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Quad 57' system upgrade suggestions requested

Happy Holidays Audiogoners - my system consists of stacked Quad 57's with Decca ribbon tweeters, 2 Fried 10 inch subwoofers in a transmission line enclosure, a stereo Bedini 25/25 1mg amplifier driving my Decca's, a pair of bridged Bedini 25/25 1mg amplifiers for my stacked Quads and a Levinson ML 3 driving my woofers, a Convergent Audio Technologies SL1 Reference mk.2 preamp, Symmetry ASC1 and ASC2 crossovers, a SOTA Star Saphire with a Sumiko 800 tonearm and a Koetsu Onyx long body cartridge, Yamaha T2 tuner, Revox A77 1/4 track reel to reel, Stax Lambda headphones with a Stax SR12 energiser, Levinson cables, VPI record cleaning machine and Zoethecus stands. I also have a Forsell Air Reference Mk.1 turntable which is not connected that I will sell in all probability. I love my stacked Quads and I really like my Bedini amplifiers but its time to upgrade my system and i hope you can make some sound recommendations. Every component is open for change except my Quads and I will listen to Bedini alternatives as well. I listen to classic and roots rock, jazz and large scale classical music. Mu current room is 20 x 13 x 8 but I'm expecting to have a larger listening room though not gigantic by the Summer. My upgrade budget is betwwen $25,000-$35,000. Please keep in mind that I am open to used equipment and to tube amplification to drive my Quads. I am looking for as natural sounding a system as possible and am looking for component companies that stand behind their products and are willing to upgrade an older components if need be in the future. I am not looking to do a lot of tweeking and like to listen loud but not at deafining levels. I know this is a lot to digest but I'm certain that the Audiogon community can provide a plethora of sound advice. thanks in advance, rich
rmarcus5757
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,793 posts
 
I have to disagree with RW here. Quads in general like an amplifier that can make the high voltages needed to play bass. That can only come from a tube amp. The other problem is you don't want the amp to be bright- which will happen if the amp can double power as the load is cut in half.

IOW, stay away from transistors if you want the most out of your Quads!

Traditionally, the ESL 57 has been very friendly to tubes and OTLs in particular. A set of ESL57s stacked, driven by an OTL is a very good match. We have customers that have done that for years and decades!

OTLs corner the market on transparency, which is something that ESLs do well too. Plus you can get the speaker to play bass much better!

Sounds like a nice system BTW.
clio09
3,355 posts
 
I feel a little reticent in recommending this because you have some great equipment already in your system. Do you really need or want to spend all that money? The OTL recommendation is a good one and an Atma-Sphere S-30 or M-60's would do nicely. Also, Roger Modjeski designed his RM-10 amp for use with his ESL 57's. Any of these choices will not break the bank. My suggestion would be to try out a few amps first, then maybe upgrade the other components, but really, you have some great stuff to start with.
whart's avatar
whart
3,037 posts
 
What do you perceive the shortcomings of your current system to be?
You are committed to a vintage speaker array but want to upgrade all else, and I'm curious to know where you want improvements.
As you know, I have old Quads, Decca ribbons , and a pair of Crosby Quads as well as some vintage Quad tube amps and other 'old' stuff, so i 'get' your system, though I am not currently using any of that equipment in my main system right now. So, in my mind, the first question is what is it that you think your system lacks, and what is it that you hope to improve by 'upgrading' it?
frogman
7,441 posts
 
The way I see it, you could make a significant upgrade that would cost you nothing at all: the Forsell is much more natural sounding turntable than the SOTA. I assume you have tried the Forsell. What did you not like about it?
travelstead's avatar
travelstead
53 posts
 
Check out the TBI Millenia MG3 amp.

Audio Circle dot com>>Circles>>Low Wattage Systems>>TBI Millenia MG3 A modern day Giant Killer!
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