Have you owned Sound Labs Electrostatics?

This may sound odd, I call it the bathroom effect :^). Visitors who use our rest room which is through two doors and 50 feet away from the speakers, often remark that the piano (vocalist or whatever) sounds like a live performance from a distance. 

I realize this is a REALLY old thread, but I just ordered a pair of Sound Labs and while I'm twiddling my thumbs I'm reading what I can about them.

Albert,
This quote is exactly why I am so attracted to Sound Labs.  I heard them at an audio store whose big room was a couple rooms back from the lobby.  I heard what I thought was a jazz combo playing in the back, and walked in to find Sound Labs playing.  

That was about 1986 and I STILL remember it vividly.

Evan

Hey Evan, I'm not sure but I think AudioKinesis is the only one of these posters still present. This is the first I have read through these posts.
Back then I think SL was still using the older panels and not the PX ones.
They also had not started making 9 and 8 foot tall speakers. I can not help but agree with most of the comments here except two. The 8 and 9 foot versions are full range line sources right down to 1 Hz. If you pair them with the right subwoofers distortion levels are even lower and they go crazy loud. Like NIN in concert loud. Normal size 645s will certainly gain a lot in headroom with subwoofers but not project mid bass as powerfully as the 8 footers do. Depends on how loud you like to listen. My system has no problem hitting 105 dB without any evidence of distortion. Any louder is just plain abusive. Next is imaging. One poster related he was disappointed in their imaging. I suspect there was either an asymmetrical room issue or a crosstalk issue in the system used. These speakers due to their unity of dispersion across the frequency band cast the best image I have ever heard. However I carefully measure both channels and make absolutely sure they have identical frequency response curves. All of this and subwoofer management are done digitally. In a carefully set up symmetrical analog set up you can get close to identical performance if not totally identical but this depends mostly on the room. With units like the Trinnov Amethyst, Anthem SLR and DEQX HP5 you can get the best performance in any room. IMHO the benefits of digital system management far outweigh any downsides. There are of course many who do not believe this. Most of them have never heard such a system and are making assumptions based on their dislike of anything digital. Whatever. 

Hey @achipo ,

I'm guessing you will be thrilled with your Soundlabs. My A3s are now 30yrs old, and I've not been able to update caps or anything else, but they still outperform almost everything else when driven by an appropriate amp. Many friends with top Maggies, various dynamic speakers and super pricey horns all have left my place with jaws dropping after listening to Soundlabs. In a fairly carefully set up room with good, but still somewhat modest complimentary components vs. what many in this league purchase, results are still spectacular. 

While I'm not doubting @mijostyn's  experiences w/digital EQ, my budgetary priorities led me in a different direction...conventional room treatments deployed using the live-end/dead-end approach described by Dr. West at Soundlab. (My virtual system page details w/pics.) Whichever route you choose...speaker placement and room considerations are VERY impactful, and worth the effort. 

Please report back your experience after you get some listening in. Cheers,
Spencer

@mijostyn and @sbank 
Thanks for your responses.  I don't often use Audiogon forum so did not see them until just now.

The amps (AtmaSphere MA1s) are due in about 4 weeks, and the speakers are due at the end of September, as are a whole bunch of acoustic treatments to tame as much of the modes as I can before applying the multi sub swarm.

I'm just not a very patient person--I want them now!

don’t overdamp the room !

enjoy the music