The Quad 57s are astonishingly good in their areas of strength, exactly as the OP describes. They are definitely improved by being placed on stands and, properly serviced, they sound much better than a lot of people's experience of tired pairs with panel damage, failing EHT units etc. In particular, a good pair on stands have much better bass response, albeit limited in slam and extension. They are fussy when it comes to amplification and they don't like high powered amplifiers. They have limited loudness and playing outside of their performance envelope will only arc them and exacerbate any rattles, panel resonances etc. A lot of the owners I know go through periods of "can't live with them", can't live without them" angst but nearly always come back to the '57. Personally, I'm in the school of would love to live with them but unfortunately for the wide spectrum of music I listen to, I find them too limiting. But, I really appreciate them for their intrinsic qualities and as a landmark in audio design - and not beaten by the 63 of the subsequent IAG era iterations.
Will rebuilt Quad ESL 57s take the place on a great $30K dynamic speaker?
In the ‘90s I lived joyfully with Quad 57s for 10 years. Have always missed them.
Especially since Electrostatic Solutions rebuilds came to light, I have looked for a used pair. My system today is far better than what I had back then.
I was very curious to hear what they would sound like now.
I love my current speakers, but have experienced some fatigue in loud, full passages. And I realized that most of what I listened to was acoustic Jazz and Classical. But with a good amount of Pop singer/songwriter.
The Quads beautifully reproduce solo or otherwise “gentle” music. They are magical with voices. Eg.: Opera that I never got into much is now sublime. And voices in general.
But on something like Peter Gabriel, the fall apart. “So” which was a favorite recording is problematic at best.
I am leaning toward the Quads since they do “moderate” unlike almost any.
But I do miss the dynamics. Bass and treble.
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- 28 posts total
- 28 posts total