Charles, thanks for the thumbs up on da room...It's "Ever-evolving/work - in - progress" status is supposedly coming to an end soon (in my mind at least)....I just need to upgrade a few more: pwr cords??, interconnects?? ya yas??... and then I'm done. Uh huh.
Getting back to you. Yes, acquiring Apogees is the first hurdle to owning them. Generally speaking, buying used Apogees requires driving. Driving that is, with a vehicle big enough to handle large flat boxes (I used my Durango). My first purchased pair entailed a trip to the Boston suburbs for a long weekend, when I sold them I met their new owners at the Orient Point Ferry parking lot, then he got back on the next boat for his return trip to CT. Next pair (current Duettas) was a ride to Binghamton, NY where we met at a Cracker Barrel parking lot right off the thruway... Used Apogees must be picked up because shipping SAFELY requires custom built wooden crates, pallets, special carriers you can trust (there are a few who specialize in antique furniture who know what they're doing), as well as insurance, lots of luck, and lots of worry. But, if you're having a pair re-done...it is well worth all the expense because the speakers are now a much more considerable investment...
With that said it should now be obvious that the biggest part of the deal I made for Bob buying my 'reserve" pair of Calipers was the delivery - to - his - door aspect of the sale (A whopping 4 miles round trip). Those opportunities don't pop up often... (Did I mention I had to drive [my Durango again] to some private residence in Somerset, NJ when I bought them????)
So, Apogees are elusive beasts that only reside on the highest peaks of the Himalayan mountains with all those sure-footed goats and moss and lichen growing on boulders and all that raw-world stuff...A LOT of work to find a worthwhile pair.
OR
IF ya got the bucks...You can fly to Nevada, see Rich Murry of TrueSoundWorks, audition every model you want to, pick the best one for your room and wallet, then have them shipped, as per above, back to your place.
OR
You can listen to them thar Analysis young-uns and weigh all the options yussellff.
Do me a favor though, if you really are seriously thinking about springing in this direction (If you can manage it, do it), let me know and we should talk some more and listen again over my neck of the mountain range before you make any final decisions.
Happy Lissn'n. Grant