speakers that you miss
- Thread starter Conan
- Start date
For £10 (in April 1980) they changed the internal wooly stuff for something else, decent binding posts & sealed them with mastic, as I recall.
I subsequently fannied around changing the crossover (i.e. a 2.2 uF capacitor - pricey mod , that. Not.) which didn't make a fat lot of difference.
A great, fun pair of speakers on SARA stands which lasted me ' till Feb 1988 when I spent a couple of grand on my system when I moved to my present house .
I upgraded from a NAD 3030 to a 62/140 and some ES14's - the pre & the 'speakers remain in situ.
A friend has my old amp and AR17's with a Rega 3 and they still sound fab.
Cheers, H.
P.S. Agree about the Ela's.
Del monaco
Del Monaco
I had a large pair of Wharfedale Stand mounts when I first started out. They were rich and resonant like a vintage cello. I do miss the sound but I think it is also coated in nostalgia.
herb
brain's right hemisphere
I had a pair from new for 14 years, they were not called 57s when I bought them. They were a clean, open window into classical music, especially with FM radio. I partially stripped them down (don't ask!). I have heard more modern Quad 'statics many times but the magic is not there, perhaps because people are using big cables to push the sound - perhaps not.
Bose 901 mk11. I still have these in the loft. What I miss is that when I bought them new in 1975 and used them with a monster JVC Quadraphonic amp, they were the best party speakers ever. I used to have loads of parties back then. At the time I was not interested in 'hifi' and more swayed by pointless marketing bumf such as they could handle 270 watts RMS per channel. Perhaps innocence was more fun back in the day.
Robert
Tapehead
For £10 (in April 1980) they changed the internal wooly stuff for something else, decent binding posts & sealed them with mastic, as I recall.
I subsequently fannied around changing the crossover (i.e. a 2.2 uF capacitor - pricey mod , that. Not.) which didn't make a fat lot of difference.
A great, fun pair of speakers on SARA stands which lasted me ' till Feb 1988 when I spent a couple of grand on my system when I moved to my present house .
I upgraded from a NAD 3030 to a 62/140 and some ES14's - the pre & the 'speakers remain in situ.
A friend has my old amp and AR17's with a Rega 3 and they still sound fab.
Cheers, H.
P.S. Agree about the Ela's.
Good stuff Harry an thanks for the info.
I have a pair of restored AR4xa (an older 17) and AR7 (an older 18). Really like both.
Howdy
pfm Member
I was reading the thread wondering how long will it take to find this answer. Definitely.
Hazelberry
sister
I miss the JPW Sonatas I bought for my BIL some years ago. Enjoyed them for about 30 minutes before taking them over. Great wee speakers. Oh well, to a good home and all.
I miss the fashion for sealed box speakers designed to work against the wall. Lucky to have a couple of pairs I like. Are any made these days?
I miss the fashion for sealed box speakers designed to work against the wall. Lucky to have a couple of pairs I like. Are any made these days?
Hook
Blackbeard's former bo'sun.
Ditto, my Wayne Piquet-restored ESLs are also in storage. Should sell them, but for some reason, I keep procrastinating.
Regret selling Harbeth C7ES3Rs. Not the most well-defined bass, nor the most extended highs, but the mids were superb.
Hook
Tony L
Administrator
White face? I always liked them, though the connections on the bottom of very early ones were a PITA.
Hi Guys:
While I have never owned a pair I have heard several (in various systems) and I must admit that while they have limitations in the bass area, limited volume possibilities and require specific space and positioning requirements, the original QUAD ESLs do have a very special way with smaller scale acoustical music and a midrange to die for. The best sound I heard from a pair was at my LINN dealer, he was using an LP12 and a freshly serviced 32.5/HICAP/250 combo.
If I had the room I would probably end up owning a pair and never parting with them. I dont have the space to let a pair of ESLs to really breath and sing but every time a pair come up for sale locally I have to be very strong willed not to go and get them, but then I said the same thing about my Yammie NS1000s - but I caved in...
Oh by the way they were never actually called 57s or ESL 57s, its just that they became known colloquially by this name as it was 1957 when they were first produced. The 57 title makes it easier to differentiate them from the later ESL models.
LPSpinner.
While I have never owned a pair I have heard several (in various systems) and I must admit that while they have limitations in the bass area, limited volume possibilities and require specific space and positioning requirements, the original QUAD ESLs do have a very special way with smaller scale acoustical music and a midrange to die for. The best sound I heard from a pair was at my LINN dealer, he was using an LP12 and a freshly serviced 32.5/HICAP/250 combo.
If I had the room I would probably end up owning a pair and never parting with them. I dont have the space to let a pair of ESLs to really breath and sing but every time a pair come up for sale locally I have to be very strong willed not to go and get them, but then I said the same thing about my Yammie NS1000s - but I caved in...
Oh by the way they were never actually called 57s or ESL 57s, its just that they became known colloquially by this name as it was 1957 when they were first produced. The 57 title makes it easier to differentiate them from the later ESL models.
LPSpinner.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
Of course they were only known as The Quad Electrostatic Loudspeaker, but after the ESL63 was introduced it became necessary to introduce a colloquial name to differentiate them.
shrink
pfm Member
Ones I should never have sold:
- EPOS ES22 (sold to buy ES30 which just were nowhere near as balanced or fun)
- Focal 1007be (great speakers which I sold to get......
- Tannoy Turnberry SE (room was too small, should have kept the focals, the tannoys needed breathing room)
However, having downsized my life, moved to a smaller flat, and re-evaluated the hifi I picked up a pair of monitor audio Silver S5 from gumtree. Partnered to a little MF X-150 amp it just works perfectly in my space. There's a room / speaker balance that just clicks better than many systems I've owned, and there's an obvious synergy between MA and MF from the same era. It's stopped me wanting to tweak and upgrade every two seconds
- EPOS ES22 (sold to buy ES30 which just were nowhere near as balanced or fun)
- Focal 1007be (great speakers which I sold to get......
- Tannoy Turnberry SE (room was too small, should have kept the focals, the tannoys needed breathing room)
However, having downsized my life, moved to a smaller flat, and re-evaluated the hifi I picked up a pair of monitor audio Silver S5 from gumtree. Partnered to a little MF X-150 amp it just works perfectly in my space. There's a room / speaker balance that just clicks better than many systems I've owned, and there's an obvious synergy between MA and MF from the same era. It's stopped me wanting to tweak and upgrade every two seconds