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Quads started singing all on their own ...

Jonathan

pfm Member
My (new to me) ESLs just started making a funny whistling noise - quite low level but disconcerting. I thought it was the Qudos amplifier having teething problems so i turned it off ... but NOPE. still there. It sounds a fair bit like a tea kettle or air escaping through a leak in a car door though fairly quiet ... but certainly enough to notice from across the room. any hints?
 
Are these newly purchased, have they been in the room long?

Stats can be prone to condensation causing symptoms like this. Try pointing a small portable heater at them- not too close of course- see if it helps.
 
Are these newly purchased, have they been in the room long?

Stats can be prone to condensation causing symptoms like this. Try pointing a small portable heater at them- not too close of course- see if it helps.


newly purchased but 35 plus years old i'm sure!

condensation? seriously? likely not here - i'm in california where it's hot and dry ... it's only in one of them ... i thought maybe a component from one of the clamping circuits (or whatever is in these things - haven't had a close look yet) was going ...
 
Yes, it used to happen to my stats, though I was only at home at weekends. Unlikely though, given where you live as you say.
 
I had one doing that in 2016.
I spent days trying to figure this with Steve Williams at OTA.
It was an electric radiator next to it, not even heating (it was summer).
I unplugged it and the whistling stopped.
Funny things indeed, ‘statics!
Since then my 57’s have been totally silent when idle.
 
I had one doing that in 2016.
I spent days trying to figure this with Steve Williams at OTA.
It was an electric radiator next to it, not even heating (it was summer).
I unplugged it and the whistling stopped.
Funny things indeed, ‘statics!
Since then my 57’s have been totally silent when idle.


interesting - thanks. seems they've been silent for the last day or so. i was thinking maybe it was a broken resistor or bad diode or something ...
 
Quad panels, whether 57 or 63/9**/2***, deteriorate and making noises is very often one of the symptoms.

The decline can be swift, or, more likely, it can be slow and gradual. These things really do not have
eternal life.
 
Quad panels, whether 57 or 63/9**/2***, deteriorate and making noises is very often one of the symptoms.

The decline can be swift, or, more likely, it can be slow and gradual. These things really do not have
eternal life.

how is that even possible that the PANELS could be making noises on their own? if that's true then they would be doing that also when unplugged, n'est-ce pas?
 
Oh but they do.
Ross Walker in the KK book even mentions the phenomenon.
That said, my 4 year-old OTA ESL 57 panels are silent.
They seem sensitive to noisy external modern appliances though.
 
oh.

so it turns out it's just the right bass panel making the noise. you don't think that could possibly be caused by a cracked resistor etc? i checked around for sources of interference but couldn't really find anything obvious - not even the ceiling light below it
 
Quad panels apply several kilovolts to a closely-toleranced mechanical structure. They rely on sticky tape for maintaining dimensional stability and for keeping moisture and dust out of it. Guess what happens with time, UV light, and temperature cycling ...

By the time my ESL-57s reached 35 years or so, unserviced, they were dull as dishwater. During some periods shortly before the final decline they were howling like banshees.

During the ten years or so I had ESL-63s I had to replace 6 or 7 panels. In one case I just got home with a repaired speaker, only to have the next panel blow violently when I plugged it in.

Quads are high maintenance.
 
35yrs not bad :) On the 63's and for all variants it is a bit like wireless alarms. If one battery goes in a sensor change them all. Surprised you didn't get the 63 panels fully replaced? I have a done pair of 63's for the last 6yrs and never a problem. Same with a done pair of 57's which were probably near 10yrs after a rebuild.

Quad panels apply several kilovolts to a closely-toleranced mechanical structure. They rely on sticky tape for maintaining dimensional stability and for keeping moisture and dust out of it. Guess what happens with time, UV light, and temperature cycling ...

By the time my ESL-57s reached 35 years or so, unserviced, they were dull as dishwater. During some periods shortly before the final decline they were howling like banshees.

During the ten years or so I had ESL-63s I had to replace 6 or 7 panels. In one case I just got home with a repaired speaker, only to have the next panel blow violently when I plugged it in.

Quads are high maintenance.
 
Quad panels apply several kilovolts to a closely-toleranced mechanical structure. They rely on sticky tape for maintaining dimensional stability and for keeping moisture and dust out of it. Guess what happens with time, UV light, and temperature cycling ...

By the time my ESL-57s reached 35 years or so, unserviced, they were dull as dishwater. During some periods shortly before the final decline they were howling like banshees.

During the ten years or so I had ESL-63s I had to replace 6 or 7 panels. In one case I just got home with a repaired speaker, only to have the next panel blow violently when I plugged it in.

Quads are high maintenance.



well it would have been nice if i could have had more than a few hours play time out of them before i started having problems.I was told they were rebuilt by some 'best in the business' person just 12 or 15 years back ...

so this is the actual electrostatic membrane we're talking about here? not the outer coverings? the covering on that particular bass panel is the one that seems to be coming loose the most too ...
 


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