what thehell

scottyboy76

just picked up a bunch of stuff from an estate sale. including speakers from an atlanta company i had never heard of. the company is apl, the only info i could find was on a different model of theirs from 97. this is not the products from the apogee owned apl that are apparently still in business. even the old apl technologies website is no longer there.i got 2 prism 500,something called a sat1079 which only has a felt covered opening on the same side as what appear to be feet on which to rest the speaker, but the binding posts are on the reverse. so they would be pointing up.it sounds great though, theprism 500s are incredible, powered by the denon avr 3300 rec. that was a part of the package. as well as a newpoint conditioner, a denon cd and hitachi dvd player were thrown in as well. along with a large dark madura wrapper punch cigar, my first cigar in over three years.(there was quite the cocktail party going on when i arrived to pick them up). my question is the sat speaker is weird as hell, almost like a wireless sender or something to look at it, the tiny hole would not seem to do much, although it does. could that be one of what was a pair of surrounds. also the sub has four sets of binding posts, its not self powered, and there are no manuals available online.how do i hook up. the sets of posts dont say in or out on either side.by the way included was a polk center that for now is in my cs2 spot, im not familiar with a lot of audiophile terms, but this center does seem to disapear more(in a good way) than the cs2. there are no tags or plates to tell what model.any help as to aplgear what the sat really is, and how to properly hook up the sub would be most appreciated. by the way all of this and a buttload of cables and sp. wire were 100 bucks woohoo.

hagmanm2

wow, it's so difficult to read that. Where are the breaks!? Paragraphs ftw!

scottyboy76

sorry hagmanm

scottyboy76

but you have to admit my spelling are excellent

decal

my spelling are excellent?

scottyboy76

Joke

scottyboy76

i guess i will try a different post and maybe the schoolmarms with no help to offer wont have their sensibilities offended.

phocion

My guess on the sub is that it is a pass-through unit, meaning you plug both powered stereo channels into the sub, and then run wires out to the satellites, so it probably has an adjustable passive crossover (via the dial) to control the frequency cutoff point.

The center looks like a CS350, which is one of the better centers they have produced (my opinion, your mileage may vary).

No idea on the others, but for $100, you got a hell of a deal. Most of us would probably pay more than that just for that center.

scottyboy76

phocion, i appreciate the info, as long as i know im not chancing damaging the amp or speakers i will just start trying different hookups.good to hear about the center, it sounds great but i was perplexed by no model nos.by the way,that single speaker that looked so strange is apparently just an UGLY **** speaker.
I was moving it and the light hit it just right and through the tiniest holes i could see a round speaker in the center of what appeared to be rubber feet. they have the apl logo, so i guess someone thought this was presentable.
It also occured to me maybe these speakers were also designed to be disguised behind cloth or something in a home theate, seeing that the sub is definitely nothing special to look at either. im hoping its design is more function over form.not a big driver so maybe the box is a big factor.

phocion

Well, I really wouldn't expect too much from the sub. Usually, a pass-through sub is a cheap way to sell a "2.1" system, so it was probably sold with a pair of satellite speakers as a kit. For the money, it is merely gravy at this point.

I would check around the binding posts on the sub for some left/right indicators, so you can get your wiring straight. I didn't see anything obvious in the pictures, but manufacturers usually give you some indication of how to proceed.

scottyboy76

yeah i think this might br the little ladys bedroom sub. believe it otr not there are no markings except polarity under each post. i sort of think maybe the two sets on the side with the crossover control might be the feed, and the other two for the other speakers to hook up. im going to get down my old bullettproof denon 2 channel to hook it up and see. all else being equal, if any piece of equipment has to be put at risk, i guess old faithful is the one. probably wont happen though.

vc69

scottyboy76 wrote: »

but you have to admit my spelling are excellent

decal wrote: »

my spelling are excellent?

I think he meant "my spelling's are excellent". No?

scottyboy76

hooked up the sub on right.
almost nothing from sub, surprising considering the startling goodness pouring forth from the three other speakers from same company.
the speakers at the other end sounded fine, the signal passed fine.
the db dial made a little difference, but i have to believe more power is needed or maybe something is wrong with sub.
can only find one review of atlanta based apl tech. apparently defunct. highly praised in review, i cant imagine they would have passed this sub off on customers while selling such high quality mains and sats. any suggestions or experiences with non powered subs would be appreciated.

nooshinjohn

They look very "white van" to me... with exception to the CS350.

scottyboy76

yeah i got a denon avr3300, the polk center, a 450 dollar older denon cd player, a home cinema power conditioner, a buttload of monster and other cables and connectors, all high quality but older stuff very cheap from a lady on cl.
i would be durprised if her late hubby just cheaped out on these speakers. also the one review which i cant remember now the reviewers name,but it was in a well known audio mag from 97, raved about a different but similar appearing apl speaker and described the now defunct co. as audio guys trying to do some special things in audio.
there are so many co.s out there and they mutate sometimes into much less than they once were, but the other three apl speakers are really quite surprising. i think i might really hit it hard with some power and see. otherwise doesnt seem to be a lot to lose.

phocion

You might have a frequency cutoff level from the receiver, which would route LFE to a sub channel rather than over the main stereo channels. Lots of AV receivers do this to avoid LFE distortion on smaller satellite speakers. Check to see if there are settings for the main stereo speakers, and if so, set them to "full range" or "large speaker".

Given your receiver, I don't think power is the problem.

Add: Check out the manual, pp 19 (http://usa.denon.com/avr3300_ownersmanual.pdf), I would suggest changing the front to "large" and turning off the sub, and setting bass output (pp 21) to "front and subwoofer" for the greatest effect from the pass-through.

scottyboy76

hooked up mystery sub to living room setup, denon in bedroom didnt have remote. setup receiver as recommended. definitely sounds better. still not what i would have expected considering the quality/cost of other stuff from defunct apl tech.sub is weird, very thick foam that is compressible over all of non removable speaker grill,seemingly muting it. the port is tiny, and on top,with a hard grill.also has a seemingly solid surface under round felt on front.

Polkitup2

Are you like using Bable fish to translate your text from Slovakian to English

scottyboy76

Im old okay, i type on a computer like someone operating a morse code ......sorry.............really.......im sorry.

Polkitup2

Great, so not only am I going to lose my looks and mind as I get older, but also my typing skills? I'm never going to get out of this life alive. :eek:

scottyboy76

the typing skills ok, but how did you know about my looks and mind.damn this invasive technology.