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Subs with electrostatics; is this a tricky one?

Without having read the rest of the thread, yes. I have vintage ESL57s and I use them with a Linn Sizmik. They work well together, once I had adjusted the Sizmik's characteristics to match the Quad's. The ESL's don't have a lot of bass, but what they have has a nice, unforced quality, and initially the Sizmik's contribution was overpowering. So I throttled it back, and we live happily ever after. I would point out that I am predominantly a classical listener, so bass measurable on the Richter scale is not of great interest to me.

I also use the Sizmik with ESL57s - now in my TV system, works very well and I'm not really aware of the sub unless I switch it off!

My main system is Martin Logans - no beaming issues and although they need precise positioning, it's probably only because they are so revealing. I do find I have to vacuum clean them every six months or so, it takes 5 mins. Although I am a Quad fan, nothing Quad has ever made comes even close, but they were £8k a pair, some years back, so they should be good!
 
Wouldn't mind a bit more bottom end on my Quads but have feeling that there's no guaranteed way of integrating a sub-woofer, powered or otherwise. Anybody had any experience in this?


As one who had one of the first pairs of ELS-63's to leave the Quad Factory, I say forget trying to match a sub to a Electrostatic. Buy a good TLS speaker like the new Focalstage floor stander from Acoustic Insight especially if you are mainly into Classical music.
 
I have had decent results with a LF system designed by a friend of mine in combination with a pair for ESL57QAs. The key to success is excellent transient response. This is not really related to speed - at LF the transducers don't have to move particularly fast but they MUST stop when the music stops otherwise you will get Martin Logan syndrome.

One benefit you will not get from taking the bass away from the Quads, unlike "ordinary" speakers, is an increase in loudness capability. This is because they will still flash over at the same voltage level at higher frequencies.

Given that my friend's LF system is not commercially available I would tend to look for something servo controlled e.g.

http://www.rythmikaudio.com/products.html

Anything with a hole in it is a non starter. Sealed box subs might just be OK. I would also recommend 2, it's the only way to get the phase to align properly with the main speakers IMHO.

Subjectively (with the 57QAs) we noted a modest improvement in clarity, tighter and deeper bass plus a larger, deeper and better defined stereo image. The Quads on their own have a slightly tubby bass with not much extension - sort of LS3/5A-like.
Using this bass system with conventional 2-way speakers results in a massive improvement. With the Quads the improvement is rather less.


I totally agree. I have a pair of F12 running with my Quads and they integrate exceptional well.
 


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