Just bought some SL3s, need advice on a problem

Hi there, I have just bought a pair of second hand Sl3 speakers and have a problem with them. I figured this might be a good place to look for a solution.

The problem is that the two speakers sound slightly different. One of them seems quite a bit brighter and perhaps a little louder than the other. I have swapped them round etc etc to eliminate any other factor in the difference in sound and I can only conclude it is the speakers themselves. The only thing visually that appears different between the two speakers is that on the one that sounds brighter louder, one of the rails on the side is not sitting flush in place but sticks up from the top of the speaker by a centimeter or two.

I have done a little bit of reading round about the speakers and have read that panel replacement is something that may need to be done on them from time to time. It occurs to me that the previous owner of the speakers may have replaced one of the panels and then perhaps had trouble putting the rail back on fully.

Is a difference in brightness and volume the kind of thing one would expect if one panel were a lot newer than another or are there other components I should check out that might account for the difference in sound?

Also, it would be nice if someone could confirm for me that panels for SL3s are still available, even if the problem i describe is not panel related.

Taschris said:

Hi there, I have just bought a pair of second hand Sl3 speakers and have a problem with them. I figured this might be a good place to look for a solution.

The problem is that the two speakers sound slightly different. One of them seems quite a bit brighter and perhaps a little louder than the other. I have swapped them round etc etc to eliminate any other factor in the difference in sound and I can only conclude it is the speakers themselves. The only thing visually that appears different between the two speakers is that on the one that sounds brighter louder, one of the rails on the side is not sitting flush in place but sticks up from the top of the speaker by a centimeter or two.

I have done a little bit of reading round about the speakers and have read that panel replacement is something that may need to be done on them from time to time. It occurs to me that the previous owner of the speakers may have replaced one of the panels and then perhaps had trouble putting the rail back on fully.

Is a difference in brightness and volume the kind of thing one would expect if one panel were a lot newer than another or are there other components I should check out that might account for the difference in sound?

Also, it would be nice if someone could confirm for me that panels for SL3s are still available, even if the problem i describe is not panel related.

Click to expand...

Contact ML. I would call them (the number is on the web site) and email them with this description. I suggest doing both.

There are a number of people on this site that have SL3's and will probably respond soon.

Taschris said:

Hi there, I have just bought a pair of second hand Sl3 speakers and have a problem with them. I figured this might be a good place to look for a solution.

The problem is that the two speakers sound slightly different. One of them seems quite a bit brighter and perhaps a little louder than the other. I have swapped them round etc etc to eliminate any other factor in the difference in sound and I can only conclude it is the speakers themselves. The only thing visually that appears different between the two speakers is that on the one that sounds brighter louder, one of the rails on the side is not sitting flush in place but sticks up from the top of the speaker by a centimeter or two.

I have done a little bit of reading round about the speakers and have read that panel replacement is something that may need to be done on them from time to time. It occurs to me that the previous owner of the speakers may have replaced one of the panels and then perhaps had trouble putting the rail back on fully.

Is a difference in brightness and volume the kind of thing one would expect if one panel were a lot newer than another or are there other components I should check out that might account for the difference in sound?

Also, it would be nice if someone could confirm for me that panels for SL3s are still available, even if the problem i describe is not panel related.

Click to expand...

This is supposed to be an indication that the panels themselves are coming to the end of their lives and need to be replaced.

I suggest that you look at the serial numbers on the panels. They should be consecutively numbered. If not, it is perhaps the case that only one panel was replaced. Do a search here; there is a date decoder that tells you how to determine when a component was built.

BTW the last two posts are an abject illustration of one of my pet peeves on this site - people unnecessarily quoting large posts. It makes for very long threads - you have to scroll through the useless quotes to read the post. In this case I see no reason at all for the quotes.

Thanks so much for the helpful replies to my questions.

I have contacted ML who replied incredibly quickly and suggested either vacuuming or double panel replacement. I have also used the decoder to determine when the date of the speakers and panels. The numbers for the speakers are SEGC528, SEGC529 and for the panels it is SS3OA704, SS3OA705. If I have used the decoder correctly this means that the speakers themselves where made in 95 and replacement panels were made/fitted in 2003. Both number groups are consecutive so there should not be any age balance issue between sides.

It is interesting to discover that the speakers are a full 15 years old and what I am thinking now is that if the panels needed replacing 8 years after purchase it may well be time to replace them again.

I guess what it would be great to know before I go spending another $650 on new panels is whether there are other components on a 15 year old set of SL3s that might wear out or need replacing at this stage or should I reasonably expect to get another 8 out of them if I buy new panels.

Taschris said:

...should I reasonably expect to get another 8 out of them if I buy new panels.

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I have 15 years on my Aerius panels, so I can't imagine why you should only get 8 years out of new panels.

I have 10 years on my SL3 panels, and they are still going strong. Nothing else in the speakers should be breaking down, but ML is your best bet.

You can switch the power supplies around and see if the problem follows them or not.
It also sounds like you need to reseat the trim panel on the one speaker a five minute job. Who knows that might just be making your slight difference in sound.

I replaced my panels on my SL3's after 12 years. Nothing was overtly wrong. They just weren't doing that ML thing that we love. I thought it was my hearing,or the (god forbid) need to upgrade. This was,in retrospect,going on over a year or so.
Based on advice from the forum, I did replace the panels with great results.

There has been much discussion on life of the panels and there seems to be a range based on use,care, exposure to elements,etc.

I would suggest listening to another pair if possible as a reference. If you are near Delaware,you are welcome to contact me.
I'm not sure if xovers,power supplies,etc can cause your problem also. I'll let others more knowledgable comment.

The speakers are a great value and with new panels should be very satisfying.
Good Luck!

Taschris said:

I guess what it would be great to know before I go spending another $650 on new panels is whether there are other components on a 15 year old set of SL3s that might wear out or need replacing at this stage or should I reasonably expect to get another 8 out of them if I buy new panels.

Click to expand...

I've never determined the production date of the panels themselves by utilizing that decoder. The speakers yes, the panels no. Someone else can comment.

I have however owned every version of ML speakers produced before 2001. And in that time I've only once had to replace a pair of panels, which were from a pair of CLSIIz's. The Monolith III's I sold a few months back were produced in '99 and the original panels played superbly. The Aerius I's doing rear duty in my HT system were produced in '98 and they too operate normally. It's not uncommon to get 15 years or more from a set of panels. Panel lifespan is generally determined by how they're maintained, i.e., vacuuming etc. 8 years out of a panel, in my experience, is unheard of so I take issue with the date you're using to suggest the panels are only 8 years old. Call ML and ask when your panels were produced.

$650 for a pair of new SL3 panels is kind of a no brainer for the amount of pleasure one would receive from them over the years. Beyond that, there may come a time that ordering a pair of SL3 panels at all could become an issue, as ML themselves will tell you they don't know how much longer they're going to produce panels for the older generation of their speakers. So common sense would dictate that for anyone owning the older original generation of speakers, run, don't walk, to order a pair of panels now while you can still get them. One used to be able to obtain a pair of panels almost immediately, but because of parts availability for the older generation speakers ML tells everyone a panel order will take 6-8 weeks to fulfill.

SL3's are a great speaker, and offer a lot of performance especially at todays used prices. I'm not talking about AG used prices, which most are absurd, but Craigs. Use the Tempest search engine to search Craig's all across the country and you'll find some real steals there. I've found Ascent I's for $1100, CLS IIz's with Arcici stands for $1k. I had the opportunity to buy a pair locally weeks ago listed on Craig's for $800. I passed because they were a 2nd generation SL3 with the gold rear posts, thereby almost due for a panel replacement. I wouldn't have hesitated had they been the final version produced with the red/black hand tightened rear posts, which I've acquired locally for $1k. Good luck.