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Quad ESL57 refurbishment advice sought - UK

M

morrisman68

New Member
I first heard a pair of ESL57s in 1979 and was hooked. I bought my first two (they weren't a pair) in the 1980s and sold them via Classique Sounds who refurbished them for my buyer. At around this time I discovered Renaissance choral music, for which the Quads seem perfect. My second pair have given me great service since then, driven by a Quad 44/405 set-up. The 405 was modded and checked over less than 10 years ago. We live in a small house so I do not have the luxury of perfect spatial placement. Moreover, any mention of a stacked set would result in divorce or murder - hard to guess which, I fear.

I have no desire to change other components in the chain - I am content with my set-up and any explorative facet of my personality obviously lies elsewhere. I am also 72 and a pensioner!

Over the last 12 months one of the speakers has begun to sound unhappy: first, ticking and then some distortion.

My question is a simple one: does anyone have calibrating experience of Quad ESL service outfits within the UK and mainland Europe, please?

I thank you in advance for any thoughts, stories or recommendations.
 
morrisman68 said:
I first heard a pair of ESL57s in 1979 and was hooked. I bought my first two (they weren't a pair) in the 1980s and sold them via Classique Sounds who refurbished them for my buyer. At around this time I discovered Renaissance choral music, for which the Quads seem perfect. My second pair have given me great service since then, driven by a Quad 44/405 set-up. The 405 was modded and checked over less than 10 years ago. We live in a small house so I do not have the luxury of perfect spatial placement. Moreover, any mention of a stacked set would result in divorce or murder - hard to guess which, I fear.

I have no desire to change other components in the chain - I am content with my set-up and any explorative facet of my personality obviously lies elsewhere. I am also 72 and a pensioner!

Over the last 12 months one of the speakers has begun to sound unhappy: first, ticking and then some distortion.

My question is a simple one: does anyone have calibrating experience of Quad ESL service outfits within the UK and mainland Europe, please?

I thank you in advance for any thoughts, stories or recommendations.
Click to expand...

Quad or One Thing Audio are the go to places for servicing
 
As recommended above I had a pair of OneThingAudio refurbed 57's and they were excellent. By the time I sold them on they had circa 10yrs on the bass panels and sound perfect. You might investigate the Rupert stands they sell for 57's. They really help the performance of the 57's.
My 63's were done by Quad and they also sounded like brand new.

OnethingAudio have a number of service levels and they might also suggest replacing some of the boards and wiring. Certainly worth getting whatever work needed done as they will be like getting a brand new pair. You can look forward to another 20yrs+ before the next service given your record with them. Congratulations for sticking with one of the best speakers on the planet for so long :D
 
tonerei said:
As recommended above I had a pair of OneThingAudio refurbed 57's and they were excellent. By the time I sold them on they had circa 10yrs on the bass panels and sound perfect. You might investigate the Rupert stands they sell for 57's. They really help the performance of the 57's.
My 63's were done by Quad and they also sounded like brand new.

OnethingAudio have a number of service levels and they might also suggest replacing some of the boards and wiring. Certainly worth getting whatever work needed done as they will be like getting a brand new pair. You can look forward to another 20yrs+ before the next service given your record with them. Congratulations for sticking with one of the best speakers on the planet for so long :D
Click to expand...

Could not agree more my OTA 57's sit on Rupert's big difference particularly if you use the fitted bolts to make them more upright/vertical In my system despite my 100w valve amp not requiring help with the low impedance OTA Widgets do improve the frequency response
 
I have a set of OTA full serviced 57's which Im no longer able to listen too...imo the whole magic went. Sadly.

I think you should listen to a pair before committing if you have a choice. It gives me no joy to say this. They told me my ancillaries werent good enough, which they had been prior to ota's work.

As a firm they were easy to deal with
 
I would echo Ian's comments above. There is a perceptible difference in presentation between the OTA rebuilt speakers and the 'original' Quad offerings. This is not meant as a criticism,just an observation, drawn from listening to both flavours of these ESL57s over many years.

Having one speaker only of a stereo pair rebuilt using 'One Thing' panels whilst leaving the other sporting a different panel set, could lead to an obvious sonic mismatch on subsequent audition.
 
QUAD service in Huntingdon will bring any QUAD ESLs back to original performance. Give them a ring and get a quote.
 
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