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Looking for vintage Quad ESL's - or my wife thinks a "shrink" becase she says I'm crazy!

Been out of the hi-fi ’scene’ since the early 80’s. My last system was a pair of Quad ESL-57’s with a Quad 303 amp, Hafler DH101 pre-amp (kit I built) and a Linn LP-12 and Grace tonearm (can’t remember what cartridge I had). I bought all of it for a song back then. The speakers were $300 (nobody knew what they were or what they were worth), I got the LP12 for $500 (salesman accommodation). The power amp and pre-amp were $200 combined. Oh yeah, I worked at a hi-fi store in Chapel Hill NC which explains some of the deals I got. Sold *everything* to pay for a down payment on a trailer as I had just gotten married. Skip 35 years, raised three kids, put them all through college, worked as a software engineer until retiring. Now I want to get back into my original passion. I can’t afford to buy new stuff, the price has gone ballistic. So, I’m beginning again to put together a system to listen to my music on. I still have my Hafler pre-amp which I will use if it still works until I can get something better. I just bought two 125 watt monoblock tube amplifier kits from Bob Latino (www.tubes4hifi.com). I love building things and am very handy with a soldering iron! Also, I always loved the sound of tubes.

Speakers...That’s where I need help. I *really* loved the way my old Quad ESL-57’s sounded. When I was 15 (I’m now 66) my friends dad had stacked Quad ESL-57’s and I swear I’ve NEVER heard anything as good since then! That’s why I’m really wanting to go back to electrostatic speakers. I’ve auditioned some of the Martin Logan stuff at Best Buy. I’m astounded that they are distributed in that chain..I also was flabbergasted that McIntosh was sold there too. Regardless, the salespeople don’t know what to demonstrate let alone setup up quality hifi equipment. They sounded terrible. Even after listening to the ML speakers on several different occasions I concluded I don’t like the way they sound. I still think a proper pair of Quad’s is the way to go. The problem is finding a pair! I’ve discovered Electrostatic Solutions LTD and if I get a decent looking pair intend to have them rebuilt there. I’m guessing after I find a pair and get them refurbished I’ll be spending between $4K and $5K. Unless I find a great deal on a pair that is already up to snuff.

DAC - I never knew what a DAC was until recently but conclude that I need one since I will be listening to music streaming from my iPhone, my Mac Mini etc. I feel really ignorant on what kind of DAC I need. I’ve noticed that some of them can double as a pre-amp too and hook directly up my power amps. That might be good for a temporary solution until I can get a proper preamp. Still, DAC’s can range from $500 - $15K. I have no idea what features I need or whether the low end DAC’s are even worth it.

I really need some suggestions. If I had the money I’d go to an audiophile salon and buy my equipment proper. But I don’t so I have to get the best equipment I can with my limited resources. I’m not exactly poor, but I could never justify to my wife spending $20K on audio equipment. Dang, I looked into getting another Linn Sondek LP12. The price is sky high compared to my ’82 version although there are differences between the basic model I had in 1982 and what they’re producing now. Still...I may need to wait on a turntable until I get speakers and a DAC.

I feel overcome with choices! New gear, used gear, electrostatic speakers, conventional speakers... Maybe my wife is right. I need some Valium and a good shrink!!

Mark in Big Stone Gap VA

markcooperstein
bbroussard
188 posts
 
You can confirm your wife's diagnosis by going with the stacked Quads.  ;~)
terry9
2,244 posts
 
Good ears you have.

I have owned three types of Magnepans and three types of ESL's. I say Quads, hands down.

ESL 57's are wonderfully musical speakers. 2805's add an octave high and low but sound a tad bright to me, while 2905's add those octaves and restore that Quad magic. Some gently used 2905's might be more reliable than 57's, and not much more money.

Another thing is that 2905's beg to be tweaked. Since you are handy with a soldering iron, you might consider hinting to your wife about some aftermarket Plitron transformers for Christmas this year, some better caps next year, etc. Choose the mod-upgrade path to that superb system.
byang12's avatar
byang12
39 posts
 
I have a pair of stacked quad 57s since 1996 and i love it for playing string music and female voice.the problem with quad is that it is not reliable, especially can not play too loud so that they start arcing.
I built a infinite middle range ribbon and old paper cone full range woofer based bi-polo speaker system and really like it, it is as fast as quad w/ better high frequency response and play much louder than quads.

Driving quad 57 is challenging for solid state amps, better use push pull transformer coupled tube amps. Stay away from using "otl" tube amplifiers to drive quads.

terry9
2,244 posts
 
Byang, must disagree.

I have found Quads to be perfectly reliable - but then, I have never pushed them hard.

As for OTL's, as I understand, it is true that a good protection circuit is necessary, because if something goes badly wrong, it can send a pulse through the speakers. 2805's and 2905's both have adequate protection, 57's do not.

I ran Atma-Sphere M60 OTL amps for biamping ML ESL's, as well as 2805's and 2905's. One of my friends has stacked 57's, and the M60's worked fine with one pair of those. The issue is something going badly wrong, as discussed.

True, Quads won't play as loud as some would like, but they're plenty loud for me.

prof
3,450 posts
 
Not crazy at all.

I've been through a ton of high end speaker systems since the mid 90's and I still lust after a pair of ESL 57s.  I'd have some now if I had the space.  (But they won't work in the setup area I have to work with).
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