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Quad ESL 57 are there better speakers out there??

28 years of searching i never imagined i would find heaven at long last. So realistic so present so alive. After 25 years of searching for the time machine that can transport me back to the very moment the recording was made, and have me standing there next to the musician I have found it.

Feed it glorious amps like my audionote p4 signature monos and the jadis jps1 pre all headed by the very first DAC that was ever made the TDA 1540 in the form of the Revox B225 and join this to the best speaker i have ever heard and you are there at the finishing line.

NO Bass crap, bring it right out into the middle of a large room fgive space to breath put it on heavy metal stands remove the oak feet and put a couple of ebony pucks underneath and you will never look back. Well thats how I feel right now.

People who have lived with quads set up properly with high quality equipment need only respond.

Let me know what you think , and what is the next best step stack them in pairs??

Who would believe the two of the oldest technologies could make hifi sound so real????????
audiojoy4
glide3
402 posts
 
I agree that the quad 57 is a masterpiece, I own an excellent pair (set-up just as you describe) of them and bring them into the main room to listen to them from time to time to recalibrate.
Most of the time I use my ESP Bodhran SE's and while they do not do the things a Quad 57 does best quite as well as the original they are as close as I have found with a box speaker and they do do some things a bit better.
classical1
168 posts
 
A friend back in the 70s had the Quad ESL-57s, a Quad 405 amp and he switched between a Dynaco Pat-5 and a Quad preamp. A turntable of course was his source. I spent hundreds of hours listening to this system and 30+ years later haven't heard anything I've enjoyed as much. One of the complaints I heard was how directional they are, but sitting in the sweet spot they were/are a great speaker. Congrats on your find :)
audiojoy4 OP
98 posts
 
Thanks for your rsponses so it seems stacking them is the way to go.

Few feedback 'I would not master a record on them' I am not a recording engineer but cannot see why this would be a problem.

Shadorn you are on my case again!
Hope my comments dio not sound too arrogant?? Yes after 28 years and stacks and stacks of high end gear. I have not heard everything but heard enough 'award winning equipment' to realise that the Revox and quad are very very special indeed. If I were to list the equipment I have owned it would be a very long list indeed, many considered state of the art. If they are state of the art god help us we have been fooled for on speakers for 50 years and cd players for over 30. The very first DAC ever was always the best, TDA 1540, cannot believe i spent thousands and thousands of ponds.

The Quads are relatively cheap more people should give them ago at least once to see if it hits that magical spot.
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Shadorn you are on my case again!

LOL, Could not resist a little dig about how long this will last...;-)

Peace... you indeed have an impressive system and no doubt have owned/auditioned far more than I have ever done and these Quads are absolutely LEGENDARY! May the marriage last!
bachtovinyl
27 posts
 
I had a HQD stacked set-up that was amazing. I now have a pair of 57s. I still have the 18" Hartley in a 7' teak enclosure but can't use it because of space considerations. The difference is nothing short of stupendous. The 57s are wonderful without the Hartley but world-class with it. Congratulations on finding the Quads-- they are keepers.
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