I have run my Bel Canto evo4 on a friends Soundlab U2's and was not happy at all. The sound was immediately thin and bright'ish. Just no body and little emotion. Yet on my Magnepan 3.6's, the sound with the evo amplifier was outstanding.
The LC output filter in these digital amps don't sit particularly well with the transformer crossovers (with their associated wide variation in impedance) used in the Soundlab speakers. Also, Soundlabs and other electrostatics have very low inertia diaphrams and best performance, or that which is more critically damped, is ususally obtained with amplifiers featuring lower damping factors (a little output impedance). Just how much this really gives rise to the "thinness" is speculative though. Proper damping seems to have more effect on a systems musicality (or emotion). I think most of the perceived thin sound character is due to the LC output filter and the particular reactive crossover used in Soundlabs.
The Atmasphere OTL series works particularly well with Soundlabs. Other OTL amplifiers will likely also work well since some of their design philosophy is similar. Actually, tube amps in general with their relatively benign resistive plate impedance tend to mate well with Soundlabs.
The LC output filter in these digital amps don't sit particularly well with the transformer crossovers (with their associated wide variation in impedance) used in the Soundlab speakers. Also, Soundlabs and other electrostatics have very low inertia diaphrams and best performance, or that which is more critically damped, is ususally obtained with amplifiers featuring lower damping factors (a little output impedance). Just how much this really gives rise to the "thinness" is speculative though. Proper damping seems to have more effect on a systems musicality (or emotion). I think most of the perceived thin sound character is due to the LC output filter and the particular reactive crossover used in Soundlabs.
The Atmasphere OTL series works particularly well with Soundlabs. Other OTL amplifiers will likely also work well since some of their design philosophy is similar. Actually, tube amps in general with their relatively benign resistive plate impedance tend to mate well with Soundlabs.