Sound Lab Millennium 1 spl ability?

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.

Sellerwithintegrity? The name doesn't fit. Don't hurt yourself patting yourself on the back.

Seems pretty sneaky the way you slam the competition without saying that you sell and distribute products such as Atmasphere, that you shamelessly promote in your post.

What gives you the right? Did anyone ask about amplifiers? No! Did anyone ask about impedances? No! Is it true that tube amps, especially AS OTL's, are the only amps that can drive difficult loads well? No! Lots of ways to get down the road in style. MA-2's are but one. If somebody isn't asking, stop changing the topic for your own sake, this board isn't here for dealers to self promote.

Also kind of funny the way you're slamming Sound Lab, even though you sell them (how seriously?). Hidden agenda? Word is you own 50 percent of Gilmore Audio. Gotta wonder.

How much more of your 20 million are you gonna blow on the porn star ads? Does anybody care?

Sellerwithintegrity,

Gotta agree w/ Planar here! There are 2 dealers before you who answered the thread & have written a disclaimer saying clearly that they deal w/ certain products. YOU DID NOT DO THAT!

We all know that you own & run Gilmore Audio, which sells Atma-sphere, Gilmore speakers & a few other brands. We rely on the INTEGRITY of the dealers to confess that they are dealers & to state which products they deal in (not the whole list but only those pertinent to the thread in which they are posting their answer). YOU DID NOT DO THAT! This is very sneaky of you & it does not give us, the user base, an idea that your views could be prejudiced.

I/We strongly urge you to go thru just a bit of xtra effort & type a disclaimer with your replies. Your knowledge is welcome by all of us under those conditions. If you cannot comply, leave!

BTW, I can also attest to Albert's example of "perceived" vs "real" SPL levels. I have lived with stats for a long time, and am used to this phenomenon.

OTOH, the fact that one can happily raise the volume and a Soundlab doesn't shout, does NOT mean that our ears are not being bombarded by harmfull spl levels... AND cranking up the volume high may rob the amp of its dynamic headroom & send it clipping (which doesn't sound good, not even on Soundlabs).
I mean, if you are at 100dba on an average passage, sitting 12ft away from the speakers, you need an extra 100x power just to get +20db of dynamic range... that's a lot of power!

On the amp subject: contrary to selleretc's contention, I have enjoyed A1's happily driven by an ss amp, too.