For what it’s worth, I had the treble panels replaced on my ESL 57’s at a high end shop in the late 80’s. On a Saturday, they demoed them for me using a Spectral amp. It was a show stopper in a crowded store, mouths wide open. At home using the original quad mono blocks, I never achieved the realism I had heard with the Spectral. Good luck
Best power amp for Quad 63
I have read a few discussions about powering the 63s but I am sure that in 2022 there are more options.
Currently I am using an upgraded Conrad Johnson PV11 and a lp70 power amp. This combination is very good but a little too warm for me. I would like to hear more upper partials (frequencies) and bottom punch.
I am partial to Class A SS amps and looking at the used market. Probably need to stay under 3K.because I will need to sell my lp70. I am looking at the following pieces:
SPECTRAL DMA 90
MARK LEVINSON ML2, 23, or 432
KRELL KAV 250S
Plinius
Esoteric F-03A
Accuphase E- 530
Thanks in advance.
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i owned quads for years
i was also a cj dealer the pv11 is your problem the latej cj gear was way more transparent
you should just get a new preamp.
please give our store a call we have a great warm sondind but more transparent solid state preamp which we can send you which should perk up that system and still be sffordable for you
Dave and troy Audio intellect nj
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@fortepiano50 When I owned Quad63USAs I also found the best matches were tube amps in my case Berning ZH270 and Dehavilland 845 monos. I'd suspect that the Atma-Sphere M60s suggested would have also been a great match. OTOH, I understand SS adding punch. My Soundlabs are run w/Krell FBP-300 which trounced hybrid Lamm monos that I originally paired with them. IMHO, the Krell, Plinius, Accuphase & Spectral would all work fine, but I'd seriously consider tubes if you are open to that. One caution w/Spectral, when I bought DMA amp and preamp many years ago, I recall some atypical impedance specs that made use of both their pieces a best practice; some of their gear isn't suited to mate with other brands to quite the same extent as others. Do your research to be sure it's a good fit w/your pre. Cheers, Spencer |
no doubt well made otl’s are especially well suited to drive esl’s be they quads, sanders, soundlabs, m-l's and so on such amps do require quite a commitment from the owner, and some may shy away from these amps running with many many power tubes to maintain i have had very good luck (and wonderful sound) with my trusty arc 100.2 on my esl63’s furthermore one can also use a nice tube pre in front of a zero maintenance ss power amp... |
Big thanks to everyone!
Yes Rich, I had three years of six nights a week experience with two Phase Linear 700s, a Crown amp and a tri-amp sound system. They worked great for that application but were never allowed in my house. We ran two ESS AMT super tweeters and was recently excommunicated for mentioning using a dipole ribbon with the Quads. I earned a living as a professional musician for over 20 years and played many genres but mostly classical. Now play in a British style Brass Band near Washington,DC. Shrill, you say. That is definitely the sound for a classical instrumentalist. Right? I will agree that I am 70 and could have some upper frequency loss but my recent hearing test proved otherwise. In closing I would like to use a phase commonly used in the southern USA. "Bless your heart!' |
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