Tube amp forethought

Uh, is it just me? I don't see anything in particular about the ESL57 in the OP- just Quads.


So ESL63s or any later model like the 989 could be in the mix.


My experience with the Quads has been that you really have to watch it with the ESL57 because it really can't take much power. I've also seen updates that include protection circuits.


The ESL63 could take more power. We found that right about the point that our MA-1s were going to overload was also the point that the original protection circuit would energize. We also found that due to the way the amp interacted with the impedance curve, it could drive the ESL63s with greater volume than any other amp we tried.


The later Quads have been used with both our M-60s and MA-1s. Only the ESL57 has the low power limit issue.

Now if you are worried about the speaker no longer being made or that sort of thing, the ESL57 and 63 have a lot of support in the aftermarket- new diaphragms, power supplies and the like are available through various rebuilders. But you also have other alternatives like Sound Lab who arguably makes the state of the art in ESLs.

Ralph darn it. Don't complicate things. I'm trying to get him to buy your amps and you are spending all his money on Sound Lab's speakers.
kg, just in case you are interested the Quad equivalent Sound Lab would be the 545:)

I've said it before but don't mind saying it again: Tubes are more fun. These days I use an original version Schiit Freya into a Dennis Had Inspire "Firebottle HO" (12wpc more or less depending on tubes) with 99db efficient speakers. The detail this rig digs out of recordings, the physical beauty of the tubes themselves (no user biasing with these components, but my previous amp, a great sounding Jolida 502p, had user biasing and I liked doing that), tube rolling (unlike transistor rolling which isn't a thing for most people) to change things a little sometimes...all fun...with a couple hundred watts of (2) REL subs to assist. There are no tube subs (or ARE there?), but RELs do use the tube amp signal so there's that. Having said all this I am planning to get either a Pass XA25 or a much less pricey Schiit Aegir to see if I'm imagining all of this so called "fun." The Aegir got a great review in Stereophile recently so that got my attention.

@wolf_garcia 

Having said all this I am planning to get either a Pass XA25 or a much less pricey Schiit Aegir to see if I'm imagining all of this so called "fun."

I think the XA25 may surprise you. I'm a tube guy myself but wow, the Pass Class A stuff is amazing and digs pretty deep into the sound.  To me it's like tubes on steroids but not overcooked or unbalanced.  Just more of a good thing.

I hope the OP will consider Ralph's (Atma Sphere) amps. They are really wonderful pieces of equipment that in general need only to be biased (very easy) and then just work as they should. (Though if anything does happen, you are only a phone call away from assistance- though in my many cases, it was something I did- But, Ralph seems to always nail down the problem quickly.

Re: Pass amps
To add fat to the fire...
I also use an Ayre MX-R, and have to say they really are a nice compliment to my MA-1's. Smooth, detailed- mmm-Good.

Bob