The Soundlabs must go-any thoughts on substitutes?

the mini utopias are small and sound awsome. it will be an uphill battle beating the labs. they have awsome midrange. i replaced a-3s with jm lab utopias. i could live with either speaper. the utopias do look better in my room and are more dynamic though. good luck.

You may want to consider a used pair of Avalon Eidolons. I have two systems- one with Sound Labs and another with Avalon Radian HC speakers. The sound is different but both are excellent. I drive my Avalons with tubes and get great sound and am very pleased with either system.

Two really great suggestions above.

I am an avid Soundlab guy and would find it difficult to replace my U-1's with anything except another Soundlab.

That being said, the speakers already suggested are excellent and you might also look into used Audio Artistry Beethoven. When I heard the Beethoven at CES a number of years ago I almost considered them to replace my Soundlabs, they sounded so good !

One other thought, how about the new model Quads or even an old pair that has been modified by David Crosby? These are legendary among many audiophiles. Equal to Soundlab, at least in the important midrange area.

Another benefit of the Quads, they run superbly with the Wolcotts that you already own. Better still, you then have the option of pulling half the output tubes, reducing the possibility of damaging the Quads from being over driven.

I have a very good friend doing exactly this with his Crosby modified Quads. He is achieving absolutely state of the art sound in a very compact package. This cuts electricity, heat and reduces your tube use by half.

Please post your results. I am very interested in knowing how you do with this change.

The VMPS RM 40's ( still tall but not wide) or the Eggleston Andras beautiful but heavy design. I own both.