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New Quad ESL57 stands...

Dowser

Dowser

Learning to bodge again..
A friend here in Ireland (Fran @ TirnaHiFi.org - posts on here a bit too, but mostly in DIY) rebuilt an old set of 57s recently, and then designed some stands for them. As they lift the speaker higher off the ground I also got a set. Fitted them last week, and very impressed I am too! They look great (I like the plain finish, but you can stain them if you wanted to I guess), and have an adjustable back foot that allows you to vary the listening angle all the way up to vertical (where they are still stable).

I know Fran has tha CAD files available, so could potentially have his arm twisted into making some more if anyone is interested :)

The 57s replace 63s that I have been using for last 12 months or so - I think I prefer the 57s, but it is too soon to tell - need to listen a little longer and then try swapping back again.

Photos below;

I used some brown rubber stick on draught exluder between the stand and original grill on this side - it looks better to me, and grips the grill better (I never refitted the staples when I rebuilt the EHT units) - I must go back and do the other side now. I also spent some time getting the routing to perfectly match the curve at the top of the grill - it isn't visible, so not sure why I bothered, but I feel better for having done it!;

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You can see the single additional screw into the original frame to give more strength to the structure - the side cheek screws do not go that far into the wood (not would you want them to...too far and you'll damage the panels). I took it even further on the other speaker, adding another screw at the top too (see below);

5679526925_2743b9fccb_o.jpg


I put an additional screw at the top to this one (you can just see it to the right of the top brass side-cheek screw - too much sun, sorry!), and will go back and do the other side too soon;

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This is the side without the draught excluder, and without the additional routing to match top of OE grill;

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Richard
 
Hooray! Up the Irish! The front legs look a wee bit like Manfred Stein's modified legs at Quad Musikwiedergabe:

CF000060_1.jpg
 
they look the biz Richard, do you find they improve the sound significantly?

(and yes it's myself from Dublin 6!)
 
Hi Ivor - I hadn't listened to them for around a year I guess, and they were on slightly lower stands then. I remember thinking the 63s were a decent improvement when they went in...but that's how I feel having put the 57s back in place... :) I need to finally decide which I prefer, or I am buggered when/if I move to a smaller place!

Hi Fox - you mean remove the grills and replace with something ESL63-esque, or that I should be talking to my wife about wearing apparel that suit their look? :)

Richard
 
Dowser said:
Hi Ivor - I hadn't listened to them for around a year I guess, and they were on slightly lower stands then. I remember thinking the 63s were a decent improvement when they went in...but that's how I feel having put the 57s back in place... :) I need to finally decide which I prefer, or I am buggered when/if I move to a smaller place!
Click to expand...

63s have the point source and more bass. I think 57s can sound like more by having less. What they do, they do well. The absence of an attempt to do anything else actually makes them sound cleaner and more direct than if they actually reproduced more.
 
Understood Jonathan - the 63s will go back in in a month or so which should give a categoric preference.

Tones - I suspect Manfred's design was an influence, although I prefer the cleaner look of only having the legs, and the additional height.

Richard
 
hello Dowser , i 've a pair of quad esl 57, can you please send me or publish here the drawings to build my own stands for the freds? I think it could be useful for all the quad 57 owners,
thanks in advance
ciao,
sergio
 
Thanks Richard for the kind words.


They are indeed based on the Quad msui... ones, but I wanted to be able to play with the rake a bit, so I added a simple adjustment mechanism to the rear leg. Also, the idea here was that you could fit these to any 57s without having to remove either the front or back grille. Even the rear leg uses the same screw holes as the original little peg leg.

I also raised them higher - this definitely augments the bass without losing anything. Having the rake adjustable also makes a big difference (I've even found this with my stacked pair), in my room dead vertical sound best, although that may vary from room to room. The way the legs are set up, the speaker isn't "tippy" when vertical.

I had these made up by a CNC machine house near me from baltic birch ply. I made a couple of sets (one for me and some for a few friends). If there is interest I can get some more made up. Cost would be about €120 per set plus shipping (about €20-25 to the UK).

If anyone is interested let me know.


Fran
 
Hello Fran, i ask to you as dowser didnt reply to pm and to my post on the public thread , could be to have the drawings with the measures to build my own quad esl57 stands ?
Thank you in advance ,
have a good day.
sergio



fran said:
Thanks Richard for the kind words.


They are indeed based on the Quad msui... ones, but I wanted to be able to play with the rake a bit, so I added a simple adjustment mechanism to the rear leg. Also, the idea here was that you could fit these to any 57s without having to remove either the front or back grille. Even the rear leg uses the same screw holes as the original little peg leg.

I also raised them higher - this definitely augments the bass without losing anything. Having the rake adjustable also makes a big difference (I've even found this with my stacked pair), in my room dead vertical sound best, although that may vary from room to room. The way the legs are set up, the speaker isn't "tippy" when vertical.

I had these made up by a CNC machine house near me from baltic birch ply. I made a couple of sets (one for me and some for a few friends). If there is interest I can get some more made up. Cost would be about €120 per set plus shipping (about €20-25 to the UK).

If anyone is interested let me know.


Fran
Click to expand...
 
Sorry Sergio,

I don't have plans to give you. I made up a set myself and then had the CNC house work from my templates.

If you have a set of 57s, and the ability to make them, then you really doesn't require a set of plans to work from :)

Fran
 
fran said:
Sorry Sergio,

I don't have plans to give you. I made up a set myself and then had the CNC house work from my templates.

If you have a set of 57s, and the ability to make them, then you really doesn't require a set of plans to work from :)

Fran
Click to expand...


No problem Fran...thanks anyway...it have also to be said that this thread seems more an advertise than a spontaneous 3d, may be is in the wrong section?
 
Wow - back from the dead, or what. My 57s are still in Ireland, I ended up choosing to keep the 63s when I moved back to Switzerland - in an ideal world I’d keep a set of both, always :)

@Robert Brown - despite Sergiox’s stupid comment, these were never commercially available, it was just a small group buy organized by the owner of an Irish Hifi forum.
 
Dowser said:
Wow - back from the dead, or what. My 57s are still in Ireland, I ended up choosing to keep the 63s when I moved back to Switzerland - in an ideal world I’d keep a set of both, always :)

@Robert Brown - despite Sergiox’s stupid comment, these were never commercially available, it was just a small group buy organized by the owner of an Irish Hifi forum.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. I will keep looking for diagrams although I guess I could take my ESL's apart and take the existing stands to a woodworker. Detailed plans would really help.
 
Thanks for that: I hadn't spotted that the thread is seven years old (obviously!).

May be worth a try, though.
 
In the absence of any drawings, if anyone needs them and can settle for some dimension ed sketches then I could knock some up from these photos. They wouldn't be identical but they don't need to be. Just say, I'll measure my 57s and scale it from there.
 
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