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Quad 989 ESLs “ordinary speakers are like toilet rolls”

Given that "Buyer collects only, for a demo before taking them", I don't see what the alarm is about. Go there, verify that they work, see the paperwork in person, then leave either plus or minus the speakers...
 
Every Quad Electrostatic speaker can last forever, that's why I bought them with confidence and immediately serviced them.
and it's BEATIFUL.
Click to expand...


That said, I love mine.
Throw away the cheap crap frames, run them naked in bespoke steel frames ( fill the steel box section with cat litter :)).
Replace the bargain basement R/C input with some decent produce.
Add a couple of DSP 12" subs for the bottom Octave and some AMT supertweeters for the Top Octave.
It's like having headphones that fill your room with sound.

No boxes or crossover, very little room excitement and distortion of the lowest magnitude (sic).

Luurvely. :):)
 
misterdog said:
That said, I love mine.
Throw away the cheap crap frames, run them naked in bespoke steel frames ( fill the steel box section with cat litter :)).
Replace the bargain basement R/C input with some decent produce.
Add a couple of DSP 12" subs for the bottom Octave and some AMT supertweeters for the Top Octave.
It's like having headphones that fill your room with sound.

No boxes or crossover, very little room excitement and distortion of the lowest magnitude (sic).

Luurvely. :):)
Click to expand...

Sounds fascinating: are there any pictures please?
 
1642711037200.jpg
 
Wow!
I take it that is one of the 2 subwoofers just in front of the tv? Are those wooden boxes under the speakers the crossovers?
 
No, Monoblock Neurochrome amps, the speakers are run full frequency. The subs are fed from a MiniDSP plate amp. The supertweeters have a simple (ish :rolleyes:) high pass filter.

For scale that is a 55" TV and the speaker panels are almost identical in size.
 
misterdog said:
No, Monoblock Neurochrome amps, the speakers are run full frequency. The subs are fed from a MiniDSP plate amp. The supertweeters have a simple (ish :rolleyes:) high pass filter.

For scale that is a 55" TV and the speaker panels are almost identical in size.
Click to expand...
Mr.D I’ve long admired your set up. Can I clarify your experience that they don’t excite the room- are you talking about frequency response issues such as bass boom or rather, reflections? I’ve now got a room with a lot of reflections and little damping by way of curtains, a hard floor etc. That’s where your comment about giant headphones captured my imagination because I have hearing problems exacerbated by reflections. Would dipoles do nothing to resolve this? Big Tannoys would I feel. I have kef ref 1s in another room and find the coaxial mid/tweeter very good in this respect.
 
misterdog said:
That said, I love mine.
Throw away the cheap crap frames, run them naked in bespoke steel frames ( fill the steel box section with cat litter :)).
Replace the bargain basement R/C input with some decent produce.
Add a couple of DSP 12" subs for the bottom Octave and some AMT supertweeters for the Top Octave.
It's like having headphones that fill your room with sound.

No boxes or crossover, very little room excitement and distortion of the lowest magnitude (sic).

Luurvely. :):)
Click to expand...
I can see a 'which cat litter' thread imminent:)
 
I really miss my 989s, but they won't work in my room as one would have to be near a log burner... Not the best.
 
Many sellers make the 'mistake' of claiming that Quad have fully serviced the speakers.
Quad only replace the panels that have failed, unless you specify otherwise...

Ask me how I know :rolleyes:.

I see many sellers showing a service invoice where maybe 4 or 6 panels have been replaced,,,,,
but there are 12 panels... When they start to fail the others tend to follow suit fairly soon after...
 
TheDecameron said:
Mr.D I’ve long admired your set up. Can I clarify your experience that they don’t excite the room- are you talking about frequency response issues such as bass boom or rather, reflections? I’ve now got a room with a lot of reflections and little damping by way of curtains, a hard floor etc. That’s where your comment about giant headphones captured my imagination because I have hearing problems exacerbated by reflections. Would dipoles do nothing to resolve this? Big Tannoys would I feel. I have kef ref 1s in another room and find the coaxial mid/tweeter very good in this respect.
Click to expand...

I have a solid oak floor, though I fitted sound deadening underlay, a large square bay window behind and a window to the front, and a granite panel fireplace 300mm. to the left of the L/H
speaker. (windows double glazed)
The walls are 600 mm. stone though lined with dot and dab plasterboard. Ceiling is 2.7M high.

In order to create the desired in room SPL the 989's have a membrane surface area of 1.36M2,
compare that to the surface area of whatever speaker cones. Double that for the Dipole effect (subtract whatever cancellation figure).
The Mylar membrane of the 989's weighs nigh on nothing, though is restricted to a maximum excursion of around 1mm to both front and rear. The weight (lack off) allows the start/stop of membrane movement to be almost instantaneous.

Somewhere in the above is why there is little room interaction. And the DSP control of the subs minimises any boom, whilst still providing that pleasing kick in the stomach when required :)

The Quads dig down to C. 40Hz. with ease. The subs do the bottom octave for Synth. bass
and organ pipes.

DkC1_IGUUAAKVBX.jpg
 
misterdog said:
Many sellers make the 'mistake' of claiming that Quad have fully serviced the speakers.
Quad only replace the panels that have failed, unless you specify otherwise...

Ask me how I know :rolleyes:.

I see many sellers showing a service invoice where maybe 4 or 6 panels have been replaced,,,,,
but there are 12 panels... When they start to fail the others tend to follow suit fairly soon after...
Click to expand...
Might it be fair to assume many will need a full overhaul unless the seller is presenting a recent invoice for serivice? That’s how I’ve always viewed it.
It’s years since I head quad esl(63)s and out of three dems , two were underwhelming. Having said that, I’m now curious to see if they would work with my hearing aberrations now compared with box speakers with teeny drivers.
You didn’t address my particular point about refelctions. My guess is that sat in front of such large radiating surfaces, much of the sound would be direct and dominant over the room reflections? That’s what I need. What do you think?
 
If you wish to know the basics of how ESL's sound try the Blue Peter method.
Go to the kitchen and find a ceramic mixing bowl. Stretch some cling film over it ( no tighter than that ! ) so tight that it almost breaks.
Then get a chopstick and use it as a drum stick.

In the centre then around the periphery, cup or soup bowl also work.

ESL's merely use extreme voltage differential to move the membrane through electrostaticisity.

I have as much glass, mirror, granite surface area as wall, though floors and walls also provide reflection.
 
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