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Quad ESL 63 In Another League Now

I’ve owned many speakers over 30 years. I now have owned a total rebuilt ESL 63’s with the work done by Electrostatic Solutions. Kent did a wonderful job and the speakers sounded better than stock that I can say for sure. During the last few months for the fun of it I added better power cords, though Kent said they cannot make a difference well I can tell you they do and they do in a big way, so if you own any Electrostatic speakers you owe it to yourself to put better power cords on them even the Signal Cable power cords were a big step up from the stock power cord.

So things were just great then I read in my Furman reference 20i manual that the high current outlets are great for active speakers, though I read it, I never tried it because they sounded so good. Well blow me away, I tried it, and wow, more natural, clearer, bottom end more dynamic, and so forth, but the lowering of the noise floor, brought forth detail, more natural body, warmth, and a pitch black background, i.e. a grayness or veil in comparison gone, and I mean gone.

I never knew just how good these speakers were until I did the power cords, but in addition what the Furman does, with lower impedance, reservoir or current on demand, and of course the isolation between any interaction of the components. I also added some nice ebony cones with a copper tip (cheap) on Amazon, for a nice tilt back of about one inch which opened up the speakers and really made imaging better.

In this hobby, we are always learning something, and the big lesson I keep learning is always try something, even when some may say it will not make a difference, such as power cords cannot impact the Quads, well they do so try it. The bottom end now really go low and tight, I added 2 small Mini Vee subs crossed over at 40Hz for that last bit of bottom end in the 20’s range.

The rest of my system is McIntosh 402 amp at 400 watts, Luxman C800F preamp, and the Esoteric K-01 SACD/CD player with streaming capabilities. All cables are Lessloss Marc-C( the best I’ve ever heard) regardless of cost and that includes the ones with the big network boxes. Power cords the Luxman (for the preamp) beats anything I’ve tried and that is the stock cord, Crystal Clear Opus for the Esoteric, Essential Sound MusicSound Pro for the McIntosh Amp. I use a pair of the Emotivia Power cords for the quads due to their length, they work just fine, the AntiCables reference 3 power cords work well also with a bit more mid-bass and warmth but were a bit too short.

No matter how long you’re in this hobby you can always learn, and improve the system without buying new gear, in fact, I would say the power cords can change the sound of your system as much as a new piece of gear and even the wall plates impact the sound, not just the ac outlet. That also was a surprise to me. Go figure!




128x128phillyb
audition__audio
1,467 posts
 
doug

I tend to agree that the Quads are more limited than some of the newer designs, but I dont condemn them outright. I do think that they have the edge over the Kings in a few categories. I have a pair of 63s that I will send to Kent soon to be redone and I will try various power cords on these speakers.

Exactly what convinced you of the disdain of women on the Asylum? I find it odd but predictable that you would see fit to add this tidbit to your post. First the request to not mention weapons in any context and now this makes me wonder how you survive in such a tainted world. Please dont engage with me as such an exchange might prove to be uncomfortable.


esl57addict
3 posts
 
Against better judgment I got myself involved in a cable discussion (and the view of the ESL57s -- some think old nostalgia garbage, other think superior to many USD 25,000+ speakers in the important midrange).
Let's agree to disagree about the importance of power cords (they need to be long enough to reach the outlet for sure) and keep on enjoying our sound systems. 

Peace and happy listening!!
audition__audio
1,467 posts
 
Until one is willing to try different cables on the Quads and comment through personal experience I dont see the point of the discussion. I dont comment much these days on things of which I have no direct experience. I dont see any harm in people buying power cords if they think that an improvement results. I look at chiropractic the same way, I dont believe but others do so what is the harm in a possible placebo?
phillyb's avatar
phillyb OP
401 posts
 
Boy, lot’s of opinions. But in this day and age attacking someone call a product garbage does zip for a anyone posting something heard, and doubled check by switching several power cords, what I heard is not something I expected, per what Kent said when I purchased a pair from him. I keep my mind natural caring either way and that how I always listen when I listen to any system or gear change.

I found you don’t have to spend a lot on cord for the Quads. My expensive ones sound no better that just a good power cord, something like a anti cable reference 3 or a signal cable or even a PS Audio mid level line, buy these used.

This is only a fun hobby yet in today’s world expect what starts out positive will be invaded by attacks. The audioasyum has been that way for years, good educated
Discussion turns into attacks, name calling and put downs, much like our President does daily, no substance just put downs. Which adds zero good, I hope we learn common respect, if you don’t hear it, fine but don’t say that as a fact.
If you never tried it then say zip because your taking opinion with no way of making a statement, like those who say cables cannot matter, audiophiles are fools etc.

I have 30 plus years of experience and one thing I keep in my never say never and don’t be afraid to try something, like wall plates affecting your sound, that was one i never thought about, until a Audiophile wrote me to try pure copper plates, sound did change, he was right. Depending on the power you might like them or not.

Enjoy the music and enjoy your system, magazines will always temp you to buy and buy, buy, that’s their job now, a sales marketing tool. But hey with 20K gear being called a bargain they No longer are taking to me. I’ve learned once you get a real enjoyable system to your ear, stop the day race and enjoy your accomplishment!

I seen many great system torn apart because of reviews and then thinking they need to upgrade. I upgrade just to change a sound that I am used to, but I’ve found a power cord will change your system sound and a lot cheaper.











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