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Are my Quad Esl 63s off colour?

camverton said:
Only?

“Dismantling isn’t particularly difficult and, other than not being inebriated, is within the abilities of anyone who is reasonably handy, careful and methodical.”

Which I stand by. The inebriation bit was a bit of humour whilst making the point that servicing should not be undertaken unless in an attentive state. They are potentially dangerous devices although they probably have to have Ozzy Osbourne at full volume to be so.

Humour; I had assumed that Americans understand humour, after all they elected Trump ;).
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So what is the percentage of Quad owners who buy the speakers new would fit your criteria for self repair?

Additionally, wouldn't a requirement for undertaking DIY repair be available time? As well as available funds to procure either Quad factory replacement panels or the home-made ones from independent businesses?

I found both Quad and Magnepan to be very difficult to live with, as both companies produce their designs with low technology methods and not well thought out materials (glue, for example). The first is not always a bad thing, but to be reliable the work force must be highly trained (and highly paid). However, if an item is essentially produced with manual labor, it would be typically very difficult to service in the home, absent tools, jigs etc.

The only planar speaker I found to be reliable and affordable is the EmTech 8B. But they required complete reworking of the amplification chain, which was highly tuned to Quads during that speaker's ownership.
 
Thuringen if you have not considered it before would suggest that you contact A Quad Thing who are in Leicester . Andrew is very knowledgeable and experienced in Quad ESL units and is just finishing the full refurbishment including a respray of the Covers to black . I had his name given by another person on Wam who owns ESL 57 and can only say i am glad i took his advice . Not only is the work excellent but I was truthfully surprised that the cost of the work was not as expensive as I thought.
I know One Thing Audio are very good (Andrew at At Quad Thing is related to the owner of One Thing ) but it is always worth getting a second opinion . Leicester is not that far away from Coventry and depending were you are coming from may be closer . In the first instance e-mail Andrew on [email protected] and give him details he might be able to help .
 
Dowser said:
If I recall, I fixed mine while bladdered :)
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Well, that just proves the point! As to what the point is, along with the will to live, is now in doubt. I suspect the real point of this thread is who is going to have the last word; any guesses who that might be ;).
 
Well, to revive an old thread, the ESL63s are definitely off colour now. The left speaker seems to have run out of steam altogether. There is none of the classic ESL failure symptoms, just markedly reduced volume combined with a dullness to the sound. I rang OT Audio, and they have no repair availability for the foreseeable future, so I'm a bit shafted. In classic HiFi catastrophe mode, the failure happened just as I was awaiting delivery of my new (to me) power amp, the Primare A60 at the bottom of the middle rack.

So, to check everything out, I brought the £30 ebay TDL Nucleus 3s up from the bedroom, and lo! although they're no ESL63s, on the end of the A60 they sound far better than they have any right to. Slightly uncouth compared with the electrostatics, but a surprisingly big sound.

I'll still (probably) want to get the 63s repaired, although that looks as though it might take a while. They're OT Audio rebuilds, so I don't think Quad themselves are an option. Or maybe something else altogether ? HiFi Gear in Hereford has some trade-in ProAc D18s. I like the look of them, and the room's better without the Quads, but how do ProAcs sound ? Anyone have any relevant experience ? There seems to be a dearth of ESLs in the usual places at the moment.

Bu**er !
https://ibb.co/6bsYQ56
The TDLs fit in quite nicely ...

852f31a2-e08d-4c6f-af34-65bf7b2852c2.jpg


Humble Nucleus 3s, around £190 a pair when new, I think, vinyl wrap, but well done.
774f5cdb-d7d8-4170-91f9-30c4bf130b80.jpg


Must tidy the spaghetti sometime ! Anyone in Herefordshire / south Shropshire want some HiFi mags ? :)
 
The trouble with using Electrostatics is that it difficult to be satisfied with the sound from boxes for ever after. I did try proacs for a while at a time when my quads were poorly. Initially quite impressive but in the long term I couldn’t get over the fact that it was obvious I was listening to hifi rather than the music. Hifi Gear in Hereford is my local hifi shop, although as he ruefully admitted they don’t stock much of which I might be interested in, I did buy a Qutest from them though.
 
camverton said:
The trouble with using Electrostatics is that it difficult to be satisfied with the sound from boxes for ever after. I did try proacs for a while at a time when my quads were poorly. Initially quite impressive but in the long term I couldn’t get over the fact that it was obvious I was listening to hifi rather than the music. Hifi Gear in Hereford is my local hifi shop, although as he ruefully admitted they don’t stock much of which I might be interested in, I did buy a Qutest from them though.
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I miss English Audio :(. I always got good advice from Adrian. I've only popped into HiFi Gear a couple of times, once when they were out on the industrial estate, and a couple of years ago (around the time I started this thread) into their new shop. There wasn't much in stock that appealed. :(

I can't understand how to insert pictures reliably on PFM. Two of the three worked, but the first didn't, although I did just the same as the other two ! Weird.
 
camverton said:
The trouble with using Electrostatics is that it difficult to be satisfied with the sound from boxes for ever after. I did try proacs for a while at a time when my quads were poorly. Initially quite impressive but in the long term I couldn’t get over the fact that it was obvious I was listening to hifi rather than the music. Hifi Gear in Hereford is my local hifi shop, although as he ruefully admitted they don’t stock much of which I might be interested in, I did buy a Qutest from them though.
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So you went back to electrostatics in the end ?
 
Currently using a pair of 2812s which are very impressive speakers. I also listen to an entry model MBL omni. Whilst the Quads have better sound quality, the MBLs are better at producing a “holographic” image. Sadly the better MBL models command a much higher price. The trouble with omnis and dipoles is that there is no going back.
 
Loss of volume will be the HT boards, lower voltage, lower excursion. Nearly every other failure modes results in ticks, pops and flashing lights.
 
sq225917 said:
Loss of volume will be the HT boards, lower voltage, lower excursion. Nearly every other failure modes results in ticks, pops and flashing lights.
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Thanks. That's what Steve at OTA suggested. An easy fix, if you can whield a soldering iron. I have one, but I'm not very good. Maybe I should pluck up courage. I suppose I couldn't do too much harm, and it would be easy enough for OTA (eventually) to put right if I bu**ered it up. Loin-girding time.

I'm still amazed at how good the TDLs sound on the end of the rest of the system.
 
Can’t see there’s any going back to box speakers after you’ve lived with these, as others have said...
 
eisenach said:
Well, to revive an old thread, the ESL63s are definitely off colour now. The left speaker seems to have run out of steam altogether. There is none of the classic ESL failure symptoms, just markedly reduced volume combined with a dullness to the sound. I rang OT Audio, and they have no repair availability for the foreseeable future, so I'm a bit shafted. In classic HiFi catastrophe mode, the failure happened just as I was awaiting delivery of my new (to me) power amp, the Primare A60 at the bottom of the middle rack.
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Maybe these people can help

http://www.quadesl.org.uk/
 
eisenach said:
ProAc D18s. I like the look of them, and the room's better without the Quads, but how do ProAcs sound ? Anyone have any relevant experience ?
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Had original Response 3, 3.5 and 4s. Lovely speakers; easy load and pretty efficient (89 dB approx.), good imaging and utterly musical yet dynamic. These after Briks and others. Don't know about the D series, but that port in the base does solve a few positional prob's. My 2905s followed the R4s and are still with me. Friend has 2812s and they are very good indeed (his and mine on valves)

I've got a pair of Nucleus 1s wasting space in an upstairs room. Pitted them against my JPW Monitor Golds and I slightly preferred the TDLs; same size too.
 
eisenach, I have no experience of electrostatics (which won't fit in my room), but I wonder whether you might like omnidirectional speakers if that "out-of-the-box" thing is important to you. Omnis are easy to position and to live with - as camverton said, once you become accustomed to their presentation there is no going back.

I currently have bottom-of-the-range Duevel Planets, and am sufficiently besotted with them that I am getting a pair of Duevel Venuses to be my see-me-out speakers. When the Venuses arrive, the Planets will be available for loan; or you could have an initial listen at my house (I'm in Shrewsbury, so not too far away). We have similar tastes in music, so just maybe what I find so satisfying would appeal to you too...
 
marshanp said:
eisenach, I have no experience of electrostatics (which won't fit in my room), but I wonder whether you might like omnidirectional speakers if that "out-of-the-box" thing is important to you. Omnis are easy to position and to live with - as camverton said, once you become accustomed to their presentation there is no going back.

I currently have bottom-of-the-range Duevel Planets, and am sufficiently besotted with them that I am getting a pair of Duevel Venuses to be my see-me-out speakers. When the Venuses arrive, the Planets will be available for loan; or you could have an initial listen at my house (I'm in Shrewsbury, so not too far away). We have similar tastes in music, so just maybe what I find so satisfying would appeal to you too...
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That's very interesting and an extremely generous offer. I've just looked up some of the reviews, and they seem intriguing. I think I may have the HiFi World review from 2007 in a pile of old mags, somewhere.
Let me know when your new speakers arrive, and maybe we can fix something. (What colour are they, by the way ? The red looks quite cool ! )
 
marshanp said:
eisenach, I have no experience of electrostatics (which won't fit in my room), but I wonder whether you might like omnidirectional speakers if that "out-of-the-box" thing is important to you. Omnis are easy to position and to live with - as camverton said, once you become accustomed to their presentation there is no going back.

I currently have bottom-of-the-range Duevel Planets, and am sufficiently besotted with them that I am getting a pair of Duevel Venuses to be my see-me-out speakers. When the Venuses arrive, the Planets will be available for loan; or you could have an initial listen at my house (I'm in Shrewsbury, so not too far away). We have similar tastes in music, so just maybe what I find so satisfying would appeal to you too...
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There must be something in omni the air along these border counties!

Unfortunately I haven't heard the Duevel speakers but did recently have a listen to a pair of German Physiks, better than the baby MBLs I own and perhaps on a par with MBL 116s. As with an electrostatic you get that clean fast sound that is not constrained to the speakers but with more of a 3D illusion of the performer in front of one which a panel can't quite deliver to the same degree. Certainly for classical music there is no going back once stats are heard and then no going back once a true omni is heard. As with electrostatics, omnis are best for those who want a realistic illusion of the original sound rather than a "hifi" effect.
 
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