Amp for Quad ESL 57


I recently bought a pair of Quad ESL 57, Wayne Piquet modified. They are simply amazing. I am currently using my McIntosh MA2275, and it does a good job overall. However, I wonder whether the new Quad II-Forty might a better choice. Any idea?
ggavetti
Glad you like the speakers. You have a particularly amazing pair of Wayne's work.

Your speakers have protection boards installed so any amplifier will work without damage to the speaker.

Quads like amps with beefy, stable power supplies. Don't be afraid to give them some power. You will be amazed at what a 50-100watt tube amp will do with these speakers.

I use a pair of ARC D70mkII with the Quad ESL. About 65watts/channel. Wonderful tone, huge well defined soundstage and fantastic 'grip' on those bass panels.
Has anyone used an Atmasphere S30 with a Quad 57? Your comments about the synergy would be appreciated.
Do the amp requirments change for stacked Quads?
Thanks, Frank
Franks,

I drove a pair of Quad 57's with an S-30 a few years ago. Since I'm a dealer for the latter I'll refrain from editorializing too much and just say that yes, it can be done.

For stacked Quads driven in parallel, in my opinion the S-30's output impedance is too high. The M-60 would be a better choice. If the stacked Quads are wired in series, I think the S-30 would work fine.

I know a speaker cable designer who used stacked Quad 57's (wired in parallel I believe but I can find out for sure if you'd like) driven by M-60's as his reference system.

Duke
Any of the Esoteric Audio Research amps will sound marvellous with the Quads, other than being built in the same home town, the designer, Tim De Parvicini voices his amps with Quads and winds his output transformers to optimally deal with the wild loads they present.
My single ended EAR 869 profoundly pairs with the 57's as if there was to be no better of a perfect match, this combo delivers the 4th dimension AND bass !!