Quad ESL 57 with subwoofer

noromance
Has anyone tried adding a sub to a pair of Quad ESLs?
If so, did it work out?

When we played around with them with subs. The problem was the 57’s bass to where you use it to is very fast and agile as it is with all ESL’s
To mate this with a big diameter 12" 15" 18" slower sub for us was not successful, there was always a disconnect between the two.
We found it better to use subs the had 10" or less drivers with maybe even twin 8" and that were also servo controlled to mate up better with the Quads bass.
And I agree with phillyb 2 stereo subs are better each next to or behind each Quad run off the L & R preamp outputs (not from the mono HT sub output)

Cheers George

Thanks guys. I ended up removing the old REL and adding it to the other rig. It burned out anyway and I replaced it with an S3 which is MUCH better. The Quads sounded better without it. I've also removed the grills.
I was thinking of something like a pair of REL T5i.

noromance OP
I was thinking of something like a pair of REL T5i.

Nice but I think two of these will be better and faster 2 x 8" and servo controlled.http://www.rythmikaudio.com/FM8.html
Cheers George

@georgehifi Nice but they don't have high-level inputs which won't work for me.

@noromance  You might also consider a set of Swarm subs from Audiokinesis.com

They will insure that you get 20Hz response, with bass evenly distributed throughout the room, since the Swarm system eliminates standing waves that might otherwise be present if you only use one or two subs.

They can be fed a mono bass signal, as the ear cannot detect location information below about 80Hz, so of course you'll want to set the Swarms up so that they stay below 80Hz.


This setup integrates easily (you'll be using a separate sub amplifier, probably running off of a preamp output). The Swarms are small, 1 foot square by 2 feet high; Duke (Audiokinesis) recommends running them on their side and as close to the wall as you can get them, asymmetrically placed in the room with two in front of you and the other two might be to one side and somewhere in the rear. Harmonics of bass instruments like the string bass, bass drum and the like will allow the Quads to convince you that the instruments are in front of you. This system really works- what is different about the Swarm is that the speakers are designed to be up against the wall which makes them a lot easier to place. Most subs are meant to be away from the wall so they are not messed up by the room boundary effects.