Amp for Quad ESL 57

I feel I must put in a plug for Heathkit UA-1s. I've tried several amps with my 57s (which have treble panels rebuilt by Mr. Picquet by the way), including original Quad IIs, Dynaco ST 35s, a Bedini 25/25 and even a Red Wine Audio Signature 30, and the Heathkits are my personal favorites.

I was initially interested in trying the Heathkits when Sheldon Stokes commented on his website that they are his amps of choice for the 57s, and I thought it would be a nice cheap way to get started (as a matter of fact, a pair went for only $350 on eBay earlier today). I personlly find them to be a VERY synergistic match and currently have a pair being updated/modded by Bill Thalman of Music Technology(formerly of Conrad Johnson).

Don

That's very interesting. Is it possible to get Heathkits in good conditions? Where would you get them? For instance, do you know if Bill Thalman occasionally sells them? Tx.

Hello Ggavetti - no, Bill does not usually have any for sale, but I do see them come up regularly on U.S. eBay. Most of them seem need to need minor repairs (such as new caps), but I'm sure you have someone in your area who could do them. Sheldon Stokes discusses the amp on his website and also offers a custom cap board that I'm assuming is still available (http://www.quadesl.com/). Good luck, I think they are a tremendous bargain.

Don

Duke (or others),

I would be grateful if you would "editorialize" just a bit more about matching an Atma-Sphere S-30 with Quad ESL 57s. I have a Stokes-restored pair of Quads and a fully-balanced Joule Electra preamp. I would love to try this amp, but some seem to recommend the more powerful M-60s instead. Not sure if this is for power or impedance reasons. Also, are the Speltz autoformers necessary (or strongly recommended) to run Quads with the S-30 (or the M-60s for that matter)? Thanks for any input.

Hello

The best amp I've ever heard on my Quads is a Futterman OTL. I've had Manley El84's, EAR 509's, Audio Innovations 2A3's, Lectron EL34's (JH50), Audionote Single Ended and an Audionote copy of the Ongaku using 211 valves. Once you hear a good OTL, amps with output transfomers seem veiled. Also OTL's love the high impedence of Quad 57's. Watch out for Croft OTL's especially the 3R which is supposed to be amazing. I heard a Series 3 which was great but not quite as good as my Futterman. Surprisingly too I think my Croft Twinstar Mosfet/Valve hybrid out performs any non OTL valve amp. There's a chap in London called Adrian Parsons (Audioflair.co.uk) who has led me through the maze of amps out there to where I am now and he's been right every time.

have fun SgtWilko