Amp for Quad ESL 57

This is very helpful, Coolhand. I may actually give it a try. Ken Kessler raves about the V20...that might be an interesting one to try. It looks like EARs are pretty hard to find in the second hand market, am i right?

Quite true, you don't often see EAR items for sale second hand anywhere...for once you own them, you come to appreciate how very special they are at dare I say it, becoming musical instruments,however there is an EAR 859 on the'Gon right now, and with a few tweaks this amp is very special and ideally suited to the 57's...a real sleeper in fact

Ggavetti,What a pair of incredible speakers you have.I have owned a pair of Quad 63s going on 25 years, since overhauled. I drive them with Atma-Sphere model 60s to very good musical results.However,Coolhands advice on the E.A.R. is something I will have to look into....Thanks Coolhand....

This may be a bit cross-grained (pardon the pun) but I have tried my PK 57's with Berning's ZH270, Bel Canto Ref 1's and an old pair of Naim 135's. The Naim immediately let me relax and listen to the music more than the others. The Berning was more sparkly. The Bel Canto's did not have as much control of bass notes as the Naims did but had more depth perspective. All were driven by a minimalist tube pre.

Curious to hear which you decide upon.

I never tried Naim 135's. It's an interesting thought, although I am more in the tube camp. If I could find a used one, I'd probably go for the EAR V20...perhaps I'll wait until I see one. My Mac is actually doing a pretty good job (I am among those who think Mac's are underrated).