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choice of amp for quad ESL 57

G

gianco

New Member
Hello, I am looking for the perfect match between my quads esl 57 and an amp that can bring them to the best possible acoustic performance. The premise is that I like tubes' warmth but also detail. After a bit of research, I came down to two options. First, an integrated mcintosh MA-2275. SEcond, Pallavicini's EAR V-20. Do you think I am on the right track? If so, which one would you pick between those two? Thanks, gianco
 
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When I was considering getting those speakers and was researching them I think there was a list of recommended amps at one of the quad fan sites.
 
I'd go for the Fisher SA-16 or Heathkit UA-1 as well....I have a wonderful sounding set of Heathkit W5M's that may sound good with the ESL's. To get their full potential only use a low powered amp. The set I owned used to arc at music peaks and I was using a 50 watt per channel McIntosh amp. Never got to try them with my W5M's. They do sound incredible when you use a good source and low powered amp with a good design and great OPT's :yes:
 
hey-Hey!!!,
The Quad's HF behaviour wants an amp with low output Z/good damping factor. The load goes to near 2 Ohms and frequency variable loads are tough on amps with high output Z. 20-25 Watts is all they'll stand before arcing, so a Class A amp is easy with lots of tube types. Conservatively run 6550 for instance.

Get some and listen, and once you've got a winner, figuring out how to bring it home is a trivial issue by comparison.
cheers,
Douglas
 
The Futterman H3-AA are supposed to be the bee's knees with the Quad ESL-57. I have a pair of the Futtermans, but I've never heard them on Quads, unfortunately.
 
Thanks to you all. The Futterman is an interesting thought -- I never tried it, but I've heard it's really wonderful. A friend of mine also recommends combining the Atma-sphere M-60 or S-30 with a BAT amplifier...
 
I use an EICO HF-81 with mine. PP EL84. Nice but not ideal.

The (most) correct answer is QUAD II :-)

A Marantz 8B wouldn't be a bad choice, though you'd have to use a little restraint.

I wouldn't bother with an ST-70 (at least a stock one); its idiosyncrasies coupled with the ESL-57s idiosyncrasies strike me as a terrible combination.

Here's a thread at AA that lists what some other folks suggested to me when I first got mine and asked more or less the same question:
http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=mug&n=102725&highlight=mhardy6647&r=&session=
 
Surprisingly, my Dynaco ST35 handles the swingin' resistance issues just fine. At 17.5 watts per channel and those 565 trannies, this is a perfect soft jazz/vocals combo. Music is clear and detailed. Never felt the need for more power in my 18X22 living room.
 
Doesn't surprise me at all... the ST-35 has far more going for it than the ST-70. ST-35s are fairly uncommon, though.
 
I agree w/ the QUAd II'S although I sold mine like an idiot. I am using a McIntosh MC-225 that drives them very well w/o overpowering them.

Barry
 
gianco said:
Hello, I am looking for the perfect match between my quads esl 57 and an amp that can bring them to the best possible acoustic performance. The premise is that I like tubes' warmth but also detail. After a bit of research, I came down to two options. First, an integrated mcintosh MA-2275. SEcond, Pallavicini's EAR V-20. Do you think I am on the right track? If so, which one would you pick between those two? Thanks, gianco
Click to expand...

Here is a detailed list of recommended amplifiers for use with the Quad ESL's. http://www.geocities.com/drquad@pacbell.net/csramps.html I believe this is the site/list mentioned in RWFE's post. I have never been fortunate enough to own a pair of Quads (yet!), but everything I have read recommends low power tubes as the preferred choice, generally around 10-25w/ch. BTW, the Web site address for the home page of the Quad ESL site the recommended amplifier list is from is: http://www.geocities.com/drquad@pacbell.net/index.html#Links

Hope this helps! :D
 
I have actually tried the McIntosh MA-2275 with the ESL-57. I think it does a good job (quite detailed, but perhaps not as warm as I would expect a tube amplifier to be), but I am unsure as to whether this is the ideal combination. Again, some people seem to think that both the atma-sphere and the EAR V-20 are wonderful (Ken Kessler wrote a pretty amazing review on the V-20). I recently had a chance to try to Eico HF-81, and I was underwhelmed. It was ok, but way too warm and fuzzy for my taste. The atma-sphere, by the way, is included in the list of favorite amplifiers in the link provided by thunderroad...that may be it. I could presumably get a BAT preamp for around 1.5K and a M-60 MKII for $2.5K...more or less the same price as the Man integrated and the quads monoblocks.
 
Good amp for ESL-57's

First of all, if you have ESL-57's, DO NOT ARC THEM. Arcing them can easily ruin the panels. Costs money to fix that!

I suggest using Wayne Picquet's zener clamping board, which as far as I can tell will absolutely protect your ESL-57's unless you are driving them at insane levels.

Wayne is one of the most respected Quad ESL rebuilders. http://quadsunlimited.us/ - I cannot hear the zener boards unless I over drive the speakers- then you hear the amp making some distressing sounds. Very good to have the zener clamping boards. Later Quads all use some kind of protection similar to the Zener boards.

I like the Forte 4a, it is a class A solid state amp, add the Soderburg mods and you have a giant killer. 50 watts/ch at 8 ohms. Very taut bass, and very liquid midrange. Highs have a touch of sweet tube-y sound, very little glare or grain.

Also very good on ESL-57's is the Citation II, and of course do the McShane power supply mods which improves these wonderful amps. You'll generally need to replace filter caps anyway - these amps are over 50 years old! - and the McShane mods offer a better grounding scheme as long as you're in there replacing filter caps.

But I really suggest not using such high-powered amps unless you have the Zener protection boards.

Another amp that sounds really good and which you can buy cheap as hell is the AMC CVT-2030, which is a Class-A amplifier using MOSFET drivers and EL34 outputs. This is the Rodney Dangerfield of high-end amps, can't get no respect because most audiophiles mistakenly assume high price = good sound and therefore low price = bad sound, which ain't necessarily true. I've seen CVT-2030's go for around $200, and at that price you really can't beat them. I feel the Quads really want at least 50 watts a channel, so any EL34 amp seems just a trifle underpowered to me, but your mileage may vary. The AMC CVT-2030 has great detail along with smoothness and that super-duper EL34 midrange. I have tried this amp with other speakers and it was just OK, but on the Quads it was a real winner!
 
Here is an Interesting Option. This Hybred Integrated Amp from Magnum Dynalab gives you the Best of Both SS and a Tubes. I have one of their Hybred FM Tuners. It sounds So Real it's like their Playing Right Here in My Room. The speakers Completely Disapper while Creating a 3-D Effect. I'm confident their Amps are also up to the Task. I know...there are so many fine Amps out there it's hard to choose. Pehaps their LIFETIME SERVICE POLICY ($150 Deductable) will narrow the field!


http://www.magnumdynalab.com/integrated-amplifier-md306.htm
 
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