them at that money (especially if you take music as well as movie performance into consideration). 

What about the two upgrade options I'm considering? I currently have the B&W MT-30 and I'm considering a complete change to the Apex or keeping the PV1 and upgrading the M1s to a B&W CM5/CMC/CM1 system. I don't care about music performance, movie performance is my only consideration.

I would suggest you go and audition the 2 options you are looking for, if you can take your AVR with you (a hassle I know but worth it). I have not heard the B&W setup but IMO the Apex will sound excellent with the PV1 ( if you like it I don't see a point in changing).