Innersound Electrostatic amp driving Quad esl 57's

You may want to try an ARC D70 Mk2. I own one and it's a wonderful tube amp. I'm pretty sure that David Chesky uses this amp to drive Quads.

Ditto what others say about power. I've had a Bedini 25/25 with a single pair of Quads, and it was very good. One of my customers had a pair of Atma-Sphere M-60s with his Quads, and it was a terrific match. Two pairs of Quads connected in series driven by M-60s could be something.

I used to run Quads full range with Dynaco Mk IIIs, 50 watts/ch no problem. I used regulated everything, preamp power supply, tube filament supplies, etc. I ran the Quads naked - no metal grills, no dust covers. They are much more unrestrained and dynamic that way.

No way I'd mate a 600 watt solid state with '57's. As Atmasphere suggests, stay with low power tubes!

The danger with the '57 is arcing damage due to too much power, hence the 25 watt thing.

But they are also very tube friendly (in fact were designed for tubes), and will make bass with a tube amp that they will not with transistors. If I were you I would consider tubes on that account. Its a classic combination.

I had several amps driving ESL57's over the years including a Bedini 25/25. The best two that I heard were the Levinson ML2 (no suprise) and a Naim 250 with the output reduced internally. I tried a Marantz 8B, Dynaco St70 and MkIV's,Berning EA230 QuadsII, and 303. Make sure you have the protection boards installed and good luck.

Thanks again - I like my Bedini's but am open to suggestions regarding amplification.

Rmarcus5757, do you mean to say the InnerSound amp has a "Power Limiter" that limits the power of this 600 watt amp to around 50 watts/channel just for Quads? Hmmm, that's the first I've heard of this! Maybe the channels are fused and you can change fuses to accommodate any speakers?

Regardless of that, it may not be the best sounding amp you could use on the Quads...

For decades I have heard and read that you don't need more than 25 wpc. With that being said, there is apparantly circuitry built into this amp that enables the user to realize the benefits of much greater power without damaging the quads.

What is the maximum watts your 57s will handle without damage?