ribbon or electrostatic speakers

I find Sound Labs do quite well with bass impact, and it is rich, taut, and full. The other aspect which is often overlooked is naturalness, in terms of timbre and reproduction of the reverberant field. From the pounding of the largest bass drum or tympani to reproducing the sound of the body of a grand piano to a vibrant electric bass in a club scene, I'm not left with the feeling something is missing. I haven't heard a hybrid electrostat that integrates seamlessly and enables the music and sound to follow you around your home the way Sound Labs do. They reproduce the feeling, the gestalt, of being at the performance venue, by virtue of being full range reproducers and by virtue of their radiation geometries.

Disclaimer: I'm a Sound Lab dealer. Sometimes my enthusiasm and passion get a little carried away.

Brian Walsh

Although Sound Labs aren't a benign load, they're nowhere near as tough as they used to be, thanks to the backplate update which became available early this year and which reduces the impedance dip in the midrange that some amplifiers have problems with. Great amplifiers for driving them can be found for under $6000. Scintillas, on the other hand, drop to somewhere in the range of 1 ohm and are about as tough a load as any speaker out there. Very few amplifiers can drive them well. They can be a bargain, but it's important to keep in mind the company is long gone and you may find yourself on your own to service them even though parts may be found occasionally.