Sound Lab Millennium 1 spl ability?

Nadimgargour, it is unfortunate that 100 plus DB at 12 feet is inadequate for your needs. My system delivers that consistently with Wolcotts and I have a fairly large space.

The problem with Soundlab is that they seem to produce no volume due to ultra low distortion. I had a listener here a few weeks ago that kept insisting I "turn up the volume." The music he was listening to was a selection on CD that he brought with him, so this material was very familiar to him.

After the third time I raised volume and he ask again, I told him we were listening well over 90 DB and was louder than we would hear this vocalist in a live venue (un- amplified). He insisted that we were NOWHERE near 90 DB. I went for my analog Radio Shack meter and it read just over 102 DB. The measurement was beside his head, nearly 13 feet from my Soundlab U-1.

Low distortion and accurate phase make the sound so effortless that it appears to be low volume. I remember an old audio advertisement from the 1970's, "When they say turn down the volume, they mean turn down the distortion."

It's true in reverse as well.

Although quite late to this thread, I wanted to concur with Albert's above assessment.

Prior to the Soundlab M1's, the higher the SPL, the better, or so I thought. After obtaining the M1's, I too thought volume was low, only my SPL meter told me otherwise.

After owning the M1's for over a year now, I relish being immersed in the sound. It's different listening to undistorted rock -- less in your face -- but everything is still there, and for the better (after retraining myself to recognize and appreciate the sonic results).

The M1's have been a unique and much appreciated experience. I now know what low level detail and dynamics are; specific passages continue to startle me with their impact and resolution – one of the best speakers available at any price.

Bless you Mrmb for sharing that. I'm so pleased you're enjoying the Soundlabs !

I'm still amazed by mine, an amazing feat considering I've been listening to them for more than fourteen years.

I agree with Albert, although I have "only" Acoustat 2+2s. You think to yourself "it is not loud at all", then you try to say something to someone, and ohmygod you need a megaphone to say anything that is audible. Electrostats are low noise tranducers that betray and belie their
loudness. Although, I have used the 2+2s as HT speakers, most listeners are absolutely flabbergasted by the bass "tunefulness" and output during say something like Jurassiac Park. It is not just some rumbling one note noise.

You are asking two different questions:

1) Will the amp drive the speakers properly. That is the same as asking can the amp drive a load that varies from 3 ohms to 30 ohms properly, because that is what happens with the Soundlabs as they are currently configured -- the 3 ohms is up high and the 30 ohms is down low. That is why transistor amps do such a lousy job with the Soundlabs of reproducing bass properly and why the Atma-Sphere MA2 that delivers constant power at different impedance levels does so well (it also prefers a high impedance load).

2) Can the Soundlabs play dynamically? The Soundlabs do many things well -- as well or better than anything out there. Handling very dynamic music and reproducing concert level bass are certainly not two of those. 105 dB is the the theoretical compression point of Soundlabs. I have never been able to achieve that level of sound pressure even with 440 watts of Atma-sphere power. But for Pink Floyd to be listened to properly, you need a system that can reproduce transients way above that level. Furthermore, the Soundlabs cannot handle bass reproduction even near that level without setting the membrane a flapping.