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Is Quad ESL57 most amazing speaker of all time?

Just had to try one of these as i had heard so much about it. Enjoyed a lot of old Quad stuff so thought must be good. Recently in my room passed the following speakers, Spendor BC1 spendor SP1, Harbeth 30 and 40's. Reynaud offrandes, audio physic avanti, Audio note ANE spx, Avantagrde duo's(modified subwoofers), tANNOY GOLD DUAL CONCENTRICS, ETC ETC ETC.

Within minutes i heard more from a recording than i ever had with any other speaker I have knowm. The realism and detail due to the fast transients are absolutely astonishing. Ok will not go loud bass a little monochrome, but how could you live without that midrange?? It is that good. I was using jadis JPL pre and a good old cheap Quad 606. I didnot even have the chance to drag out the megabucks Audio Note signature 300b mono's before I blew the treble on one unit. Apparently very common. Only the Audio Note speaker approaches the Quad for sound quality although the audio note gets the emotional aspects spot on, the Quad as good as it is in communicating the emotion is just so scarily intimately accurate. Accurate to the point that it is unrealistic. By that I mean that you are so intimate with the musician or vocalist its as if you got up on the stage and sat beside them to hear details you never would if you were in the audience.

Is there any body else out there who can see where i am coming from??? Or is this just a one night stand??
audiojoy4
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
the audionote is not in the same class as the quad 57. as far as timbre is concerned the quad is as good as it gets.

no cone speaker can compete with the quads.

i owned stacked quads for 7 years. i was in audio heaven.

all other speakers, including panels are more inaccurate the quad 57s, in their range.
newbee
4,767 posts
 
Shadrone, Gordon was right - at the time at least. Anyone want to buy mine! :-)
whart's avatar
whart
3,037 posts
 
I have both the 57 (although they are moldering in my basement) and the 63 (a Crosby modded pair), and let me tell you, to paraphrase something similar, I know the 57 and the 63 (even Crosby modded) ain't no 57.
THe 63 will play deeper, louder, is more dynamic and less beamy, but it is not as coherent as the 57. That said, the 57 does suffer from severe limitations. It is, though, so spot on with what it does right that it often makes you forget that it is like a painting in miniature. I have promised myself to get mine restored, and would love to try them with my Lamm ML 2s and my current front end, which is slightly more resolving than my turntable/preamp/amp system from the early seventies.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
The Quad ELSs were really the first audiophile speaker I heard, but those guys sitting on the floor did not really impress me much. They had no dynamics or bass. Many years later when I bought the Quads, I bought two pair and did a frame to hold the bottom one upside down. This was better and having already owned Infinity ServoStatic and KLH 9s, I could appreciate the benefits and liabilities of electrostats. I sold them and continued my quest for a great speaker.

About two years ago the German made Quad 57s appeared at CES. I don't know whether they are still made now. At any rate, I dragged an audiophile friend in to hear them. He was utterly amazed and asked why I had never told him about these. I quietly told him to listen to the dynamics. He said "Oh!"

Considering when they were made, I guess they are impressive.
nkj
130 posts
 
I'll chime in here. I have a couple of pairs of ESL 57s and a pair of USA monitors. The 63 does not even come close to the transparency of the 57. The 63 is easier to place for a forgiving centre image, plays louder and deeper so might be a more suited for modern musical fare.

Even at the age of 8 or so my son identified that the 57's sounded "more clear"... The frustrating thing about the ESLs are they sound small and don't play particularly loud. The bass is very good contrary to popular belief ,particularly, if the panels have been refurbished by Wayne Piquet.

It's difficult to give up what the ESLs do .. I've been looking for several years and can't narrow down a replacement without sacrificing what the quad's do well.

Nkj
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