I bought two pairs of ESL57 in London in 1995. At that time with the help of loots, it was a large magazine for private classifieds, way before the web. By the way, I saw much more of London than any average tourist because of the trips to the addresses. It was a great time that I would not want to miss. Likewise, I had bought four Quad II, all still very original and inexpensive. Well, it was almost 30 years ago.
I have heard in the 90s very much this ESL57. For 5 years I had them "stacked" so arranged one above the other per channel in a custom made steel rack.
At that time I had close relations with Les Wong, he worked at KJ West one in New Cavendish Street in W1. Later he founded Walrus Hifi in New Quebec Street. He gave me many tips for second hand purchase and I made good purchases. Of course I had also bought many new products from him, for me and for many friends. I remember that once I had a whole Mercedes Sprinter full of good hifi products. At that time an Audiolab 8000A cost more than double in Germany. Also Spendor SP 1/2 or Cyrus amps, or a Meridian 508 CD player.
Enough of the beautiful memories...
What I want to say. I reactivated one of the two pairs of ESL57 last week. Both pairs had been dormant for 25 years, but stored very well, dry and at room temperature. My two pairs have serial numbers of 30xxx and 50xxx. To be honest, I was a little scared about reactivation...but there was no sparking, popping or any other problem.
But now it's getting interesting. I could remember the pair with the 30xxx serial numbers sounding just a little bit clearer and more natural almost 30 years ago though the 1980 pair which had even a tag that it had service at Quad in 1983.
And today? I have been listening to the 1980 pair for a week now. Nice that it plays well. It has the usual weaknesses described on the net, a bit quiet and a muffled bass. According to several websites, the bass panels were not treated with the expensive Mylar but with a cheaper ingredients, only the tweeter panel got mylar. That is why the resonant frequency of the bass panels change to the upper bass notes causing a muffled sound overall.
So I thought, ok, this is normal for a 43 year old ESL57. By the way, these speakers needed about a full day of static charging before they sounded ok.
Today I plugged in the even older 1973 pair for the first time in 30 years. I didn't have high expectations. This pair has never been in service at Quad, it is totally original. Even though you might think the diodes are weakened to reach 1500 and 6000 volts, the panels are worn out and flabby, the carbon resistors have totally gone up in ohm value...I'm shocked at how good these old things sound. And it sounded quite good after charging a few hours only. Honestly I would not change anything because they sound so open fresh and pleasant and clear that it is a pure joy. When a product has an obvious need to be restored then I immediately agree. But my gut tells me that these 1973 ESL57 still sound so good to my ears that I will not change anything, at least for the upcoming time.
In fact, I played both pairs for checking to sell them, so they work. But now I will definitely keep the 1973 pair. It is so good also in Relations to my LS 3/5a and Klipsch Lascala from 1977.
Why is the difference in durability between the 1973 pair and the 1980 pair so significant?
I don't have an explanation but it is a more than significant difference. Did Quad change anything in the material between 1973 and 1980?
Thanks for any feedback.
BTW, I listened with Quad II set to 16 ohm in the 90s (I still have them) and now with a 306, both match the ESL57 very well.
I have heard in the 90s very much this ESL57. For 5 years I had them "stacked" so arranged one above the other per channel in a custom made steel rack.
At that time I had close relations with Les Wong, he worked at KJ West one in New Cavendish Street in W1. Later he founded Walrus Hifi in New Quebec Street. He gave me many tips for second hand purchase and I made good purchases. Of course I had also bought many new products from him, for me and for many friends. I remember that once I had a whole Mercedes Sprinter full of good hifi products. At that time an Audiolab 8000A cost more than double in Germany. Also Spendor SP 1/2 or Cyrus amps, or a Meridian 508 CD player.
Enough of the beautiful memories...
What I want to say. I reactivated one of the two pairs of ESL57 last week. Both pairs had been dormant for 25 years, but stored very well, dry and at room temperature. My two pairs have serial numbers of 30xxx and 50xxx. To be honest, I was a little scared about reactivation...but there was no sparking, popping or any other problem.
But now it's getting interesting. I could remember the pair with the 30xxx serial numbers sounding just a little bit clearer and more natural almost 30 years ago though the 1980 pair which had even a tag that it had service at Quad in 1983.
And today? I have been listening to the 1980 pair for a week now. Nice that it plays well. It has the usual weaknesses described on the net, a bit quiet and a muffled bass. According to several websites, the bass panels were not treated with the expensive Mylar but with a cheaper ingredients, only the tweeter panel got mylar. That is why the resonant frequency of the bass panels change to the upper bass notes causing a muffled sound overall.
So I thought, ok, this is normal for a 43 year old ESL57. By the way, these speakers needed about a full day of static charging before they sounded ok.
Today I plugged in the even older 1973 pair for the first time in 30 years. I didn't have high expectations. This pair has never been in service at Quad, it is totally original. Even though you might think the diodes are weakened to reach 1500 and 6000 volts, the panels are worn out and flabby, the carbon resistors have totally gone up in ohm value...I'm shocked at how good these old things sound. And it sounded quite good after charging a few hours only. Honestly I would not change anything because they sound so open fresh and pleasant and clear that it is a pure joy. When a product has an obvious need to be restored then I immediately agree. But my gut tells me that these 1973 ESL57 still sound so good to my ears that I will not change anything, at least for the upcoming time.
In fact, I played both pairs for checking to sell them, so they work. But now I will definitely keep the 1973 pair. It is so good also in Relations to my LS 3/5a and Klipsch Lascala from 1977.
Why is the difference in durability between the 1973 pair and the 1980 pair so significant?
I don't have an explanation but it is a more than significant difference. Did Quad change anything in the material between 1973 and 1980?
Thanks for any feedback.
BTW, I listened with Quad II set to 16 ohm in the 90s (I still have them) and now with a 306, both match the ESL57 very well.
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