ESL57 vs ESL63

I can't help but feel that most of the mythology around the Quads originated from the high regard held by his contemporaries for the great man himself, Peter J Walker.

Box/cone loudspeaker manufacturers must have been alarmed upon the arrival of this new technology, but as we have seen, electrostatics were not the future road forwards but merely a sideline.

It's also interesting that although Walker himself believed the 63s to be superior it was the ESL that passed into Hi-Fi legend.

Can’t give you a comparison but the 57s needed a fair bit of SS power. I don’t think my Naim amps ever worked so hard before the Quads arrived.

After reading nothing but praise for them I went to a lot of trouble to get a pair but they didn’t stay long. Sure, with the right recording and the right alignment of the stars they might be capable of stunning vocal reproduction and imagery but...they do need a lot of fuss as well as lots and lots of space.

The final straw broke when I played some Rock through them and received an entirely lacklustre result. One for Classical and Opera fans foremost I think.

I never heard the 63s but did catch the updated 988s I think, (could have been the 989s) and once again was left feeling underwhelmed.

They do some things deliciously but don’t seem to be a speaker for all genres. Far from it.

On the plus side it was always easy to move them on as demand was always high. 

@atmasphere , thanks for the explanation. That helps to clear up a few things, albeit decades later.

I can remember being puzzled at having to turn the Naim amp volume dial past 12 o'clock (before getting cold feet recalling the old horror stories of the panels arcing and being left with tiny holes) without any reciprocal increase in sound. 

I appreciate the information, as I'm sure others will too. The previous owner used them valves but neither he or I knew why it might matter (although a good clue might the date of manufacture). They were in great condition and had new panels fitted by Quad so moving them on was no problem.

So I guess I never really got to hear what they could do. "A great set of compromises"?  Maybe some of those reviews weren't so overblown after all.

Oh well, you live and you learn!