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  After Quad ESL's?
I am enjoying listening to Quad esl-63's and to the 57's (which I prefer). And though my wife has enjoyed them also, she informs me that her heretofore acceptance of the visual impact on our living room has been "only out of love." Her valiant endurance of my Quad-love has come to an end, period.

It has been six years.

So, now the time has come:
Speak, Quad owners (and former Quad owners), about what else has worked for you.

I would like a smaller, (than the quad) used speaker that images better than the Quad's. These are some of the directions I am thinking about:
The Vandersteen 2c Signatures are on the large side.
Perhaps a Dynaudio monitor, B&W 802 Matrix Series III, Proac (are there any that aren't excessively bright?). Are Lowthers a possibility, or too hopelessly colored?

I am attracted to ATC and Merlin, My taste runs expensive, but my pocket book (I work as a concert piano technician) runs shallow.

$1500 a pair or less would work best.

I also welcome your synergistic amplification suggestions. So far, I have prefered the sound of tubed equipmnet in the under $1500 per component range. I have recently been captivated by the idea of TVC (transformer volume control) Bent Audio NOH, etc. with a SET. But, the TacT M2150 (integrated without room correction) also intrigues me. Does anyone know how it sounds?

Acutal experience prefered to conjecture. Let it rip, and I thank you in advance for your thoughts and replies.
Earthpulse  (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

03-20-05
  Responses (1-28 of 28)
Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

03-20-05   I had the 57's for about 15 years and have been through a su ...   Drubin

03-21-05   Disclaimer - i'm going to suggest stuff that i peddle. i'm ...   Audiokinesis

03-21-05   For the actual experience you requested, i've owned the b&w ...   Onemug

03-21-05   Hi, aside from the harbeths, spendors are also considere ...   Tlh28

03-22-05   I had my quad esl-63's for 7 years. i enjoyed every minute ...   Jeffreyds

03-22-05   Fwiw, i have passed thru acoustats, quad 63's (5 years of us ...   Newbee

03-22-05   That volume thing is important. i listen a lot at low volum ...   Drubin

03-22-05   I think the harbeths are the ones you should listen to. i h ...   Tmallin

03-25-05   Thanks to all who have responded so far. thank you for consi ...   Earthpulse

03-26-05   I listened to the gallo ref 3's at marin dealer yesterday... ...   Earthpulse

03-27-05   Hi earthpulse. i own 2 pairs of esl57's and have owned 63's ...   Gilbodavid

03-29-05   I have quad57s and a highly tweaked hammer dynamics speaker. ...   Matsukawags

03-29-05   Sorry i forgot to mention that the hammer's image like crazy ...   Matsukawags

04-05-05   If you can live with less bass or would use a sub the newest ...   Portlandlay

04-07-05   I have owned quad 989's, loved listening to them and enjoyed ...   Logenn

04-18-05   I want to get back to all of you. i bought a pair of gallo ...   Earthpulse

04-18-05   Should have listened to "the horns" from the horn ...   Robyatt

04-20-05   Couldn't agree more with robyatt, having acquired a pair of ...   Mahlerfan

04-20-05   When someone finally makes a decision and is pleased with it ...   Drubin

04-22-05   The horn shoppe horns look fantastic, i bet they sound that ...   Earthpulse

04-22-05   I also preferred the 57's over the 63's and lived with the 5 ...   Rooze

06-17-12   I have used many speakers throughout my years as a audio ent ...   Abz90

06-17-12   Just in time abz90....... another few years and earthpulse w ...   Halcro

06-17-12   I had stacked quad 57's, and a single pair of 63's. my first ...   Lacee

06-17-12   I've had several esls through the years, from acoustat 2+2s, ...   Essentialaudio

06-19-12   Audiokinesis also makes speakers that should be considered. ...   Atmasphere

06-21-12: 213cobra
In your stated price preference:

I'm a former owner of Quad ESL (what people now call "ESL-57) and ESL63. Particularly if you prefer the 57 over the 63, I think you will not find satisfaction in a crossover-based dynamic speaker. Of that sort, consider the Spendor S3/5 in either of its voicings. This is one of a few speakers able to legitimately claim to be a modern update on the venerable BBC LS3/5a monitor, and is probably the most neutral among them.

However, I have two other, more pertinent suggestions in crossoverless speakers that have the behavioral unity and speed of the Quads. One option is the Zu Omen speaker. THey take up about 1 square foot of floor space and can be ordered or found used in a variety of stained wood colors. The Zu Omen is friendly to SS or tube amps. The Omen is built around Zu's 10" full range driver supplemented by a supertweeter above 12.5kHz on a high pass filter. At 98db/w/m efficiency, Omen is easy to drive with a modest power SET tube amp, will handle much more power from push-pull tube amps, and it puts solid state amps in their sweet spot.

A second excellent option, if you stretch your budget just a little, is the Audience 1+1 micro-monitor. This uses the astonishing Audience full-range driver. This speaker delivers all the behavior unity of the ESL57, without the beaming, and despite its tiny dimensions is less limited dynamically than the much larger Quad.

For anyone looking for Quad ESL-like sound and unity behavior in an aesthetically discreet speaker with high spouse acceptance factors, I think the Audience 1+1 is unbeatable. $1800/pair. It was pushing out one of the best sounds at any price, at the recent Newport Beach show.

Phil

213cobra  (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)


07-21-12   Well you upgraded the speakers, and im not sure how that tur ...   Needfreestuff


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