Post by michaelw on Jul 22, 2021 18:50:49 GMT 12
That is a seismic change !
Hi from E. Bay, CA, USA
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Post by achipo on Jul 23, 2021 8:43:40 GMT 12Well I DO live in CA... I wanted Sound Labs when I set up my room 6 years ago, but talked myself out of it (too big and didn't have the budget). They're still too big, but I decided it's a balance between time with good hearing and cash flow, with time winning. Custom Lenco, Terminator tone arm, SoundSmith Hyperion, Pioneer PL70 tone arm, Miyajima Zero
Wavestream Kinetics phono stage Aurender S10, Holo Audio May KTE DAC, Parasound JC2 preamp AtmaSphere MA-1 amps Benchmark AHBP amps Sound Lab Majestic 745 speakers Two Rythmik 12SE subs, DIY dual 10” sub with MiniDSP 550W amp AV Room Service EVPs under speakers and subs 
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Post by colinf on Jul 23, 2021 20:24:23 GMT 12
Sound Labs Majestic, cool plus! I’ve heard these a few times, they are very clear.
AMR-iFi R&D
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Post by achipo on Jul 24, 2021 2:25:36 GMT 12
I still remember vividly the first time I heard Sound Labs. It was in 1986, I'd just graduated college and had a bit of money. I visited a stereo store and heard a live jazz combo in the back room. When I walked into the room I just saw these massive monoliths and some big tube amps. I've wanted Sound Labs ever since. I've never heard any speaker sound so real.
Custom Lenco, Terminator tone arm, SoundSmith Hyperion, Pioneer PL70 tone arm, Miyajima Zero
Wavestream Kinetics phono stage Aurender S10, Holo Audio May KTE DAC, Parasound JC2 preamp AtmaSphere MA-1 amps Benchmark AHBP amps Sound Lab Majestic 745 speakers Two Rythmik 12SE subs, DIY dual 10” sub with MiniDSP 550W amp AV Room Service EVPs under speakers and subs
118 posts |
Post by colinf on Jul 24, 2021 19:33:46 GMT 12
That’s great. I remember listening to A1s at a hifi shop in San Francisco (I think near Mobile Fidleity) as a young tech. I was struck by how realistic they sounded…apart from the Miles Davis I could hear the sonic signature of the amplifier. Years later a friend in Aus decided on Majestics so I got to know them a bit. Always open and clear but don’t thrust detail at you, which for me make them one of the very best speakers.
AMR-iFi R&D
1,428 posts |
Post by michaelw on Jul 24, 2021 22:29:01 GMT 12A1 + B1 subs 
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Post by achipo on Jul 25, 2021 7:06:00 GMT 12I have not heard the B1 subs, but could imagine them to be fantastic. The new Sound Labs have "bass focus panels", and bass is chest thumping down to 30 or below. The big panels do bass better than I remember. I plan to keep my subwoofer Swarm for the lowest octave in any case.
Custom Lenco, Terminator tone arm, SoundSmith Hyperion, Pioneer PL70 tone arm, Miyajima Zero
Wavestream Kinetics phono stage Aurender S10, Holo Audio May KTE DAC, Parasound JC2 preamp AtmaSphere MA-1 amps Benchmark AHBP amps Sound Lab Majestic 745 speakers Two Rythmik 12SE subs, DIY dual 10” sub with MiniDSP 550W amp AV Room Service EVPs under speakers and subs
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Pundit
Hi from E. Bay, CA, USA Jul 25, 2021 13:07:04 GMT 12
- Edited Jul 25, 2021 14:22:45 GMT 12 by peter0c
Post by peter0c on Jul 25, 2021 13:07:04 GMT 12
I was moved to look at the Stereophile review of The Sound Lab A1 speakers (https://www.stereophile.com/content/sound-lab-1-electrostatic-loudspeaker) which aroused many of my prejudices. I'm not about to comment on the speakers themselves and am happy to accept that they do many things well. However my eyes immediately focused on the comical lengths that Dick Olsner went to to optimise them. Wings off, Wings on and facing forward, Wings on facing backwards, hanging weights to the frame, bass traps, moving sofas about and damn near everything else except wheeling in the matrimonial mattress to dampened back-waves and side-waves and so on. I urge you to read it plus his general take on open backed speakers. The latter I allow makes some sense although I don't quite buy the 1920s theory of 'surface loudness'. If it is true then conventional cone speakers are the perfect reproducer of human voices according to the theory, as the throat of both are of equivalent size. Anyway it is worth reading the review to provide points for discussion. Dick however needs a refresher course on the Quad ESL 53 which he describes favourably to 2 and 3 way speakers in which there is a need to integrate the sound from 2 or 3 radiating sources through a pesky crossover. Sorry Dick, the ESL 53 is 3 way, albeit with a very simple 6db crossover between the bass and midrange panel. Simple because the load of a ESL 53 is highly capacitative (and an amp breaker) so the crossovers can be done with resistor loading only and for the tweeter panel mechanically, sort of. The Sound Lab A1 in contrast is full range - or again sort of - and especially with the new B1 subwoofer presumably, with the Wings off. Anyway I was less interested in the Sound Lab per se and more with the resulting discussion.Your prejudices please!
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Global Moderator
Hi from E. Bay, CA, USA Jul 25, 2021 15:36:04 GMT 12
- Edited Jul 25, 2021 15:38:50 GMT 12 by michaelw
Post by michaelw on Jul 25, 2021 15:36:04 GMT 12
Seen B1, not heard, they are HUGE, nearly 7 feet tall.
Didn't the SL wings go away ? I remember one review saying they effectively added boxy colourations to a non-box speaker lol Sorry Peter, I'm allergic to Quads ESLs*, is the 53 same as the 57 ?  * exception being Crosby modified ESL63s heard back in the '90s My tastes in ESLs veer in the direction of the Stax ELS-F81 and original Martin Logan CLS
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Post by peter0c on Jul 25, 2021 16:03:38 GMT 12
Sorry I meant ESL 57.
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Pundit
Post by achipo on Jul 28, 2021 4:24:21 GMT 12
The wings went away a long time ago. There have been a few significant reliability and performance upgrades since the A1 review. Pretty sure the B1s have gone away as well. There have been a few changes to the inductor network that improves sensitivity by ~3+ dB as well as making the speakers easier to drive. The substrate grid has been changed a few times, most recently to add large rectangular areas to improve bass performance by 6 dB.
Peter, I listened to a pair of 745s in a large ~30' x 25' living room with ~12' cathedral ceiling--no acoustic treatments, but the panels were about 6' from the windows behind them. I listened to 545s in a room similar sized to mine: 15 x 17 x 9' with minimal acoustic treatments. My room has more acoustic treatments than the small room, so I'm confident the panels will sound good in my room. Both experiences reminded me of why I fell in love with the sound so long ago. There is just no other speaker that does what Sound Lab does (that I've heard--supposedly Pipe Dreams are similar in transparency and tonality). That StereoPhile review was scary indeed, and yet Olsher remains a fan even after all the gyrations. You should read some of the newer reviews: www.soundlabspeakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sound-Lab-Majestic-645-electrostatic-panel-loudspeakers-Review.pdf www.soundlabspeakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/dagogo.com-Ultimate-545-Review-1.pdf www.soundlabspeakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Ultimate-545-Dagogo-Jan-2017.pdf Dick Olsher gave Sound Lab with AtmaSphere best of show at THE Show in 2011 www.soundlabspeakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/The-Show-2011.pdf Custom Lenco, Terminator tone arm, SoundSmith Hyperion, Pioneer PL70 tone arm, Miyajima Zero
Wavestream Kinetics phono stage Aurender S10, Holo Audio May KTE DAC, Parasound JC2 preamp AtmaSphere MA-1 amps Benchmark AHBP amps Sound Lab Majestic 745 speakers Two Rythmik 12SE subs, DIY dual 10” sub with MiniDSP 550W amp AV Room Service EVPs under speakers and subs
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Post by peter0c on Jul 28, 2021 13:01:16 GMT 12
Very impressive reviews Archipo - and no subs to dampen one's enthusiasm. Funny thing about bass is that the leading edge (e.g. drum, guitar) of low notes is often quite high in frequency. This is why supertweeters e.g. on Tannoy and other 15 inch speakers often give an improvement which I would put down to timing. Some of the most articulate bass that I have heard (not bass extension or a trouser leg flapping experiences though) is from small speakers in a properly designed enclosure. One favourite is a First Watt F1J current amp into Cain and Cain Abby speakers (Foxtex drivers) with Nelson Pass's recommended passive equaliser (resistor and cap in parallel giving f3 40hz from 5 inches). Your Sound Lab 745s with ultra light diaphragms would do the same thing.
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Pundit
Hi from E. Bay, CA, USA Sept 29, 2021 14:27:38 GMT 12
- Edited Sept 29, 2021 14:29:13 GMT 12 by achipo
mijoh likes this Post by achipo on Sept 29, 2021 14:27:38 GMT 12
I got my new MA1s Saturday. They still have a few days to go through burn in. They are dynamic for sure, but very constrained and slowly blossoming. Sound Labs are still a few weeks out.
I have never heard bass as good as the Sound Labs. I’m still planning on running multiple subs, but would like to free up some floor space if they aren’t needed. Custom Lenco, Terminator tone arm, SoundSmith Hyperion, Pioneer PL70 tone arm, Miyajima Zero
Wavestream Kinetics phono stage Aurender S10, Holo Audio May KTE DAC, Parasound JC2 preamp AtmaSphere MA-1 amps Benchmark AHBP amps Sound Lab Majestic 745 speakers Two Rythmik 12SE subs, DIY dual 10” sub with MiniDSP 550W amp AV Room Service EVPs under speakers and subs
118 posts |
Post by achipo on Oct 9, 2021 13:51:27 GMT 12
Burn in pretty much complete. NOS 6SN7s installed. As areShunyata products. Sonic bliss!
Custom Lenco, Terminator tone arm, SoundSmith Hyperion, Pioneer PL70 tone arm, Miyajima Zero
Wavestream Kinetics phono stage Aurender S10, Holo Audio May KTE DAC, Parasound JC2 preamp AtmaSphere MA-1 amps Benchmark AHBP amps Sound Lab Majestic 745 speakers Two Rythmik 12SE subs, DIY dual 10” sub with MiniDSP 550W amp AV Room Service EVPs under speakers and subs
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Pundit
Hi from E. Bay, CA, USA Jan 18, 2022 12:06:40 GMT 12
- Edited Jan 18, 2022 12:08:52 GMT 12 by achipo
colinf likes this Post by achipo on Jan 18, 2022 12:06:40 GMT 12Attachments:
Custom Lenco, Terminator tone arm, SoundSmith Hyperion, Pioneer PL70 tone arm, Miyajima Zero
Wavestream Kinetics phono stage Aurender S10, Holo Audio May KTE DAC, Parasound JC2 preamp AtmaSphere MA-1 amps Benchmark AHBP amps Sound Lab Majestic 745 speakers Two Rythmik 12SE subs, DIY dual 10” sub with MiniDSP 550W amp AV Room Service EVPs under speakers and subs
118 posts |
Post by michaelw on Jan 18, 2022 13:00:01 GMT 12
They look great !
5,749 posts |
Post by achipo on Jan 18, 2022 17:50:24 GMT 12Custom Lenco, Terminator tone arm, SoundSmith Hyperion, Pioneer PL70 tone arm, Miyajima Zero
Wavestream Kinetics phono stage Aurender S10, Holo Audio May KTE DAC, Parasound JC2 preamp AtmaSphere MA-1 amps Benchmark AHBP amps Sound Lab Majestic 745 speakers Two Rythmik 12SE subs, DIY dual 10” sub with MiniDSP 550W amp AV Room Service EVPs under speakers and subs
118 posts |
Post by colinf on Jan 19, 2022 6:26:09 GMT 12
They look right at home in your room 😀 The amps look a little vulnerable on the floor.
Bet it sounds wonderful! AMR-iFi R&D
1,428 posts |
