Do I go for SL2s?

Yes. If you can find a pair. 

I assume you know SL2s need to be up against the wall.

S3 posted:

Yes. If you can find a pair. 

What he said. Took me 10 months of searching to find a pair but i also needed them in Maple to match my other n-Sats, n-Cent, n-Sub and FRAIM. I consider myself  very lucky to have found them and that was 8 years ago. 

Good luck in your search for a pair! 

Well worth it if they work in your room.

I've heard Allaes in several locations, passive and active, even briefly tried a pair at home. SL2s (and SBLs) are in a different league altogether. Bear in mind though that both have a very different bass presentation to the ported Allaes.

Case in point, my listening room is small, L-shaped with double brick walls. The Allaes produced far too much bass, even sited as far out into the room as I could practically manage. My active SBLs on the other hand work just fine four inches from the wall. So not a subtle difference.

I think the Allae vs SBL can be compared to new Akito vs old Ittok tonearms. The former is more expensive, yet greatly under-performs its predecessor. SBLs, when correctly installed have their own set of charms-much like the colored Ittok that phrenetically bounces to the pace, serving intent more than accuracy, whereas the Akito cheerfully throws the baby out with the bathwater. 
A 4-pack of 135s is a special stack and deserves something a bit more propulsive than the Allae-even Linn Tukans would excel (and yes, I spend months living with a Tukan-4 pack system). 

I dare say you will enjoy the SL2s, but I can’t help thinking that your system will really deserve a source upgrade. 

Speakers are so personal that it’s hard/dangerous to advise. My only experience of Allaes is at one dealer event where I really liked them - that would be around the time I got my SBLs but I didn’t make any conscious comparisons between them. 

I have just got some SL2s myself (at the weekend) and so far am very pleased - they sound much better in my living room sourced / powered by nds/555, 52/sc, single non dr 300 than in the previous owner’s living room on Hugo 52/52ps 2x250dr active. In fact my SBLs sounded better in my living room than the SL2s did in the previous owners

From discussions I have had with as many people as I can, some people just prefer SBLs to SL2s (estimates of that varied form 20%-30%) and my recent experience suggests the room can play a part. But I am by no means an expert!

i was very fortunate to have been able to have a dem of the SL2s in my own room with my own system that gave me the confidence to splash out on the SL2s- it’s obviously a bit more risky for you

In absolute terms, i.e. each speaker in their optimal room, the SL2s should be much better than Allaes. But there is always the room issue.

I always had problems with too much bass from my Allaes, in my room. When I demoed the SL2s in the home of their previous owner, they were a bit bass light and I immediately had the impression that they should work excellent in my room. Which (with a little help from Linn's Space Optimization) they do now. I mostly listen to classical music.

If you can find SL2s for 2K and have a wall to place them against, you should consider to buy them. And even if they don't work in your room, it should be easy to sell them without loss.

I own SL2s and have briefly owned Allaes. I would say that the SL2 is very much better, provided you can get them very close to a solid brick wall. It may, as Chris mentions above, be worthwhile looking at your source, as a V1 into a 52 and active 135’s, especially with SL2s on the end, could very well be a weak link. 

living in lancs yearning for yorks posted:

Speakers are so personal that it’s hard/dangerous to advise. My only experience of Allaes is at one dealer event where I really liked them - that would be around the time I got my SBLs but I didn’t make any conscious comparisons between them. 

I have just got some SL2s myself (at the weekend) and so far am very pleased - they sound much better in my living room sourced / powered by nds/555, 52/sc, single non dr 300 than in the previous owner’s living room on Hugo 52/52ps 2x250dr active. In fact my SBLs sounded better in my living room than the SL2s did in the previous owners

From discussions I have had with as many people as I can, some people just prefer SBLs to SL2s (estimates of that varied form 20%-30%) and my recent experience suggests the room can play a part. But I am by no means an expert!

i was very fortunate to have been able to have a dem of the SL2s in my own room with my own system that gave me the confidence to splash out on the SL2s- it’s obviously a bit more risky for you

You bought Rob's I think, I was dawdling over deciding whether to go for them or not and once I'd decided you'd bought them. Fair play to you.

I love my Allaes, but loved the SL2s when I heard them years ago.... the only way I will ever know is to buy some and then move them on if they don't work I guess.

I have my Allaes out from the wall but would be much happier to have them against the wall which would be another advantage for the SL2, it's a brick wall too so that is good.

So need to wait for another maple set.... could be a long wait. If you ever want to sell yours please let me know.

SL2s are in a quite different league from the Allaes in my view, and indeed the SBLs, which I owned previously. And as you improve source components etc, they just get better and better. I run mine actively, slightly out from the back wall and slightly toed in, and their clarity and resolution is astonishing when set up well. They have delighted me for the last eight years. (I was lucky to find an absolutely immaculate maple pair on Ebay). Bass reproduction is exceptionally clean, which is why some people have said it is too 'light', but I much prefer it that way . It's just wonderful on classical musical music, which I listen to most of the time.