Vintage electrostatic speakers and tube electronics make the magic happen
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- This is the last of this series of videos I shot at Sky Fi Audio. I hope to return later this year.
Here's a review of Quad ESL 63 speakers, www.stereophil...
Quad ESL57 Speakers
skyfiaudio.com...
Conrad-Johnson PV8 Preamp
skyfiaudio.com...
Thorens TD125 MK2 Turntable
skyfiaudio.com...
Luxman MQ-3600 Amplifier
skyfiaudio.com...
I heard this amazing system at Sky-Fi Audio skyfiaudio.com/
Sky-Fi Audio works in partnership with New York dealer Stereo Exchange stereoexchange.com
Follow me on Twitter / audiophiliacman
Without one second of music, just a man who loves to hear himself talk.
My system has four pairs of 57s that hang on chains attached to the ceiling, wired in series parallel and driven by a Hegel H20. There's a quarter wave TL stereo subwoofer that has KEF B139 drivers which works from 20 Hz to 80 Hz because the 57s aren't great for bass. The fact that you can still buy spares for the 57s is a testament to their sound quality.
When I got into high end audio in the mid 1960s, the Quad 57 and KLH 9 were at the pinnacle of accurate reproduction and were the inspiration for many top speakers to come, including the Infinity Servo Statik, and the Magnepan Timpani.
ESL 57's are easily the best speakers I've ever heard🎶
You are my first go too for audio advice and info. Steve, thank you for being so accommodating to all the different types of audio gear that makes it what it is to be an audio geek like so many of us really love to be. The history of the gear, the way its made and how we use it is so fasinating. And the fact that so so many of us have this huge respect for even the most obscure equipment and we preserve them.
Fascinating and it really is a lifetime labor of love.
I'm in the sweet spot that my musical preference already was classical/acoustical/world music, way before I found my ESL57's. That's probably why I own these already for well over 30 years, and never thought of changing to other speakers. I did change amplifiers and everything else, but not the speakers.
What amp or amps did you find optimal with the 57s? Hope they are still going strong. Thanks
I love my 57s so much. They are forever speakers. However you’re exactly right that they lead you down a cul de sac of music that suits them. I get over this by rotating them with my Thiel CS 3.5s every once in while. The best of both worlds, in my view. Thanks, I loved this article, though would be nice to hear these systems you’ve been looking at during your visit to Sky Fi.
I remember hearing a pair of the Quads in the late 80’s at Bay Bloor in Toronto. Up til that point I had heard nothing like them, I was mesmerised by the transparency and clarity.
Mitchell Cotter was demonstrating his gear on a pair of Quad 57s sitting atop a pair of Janis subwoofers at a Toronto audio show in the mid 80s. The pipe organ pieces he played were among the most realistic I ever heard from any audio system.
love the vintage stuff
Now THAT'S an audio system! Emphatically ... you can match vintage with modern and have the best of all worlds. My vintage CJ PV5 , Luxman TU 110 Tuner, Systemdek Turntable weds beautifully with new Zu Omen II DW'S, Tube Cube 7 SET Amp, Cambridge Audio CXC Transport, Schiit Modi 3 DAC.. I'm amazed at how detailed, tonally balanced and 3D the sound is..
Don't be afraid to consider vintage gear of superior build quality that in many ways competes with today's gear of same build quality and performance level but costs far more..
Just reminds me of how much I love this hobby.
Purchased a Parasound Halo P5 preamp from Sky Fi Audio last year. It was a very pleasant experience meeting Fernando and seeing the scale of all the vintage equipment I wish I could have owned during the years. Pictures of audio equipment do not really display the size, depth, and condition of the beautiful gear at Sky Fi. A trip there is well worth it. Thanks Fernando for keeping HiFi memories alive!
I signed up for SkiFi’s newsletter, and it’s now the highlight of my day a couple times a week.
I realized from their site, that I think I’d rather have a vintage system, but fully refurbished with a custom plinth, of course. - Conrad Johnson monoblocks, Garrard 401, Wilson speakers, etc.
I wonder if I’d want my more current system back.
Always fun to listen to you. :)
that's quite odd - i have 57s and they are MINDBLOWING for lots of rock and electronica etc. you have to have them set up right and in the right sized room though to make them really SING. best speaker i ever heard though.
me too ,good for streaming playback etc esp with 2 subs
Mee too- are those amps really able to DRIVE the QUADS?
The shopowner where I bought almost all gear, was convinced that Quad 57 is the best speaker ever build.
And it is ...
I agree that it is. Quad ESLs are magical.
PK from Quadsunlimited has been working on my 57’s for about 9 years. They look just like the ones in this video minus the stands. He has had some health issues so haven’t given up complete hope of hearing the 57’s again.
I have Quad ESL's (the 1957 version with the copper grilles) and I have restored them with Picquet refurbished tweeter panels, HT boards and zener protection boards. I drive them with a Citation II with McShane mods, and a "passive preamp". I think that the Citation beats that Luxman amp. I have this set up in a fairly small room and I have the speakers well out from the wall, I am listening almost near-field. I don't notice any lack of dynamics - probably because of the small room / close up layout I am not driving the speakers hard. But I can well imagine that in a bigger room you would reach the speaker's limit.
A blast from the past... um present. LOL Nice vid.
nice system ...PLAY IT!!...how 20 secs?
I'm enjoying the tour of others setups. It would also be interesting to see the concessions made and see the room layout. How many people can make the room meet the stereo rather than a Living Space / Stereo concession.
Good job Steve.
Love that Thorens! It looks like it's been fitted with a Rega tonearm. Very nice.
Diatonic5th , looks like a Linn Akito. The Akito, is a very fine arm and can be upgraded and refined by Jon Nilsen of Audio Origami. Thorens’ TD125 has a vanishingly low noise floor, amazing speed accuracy and stability. It does dynamic range effortlessly. I think that turntable arm and cartridge would really sing. Looked like a great system, ESL57s notwithstanding. Cool!
Back 1973-4 I worked for a furniture removals company in the UK. I was training as a cost estimator and they sent me to a small apartment to give a price to move an old dear to a sheltered apartment. She was getting on and had lost her husband a few years before. Most of the furniture she was giving to the salvation army where we would drop it off and the rest she would carry to her new place. In the corner of this flat or apartment was one and only one Quad 57. I had no idea what it was. So I asked her. "Oh that thing, it doesn't work. I plugged it in but it doesn't heat up. Please when you come take it and dispose of it." I thought well my flats pretty cold let me take it and see if I can fix it. Maybe a fuse or something simple like that. So I told her and asked if wouldn't mind me taking it with me. "Go ahead young man". So I did. I honestly never really looked at it until I came home that night and looked at the back and realised it wasn't a heater but some kind of audio device. No good to me at that time so I went to the local Technics Hi-Fi store on the following Saturday and my day off and spoke to a guy there. Described what I had and told him the name Quad that was on the back. He laughed and said it was a speaker. Pretty old but some people like them. No good being only one but he knew someone who maybe needed for spares. Ten pounds he gave me. I laugh now.
I had a TD125 and changed the arm for a Grace 707 and F9e
that is gorgeous system -i had that Vintage Luxman in my collection many years ago and rate it very highly.Perfectly summed up Steve i listened the same when i had the Quads -Medieval period folk music ,spoken voice - but Judas Priest -not much
My system when I was listening to the first walk on the moon was 2 pair of klh 9s and Marantz 7 preamp and Marantz 15amps? I was a sold. I was 4 yrs old.
Upgraded from my TD125 to a Linn LP12 with SME 309 and lingo, and never looked back.
I hope this listening session changed your mind about well set up electrostatics as I recall, Steve, you saying electrostatics had no soul and that you care for them.
Would have been interesting to try a Radford STA15 or STA25 as the amp in that set up.
So I have access to Quad ESL-57s for a pretty decent price. Would it be pure sacrilege to run these thru a modern AVR? I have a Marantz SR7013 and it has plenty of power and I personally think it sounds pretty great. It's just not wildly practical for me to have 2 rigs in my space. If I have to, I bet I could find the Quad amps these are usually paired with, but even at a good price, picking up the Quads will be a bit of a pinch.
I would like to buy quad esl 57 speakers.I have a Marantz 2275 amplifier.I am wondering whether to buy a Luxman MQ3600 or Quad II for it. Which will be better for the ESL 57? Luxman how about you? My whole set up is Marantz 2275, Marantz 6100, Marantz 5220, Tandberg Td 20a 4 Track and ATL HD 308s speakers, but lately I've been dreaming about the ESL 57. I'd like to treat the 2275 as a preamp, and let the tube go further. I'm still wondering about the Luxman MA3600, or the quad II, or maybe even the Dynakit MK III
Give us a few seconds of it playing please!
Those who agree to pay about $30k for loudspeakers and above, don’t trust themselves because they have special guys who tell them what to buy. Audiophile is not about listening music, but about listening to experts. Because your golf partner will listen to the same guys. So, you must simply trust their opinions. Analog planet has a sound example of these speakers. I must say you will never determine that youtube plays at x1.5 with those speakers. You know always that sound is speeded up, right? Because of a corrupted quality. With those speakers this is not true. A sound is still clear. Occasionally I turned x1.5 on and was shocked, because I mentioned this when music stopped.
@@sc0or Once you start to use your ears they lose interest in you as a customer. That being said, there’s a lot of good stuff for not a lot of money.
If you've never heard a Quad ESL 57 you don't understand. They are indeed limited, in deep bass, power handling and dynamics, but, oh my god, what they do right they do very right. Go back to 1957, no stereo, no transistors, no LP records just thick 78's, this speaker was a revelation. The fact that it still sounds great today says it all.
@Professor Jameson You sound like you own a pair. I am not familiar with the Benchmark, but it sounds very interesting from reading their website. The only thing that would worry me would be the power capability of the amp, the Quads could never handle that much power. I have read that the 25 watt Mark Levinson ML-2 was designed for the Quad 57. I am using a pair to power Sound Lab A-2 electrostatics. The A-2s are like the Quads in that they have a center tweeter with bass panels on either side. I say tweeter but it crosses over at 250hz. Unlike the Quads, the panels are 4 feet tall, a small speaker by Sound Lab standards. As a result, they produce bass. Perhaps not 20hz, but a respectable 32hz or so. The imaging and transparency is Quad like however while still being able to play big orchestral and rock music.
@Professor Jameson I have also always liked Martin Logans. Most people have never heard a Sound Lab speaker. I used to describe them as "Martin Logans with bass." Bass was a problem with the pure panel Martin Logans. They fixed that with the addition of the woofers. Sound Lab made a similar speaker, but have concentrated on pure electrostatics. I bought mine used in 1984. I still have them, although the mylar has since been replaced/updated by the Sound Lab factory.
John LeBeau We certainly did have LPs in 1957. And a year later stereo LPs
@@jonathanknight8251 I wrote a correction yesterday acknowledging that fact, I'm not quite sure why I said it, except I have been thinking lately about getting a setup to play my 78s, of which I have a fairly good collection. My Thorens TD-124 stopped working and needs a rebuild. When properly equalized and played with mono equipment, they can sound spectacular. The big problem, one song per side, hence the need for the long playing record. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the 78s sound better than the early LPs (and maybe the current ones) primarily due to the much higher groove speed. Apparently the 16 rpm format failed for that reason, poor sound quality.
@@johnlebeau5471 I am not sure Steve has heard them he never mentioned them. If he did I am sure his opinions on electrostatics would be different. I have the A1PX models and they do not sound like any other electrostatic I have heard especially Martin Logan which gave me a migraine. I had a pair of Eros from Inner Sound aka Roger Sanders that were pretty good but they incorporated a transmission line subwoofer like the Logan's only they used a flat panel that sounded better also Rogers was in a way connected with Martin Logan in the beginning I believe.
Sky Fi Audio - AKA “Fernando’s Hideaway “.
100% FUN !!!
I’m nostalgic for the turntable, not the speakers. My Thorens was the exact same model but was stolen along with my entire system back around 1978. I think we better check the serial number of that one! Oh well, I’m playing about 99% digital these days, and along with a Qobuz subscription I don’t really have time for the whole analog LP maintenance thing anyway.
I find it amusing that many say the Quad is great but isn’t a rock speaker. I have two restored pairs of them as a reference for the low coloration midrange, but the reason I don’t use them daily is that they don’t do a good job on orchestral music. Good orchestral recordings place much greater demands on them than the vast majority of highly compressed rock recordings, in my experience. The limited dynamics and maximum output level of the Quads does make them better suited to quieter, simpler music. So are people saying they are not a rock speaker because they are conditioned by rock concerts to play rock louder than other music? A properly working pair of Quads goes down to 40-45Hz, which meets the needs of most rock music, so I don’t think bass extension is the issue.
Hi Steven, really nice set up, what speaker cable brand did you use to make the magic happen?
I have been rightly corrected. The LP certainly did exist in 1957, as did the 45, 78 and 16. If I had thought about it for a second I would have realized that my Thorens TD-124, also introduced in 1957 can play all of these speeds and has a 12" platter. A little research tells me that stereo was just beginning to peek it's head around the corner at the same time, although it would be another 10 years or so before it became mainstream.
It's interesting to look at an Allied or Lafayette catalog from back in the day. Here, for example is a copy of a 1959 Allied catalog www.alliedcatalogs.com/catalogs/1959-180/. Scroll throught the first pages and check out how much stereo gear was already being advertised. Stereo became mainstream well before 1967. By that time, mono equipment was totally obsolete except for small radios and record players. Stereo multiplex FM was introduced in 1962.
Luxman widely sold its very good output transformers to DIYers but they have not even made a good opt in decades. Iirc many of the amps were Captain Catchfire designs.
I had the Quad 57s for a little over a year. Sold them because of their well-known short-comings. Mid-range, mid-rand, mid-range. Not much bass or treble. They have a narrow sweet spot and not much slam; ie, play them too loud and you'll blow them out. What I got subsequently, the ADS 810s, were a much better fit for me.
Even though my Quads are long-gone, I held onto the Quad 405 power amp that drove them. That amp is now over 45 years old and drives a pair of ADS 1230s. It's been fully recapped and rewired.
I'm not a fan of those types of speakers but the rest is killer.
That's how I feel. I'd be very happy to have the electronics. Just with some more modern speakers. At least by a decade, or two anyway.
I had the exact some thing happen to me in the 80's I bought a speakers that didn't really work for the music I like to play the most. I bought Pyramid Metronome 3 that are not great rock speakers. And then I got great speakers, and later I tried to do mini monitors.....same deal. I several systems One for huge loud rock (Infinty Reference Standards RS1-b with Entec SW-1 subs (White Zombie More Human than Human practically blows you out of hte room- Pink Floyds Dark Side is ethereal, and you are floating in teh music- the Lunatic upon the hill floats above you , a System for Jazz and moderate volume rock Chapman T-7s with Sherwood s5500II. Stevie Ray Vaugns tin Pan Alley you are transported. , Genelec S30d for compact system monitoring for small club music and DJ monitors and small parties, and Magneplanar Tympani IV-a for stadium rock recordings- Hotel California MTV version is siiiiiiiiick.. Buy the system for the music you listen and enjoy most FIRST. This system is for Chamber music and Jazz at moderate volumes ...it's not gonna really rock you out, The drums will not have the impact you expect, you will her so much compression. I hear huge differences in compression of my Infinity Reference Standards vs the Genelec S30d even at the same decibel levels the smaller speaker can't move air the same way.
For example. I heard Quad ESL-63 at Alan Goodwins High End on Newbury St. in early 1982 with I think with a Mark Levinson ML-3 We listened to Emerson Lake and Palmer on Vinyl (pre CD) "just take a pebble" and it was like you were there - the depth was fantastic.. you felt you were in a cave with stalagmites and dripping water. But I asked him to play "Tank" on the other Album side.... and compared to my dorm system which does justice to that JBL Paragons with (4) 15" woofers (2) 12" lower midrange drivers, (2) large 4" compression Midrange driver with a 38lb magnet and (2) Bullet super tweeters. That fucking blows your pants back . Thats what Tank is supposed to do......and it needs a particular large format system to have that effect
what table/stand/rack is that thorens turntable sitting on ?
i have the same deck and 57s with the copper grills. is it not blasphemy to use anything other than a Quad 33 and 303 to amplify? although i did add a sunfire sub...for rock records.
vestaxwax Well, the Quads were sold with Quad II mono tube amps and 22 tube preamp until the 33/303 were released. I certainly wouldn’t call that combination blasphemy!
@@jonathanknight8251 i suppose what i'm driving at is that it's a quad lineup that keeps it from being blasphemed. on another tangent, a friend of mine has stacked quads powered with 405s and he swears if he doesn't use cheap speaker wire then they don't sound as good.
Quad 57 two audio research d75a strapped to mono audio research Sp-3a and a Bang and Olufsen 4000 table with the cartridge that had a grown Safire cantilever best for classical and acoustic jazz low SPL but wonderful transient response
I had a couple of friends years ago that had ''stacked'' quads. Was that a ''thing''? Double your pleasure, double your fun?
Lynn Poole Yes, it was
Best system I ever heard in the early 1970s was stacked Quad 57s in front with AR LSTs (IIRC) behind the listening position. These latter ran at a sufficiently low volume you weren't aware of them as a source, but filled-in the sound so they worked well for rock. Albeit for some considerable expense! My system has transmission line speakers and is great for rock and pretty good for the classical and acoustic material. When I feel the need for electrostatic detail, I have a pair of Stax headphones and that keeps things well within my limited budget.
agree.
Had to pause at 2m50s to comment. I just thought to myself, 'those look like the back of a booth you'd find in a 50's diner' and then Steve comments about them being a back seat of a '57 Chevy. Spooky.
If you want to listen to rock music from the 60's and up. I would buy speakers that are no older, and preferably newer then the music you listen to. Just as a general rule. As music changed, and the gear it was made on changed. So did the electronics, and speakers we listened to it on.
Who rebuilt the Quad 57's ~
Thumbs up on everything but the Quads.
All the more reason to hang onto some of our older gear and have system options. I know, easier said than done ... still beating up on my neighbor for getting rid of his original Marantz 8B and Klipshorns!
I do recall liking the modded ESL 63's driven by hot-rodded Quad ll mono's that I heard rocking out years ago at a Stereophile HiFi show. Couldn't consider them knowing my room lacked the dimensions to set them up properly for their rear wave to gel so never got as far as the love-hate relationship.
BTW, I love track 33-37 Taxi Driver: A Night-Piece for Orchestra Salonen Bernard Herrmann The Film Scores!
It would be interesting to see if there was any modestly priced tubes to drive modestly priced but great sounding speakers, like the LRS.
Stephen Grass I really doubt it
Stephen absolutely there is, use a tube preamp like the Conrad Johnson PV10 I use (the 8 was nice, the 10 is better, the 12 is better yet) and go solid state on the amp like a used Bryston 4B (590 asking on Audiogon now) best of both worlds that's what I use with the LRS actually a set of ss monoblocks but Bryston is even better
There is if you go used, and are very patient.
I could buy the Quad ESL-57 for 800euro with 6 months warranty. Vocals will sound awesome.
Gotta get fernando back on
Hey did you ever hear the kingsound electrostatic speakers I thought they were great and they could play rockn roll
I heard them and really liked them too. Huge, though.
I love movie scores double indemnity, Electra glide in blue.anyone know some good ones? Take care.
Korngold's Robin Hood and almost anything Hitchcock.
I met this Quad black shiny grill on a fire sale for around 300 bucks. Now I almost kick myself for not buying it
Dude... while stats are limited in dynamic range (ie., loudness), they do not compress dynamics. In fact dynamic contrasts are rendered superbly. Within their loudness capabilities electrostatics compress dynamics much less than cone speakers. They are also orders of magnitude lower in harmonic distortion. Sure if you want to blast music at 110 DB look for something else like horns.
just call it loudness yes - i don't think they are limited in any way. my 57s blow away ATCs and even Wilson's for tonal/timbral discrimination etc etc
@@jwdewdney6757 I have 63’s and they are sublime …best I’ve heard and I’ve had 100 pairs bookshelf speakers Nothing comes close
Classico
This is called "dry talk" because there is no music demo.
What purpose would recording the sound of music playing through that system have? Most people seeing this video are going to be using their cell phone, listening to a video of speakers made with who knows what microphone setup on a cellphone is pretty pointless when it comes to hifi.
The quads have very limited power handling. pp EL84 amps are just about fine. you'll blow them up with that LUxman 3600 if you turn it up too much. Another reason why they can't rock out. A friend traded his td125 for a 301. Horses for courses.
You talk about electrostats as if they are all the same. The big Acoustat speakers will thump any maggy in dynamics and bass with ease.
Always loved the Quads and DQ10’s but neither are rock speakers....
Look like radiators!
That's not steam, but it may be smoke?
Steve, Sir, You look like John Lennon.
R2R decks! I'm jelly!
I just love to gloat about my marvellous gear (it’s better than yours) but I’m never going to spoil my fun by ever letting anyone hear it, never !
Steve if you have not heard every electrostatic speaker than you can not say they all compress rock. That's like me saying all cone speakers sound too distorted lol. There are many brands of electrostatics and some sound completely different to quads. Martin Logan are the ones most people know and I have owned Magnepans and I liked them but guess what there electrostatics that sound better and do what Magnepans can do better!! there called Soundlabs they are huge speakers but they are the last speakers I bought and I will never sell that should give you an idea of how good they are . I dare you to do a review on them you might just change your mind but somehow I know you never will which is sad you are missing out due to bias and judging all electrostatics the same.
Good recommendation on the Thorens vs a Garrard 301. Those idler drive tables rumbled. Personally, I'd add the TD124 to that list. The store I worked at in the 70's took many a trade-in on the old 124's against a new 125. Nobody ever came in asking for their 124 back, that I can tell you. But everything old is new again, so all these relics are hot items today..performance be damned. As for the Quads, I heard them for the first time in the early 70's. High resolution? I guess, if you're talking about midrange clarity. The rest...not so much. A friend has a pair that I've listened to extensively in the recent past. By today's standards? Meh. They were really never designed for stereo reproduction, so the sweet spot is just about "head in a vise" narrow. Dynamics are limited, so is bass. We used to always say they're great speakers if your preference is for chamber music. They'd fall apart on rock...and they literally did "fall apart" (as in blow up) when turned up too loud..which wasn't very loud at all.
Let's face the facts, plain and simple. Any panel speakers other than maybe the Tympani wall are seriously lacking in bass. Further, adding subs takes somebody who knows how to do it, and the "panel people" seem frankly a bit lost. I present the system, their response is to argue I can't hear. In any event Infinity Kappa makes these panel speakers look like the wall dividers they are. Or radiators, in this case.
John Doe The longer I have owned my LRSs the less inclined I am to add a sub. This coming from a guy with many subs in his house.
@@scottyo64 is your reasoning the bass is adequate, or you believe that adding a sub or two would be a difficult integration?
Steve, you have an addiction to SkiFi Audio. Seek help or just move in.
Lovely kit and interesting views but pointless if you don't actually play any music!
He talk too much, and nothing for demonstration of the system
Bla.bla.bla.bla..