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The Sound-Lab electrostatic loudspeakers are legendary. Many serious audiophiles have heard of them, and rumors of their existence abound in audio circles. But, like gnomes, UFOs, and poltergeists, Sound-Lab loudspeakers are sufficiently hard to find that it is sometimes difficult to prove to skeptics that they exist at all. Well, I can now report that they do. As proof of this contention, I can point to the two which are actually occupying solid, tangible space in my listening room at this very moment. I have even taken a photo of them, which will be published along with this report if they…
But what does the A-3 sound like when it isn't being stressed? I would liken it to a superb tubed power amplifier. Though not altogether uncolored—no loudspeaker is—its colorations have a strong personal appeal. The sound is rather warm and rich through the low end, rather rotund and gutsy through the lower middle range, and soft and sweet through the high end. Through its entire range it has the incredible transparency and delicacy that I have only, to date, heard from wide-range electrostatics. It is, in short, my kind of loudspeaker.
Because of these predispositions, it does not do…
Now that I've expressed my feelings about the A-3s, I must add that they are not going to appeal equally to everyone. They do not do well on rock material, lacking both the requisite tartness and aggressiveness to do justice to rock music, and can't produce the kind of sound pressure levels demanded by most rock listeners. And, as I mentioned previously, their soundstaging breadth and depth are not as spectacular, however accurate I feel they may be, as those of some other systems. But give these a clean, honestly miked recording of acoustical instruments, and the A-3s seem to vanish,…
J. Gordon Holt wrote again about the Sound-Lab A-3 in June 1988 (Vol.11 No.6):
Although the A-3 has been my reference loudspeaker ever since I reviewed it (Vol.9 No.6), I have never been very happy with its hunger for amplifier power. During my initial tests, I measured 76dB of output at 1 meter, which is about 12dB lower than that of most other audiophile systems.
SL president and chief designer Roger West contends that a conventional sensitivity rating makes no sense for a speaker with a very large radiating area, because its SPL doesn't diminish with distance nearly as rapidly…
J. Gordon Holt then wrote about the Sound-Lab A-3 in November 1988 (Vol.11 No.11):
I am combining two followups into one here because both products were involved in one of the worst mistakes I have made in many years of testing: I had two of my reference components upgraded at once.
At a recent show, I had heard the latest version of the Threshold SA-1 driving MartinLogan Statements, and observed that the high end was noticeably improved in quality—sweeter and less dry. I arranged to return mine for updating.
While they were gone, and my reference system would be out of…
J. Gordon Holt's final thoughts on the A-3 appeared in January 1992 (Vol.15 No.1):
I've been madly in love with full-range electrostatic loudspeakers ever since I heard a pair of Janszen (KLH) Model Nines way back in the early 1960s. But I must confess I've been an inconstant lover. Every once in a while I'm seduced by the charms of some hot new dynamic system because it's more efficient, images better, throws a more convincing soundstage, grows goosebumps on my goosebumps, or whatever. But invariably, the fire of my infatuation dwindles down to ashes, and—with a sigh of resignation—I…
Sidebar 1: Electrostatics Speakers Pro & Con
Pros
1) Uniform drive. The entire surface of the diaphragm is driven by the signal, rather than just a small area (footnote 1).
2) Because the diaphragm needs no stiffness, it can be very thin for superb HF transient response, and very limp for freedom from resonances.
3) True full-range designs have no crossover(s). There are no driver transition problems; the sound can be absolutely seamless, top to bottom.
4) Large radiating area is associated with less attenuation of spl with distance, providing a…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Full-range curved-diaphragm electrostatic dipole speaker system. HF range control, 3-step LF compensation (+3dB, 0, -3dB at 35Hz). Frequency response: 32Hz-22kHz, ±2dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m. Recommended minimum amplifier power: 100W. Maximum input power: 450W. Impedance: 6 ohms nominal, 4 ohms minimum.
Dimensions: 73" H by 31" W by 9" D (Base extends depth to 19"). Weight: 145 lbs.
Price: $5750/pair (1986). $6350/pair (1988); $7410/pair (1992); no longer available (2003).
Manufacturer: Sound-Lab, 6451 Mountain View Drive, Park City, Utah…
Sometimes you have to sweat the details, sometimes they just fall in your lap. Take Victor Tiscareno. Victor's company, AudioPrism, has been making electronics, accessories, and power-conditioning products for quite some time. While he was visiting and installing a pair of his Mana Reference tube amplifiers for an upcoming review, Victor and I got to talking about power---the kind that comes out of the wall. Victor studied electrical engineering and is very au courant in such matters. During these ruminations he shared with me a recipe for what he calls The Poor Man's Dedicated Line.
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If you do, using the techniques described above and in February's "Fine Tunes," locate a pair of outlets on separate legs of positive phase. (Measuring from hot to hot, a voltmeter hooked up to receptacles on separate legs will read around 240V, on the same phase near 0V.) You see the beauty of it? Running each monoblock from opposite sides of your building's 220V center-tap transformer (fig.1) gives you balanced power for exactly zero outlay! Noise and other garbage riding the lines as rogue currents are canceled by their out-of-phase selves: common-mode rejection. Running on both phases of…