Southwest Audio Fest 2024

Sound Lab is an electrostatic speaker specialist. The company's pithily named G745-3C ($20,000/pair) debuted at the first Southwest Audio Fest. These speakers aren't small, but they are suitable for relatively compact spaces, thanks to the panels' modest 20" width.

Visually, these curved monolithic panels dominated the small room where they were demoed. They sounded great streaming tracks from Tidal using a Benchmark DAC3 B. The David Berning 845 ZOTL Gen 3 HiFi One Edition 60W, class-A monoblock tube amps ($75,000/pair) provided power. Cabling was by EnKlein Bespoke Wireworks.

"Turner's Ship", by Malia and Boris Blank, is the final track on their album "Convergence." I was immediately impressed by the soundfield's cohesiveness and the visceral bass. You feel it.

I was in a Laurie Anderson kind of mood at this show. I requested "Language is a Virus" from the soundtrack to the live concert film "Home of the Brave." I found the results impressive. The speakers parsed the many layers of the mix with apparent ease, keeping their composure through a flood of cool sounds these tracks throw at listeners.

View the video below for a taste of the system's capabilities. High-quality, full-range headphones are advised.