Panel Sound

Hi John,
I remember that comparison here well. You might want to come down for a listen to the speakers (U-1PX) which have all the bells and whistles and are in the much larger, acoustically designed room.
Brian

I'm also a diehard dipole guy... The first pair I ever heard were Maggie MG 2B's over 30 years ago and instantly became hooked... in fact, I bought the pair from my friend. Won't bore anyone with anymore of my purchases since but they do include a pair of MG3A's (after the 2B's) as well as ML Aerius i's ... briefly dabbled with a few 'traditional' speakers for a little while after that just for something different [including Audio Physic and Silverline] where the low range punch and dynamics were appreciated but my heart never left my love of dipoles.
One day I heard a pair of Apogee Divas and I knew the best of both worlds had finally been found. Subsequently bought a pair of Apogee Mini Grands and had a ball with them, then moved up to Duetta Signatures and finally to the Divas. Many Apogees are still in good shape and those that aren't can be either partially or completely rebuilt (I have the Diva Ultimate rebuilds)and they will compete with or beat the best speakers in the world....you'll get 99% of the dynamic slam and 100% of the 3D airiness and classic dipole sound you've always loved.
Yes, a bit more work and effort on your part but when you're through you'll know your search is over and well worth it. Good luck.

"Stats RULE and the BEST STATS are made by Roger Sanders. Nothing can be better"

Unless it's a horn. Horns Rule! Nothing can be better.

But seriously though, do you see how ridiculous blanket statements are. Be better than that..........

Shakey

After hearing ML, SL, Janzen, Sanders, and Kingsound at recent shows, I'm leaning toward King IIIs. These have consistently sounded superb-- with embodiment that eludes most of the other ESLs. Sanders often sounds desiccated and paper-thin(maybe artifacts of the digital crossover?) and the hybrid Janzens can sound tubby with uncontrolled LF. At recent shows the CLX's have been hit or miss, but did sound great when paired with Krell.

When I heard the SL last year at the Newport show, even with mediocre electronics, the sound was surprisingly quite good. I would hope that the setup next time (maybe this year) will be done with far higher performance electronics .at least a top-notch preamp.

It would be in SoundLabs' best interest to assure that the demonstrator pair these speakers with appropriate electronics. But then again, so many many many exhibitors of "proud' speakers severely skimp on the electronics and the sound suffers immensely. Such a result for me and a friend meant we pretty much did a quick U-turn upon arrival to those such rooms.