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Quad ESL 57 in small room (with my pix now working)

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This would work with shorter "legs" on the stands, too, and allow me to slant them downwards at the same time. However, the design looks clunky. I would make them from solid wood. This would also allow the stands to be used if I were to put them on the floor at some point.
 
Can't see photos on my PC, tablet or mobile phone.


Rosewind said:
Here are the Quad ESL-57s on top of each bookshelf. I am slowly filing the shelves with books, vinyl and what not. When that is done, I will hook up the ESL-57s to the Stereo and have a listen. Then comes the figuring out how to tilt the 57s forward without endangering the speakers themselves and me. It will make for great fun. I just hope I am not living in The Truman Show.

Photos, finally:
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h0KY9TJx1iLrrkQ6zIe90TmWTY1EmfGejo8G7KBOJwmtfK2ukx27E21BKrf8GjqKl_ziL2V-zWTEHW6Fn7mVz1oouEx34S2hCEb9YRRcwryj4H8Vs7nFISU-kO-Gm-pOps3wYcG80IGYybBRqHrlP7RhMTyFNH7A0twrdzykXlqb0dyK92s0kbb-4XItSksbJUqtAgsERcOb8yda84gpjY_S3whL31jPyv-lgUAPre2CIAnZXxiWfPjcp0O1deaY1leydhzgi4ArJuMbrEuVtWyEk5UdSn5cwBEw-JfSchRYc9WW7WakN4F5s_2DNxmc-Kb9cnRXhWF45HCleL30QrcZ9gZ2HQHeFuHa_OE8vvImCgnoJZyIajH9Yb6cCODcdAnqi2D6dk6lANyl7ZTOh3FpFQmnJXIXqvkwhRcwvzrKYMhtoiIhln8kMTQzckM8oejhSjT9wZqKoi-OCgCTyNG29Sged4UEGjqOs90WlY-bI8irRQaHsIptzBk91rrOMG2UWQCgVzQ6ItuNgnmoI8wBAWQ9YGrfc5bWuLQbH2rdE0aW78W50I1pCcV15d4lrZXpSY8LAeKw_cVBbcevNmxGa10Ilxda3SY4KUE=w1170-h917-no

AF1QipPCzzMPAO8VHDU0iLSN5S9dCTzhg_mz5V_PL7eQ
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Here are the images of my two ESL 57s placed on top of the two shelves. They are next to my desk on either side of a window:
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I have replaced the two screws holding the sides at the top with metal holders. These will be used to attach wires to the back wall / side wall / ceiling (whatever works the best and the safest)
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I have put 4 soft rubber feet at the front of the ESL 57s because these will be the resting points when the speakers are tilted forward- here's a close-up of one of them:
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imgur is my friend
 
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One Quad secured halfway = attached in one side. If you look carefully, you can see the second hook:
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I stand on the shoulders of others. I hope that they don't dance off the shelves. It remains to be seen if the small rubber feet will keep them in place at the bottom or they will slide backwards until they touch the walls.

I will now go in and mount the wires so I can hook the speakers up for a first listen.
 
You are indeed correct, Sir. I've always run mine off the 15 / 16 ohm tap on my vintage valve amps. I guess one could experiment with the 8 ohm option , but 4 ohm would be a bit risque for me.
 
The ESL 57s need to be angled down towards me quite a lot and rather precisely, otherwise the treble energy disappears above my head. The right ESL 57 wasn't angled down enough so it sounded like it wasn't working. I had to take off the long wire on it in order to enable it to be angled down enough. But then I must say that it is like wearing giant headphones indeed.

I am listening to Leonard Cohen's OLD IDEAS and YOU WANT IT DARKER albums. It is as if I am right in the music. It is a similar experience as when I had Magnepans 1.7s in here however, these do not sound quite a resolved/bright at the end of the EAR 869 as the Magnepans sounded with solid state amps.

I suppose that the limited treble extension of the Quad ESL 57 also helps. However, because I am an old man, I probably don't miss anything abover 14-15Khz, sad as that may be. Still, the Magnepans did something to my ears. Most likely because of their highy resolved treble panels. The Quad 57s sound as good but without making my ears ring.

EDIT: I am using the 16 ohm tap. Will change to the 8 ohm tap tomorrow to find out if i can hear any difference.
 
monstrous lie said:
I thought ESL57s had a nominal impedance of 16 Ohm?
ML
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Actual Z varies quite a bit for the '57 and is 2 Ohms or lower at HF.

brecklandboy said:
You are indeed correct, Sir. I've always run mine off the 15 / 16 ohm tap on my vintage valve amps. I guess one could experiment with the 8 ohm option , but 4 ohm would be a bit risque for me.
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A typical valve amp may not be able to adequately drive a low Z load from its higher Z taps.
 
I'm not a technical expert but given that the impedance swing of the ESL57 ranges from around 2 to 32 ohm from memory, 8 or 16 ohm would seem to be a reasonable compromise. The old Quad 2 amps were factory wired' for the higher impedance value . Most vintage ( valve) amplifiers apparently have a higher internal output impedance when compared to modern offerings which helps when driving 'stats. I can't comment specifically on the EAR range . Maybe the manufacturer, if approached, could offer some guidance here as TdePV is reputed to be a fan of the speaker.
 
brecklandboy said:
I'm not a technical expert but given that the impedance swing of the ESL57 ranges from around 2 to 32 ohm from memory, 8 or 16 ohm would seem to be a reasonable compromise. The old Quad 2 amps were factory wired' for the higher impedance value . Most vintage ( valve) amplifiers apparently have a higher internal output impedance when compared to modern offerings which helps when driving 'stats. I can't comment specifically on the EAR range . Maybe the manufacturer, if approached, could offer some guidance here as TdePV is reputed to be a fan of the speaker.
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It is the not the average but the low impedance that causes problems, so best to use the lowest Z taps.
E.g. see: https://www.stereophile.com/content/ear-890-power-amplifier-measurements

Notice how distortion rises into lower impedances.
 
On my EAR 509s I am now using the 16 Ohm tap. When I have listened for a day or two, I will try the 8 ohm tap.

With regard to final placement of the speakers, I will let them stay where they are for now.Later I will want to place them a bit more angled out in front of me in order to create a more conventional sound stage ahead of me. Now it sounds as if I am in the middle of the music.
 
Now I have an EAR 802 preamp in my house and with the EAR 509s and Quad ESL 57 I am close to whatever heaven I belong in. The EAR 802 is still cold but the music that flows through the system is very moving. I am listening to Leonard Cohens last album and his voice sounds real and deep and raspy. I am close to being where I want to be. I just sold om the EAR 869s and will now have to sell off two more power amps out of three: Power-amped Quad Classic II integrated / EAR 516 / EAR 509. I know which I would like to keep.

As for thre 8 ohm or 16 ohm testing, it has been interrupted by the arrival of the EAR 802.
 
A I understand it Quad always shipped Quad IIs on the 16 Ohm tap as it was right for the ESL in their opinion. The 303, which was designed for the ESL, seems optimised for 16 Ohms too (which is why it is a good match with LS3/5As, JR149s etc).
 
Until very recently over the course of 25 years, I have always run my ( single) pair of Quad ESL57s on the 16 ohm tap on my various vintage valve amplifiers. Having just gone 'stacked' and using the parallel speaker connection method advocated by Quad, which theoretically halves the nominal load ' seen ' by the amplifier to 8 ohm, I decided to experiment with the 8 ohm tap on the output transformer of my current 40 plus 40 watt valve amplifier thinking this might be a ' better' match.

Having now swapped back, I find that the 16 ohm tap remains preferable to me.

Lots of variables involved here, I know but I was quite surprised at the outcome having assumed that the lower tap selection would win out in the listening stakes.
 
Tony L said:
A I understand it Quad always shipped Quad IIs on the 16 Ohm tap as it was right for the ESL in their opinion. The 303, which was designed for the ESL, seems optimised for 16 Ohms too (which is why it is a good match with LS3/5As, JR149s etc).
Click to expand...

When I use my ST20 with the 57s I always prefer the 16ohm setting. The 8 ohm gives an initial impression of more midrange clarity but soon becomes wearing. The 4 ohm setting is just to bright and lean.

Errol.
 
Yes. The ESL 57s work well here and very much like giant headphones with the sound not appearing ahead of me. It is as if I am sitting within the music like with headphones. I will try to move my speakers a little in ahead of me to see if this will make them give me a sound stage ahead of me. But if not, I can live happily with them this way.
 
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