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Quad Listener Contemplating Horns

I have reemerged into this mad pursuit after a nine year hiatus, and just got my existing system back up and running (Crosby Quads, ARC SP-10, Classic 60, semi-tweaked Well-Tempered TT, Lyra Parnassus) after that many years (freshly gone over, retubed, TT readjusted, etc.)
The thing makes music, no doubt, but I'm still left with the complaint that I always had about this system, and earlier variants- the whole illusion seems to collapse on large scale pieces- not talking about volume here, but a combination of other things going on, including distortions that have to do with the overall spacing of the instruments- it is like the image is constricted even if the program content is not. (OK, enough of my psycho-babble).
Here's the question- I know that there is a long established school for horns, very low wattage tube amps. Need to know how liveable these systems are- not as a substitute, but in addition to, the more 'conventional' electrostatic system I'm running. I know I have some auditioning to do- I want to hear the Avantgarde speakers with the Lamms or Audio Notes, perhaps a Carey amp. I'll probably use the same front end, and at least for now, the SP-10 (which, by anybody's standards, may just be too noisy to tolerate over a system with a very low noise floor). I'm particularly interested in the insights from folks who use these types of systems as one among several-
128x128whart
whart's avatar
whart OP
2,972 posts
 
Man, I am so happy I started this thread. You guys are bringing back memories. A-7s. Tannoys! Love Lacee's response, but which is it, parallel or series? (Somebody on this site is offering a double pair of Quads with the original Levinson frames that include a branded 'knob' with the Levinson imprint. How funky is that!)

So, I placed a few calls to known suppliers. (God this sounds illicit). Seems like my timing is good. Everybody is on their way to CES. (This used to happen to me alot when I drank. For some reason, I always needed a drink on election day, when the bars were closed).

One of my cohorts urged me to listen to the Consonance amp configured with 211's, in conjunction with the Avantgarde Duos. Reminded him of the early AudioNote amplifier.

I'll have to do some listening before I draw any conclusions for myself. But, the input here has so far been invaluable, as well as fun to read. I guess I'm looking for an alternative to the Quad-based system, for those times when I want to hear a certain 'aliveness' to the music, rather than delicacy, detail and nuance.
lacee
811 posts
 
Series parallel wiring with stacked Quad 57.
Positive from amp to positive of top Quad speaker. Negative of top Quad Speaker to positive of bottom Quad, negative of bottom Quad to negative of Amp.You require one long positive lead ,one long negative lead of equal length and one shorter jumper.Again the jumper goes from the upper Quad negative to the lower Quad positive. This is how to wire when you stack the Quads bottom to bottom so that the upper Quad is in the standard orientation and the Quad below it is inverted, (the top of bottom Quad is now at the bottom of the stack). This will make your amp see the same load as 1 pair of Quads 57.It worked for me.
whart's avatar
whart OP
2,972 posts
 
Thanks for clarifying, Lacee. Sorry for my ignorance.
golden_ears
224 posts
 
I find it interesting that people seem to be focusing on your speakers as your problem.
Could your problem be the source? If your cartridge and tonearm are not up to handling big dynamic passages, it won't matter what components you have downstream!
What about the phono stage or the amp? Any of these things can cause the problem you are describing.
I see so many poeple continually plodding through a whole series of speakers, cables, etc., never happy for long, when it is their source component or amps that are the problem.
914nut
100 posts
 
Lacee's proposed wiring scheme will actually result in TWICE the original (single) speaker impedance at the amp's terminals. His description is simply a classic series connection of the two speakers, in which the impedances are additive.

OTOH, a parallel connection (positive-to-positive/negative-to-negative)of the two speakers would result in HALF the original (single) impedance at the amp.
Jim
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