Quad ESL 57 playing Prince

I have had ELS57s from 1977 (only quite recently replaced them by 2805s) and never did any harm to them. As it says in the manual, it is important to prevent higher voltages reaching them, so I never used any other amplifier than the Quad 303 that was the perfect match. If that is not loud enough for you, you have to move up to to the modern models, and/or add subwoofers (see my rcent post on subs with the modern models).

I had Quad 57s for several years. I used 50 Watts/ch tube Amps with power supply mods and aircraft quality output tubes to drive them with no problem, ever. Bass response and overall dynamics of the Quads were very impressive, especially compared to their rather uh, tame stock performance - but only after I removed the metal grills as well as the plastic dust covers and placed the Quads on Arcicci stands. I playing LPs on a Special Ed. Maplenoll Ariadne air bearing everything on a special version of my own sub Hertz pneumatic isolation stand that was modified to accommodate the super heavy Maplenoll TT and around 100 lbs of ballast.

I have a pair of Quad ESL57 rebuilt by Wayne Piquet and they are magnificent with all types of music.  Not quite as dynamic as my Harbeth SLH5 plus, but perform flawlessly with everything.

They are driven by a solid state Jeff Roland integrated rated at 100 WPC, and I have never had any issue with the panels.  Reproduce music like no other speaker I have ever heard.

But beware: max peak voltage is 33 Volt, and the amplifier has to be unconditionally stable, also under capacitive load. These are speakers that have been known to destroy amplifiers, and some amplifiers have been known to destroy these speakers. Impedance is in the 15-30 Ohm range, and falling at higher frequencies. The Quad 303 has the perfect specifications.
The difference with the modern models is not at all night and day, but I do believe the modern 2805 is superior: lower and tighter bass, more power handling, and a spatial performance that is a vanishing act if there ever was one.

No, with a vintage Quad your reservations are "bass-less"!  ;)