Quad ESL 57 speakers

[james]

I saw this ad too and I was very tempted .. I already have a set and the idea would be to have a backup in case the ones I have fail !! [But I don't have room].

To an extent the Quads determine what you listen too .. forget Organ and think of String Quartets. But I bought my pair because at the demo I liked the way Pink Floyd 'The Wall' sounded [the bit with the airplane -- at the time I thought it was a helicopter -- and it sounded right in the room] and that was about 1980 ...

james

Of course if you want to use them for string quartets and helicopters there is always Stockhausen !!

"...
HELICOPTER STRING QUARTET (1992/93)
for string quartet,
4 helicopters with pilots and 4 sound technicians
4 television transmitters, 4 x 3 sound transmitters
auditorium with 4 columns of televisions and
4 columns of loudspeakers
sound projectionist with mixing console
/ moderator (ad lib.)
The duration is circa 32 minutes.
..."

If you search you can find it on YouTube but I cant post the link.

[Diapason]

Jerciful Maysus, if I start listening to that I think Hazel might regret her encouragement here!

I'm happy enough to listen to smaller-scale classical, especially Baroque music, and acoustic music in general. To be honest, most of my listening these days is smaller scale for volume reasons, so they should get some use along those lines.

[tony]

Congrats Simon I toyed with the idea and at one stage was going to jump in after hearing them in Richards place. All the same issues you are experiencing and some more went through the mind and I gave up on them. The cost of repairing if required and the hassle involved sending them off to the uk + the state of our house meant they would be permanently packed away.

Make yourself use them and you will have no regrets. Anytime I visit Frans I am drawn to the ESL room the sound is great. I was hoping Richard would be begging somebody to take them on the last day. I had my €200 ready for that moment.Would have thrown in a copy of Saturday night fever and Grease to sweeten the deal

[Diapason]

Thanks Tony. Lucky you didn't get in before me, cos who could refuse Saturday Night Fever AND Grease?

I'll let you know how I get on. Basically, they can never break. Ever.

[jaybee]

my good lady has persuaded me to give them a go. ....

any chance she'd have a chat with mine next time we see her?

[Dowser]

Enjoy them Simon - those Graaf amps are fantastic :)

@ Tony - blurggghhhh - truth be told I was looking for a reason not to sell them, but I wont have the luxury of a dedicated hifi room in CH I suspect, so needs must!

Richard

[Diapason]

Thank you Richard, and thanks again for dropping them over.

I didn't get much opportunity to play with them last night, but here are a couple of pics of them in situ. Note the rolled up rug in the middle of the floor. They certainly take up a bit of real estate!

https://plus.google.com/photos/11233045 ... 0100538177

[Ivor]

I don't know if it's true of all quad ESLs but I've found they take a little while to warm up and settle down once moved.

[Diapason]

It's funny you should say that, Ivor. We plonked them down last night and I thought they sounded pretty good, but even listening to the first track I could hear them improving. Once Richard left I moved them a couple of inches, and even that seemed to have broken the spell. I moved them back to where they were, but again I couldn't recreate that first sound. I decided then that I was just going to leave them in one position and let them settle in before doing any real listening, so there they are.

(I should say that I've found this with every speaker I've ever moved into the mancave. Imagined or not, I think speakers need a while to settle into a new location.)

[Ivor]

Well they will need to be positioned correctly (whatever that is) but what I meant was once the current has been removed the circuits need a few hours to charge up again.
Trial & error is the only way to find the best balance. You'll get fantastic imagry, soundstage and stereo when sitting in the sweet spot but even if you go out to the kitchen with the door open you'll still hear every detail and nuance.