Quads 57 -


Ok. So let me start out by saying I am not in search for the worlds best speakers or the perfect setup.

I just want something that will make music to my ears and make my little toes tap with joys.My amp of choice is the Ayon Spirit III
My music is 80% Jazz, 10% Female vocals, 10% rock et. al. (paul simon/arlo guthrie, dylan eagles). My source is mostly Vinyl.
I currently have a B&W CM7 that I don't like much. Music sounds good, but no soul. Room size is 10 ft x 11 ft.
I top out at $4K on budget (and that's pushing it).
I am fairly close to pulling the trigger on a brand new refurbished 57 from Quads Unlimited.
So I guess what I am asking here is, if you have ever owned a 57, do you still have it? If not, how soon did you move on & why?
jarraa
Believe it or not I use the Kimber Cable speaker wire.
I forget the model number but it is black (negative) and brown (positive) wire that is braided.
I believe that there are four wires of each color (they are NOT teflon).
I think that it is the least expensive of all of the Kimber braided speaker cable.
I have 25+ foot runs from my amps to the stacked ESL57's so I needed something that was good but did not break the bank.
I run my stacks in parallel (and connect to the 8 Ohm tap on my A-340A's) so I use a piece of the Kimber to jumper between them as well.
BTW. I tried less expensive speaker wires but the Kimber gave me the best results so REAL speaker wire does make a difference. OTOH, interconnects seemed to make a bigger improvement in my system than the speaker wire - but every little thing helps when you have "The demanding Mistress - ESL57's"! :)
Wouldn't you have a impedance mis-match with that 8 ohm load on a pr of stacked 57's ..


Regards,
No, actually 8 Ohm is the correct setting for the stack as the impedance curve is not flat. It is a compromise and it depends on the amplifier being used.
I just picked up Wayne PK rebuilt quad 57's. Have been listening for only a couple of days. The panels were sent to him to rebuild by the previous owner. They do not have the protection circuits.
I also own Acoustat Spectra 33's and Model 3's as well as other cone speakers.
I am impressed so far. I admit I am very timid about over driving them though from what I have heard. As Wayne told me - when it happens it is without warning - and once done it will happen again more easily.
The highs sound fine to me and I am getting 40 HZ - they are 5 feet from the front wall and about 7 feet from me.
A few years back I had two pairs of Quad 57, stacked the way Peter Walker said to do it.

I used an AtmaSphere S30 and the Atma Sphere MP3 and my friends told me that the sound "draws you into the music".

I really enjoyed the set up, and one of my better attempts at the "last great system".

But you know, after awhile you start to focus on what you feel are the systems shortfalls(lack of top and botton freq)so you start to bulid another system to address those issues, but you find that few if any set ups ever have the mid range magic of the stacked 57's.

I would suggest you buy the 57's, they've been rebuilt and should last you for a long time, and if you start to focus on the lack of highs and lows, don't sell them, just find a substitute pair of speakers and listen to them for awhile and then go back to the Quads and you'll appreciate them even more.