Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
Valves can do "accurate and dynamic" as well!!
Quad ESL 57s
- Thread starter Gaius
- Start date
Valves can do "accurate and dynamic" as well!!
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
I found a St20 with 10-11WPC did the job really. This highly modded one was really special though and in a different league to a standard one. Bass was positively "Krell like" in solidity and slam etc.
If you want to listen to AC/DC at live levels or have the zero taste required to like EDM then Quad ESL's are pretty useless anyway!
martin dawson
pfm Member
Hi Mark,
In the mid 70’s I had a 33 / 303 for 4 years when I was persuaded by a dealer to buy a Meridian 101 / 103D. I was told at the time that the Meridian had been modified to work with Quad 57’s.
Big mistake the amp damaged the treble panels and a visit to Huntingdon to Quads factory and Meridian’s had the panels repaired. At the same time visited the Meridian factory where I was told that the amp was standard and had never been modified to work with ELS 57’s. After much deliberation with the dealer 6 months later I was able to get them to take the amps back.
Regards,
Martin
In the mid 70’s I had a 33 / 303 for 4 years when I was persuaded by a dealer to buy a Meridian 101 / 103D. I was told at the time that the Meridian had been modified to work with Quad 57’s.
Big mistake the amp damaged the treble panels and a visit to Huntingdon to Quads factory and Meridian’s had the panels repaired. At the same time visited the Meridian factory where I was told that the amp was standard and had never been modified to work with ELS 57’s. After much deliberation with the dealer 6 months later I was able to get them to take the amps back.
Regards,
Martin
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
They look like capacitors to the power amp at high frequencies (ye olde ESL driving test was and is to drive a load of 8R and 2uF in parallel) and some amps will go unstable with that load.
david ellwood
Kirabosi Kognoscente
You get an 8r and 2u2 load and see if it goes bat shot trying to drive it.
chiily
PFM Special Builder
I have a 160 CB sat around doing nothing. I should try it with the 57s.
I'm using a DIY Threshold Stasis amp atm, about 40W A class per channel and it is lovely. Only 35V rails so shouldn't flash the panels over.
robbyd
pfm Member
The best I've ever heard them (and in some ways the best sound I've ever heard... period.) was a very fit pair of ESL57's driven by a VERY modified Leak Stereo 20 I'd built for the owner and which had separate regulated supplies for every stage (including the output stage) and a complete set of mil spec Mullards. The ECC83's were M8137's, CV numbered EL84's with gold plated pins IIRC and solid state rectification I'd fitted to get the extra voltage overhead for the regulators. With your eyes shut the sensation that the musicians really were in front of you was spooky
could you replicate that build Jez?
camverton
pfm Member
Not side by side but I have had a pair of 57s and three pairs of Martin Logans. My feeling is that Martin Logans get closer to the 57 than the later 63 in terms of making the music come to life. They also share the very narrow sweet spot for listening and are probably best for a single listener. The later Quad ‘05 and ‘12 get closer to the 57 magic and best the lower priced Logans. All great speakers of course and one mans aliveness is another mans in yer face.
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
You know what I've often wondered about that! It would have been around 22 years ago and the mate I did it for is unfortunately no longer with us... His son apparently got his Hi Fi but I have have had no further contact with the family since so getting my hands on it to be able to precisely replicate is not an option.
I can remember pretty much everything I did to it.... and no doubt may be able to come up with further improvements.... but the biggest unknown is which output transformer it used. There were 2 different ones used by Leak and I made no note as to which was fitted to this wonder amplifier. Whether or not it would make a huge difference I couldn't say. I also heard it with 3 types of Spendors as well as the ESL's and it sounded just as amazing with these, within the known capabilities of each speaker of course. It in fact sounded so bloody amazing that any attempt to fully describe the sound would probably be regarded as hype and exaggeration.... all I can say on that is that everyone who heard it was as blown away by it as myself and the lucky owner. It replaced an Exposure IV Dual Regulated in my mates system and it utterly thrashed the Exposure.... even in the areas that you would expect a big SS amp to win on such as bass, slam and PRaT etc (within a 10WPC envelope of course!)
I have designed, built and bench tested a regulator intended to do the biggest job of powering the output stage and to improve on the one I made for the first build but I have never as yet tried it out in my St20... I got it to the point where I was completely confident, from all the bench testing etc, that it was just a case of fitting it and away I go.... and it's been on a shelf for at least 5 years now!
It would be very expensive to replicate that's for sure.... 22 years ago and mates rates IIRC I charged £250 so prob £1000 ish today.
chartz
If it’s broke fix it!
True, ‘57’s require some dedication. But once adopted, or once they have adopted you perhaps, they are exquisite.
But jacks of all trades they are not.
You can’t get anywhere near realistic levels.
That’s the reason why I have also high-efficiency speakers.
The Quads are difficult speakers. But what they can do, no others really can.
But jacks of all trades they are not.
You can’t get anywhere near realistic levels.
That’s the reason why I have also high-efficiency speakers.
The Quads are difficult speakers. But what they can do, no others really can.
JTC
PFM Villager...
I heard realistic levels when I spent an evening with stacked’57s recently. More than enough volume to really fill a reasonable sized room (see other post for pics).
robbyd
pfm Member
Right now I'm listening to my 57s, rebuilt by ES Solutions in the US, along with Janis W1 subs, and they are capable of shaking the house, playing in a big open plan room / I can't go anywhere near max vol levels!!