Current feeling on stacked quads?

Chris, I have no real experience with the Maggies, only with their bass-panels a long time ago, but from what I have heard other tell, it is as you say. What I do know however is, that the Quads are right in premier league in reproducing tiny dynamic swings as you so rightly point out.
On the other hand I have no experience with the JC-1's, but I do have my doubts, whether they really would hold their ground compared to the Atmas. Reason being that the big Sound Labs, except for the panels, are not voltage driven. What they need is constant power as the impedance varies. I don't know what the impedance of the big Sound Labs is in the bass region, but it is probably fairly high, which will severely curtail power with most SS-amps. So you would probably need 500 watts and more to let them sing there. Not so with the Atmas, if I understand the literature right. But then, that is theory and though doubtful, I'm always ready to be surprised. The more so, because the specs of the Parasound are truly impressive and the reviews glowing. But then, none of the reviewers used stators, as far as I could see. So sceptic I remain.
Apologies to Mothra, because this subject is certainly off-topic now. Would be interesting to see and probably help him, to start a discussion about what kind and make of amp would be deemed suitable for the stacked 57s.....MrTennis where are you????
Cheers,
Detlof

oh it's all interesting. i have a lot of nice speakers and my pair of quads are quite nice. i suppose i have wondered about getting a larger throw area and somewhat higher spl. i have also thought of martin logan cls, or acoustat 2+2's. never heard the sound labs. he big apogees have always been tempting but hoonestly, i dont think i could afford to power them!

Detlof,

I have driven my SoundLab A-1PX with Atma MA-1s, Parasound JC-1s, and now Ayre MX-Rs. The Atma-Spheres are an excellent match, no question. They have three significant downsides: 1) they produce a great deal of heat, which is unacceptable for 7-8 months of the year here in subtropical Houston, 2) they take a good hour after power on to sound their best, while the MX-Rs are at the peak within 10 minutes after startup from standby mode, and 3) they are simply not as good as the MX-Rs in several respects (timbre of bass below approx. 60 Hz, soundstaging, and - most importantly - a quality of 'light' that I find extremely difficult to describe). The MX-Rs do this better than any amp I've ever heard, and said quality contributes greatly to the sense of realism.

A short comment on the JC-1s - not the absolute best available for SoundLabs, but darn close. A truly oustanding value for money. They are a ridiculous bargain when purchased used.

Mothra, I also apologize for getting off topic. I've auditioned stacked 57s just once quite a number of years ago, and was a bit bothered by the loss of the stunning midrange coherence displayed by a single pair. Then again, I don't know how the stacked pair was 'hooked together', so this comment should be taken with a large grain of salt.

Curriemt11,

The Atmas: I have MA-II Mark IIIs and apart from the heat and the time it takes for them to sound right, where I fully agree with you, I do not hear what you describe. But then MA-2s have a lot more punch than the MA-1s you had. I wonder what you mean with "light", wished you would describe this more. Is this a coloration you heard or a lack of dynamics? If I lived in subtropical surroundings I would probably also wish to try the Ayres, which are a beauty to behold and less costly than the MA-2s, although I would have to be convinced first of their deep bass performance with the Sound Labs for reasons stated above in my other post.

Stacked 57s: You are right about the loss of midrange coherence, one of the single 57's strong points. It takes a lot of fiddling around to get it right again., but it can be done.

> I wonder what you mean with "light", wished you would describe this more. Is this a coloration you heard or a lack of dynamics?

As I said, I have trouble describing it with any conventional terminology. It's a lightness or delicacy that is ALWAYS present in live, unamplified music. In my system, the Atma-Spheres did not have this characteristic to anywhere near the degree than the Ayres do. It is certainly not a function of sheer power, nor of dynamics (well, microdynamics perhaps). And since I find it closer to reality, I would not call it a coloration.

Since I would not have recognized the comparatively 'darker' character of the Atma-Spheres without having heard the Ayres, perhaps you should audition the MX-Rs?