Best power amp for Quad 63

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

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

@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!  

• Atma Sphere M-60: I wanted this amp so bad but I didn't have enough for those and the Quad 63. Someday.
• I really like the Spectral and your advice on doing my diligence.
• I also like the idea of another preamp.  
• But, this is my favorite:
  

  richopp

  "You want more HIGHS with Quad's???"

  "Well, my advice is a Phase Linear 700 from the old days.  It is as shrill as they get, and with the shrillness of the Quad's, you should be happy.

  If you are my age, over 70, your high frequency hearing may be slightly less than it used to be...maybe get it checked?

  Cheers!"

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!'