Sonics of Soundlabs

Hi Chris,

I've never owned Soundlabs, but I've been listening to them and A-B'ing them since their inception. I would have bought them too, but never had a space big enough to house them (I think a 20' x 30' room is minimum IMO) so I've been getting along with my ML CLS-IIz's (now with a Depth SW) for 15 years. I agree with your analysis of Maggies. There are some things they do very well (low level is not one of them!) and I even gave a pair of Tympany 1-D's I had stored to a friend for a house-warming gift a couple years ago.

If you have the space for the Soundlabs, go for it. But before you do (and if you liked the Prodigy) definitely don't make a decision until you've auditioned the new ML Summits. I thought they were stunning when I heard them at CES -- and they're not space hogs! They also have their own built-in amp for the low end, so you can do a 150W tube amp for the panel if you want.

Interesting thread. I currently have a pair of Magnepan MG12's (my room is on 10x12) and have always wondering about the sound labs myself.
If I ever move to a Martin Logan it will be the CLS.

I should mention that if you did not hear the 3.6 of some Mye stands, you have not really heard them. They Mye stands (myesound.com) really tighten up the bass and adds depth, as well as putting the dynamics back in the speaker. In my opinion the Mye stands are a must and not an option. X-over upgrade will also do a lot.

But with that being said, from what I have heard, the soundlabs will still be a step above, but then again so will the price tag.

Let us know what you decide.

Cheers,
Nick

Thanks for the responses so far. I just auditioned the new Summit's at my local dealer, and was not at all impressed. Maybe (let's say most assuredly) they were not optimised but, IMO my Prodigy's killed them........... the ML stat panels keep getting smaller and smaller and so does the sound to my ears.

I have Maggie 1.6's in my HT setup and like them a lot but, they are paired with a REL sub. I thought the 3.6's would be just the ticket for two channel but............

Nsgarch, Good point on room size. Does anyone know if these Soundlab A3's will work in my listening room which is about 21x15x11??

Chris

Chris,

If you put SL's in a 15x21 room, you'll have to put them on the long wall to avoid the large sidewall reflections they'll produce (which is why you need a large room!) and so that means you'll be listening to them (relatively) nearfield -- which is a shame with speakers that are truly capable of producing a huge soundstage-and-sweetspot in a large room.

I'm stunned you were unimpressed with the Summits! Something must have been terribly wrong with the demo. I can only assume poor setup and mediocre associated equipment. Do it again somewhere else. Their panels have the same output as the Prodigy with a panel half as big (better dispersion and imaging) and the low end is just about the best I've heard -- in both response and matching to the panel.

Hi Cmo,

Any size Sound Labs will work well in your room. That won't be a problem.

With the VT200 amplifier, I would strongly suggest you have the backplates upgraded with the "high impedance upgrade". This will make them an easier load. The VT200 probably isn't the ideal match for the Sound Labs; depends on how loud you want to crank it.

I have a customer with an early pair of M-3's and he's very happy driving them with a 140 watt OTL tube amp. I have another customer with current generation M-3's (which are higher in efficiency and have better dynamic contrast due to new panel technology) and he finds a 60 watt OTL amplifier to work well.

I have owned Maggie 3.6's as well as all different size Sound Labs, and yes the M-3's will give you more low end extension than the Maggies. In my experience, degree of dynamic contrast is to a large extent amplifier dependent. As mentioned, the latest "high efficiency" panels give better dyanmic contrast than their predecessors. The strengths of the Sound Labs tend to be in other areas, so don't expect to rival Altec A7's or Klipschorns in dyanmics. The Sound Labs excel in naturalness of timbre, low-level detail, and freedom from coloration resulting in absence of listening fatigue even over all-day listening sessions.

The larger model Sound Labs do offer improvements over the M-3 in bass extension, efficiency, and overall richness of the presentation (the latter due to their wider radiation patterns). On the other hand, the narrower M-3 can often give you a bit wider soundstage in a given room because you can place the panels farther apart center-to-center. The M-3 is only about 67 inches tall, so unless you tip them back a bit (with a shim under the front foot) when you stand up you'll probably lose the high frequencies.

The Maggie 3.6 is more efficient than the older generation M-3's you're looking at. But when I had the 3.6's side-by-side with fullrange SoundLabs I kept wanting to turn up the volume on the Maggies to hear the low-level detail that was readily apparent on the Sound Labs. So if you have a low noise floor in your listening room, Sound Labs can give you a great deal of dynamic contrast because you'll be able to hear the low-level sounds that are often lost in a lower resolution system.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.

Duke