ive had a number of b&w speakers including their entry level dm series up to their matrix 803's and was always pleased with their performance, that is until i auditioned a pair of SL3's. rather than wax on philosophically about their qualities in a snobby, snooty and esoteric "audio reviewer" type of way saying things like:"they had a delicate yet precocious tone, never approaching haughty..." let me just say this: if youre in the market for a pair of speakers in the 3-5000$ range, check these out last. rather than pointing out what they do well and what they lack id rather describe them this way: every speaker design is a tradeoff and is compromised. there is no such thing as a perfect speaker. according to peoples varying tastes, different people will prefer different things to be compromised. the trick is to find a speaker that isnt lacking in the areas you enjoy the most. this speaker to my tastes has the best balance of good and bad characteristics making the listening expeience ascend to a higher level. the good aspects are wonderfully good and the "bad" traits arent that bad. dont be afraid that they lack bass, they dont, they lack bass distortion which some people interpret as powerful bass. i listen to an ecclectic body of recordings and believe it or not classic rock like pink floyd, the beatles, stones, the who..... sound fantastic and well recorded jazz sounds even better. it goes without saying that the midrange is phenominal and the new generation of sl3's has a much better, nearly seamless integration between the 10" woofer and the panel. not that it matters but these speakers are so amazing in appearance and design that youre friends will stare at them wondering how these see-through speakers could make any sound let alone the best sound they are likely to have ever heard. you must have a good amp, capable of driving low impedence loads or you wont be able to take full advantage of these speakers incredible resolution amd detail. a decent cd player, preamp and cables are also important. these speakers are very revealing and will, to your dismay, reveal problems or faults in your associated equipment. well thats my review, hope it helps you on your way to audio-heaven. this long review proves one thing: i have too much time on my hands!
associated equipment:

Aragon 4004 Mk2
Aragon 18K MK2 preamp
California audio labs DX1 cd
ML SL3's
MIT 330+ interconnects
MIT terminator 2 bi-wire

These are truly an absolute first rate product that in my opinion could be a serious contender to any loudspeaker at any price.
Now the downside - Unless you have a considerable amount of time and more importantly money to spend think again.

This is not a product that you can pair with Adcoms , cheap Sony CD players , or less than state of the art cables.

Their requirements are absolutely huge and they are unforgiving if not met.

They can sound tinnier than the worst you have heard if you don't mate them with absolute first rate components.

In my opinion an all Krell ensemble mated with the SL3 will send you dizzying in sonic nirvana.

Cheers and have fun. Thats what audio is all about.

These are fabulous speakers. I much prefer them to the Aerius i, which is a little weak in the bass reproduction. Both were more accurate, or "sharper" than the Magneplanar 1.5s. The soundstage is very deep, and it can routinely produce sounds from what appears to be a few feet left and right of the actual speaker's placement. This effect is probably heightened by the reflected back wave of the dipole panel.
While the Maggies threw a larger, slightly more holographic stage, the Martin Logans sounded more precise. The Maggies sounded a slight bit fuzzy when compared to the electrostats. The sweet spot is indeed smaller with the Martin Logans, limited to about 2 persons wide at about 8' from the speakers in my set-up.

They are very sensitive to placement, not that a non-optimal placement sounds bad, but slight change can improve sound quality immensely. The location of my entertainment center (between the 2 speakers) is affecting the ultimate potential of the speakers' abilities, I believe it is interfering with the reflected back wave of the ESL panel. This is alleviated somewhat by moving the speakers a bit in front of the entertainment center.

As the brochure states, they require a load-tolerant amplifier, since min. impedance dips to 1.5 ohms (presenting a difficult load for some amps to deliver to). Recommended power (from brochure) is 100 - 200 wpc, rated imepdance is roughly 4 ohms. I am currently using a 40 wpc NAD power amp (and shopping fr a replacement), and it is severly lacking in impact and detail retrieval. A Classe 70, for example, produced a lot better results. Bottom line, get a really good amp to go with these.

p.s. You will have to drill the speaker's binding posts if you want to use banana connections.

My room has 15' vaulted ceilings, dropping to 9' at the edges, floor area is about 20' x 30', although the listening area is only about 12' x 14'. Sparse furniture, walls are mostly drywall, not a lot of parallel walls (broken upby a counter, couch-height wall, plant ledges, cabinets, open doorways etc...

Just updated from Sequel II's and was impressed by the improvements in bass. most noticable was the extension and definition in bass response. The pannel is exactly the same as the Sequel II's. Amplification is a pig. I have quicksilver mono's rated at 105 watts/side, still not enough to drive full range properly. Also VERY source critical, jitter reduction is a must in digital chainAm considering a tube crossover with solid state to drive woofer(bypassing the internal passive crossover components. I am advised that this is a truly huge improvement in sound...but (as always) at a price. 4 star heading to 5+

While in demoing equipment at the Music Mill in Edinburgh, the sales staff would not let me leave until I heard the system they had setup for their own use. It was some exotic CD front end, with Audio Research amplification driving Martin Logan SL3's with Transparent Reference cabling.
The sounds quality was absolutely amazing, by far the best I've ever heard. It was the first time I'd listened to electrostatics so the big surprise was the way the speakers seemed to disappear, with no obvious source. The integration of the cones with the electrostatic membrane was apparently seemless too.

The only unfortunate things was my wife's comments that there was no way she was having speakers of the size in the house! I thought they looked gorgeous myself.

Well let me tell you how I feel about it:I heard this speakers a couple of times and I couldn't understand what's the big deal around this "electrostatic" thing.
I agree, there was some magic, but nothing worth spending 3000$.
This "electrostatic" "fence" is very good against mosquitos (put it on your window and they can't come in- verry goog in N.Y this days) but nothing more than that.

Ok, I auditioned these speakers again at Harveys Electronic in NY. It was hooked up to a Krell 250A. I also heard its bigger brother and its younger brother to. It has a lot of Transparency I agree, but to the point where it’s too transparent and annoying. It lacks the Punch and detail in the lower and Low Mid frequency that I guess can only be heard by Box speakers. Sounds too Suroundish and has more air to the music than needed in order to sound realistic. I guess these speakers are for those who like soft music without allot of rhythm and beat to it. The highs where not as sweet and smooth like other speakers I’ve heard for less. Maybe I am just Anti-Static but I can’t see where the hype is coming from. I own A paradigm Studio 80 and although some would argue its not the best speaker in the world, it definatly can kill the SL3 in my opinion. I would not recommend these speakers to those who like Rock, Electronic music, Jazz or any other music where detail is needed in the Mid lower frequencies. Its a nice piece of furniture I admit but that’s all it is furniture. Since the speaker does provide some kind of Magic in the Mid higher frequencies that can only be done by Static speakers I give it a 3.

balanced sound

narrow

I've had a pair of SL3's since 1994 after shopping for about a year. I have no regrets and would and will probably purchase again for another room. Very balanced sound at normal listening volumes. I listen to cd's and records. Also use instead of the tv speakers but don't own that many dvd's. I agree that lateral to the 'cone' (I'm obviously not an expert) the great sound is not great. But inside the cone anywhere on my sofa (speakers apart about 12 feet with slight toe-in and sofa back about 15 feet) they sound great. My room has carpet. I actually think they're great for low and mid; the highs are the weakest of all (but not complaining). Don't notice this difference with TV. I use a generic yamaha receiver 100 watts per channel; no surround set-up. Hope this helps.

Mid-range Vocal

Dynamic, lower and upper extension, positioning placement

Lack of dynamic and upper extension are two worst weaknesses of the SL3. One should have to spend a fortune on upstream components in order to make them scream. Electrostatic if done right should sound better than this.

Similar Products Used:

NHT, B&W801

Strikingly clear midrange and treble.

Bass is no killer.

Just bought these and like everyone says the treble and midrange makes voices and instruments get right up in your face.

It takes a while to get used to. The first couple days I felt like they were harsh. I now play my old speakers and am craving for the clarity and detail of the electrostatic.

I read all the reviews on this site. These speakers do NOT rock. They are reasonably well endowed with bass, but do not rock. I have a pair of VMPS tower speakers with two twelve inch woofers and a 12" passive radiator, the SL3 has a 10" inch sealed woofer. No contest in the low bass area. A ten inch sealed woofer will not give killer base.

Very Very Very high wife acceptance factor.

I have to admit, on low volumes the SL3 are much better than any speaker I have ever had. It is very nice to listen to something at low volume and yet it still sounds good.

Similar Products Used:

VMPS and a lot of othr speakers