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Quad ESL 57

Thanks for the intel mhardy. Good to know the smaller humans will not be subjected to any unreasonable dangers from electrostatics.
 
Do it bro. You'll love the original Quad ESL's (AKA "57s"). I lost a set in a divorce and have missed them for the last 21 years.

Disadvantages:
So directional that the sweet spot is slightly smaller than a human head.
Constant adjustments yielding drastic changes leaves you feeling like you never quite have them setup right.
Give them one volt too many and they arc-out and are fried.
They are so "fast" that you can't make any subwoofer blend with them.
No bass below 40 Hz.
They don't like big amps.
They just plain will not play loud.
Emotionally addictive and involving psychotic obsession may result from their use.

Advantages:
Sounds better off-axis than anything for midrange and treble. I said that once to David Wilson and he didn't dispute it. He just scoffed and said, "Well,... if you're happy living without concert-force dynamics."
They are still used as a go-to reference by reviewers for evaluating high-end speakers.
Easy to tweak / modify / improve.
The factory legs make nice kindling.
They sound even better on a couple of cinder blocks or better yet custom steel stands adjusted with spikes.
They sound awesome if you remove the grilles and treat your room with a ton of acoustic treatments.
They can play quiet--- at 1:00 am when your house is quiet, you can turn them down so that you can barely hear anything at all, and you'll be able to understand every word and hear every detail. Very strange experience you cannot have with other speakers.
They have a cult following of converts who view them as the world's state-of-the-art loudspeaker, at any price (as long as you get rid of those factory legs).
They play as loud as you want to listen to for 99% of your long-term, sit and listen music!

I rebuilt mine completely, with new internal mylar and the whole 9 yards. It was fun. The original Quad ESLs are like a high-maintenance trophy wife. You will love them, but you may end up doing a lot more maintenance than if you had simply bought some "normal" speakers.

As for stands, I recommend that you perch them upon stands, don't built side-grabbing stands. You can't grab Quads... it sounds funny. Just have your wife walk up and place her hand on the top of one while you are listening, you'll hear it immediately and want her to remove her hand. These are such touchy speakers... man I love 'em.
 
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I love em too! Everything you describe is pretty much spot on (Although I don’t think the stock legs are so bad), they sound like a pain in the ass because they are but they are totally WORTH IT! Truly life changing speakers, and I’ve been through many.
 
bollox-1 said:
They can play quiet--- at 1:00 am when your house is quiet, you can turn them down so that you can barely hear anything at all, and you'll be able to understand every word and hear every detail. Very strange experience you cannot have with other speakers.
They have a cult following of converts who view them as the world's state-of-the-art loudspeaker, at any price (as long as you get rid of those factory legs).
Click to expand...
I guess I'm one of those cult people. Would you like to take a free personality test? ;)


P.S. Welcome to AK!
 
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Oh yeah even on the factory legs they still sound better for midrange & treble than anything else I've ever sat and listened to.

I once was using a passive preamp, powering them with my Krell KSA-50s, and a Naim CD player. I had them all setup perfect... and had a ton of acoustic treatment in the room. Just a ton, it was so ugly... but that one particular dark and quiet night I had everything set up just right.

The soundstage extended beyond the right and left of the speakers, beyond the walls of my room, it was really freaky. I kept hearing noises and kept turning the sound off to listen to see what it was. It was as though someone had slit time-space and opened up two windows into another acoustic location and I was there. Really freaked me out. My brain was interpreting the psychoacoustic signals in the minimalist 2-channel stereo recording and actually made a 3D sonic hologram. I have never heard anything that good in all my years of attending audiophile shows, high-end stereo shops, etc. It was sonic nirvana. You can't buy Quads and then ever truly be happy with any other speakers. You're just permanently unhappy and permanently unimpressed from that point on. But in a good way.

Loudspeakers really are a give & take, just like cars. A Humvee can do things a Rolls-Royce never could dream of doing, and a Ferrari can do things neither of them can. Its like women-- pick any 3: Available, Gorgeous, Smart, Good-hearted (or for the ladies-- its like men, pick any 3: Available, Rich, Handsome, or Good-hearted since none of us are very smart anyways).
 
I loved the pair I had for awhile, but they are easy to damage with too much power - and it doesn't take much. Don't let the unwashed ever touch the volume control, and use with great restraint yourself.
 
Look I don't own Quad speakers,but I'm a true stat /Mac fan ! You are hooked my good friend to the sound of transparency and detail !! That's how I got hooked in this hobby 40 years ago !!! Those dam accustat model 3s . My system now is Mac 501s Mac C2300. Preamp Martin Logan CLSIIZ ,Marin Logan balance force 210 sub, Mac mvp871, Thorens TT/mc ,,Get the speakers you would look back
 
As a former QUAD ('57) owner, I recommend you buy them and enjoy them for what they do well. Clearly one of the finest loudspeakers I have ever heard.
 
Quick question for some of the Quad 57 owners. I brought my 57's out of storage after a little over 15 years, these are late models based on the serial numbers probably built in the early 80's. I gave them a thorough cleaning and needed to repair one of the dust covers that had become loose and had a tear, the panels all looked fine with no signs of arcing and was set to go. I plugged them in and let them charge up for a couple of days, turned on my Quad 34/405-2 (with limiters) and they sounded perfect, I was pretty amazed, just as I remembered. Just one issue has developed, as I have used them they have developed a musty sort of dusty old smell, anyone have this experience. Is this just bits of dust that I missed from cleaning, electronics reburning in, it is a bit annoying and I cannot find any similar experience discussed.
 
Midwest Ear said:
Quick question for some of the Quad 57 owners. I brought my 57's out of storage after a little over 15 years, these are late models based on the serial numbers probably built in the early 80's. I gave them a thorough cleaning and needed to repair one of the dust covers that had become loose and had a tear, the panels all looked fine with no signs of arcing and was set to go. I plugged them in and let them charge up for a couple of days, turned on my Quad 34/405-2 (with limiters) and they sounded perfect, I was pretty amazed, just as I remembered. Just one issue has developed, as I have used them they have developed a musty sort of dusty old smell, anyone have this experience. Is this just bits of dust that I missed from cleaning, electronics reburning in, it is a bit annoying and I cannot find any similar experience discussed.
Click to expand...

I'd try popping off the front & back grilles. Wash the front grilles in the shower and pat dry (do not get the rear grilles wet), and put the rear grilles in a separate room. If that helps you isolate the malodorous scent to the rear grilles, I would guess its the rear wadding on the back of the speakers. Chi-town can be humid in the summers, so my guess is its the rear damping material on the rear grilles.

I'd hose the damping material and rear grilles down in the tub with dry-cleaning spray if that's the case-- no water.
 
bollox-1 said:
I'd try popping off the front & back grilles. Wash the front grilles in the shower and pat dry (do not get the rear grilles wet), and put the rear grilles in a separate room. If that helps you isolate the malodorous scent to the rear grilles, I would guess its the rear wadding on the back of the speakers. Chi-town can be humid in the summers, so my guess is its the rear damping material on the rear grilles.

I'd hose the damping material and rear grilles down in the tub with dry-cleaning spray if that's the case-- no water.
Click to expand...

Yes, front and back grills have been cleaned with a spray cleaner and steamer, wadding has been replaced with felt pads that I made, inside of the speaker has been wiped down as best as possible and vacuumed out every nook and crany that I could reach. Not sure what more I could do, it doesn't seem to be coming from the electrical box, just at a complete loss. I have considered sending them to a rebuilder but since they are working perfectly fine it just doesn't seem worthwhile just yet. I will keep trying...thanks for your note.
 
gdmoore28 said:
A purely objective observation:

The Quads are UGLY. However, when placed next to an adorable blond, they won't be as objectionable. There.

22258e2744dc99b2e1eb9a16781c0374.jpg

GeeDeeEmm
Click to expand...


Isla Fisher is small, but she ain't THAT small ....... and she's actually a redhead !!

isla fisher.PNG
 
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bollox-1 said:
I would guess its the rear wadding on the back of the speakers. Chi-town can be humid in the summers, so my guess is its the rear damping material on the rear grilles.

I'd hose the damping material and rear grilles down in the tub with dry-cleaning spray if that's the case-- no water.
Click to expand...
I often skip posts about Quads because I used to have several pairs, foolishly sold some, carelessly damaged others, and now have none. Reading about them just makes me sad.

But I'm surprised to read that people still use them with the rear damping material. The 57s were designed for small English rooms and were put against the wall because they had to be, causing some nasty reflections. The padding was used to prevent soundwaves from the rear causing this.

It was accepted knowledge and standard procedure back in the 1980s to removed the padding completely. Martin Colloms, and others, did the experiments and wrote many articles about it. Removing the padding, and placing the speakers 3 feet out from the wall, made them bipolar (dipolar?), three-dimensional, and dramatically transformed the sound in all the best ways. I'm surprised to read that people are still using them with the sound-killing rear carpets — unless there's been a counter-revolution I was not aware of — or they're being used hard up against a wall, which should only be done if there's no option.
 
bimasta said:
I often skip posts about Quads because I used to have several pairs, foolishly sold some, carelessly damaged others, and now have none. Reading about them just makes me sad.

But I'm surprised to read that people still use them with the rear damping material. The 57s were designed for small English rooms and were put against the wall because they had to be, causing some nasty reflections. The padding was used to prevent soundwaves from the rear causing this.

It was accepted knowledge and standard procedure back in the 1980s to removed the padding completely. Martin Colloms, and others, did the experiments and wrote many articles about it. Removing the padding, and placing the speakers 3 feet out from the wall, made them bipolar (dipolar?), three-dimensional, and dramatically transformed the sound in all the best ways. I'm surprised to read that people are still using them with the sound-killing rear carpets — unless there's been a counter-revolution I was not aware of — or they're being used hard up against a wall, which should only be done if there's no option.
Click to expand...

Seems to be many opinions on this and no clear concensus. I’ve asked Wayne Picquet of Quads Unlimited his thoughts and he advised against removing the burlap as it would result in a bigger mid bass hump and would be a step backward in sound. He knows his stuff for sure having restored tons of 57’s, but I still can’t help but be curious. I have a about 3-4’ behind mine, with corner bass traps and panels on the back wall to suppress reflections. They sound superb as is with amazing imaging, tone and texture. Would love to try them without the burlap to see what happens, but It seems like a PITA to take them apart, and I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to get the burlap back in if i didn’t like it - I would think 60 year old burlap would turn to dust if I so much as looked at it the wrong way.
 
bimasta said:
I'm surprised to read that people are still using them with the sound-killing rear carpets — unless there's been a counter-revolution I was not aware of — or they're being used hard up against a wall, which should only be done if there's no option.
Click to expand...

I used mine without front or rear grilles, without wadding, and with diffraction felt on edges around the tweeter. I miss mine too, but its nice that they are still readily available! After I get some more space I hope to get some ESLs again.
 
Midwest Ear said:
Yes, front and back grills have been cleaned with a spray cleaner and steamer, wadding has been replaced with felt pads that I made, inside of the speaker has been wiped down as best as possible and vacuumed out every nook and crany that I could reach. Not sure what more I could do, it doesn't seem to be coming from the electrical box, just at a complete loss. I have considered sending them to a rebuilder but since they are working perfectly fine it just doesn't seem worthwhile just yet. I will keep trying...thanks for your note.
Click to expand...

Dang. Well... maybe you have a critter that crawled in there somewhere and croaked. :dunno:
I'd still start isolating things. If you put one speaker in one room, and the other in a different room, with closed doors, you should be able to determine which one is the offender. Then, pop the grilles off and repeat the process until you can narrow down the possible causes. Sorry I can't be of better help.
 
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