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Review: Quad U S A ESL-989 Speaker

Category: Speakers

I have owned the QUAD ESL-989 for over a year now, and will not think of giving it up for any other speaker. They suit my musical tastes perfectly, as I listen solely to classical music, and particularly enjoy vocal music, especially Bach's cantatas.

The most important aspects of sound to me are precise definition, and reproduction, and the QUAD speakers do this nearly perfectly. They allow pinpoint resolution of each component of the orchestra, but I cannot solely attribute this to the speakers alone, as my amplifier, pre-amplifier, and SACD player also have a significant role to play in musical reproduction.

As I mentioned, the sound stage is unparalleled. The upper- and mid-range frequencies are flawless. The bass (which I only hear when listening to the organ or cello) is precise and causes my body to resonate, as well as the furniture that I sit on, but oddly enough it does not shake the floor, so I must say that this would be the only weak point of the speakers.

I have heard speakers that cost 30 times the price of the QUAD's, and they don't come close to matching the precise sound reproduction. I don't think I'll ever own any other pair of speakers.

Associated gear
Cardas Golden Reference speaker cables
drbond

Showing 2 responses by drbond

drbond OP
391 posts
 
I have an almost complete QUAD system: I am driving the speakers with the QUAD II-forty monoblocks. My pre- is the QUAD QC-24, and my source is usually the Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista CD/SACD player.

One weakness that I regularly notice is that at high volumes and high frequencies (i.e. loud soprano), I will hear some distortion, but my amps and pre- are near the speakers, as a matter of necessity, because of limited space, and I suspect that this fault is due to feedback because of my mediocre setup.
drbond OP
391 posts
 
Doesn't mark my credibility down: it makes one question the validity of spending more than 10k on a pair of speakers. What does that extra 200k do? Nothing that I can tell!
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