Rivaling or Beyond the ESL 57 for Magical Midrange
Agree with your comments about the midrange, so why not "dusty and quirky ESL57's"? Good luck finding a pair, but Stax F-81's do what you describe like no others in my experience. Contact these guys: http://www.estatsolution.com/ |
It has been a long time since I last heard a pair of ESL 57's. I do remember them as part of a very high end system and being enthralled with their sound and captivating midrange. That said, I believe that my Auditorium-23 Solovox Hommage speakers sound even better than what I recall of the 57's. The Solovoxes have the best midrange I have ever heard. It would be interesting to me to A/B the Solovox versus the 57, but the odds of that happening are pretty slim. |
Frogman, Good point - and in fact I can almost imagine a pair of 57's on my desktop. But as you point out, not easy to find, not the best looking devices, big and as magical as they may be, I think overpriced when one can find them. Hence, the search for the mini monitor equivalent. Perhaps I should say near near or micro nearfield, given the distance I have used with the ATCs - again, almost like headphones. A compromised image aside, I have found that closer means lower volume, less fatigue and more all day every day "magic" with a wide variety of sources. There is no one I know who cares less about technology than my mother in law, but now when she visits, she hijacks my desk as soon as she can to watch television late into the night. I can think of no better endorsement for this configuration and the virtues of low volume midrange magic. |
