Frankly, is there better than a Sound Lab ?

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Is there better than a Sound Lab ESL Speaker ?

Sounds like a provocation but a serious question !

No hybrid systems seems to sound rigther than full ESL (even a Quad 2912 should be a bang for the bucks vs many Martin Logan but the most expensives) ! (not saying than Quad has serious problem of reliabilty thanks to Financial white collars whom prefer margins... P Walker is not there anymore to Watch what happens !)

High efficienty ? Well but the energy and low end dynamic, not sure it has more involving and total coherence than high End ESLs à la Sound Lab ! ML has often problems to sound really right, some of little harchness which is less right than Quad and Sould Lab...I read !

But for this DIY hibby we love, does anyone heard better than a Sound Lab, brand new as DIY ?

Welcome for your testimonials, please write also what style of music you listen to with style of your source & amps !

regards,

Eldam
 
Hi,

well , there´s always something better for someone else 😉
No hybrid systems seems to sound rigther than full ESL
Oh dear, not that ol´fairytale again.🙄
A hybrid can sound alot better in almost any respect and at least as seamless as a FR.
Don´t take inferior incarnations of the principle as proof of fact. :house:

jauu
Calvin

ps. I listen from small baroque chamber music to ear shattering hard rock .... all through hybrid ESLs .... some of the stuff would rather be unplayable at all with whatever FR-ESL.
 
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Any testimonials for brand new VS DIY ESLs ?

Well Anji, many say than the 2912 is a very fine speaker, but few performs as agod than a (well) rebuild 57 in a little room (its midrange 🙂 )
True enough. Properly aligned, the ESL57 has lovely balance. They're antiques, and where I live humidity has lead to decomposition failures.

The ESL63 derivatives are more robust, and have design advantages, particularly in their power supplies and clamping circuitry.

Either speaker, properly refurbished represent a genuine value for music lovers.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 
They should have a particular mylar at Sound Lab or maybe a better coating on it ! I Don't know ! The way they tense it ?!

Ah, a pragmatic question, please ! Is there sounding difference with thermal variation of temperature of the room ? : 20°V to 32 C° (my living room between summer & winter) ! I even ask myself if the wood frame are a good idea in a non cooled room ?!

Calcin, in your last (beautifull) speaker, you have a common base between your array of (OB?) bass and the ESL Pannel ? Why not putt a rubber in between ?
 
(not saying than Quad has serious problem of reliabilty thanks to Financial white collars whom prefer margins... P Walker is not there anymore to Watch what happens !)

Don't kid yourself, the UK built 63's were also a reliability nightmare. I've been rebuilding them for almost 20 years, and the stator glue has been an issue almost since day 1. There was a brief time (around SN 13000) that the stator glue seems to have been changed, but the diaphragm glue was also changed and diaphragm de-bonding seems to be a problem in that range.

The Chinese quads kept the same glue as the UK one for the stators, and I'm still rebuilding panels.

Sheldon
quadesl.com
 
Excellent ! There is Quad Germany which is famous here for reconstruct old QUAD ! Some say, despite the good work it doesn't sound the same ! (mostly the 57s)

So the 2912 doesn't improve the aging ! Hurk ! When you see the price ! Brands raise their prices (in the hifi markett) as if everyone worked in Oil companies or banks !

Maybe multi segmented ESL à la Sound Lab are more reliable ? But far above my wallet deepness !

@ Sumottan: Arcing in the rain 😀... those ESL are fragiles, but I hope to own one a day ! second hand purchase is a nightmare with ESL whatever the brand I surmise🙁
 
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😀 It makes me think to the ESL they putt in the top of doors in the street restaurents in Asia to kill the mosquitos with their electric blue purple light!

Hey I have a fool idea as usual : why Martin Logan don't use the transistion à la Linkwitz to make even more seamless the transition between the fat drivers and the pannel ?

Imagine ; a vertical little tube firering towards the ceilling and the floor with counterforce cancellation (towards the floor) and the ESL above... well it's true also than a big pannel is less point source than a 2" ! Hey I will drop this post to my lawyer if they take the idea ! Just load a little the rear ESL with a felt carpet to avoid comb-filtering :scratch: !

Maybe it's better I find a job to buy a Sound Lab with a Sallie reflector ! 😀
 
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