Sonics of Soundlabs


Hello all,

I am contemplating the purchase of a pair of Soundlab M3's, and wonder if some of you guy's (and gals) could help me out a little. They have the newer upgraded transfomers etc. but were manufactured in the late 90's. I am currently using an ARC VT-200 into Martin Logan Prodigy's and love the sound but have always heard great things about the big Soundlabs stats.

For curiousity sake I auditioned a pair of Maggie 3.6's a few weeks ago and they didn't do it for me; there was no bottom end and the dynamics just were not there.......... I thought they did some things well but much preferred the Prodigy's in the end.

I would be buying these speakers used and will not be able to audition fully before purchase. Can anyone tell me how thier sonics compare to my two other "panel" references (the Maggie's and ML's)? Are there any issues (aside from the size) that I should consider when buying a pair of these speakers used? How do the M-3's stack up to the A1's and M1's? Do they match well with the rest of my system..... If I had to find a more powerful amp for instance it would probably be a deal breaker.

Thanks all in advance.

Chris
cmo

Showing 1 response by rhyno

i owned a used pair of U2s. while i personally didn't care for the sonic presentation (very subjective), the membranes did tear and required factory repair, and the backplates were not built w/ the quality one expects of $15k speakers. ---no comparison to the WP6s i now own insofar as quality of craftsmanship (i also like the WPs sound better, but to each his own). ---also, i find any speaker as inefficient as soundlabs to be very limiting insofar as equipment choices go...too limiting.

that said, the factory service was very good and i've no complaints of the folks in utah. having lived w/ planars, i don't like them.

soundlabs (moreso, any powered speaker) are not set & forget. if you want maintenance free, get cones.

rhyno