Recommend an amp + pre for ESL 57s and a new turntable (way out of my league)


Hi all, longtime lurker now starting my semi-serious venture into all of this. I was recently gifted a pair of Quad ESL 57s, a Well Tempered Labs Amadeus GTA turntable, and a Miyajima Labs Shilabe cartridge. I need a preamp and amplifier for the system on a budget of ~$1000 - $1500. I currently have an old Harman Kardon Stereo Festival (TA-230) receiver, which is just a cool piece of old, barely working, shits-n-gigs gear I used to drive some junky speakers with in college. It hasn't been plugged in in two years and even if its still works, I don't think it's a great match for my system. What would you recommend? I am most interested in listening to some old mono blues, jazz, and folk LPs I have, and I imagine most of the records I collect in the future will be similar (I know I have a stereo cart, which I've always understood to be fine for this?).

Some guiding questions:

- Seems like a favorite for the ESLs are a pair of heathkit UA-1s. Another that I'm seeing well recommended is the Dyna st35. Thoughts? Does it make sense to spend ~$700 - $1000 on a nice amp and get something more basic for the pre in the $400 range? (Rega fono??)

- Should I get a nicer preamp to match my cart and go with something more basic wrt amplification? Not sure what is good in the way of cheaper(?) amps to drive these speakers.

- In the event that I stretch my budget and wait a bit between buying one and the other (to save back up lol), would I get more out of a ~$1200 amp and the cheapest preamp that will work, or a ~$1200 pre and the cheapest amp that will work? What would the cheapest preamp and amp that "will work" be in the meantime? What would be in the $1200 range for each, respectively?

Thank you if you took the time to read this! I will be cleaning the dust off the Quads in the meantime.

arg6442

Showing 2 responses by arg6442

Thank you all for your responses!

@clio09 -- I am fairly certain that my speakers have the treble unit protection from the factory. It is my understanding that that's what you mean by Clamp Board? They are SN36228 and 36260. I know that this part, as well as the ETH unit, might need to be replaced? Do you have any advice on determining when to replace, which replacement parts to use, and other parts that might need replacement? I still have not actually listened to them as I'm worried about plugging in my HK.

@elliottbnewcombjr -- I appreciate the sentiment and see your point of view swapping the whole system out. At the very least I must keep the quads, they are of sentimental value to both my friend and I. I would like to try to keep the whole thing together, but if it turns out that the tt+cart aren't great for me, what should I be looking at instead? any MCs that come to mind? Turntables? Not sure how easy it is to sell this stuff and it would pain me to downgrade. Will definitely have someone check it out and inquire as to the hours on it. I don't have a ton of specific info, but I do know that all of these things have been well taken care of (not sitting in a hot storage unit or in an attic).

@pindac -- I am very, very interested in this neurochrome route. Is the model you're referring to the Modulus 86 (65W)? Can you provide any more information on what you mean by "a increased Power Output build of a N’chrome used A/B"? Sorry for the newb question.

@peter_s -- Thank you for the rec, the rm10 also seems like a great potential option.

 

Thank you! Do any stick out? ST70 is the obvious choice, but interestingly enough, it's the one amp that the friend who gave me the speakers said wasn't a great match. Someone local to me is selling a decent-looking ST-70 clone for an excellent price.