This is insane...the Quad ESL

In Lampi, I have 300b, 45, and from Goran‘s recommendations some 12a and and 101a. Amps, let’s see, for solid state a Naim 250DR, for tube 60 watt EL34 Synthesis Italian monblocks, Rogue KT120 Cronus Magnum and a Melody AN300b, which is a 300b push pull @ 24wpc. All sound great. Any other recommendations for Big 7 tubes or amps?
 
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In Lampi, I have 300b, 45, and from Goran‘s recommendations some 12a and and 101a. Amps, let’s see, for solid state a Naim 250DR, for tube 60 watt EL34 Synthesis Italian monblocks, Rogue KT120 Cronus Magnum and a Melody AN300b, which is a 300b push pull @ 24wpc. All sound great. Any other recommendations for Big 7 tubes or amps?
Thanks.
What brand are the 300b and the 45 in the Lampi?
My favorite Lampi output tube so far is the RK 242 :cool:

Amp wise I had excellent results with KR Audio VA350, Lamm M1.1 and Sphinx Project 14 on the the ESL57
 
Can the RK 242 be used on the Big 7? 300b - I have Sophia Royal Princess and JJ on the less expensive side. I haven’t A/B’d them yet but I’d expect Royal Princess should sound better (they better sound better, right?). The 45’s I believe are Emm Labs. Goran’s recommendations for those antique tubes have so far pleasantly surprised!

The Quads really are great speakers even by today’s standards. I have others and sometimes consider cleaning house and keeping only Quads. Question: a friend gave me the higher legs made in Germany. They raise them around 18 inches off of the ground. Mine have the original legs. I haven’t tried them yet as it would take some time and effort to switch them out. Have you tried yours with the higher legs? If so how'd you like them?
 
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Can the RK 242 be used on the Big 7? 300b - I have Sophia Royal Princess and JJ on the less expensive side. I haven’t A/B’d them yet but I’d expect Royal Princess should sound better (they better sound better, right?). The 45’s I believe are Emm Labs. Goran’s recommendations for those antique tubes have so far pleasantly surprised!
The 242 works wonderfully in the B7.
I'm not a fan of 300b in my Lampi DACs. I prefer the PX25 and the 242 by far.
I also have the EML 45 mesh Anniversary Globes but prefer the PX25 and 242.
Which one do you prefer? The 112a or the 01a?

The Quads really are great speakers even by today’s standards. I have others and sometimes consider cleaning house and keeping only Quads. Question: a friend gave me the higher legs made in Germany. They raise them around 18 inches off of the ground. Mine have the original legs. I haven’t tried them yet as it would take some time and effort to switch them out. Have you tried yours with the higher legs? If so how'd you like them?
Funny, for me it was exactly the other way round.
I found them charming but I have other speakers that are more wholesome and complete so I kept those and sold the ESL57.
If you already have those higher feet, I would use them. I placed them higher and preferred them higher.
 
The 242 works wonderfully in the B7.
I'm not a fan of 300b in my Lampi DACs. I prefer the PX25 and the 242 by far.
I also have the EML 45 mesh Anniversary Globes but prefer the PX25 and 242.
Which one do you prefer? The 112a or the 01a?


Which 242 would you recommend? I saw one KR option for 900 Euros. Any more reasonably priced?
 
I would go with the RK version.
But try to borrow a pair before you commit.
The 242 has a very high gain and has to match your system to really shine.
 
What about the 101D? I’ve been reading nice things about them.
I have a pair of the white base cheapo PSvane 101D and they are my worst pair of all I have.
I only use them for break-in purposes or to keep one DAC warm for an upcoming comparison :p
 
My first post here. Ah!! My beloved Quad ESL 57's...like no other audio product I have ever owned, the delight in coming to them and listening to them simply does not wane.
Amplification....when I got the Quads in 2018 I was using a McIntosh 754 (ss) and it sounded ok but I was running nervous about volts and volume. I then picked up a 303, and that made me happy for awhile. Then I got valve fever and purchased the Quad ll monoblocks. Bliss. For a year...then...
Last summer I was offered these to borrow and my world changed again. Altec Lansing 1569A mono blocks. 80 watts aside, with four EL34s in each with Peerless transformers. Recapped with more HI-Fi capacitors, these mono blocks are not fully welcomed by many in the high end audio world as they were originally designed as theatre/PA amps in 1958-59. But I am spellbound....the detail and crispness, the headroom all exceed previous amplifiers. Only the Quad ll's come close, but they fade when Mahler calls upon full orchestral force. The Altecs deliver an almighty sound.
I did have my local Quad person install the clamps on my 57's as I know the damage that can happen from big power amps to the Quads.
Its a weird combination, US big valve power amps to the Quads, but it works. The Quads really are being allowed to amplify every detail...
So, a Marantz 8b, or a McIntosh 225 they are not. And the spec sheets for the Altecs are not spectacular. But the sound? Nothing like it. A very honest fellow listener who loves the 8B having heard these prefers the Altecs.
I wouldnt mind hearing the much heralded Radford however....View attachment 74616
Nice one Rob62!

Those ESL 57's were something really special and when fully restored are awe-inspiring.
Back in the day, I started out with 57's, then 63's mounted on Gradient subs. It was ok, not so well integrated but listenable, however preferred the 63's just on their own and this is how all my panel type speakers thereafter remained. Using subs just didn't quite match well. After the 63's there was a gap, ventured off towards Maggie's, Apogee's and ML Stats, then back to Quads ESL 2905's. That was a real disaster but the music was great! Now I'm back with stats, and couldn't be any happier. They're magical in every regard of live natural music, nothing artificial and nothing of too much... only stat lovers know this.

The choice of tubes will alter the sound dramatically and you can custom make the sound you want. So far I've found the combination of Mullards, Genalex Gold Lions, Sovteks and Tungsol KT120's to be the perfect synergy in an array of CJ amplification driving the CLX's, it's just marvellous!

Enjoy those stats, the Quads are still my favourite all time. You just gotta love em for what they are. Peter Walker, the genius, the legend!
Cheers, and a big woofty woof'n
RJ
 
Nice one Rob62!

Those ESL 57's were something really special and when fully restored are awe-inspiring.
Back in the day, I started out with 57's, then 63's mounted on Gradient subs. It was ok, not so well integrated but listenable, however preferred the 63's just on their own and this is how all my panel type speakers thereafter remained. Using subs just didn't quite match well. After the 63's there was a gap, ventured off towards Maggie's, Apogee's and ML Stats, then back to Quads ESL 2905's. That was a real disaster but the music was great! Now I'm back with stats, and couldn't be any happier. They're magical in every regard of live natural music, nothing artificial and nothing of too much... only stat lovers know this.

The choice of tubes will alter the sound dramatically and you can custom make the sound you want. So far I've found the combination of Mullards, Genalex Gold Lions, Sovteks and Tungsol KT120's to be the perfect synergy in an array of CJ amplification driving the CLX's, it's just marvellous!

Enjoy those stats, the Quads are still my favourite all time. You just gotta love em for what they are. Peter Walker, the genius, the legend!
Cheers, and a big woofty woof'n
RJ
Thanks for the response!! I have been contemplating replacing the tubes that came with the 1569A beasts. Presently they have JJ EL 34's that get so so reviews. The Mullard sound (60's British) is likely what I will go for. I listen to every type of music (well...not rap or much 21st century pop). The JJ's are still quite new (last August) so I will hold for a bit. Actually, one of the amps started popping loudly (believe it is the pre-amp tubes in), then the volume pot seized so for now I have the 303 in action. Back to an "all Quad" sound for now. No complaints!
Conrad Johnson amps...must sound fabulous.
Lucky you...I only heard the magic of the stats just three years ago. Wasted so many years listening to music in boomy boxes (Celestion, Mordaunt Short, B&W's, KEF's). They still get played at the parties, but not for the deep listening times!
 
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Huh, Had good experience with those very same brands you mentioned, Celestion, Kef, B&W's etc.
Sounds like mostly British makes, are you based in the UK btw?

Interesting story on Celestion speakers. There was a Doc who was based in the UK but also owned a very very big house in Colombo. This is going back to 94/95 if I remember correctly. So during the UK winters he would take long leave and head to cmb to keep warm... then when winter was over, he would head back to England. So on one of his trips, he shipped across his highly prized Celestions, they were beautiful cabinets, made from Veneers though, some special maple blonde colour. Anyway, he ordered four Audiolab monoblocks to drive the Celestions, with a matching AL preamp. He had not heard of CJ as yet, and was intrigued by the sound from the first note. Anyway, we were offering CJ at the time and installed just one CJ power amplifier with a matching preamp. It was a SS MF2300 and the PFR. The PFR was CJ's first SS remote controlled preamp. This single combination of just a pre-power stereo version, mind you no monoblocks, blew the four AL monoblocks out of the country! It was so powerful and musically engaging he couldn't believe it! The Celestions were sounding mighty fine! So he returned the entire set of amplifiers to the UK dealer and then things went south on the Celestions! The cabinets started to peel off and warp. It was so severe that the drivers started getting affected as well. And so he returned those Celestions back to the same dealer in the UK. Must have been a very obliging dealer, or perhaps our chap was his family doc! Who knows... At the end, Celestion HQ wrote to the Doc with a full apology stating that their speaker cabinets were not tropicalised...go figure! Hence, the nature of the bad cabinet warping and veneers peeling off... they couldn't offer any solution.

On the plus side for us, he ended up ordering the Paradigm Studio 100's and that's all she wrote!

Those brands were very respectable back then, especially the Kef's. I've heard the new Kef Blades extensively as they're offered here, not bad at all, quite pricey though. B&W's are highly regarded down unda, many of our folks hail these as the ultimate! Paying high prices in $Aud, the top line diamond series can go for over 200grand!

Well I guess it's always what one prefers, and what someone's willing to pay, even though we may not perceive it as good quality sound or value... However, that's their preference and as long as they're enjoying it, I guess that's all that matters.

Panel type speakers are always more open, there's no doubt about it, and it's merely physics! However, sometimes what I've heard or thought I've achieved was great may not be regarded that great for others. So I'm always willing to learn and try new things with the existing gear. Luckily this time round, with a little help from a few professional chaps, I've managed to achieve a significant level of improvement, which I thought was not possible since I thought it was fine to begin with..., and so my quest continued! It was well worth the effort.

There's something magical that I've found with Quads and stats in general, and that is for late night sessions, not waking up the rest of the household, I can drive the stats at the lowest softest possible levels and still experience breath taking performance! It's immediacy and delicate tones that come across so effortlessly, I find totally engaging and highly addictive. I really don't get that sort of engagement with any other type of design, and there are some speaker designs where you have to crank things up a fair bit just to get realistic soundstage and scale but then it gets too loud. I certainly don't care for such levels. Afterall this is "recorded" music and not live! There's absolutely no point in trying to recreate a live event when the entire chain is recorded playback... I just don't get it when people make such claims.

Just enjoy the original recording in whatever shape size or form, and a system that can capture and reproduce exactly what's on the recording will be enjoyed the most.

Cheers to stats! And enjoy those fine tunes!
Best, RJ
 
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Can the RK 242 be used on the Big 7? 300b - I have Sophia Royal Princess and JJ on the less expensive side. I haven’t A/B’d them yet but I’d expect Royal Princess should sound better (they better sound better, right?). The 45’s I believe are Emm Labs. Goran’s recommendations for those antique tubes have so far pleasantly surprised!

The Quads really are great speakers even by today’s standards. I have others and sometimes consider cleaning house and keeping only Quads. Question: a friend gave me the higher legs made in Germany. They raise them around 18 inches off of the ground. Mine have the original legs. I haven’t tried them yet as it would take some time and effort to switch them out. Have you tried yours with the higher legs? If so how'd you like them?
You should get vintage National Union 45s (ST shape) and Cunningham/RCA uber vintage CX35 and UX245. Midrange champs. You could also try VT52 as well (high setting output).
 
What about the 101D? I’ve been reading nice things about them.
Chris is correct, my least fav DHT in Lampi. I like the Anniv mesh Globe 45, KR PX25, 12a, vintage 45/245/345/ RK 300b, EML Px4, and also the normal KR 242 (not my absolute fav). I really like the AD1N with adapter too. I will try the elusive RD27 soon.
 
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Nice one Rob62!

Those ESL 57's were something really special and when fully restored are awe-inspiring.
Back in the day, I started out with 57's, then 63's mounted on Gradient subs. It was ok, not so well integrated but listenable, however preferred the 63's just on their own and this is how all my panel type speakers thereafter remained. Using subs just didn't quite match well. After the 63's there was a gap, ventured off towards Maggie's, Apogee's and ML Stats, then back to Quads ESL 2905's. That was a real disaster but the music was great! Now I'm back with stats, and couldn't be any happier. They're magical in every regard of live natural music, nothing artificial and nothing of too much... only stat lovers know this.

The choice of tubes will alter the sound dramatically and you can custom make the sound you want. So far I've found the combination of Mullards, Genalex Gold Lions, Sovteks and Tungsol KT120's to be the perfect synergy in an array of CJ amplification driving the CLX's, it's just marvellous!

Enjoy those stats, the Quads are still my favourite all time. You just gotta love em for what they are. Peter Walker, the genius, the legend!
Cheers, and a big woofty woof'n
RJ
I heard a restored pair recently and while they were pleasant, I found them limited in bandwidth (very pipe and slippers). Frankly, I don't think their mid/highs can touch my Kithara with the giant Heil driver (open baffle dipole) matched with a 10 inch up firing woofer. The 57s have a lovely sound that is good for relaxing music, but not so versatile IMHO. I hear that when double stacked properly, they transform into something else, where they retain the former goodness but add dynamics and impact...in other words, they can ROCK with the qualities you already admire.
 
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Huh, Had good experience with those very same brands you mentioned, Celestion, Kef, B&W's etc.
Sounds like mostly British makes, are you based in the UK btw?

Interesting story on Celestion speakers. There was a Doc who was based in the UK but also owned a very very big house in Colombo. This is going back to 94/95 if I remember correctly. So during the UK winters he would take long leave and head to cmb to keep warm... then when winter was over, he would head back to England. So on one of his trips, he shipped across his highly prized Celestions, they were beautiful cabinets, made from Veneers though, some special maple blonde colour. Anyway, he ordered four Audiolab monoblocks to drive the Celestions, with a matching AL preamp. He had not heard of CJ as yet, and was intrigued by the sound from the first note. Anyway, we were offering CJ at the time and installed just one CJ power amplifier with a matching preamp. It was a SS MF2300 and the PFR. The PFR was CJ's first SS remote controlled preamp. This single combination of just a pre-power stereo version, mind you no monoblocks, blew the four AL monoblocks out of the country! It was so powerful and musically engaging he couldn't believe it! The Celestions were sounding mighty fine! So he returned the entire set of amplifiers to the UK dealer and then things went south on the Celestions! The cabinets started to peel off and warp. It was so severe that the drivers started getting affected as well. And so he returned those Celestions back to the same dealer in the UK. Must have been a very obliging dealer, or perhaps our chap was his family doc! Who knows... At the end, Celestion HQ wrote to the Doc with a full apology stating that their speaker cabinets were not tropicalised...go figure! Hence, the nature of the bad cabinet warping and veneers peeling off... they couldn't offer any solution.

On the plus side for us, he ended up ordering the Paradigm Studio 100's and that's all she wrote!

Those brands were very respectable back then, especially the Kef's. I've heard the new Kef Blades extensively as they're offered here, not bad at all, quite pricey though. B&W's are highly regarded down unda, many of our folks hail these as the ultimate! Paying high prices in $Aud, the top line diamond series can go for over 200grand!

Well I guess it's always what one prefers, and what someone's willing to pay, even though we may not perceive it as good quality sound or value... However, that's their preference and as long as they're enjoying it, I guess that's all that matters.

Panel type speakers are always more open, there's no doubt about it, and it's merely physics! However, sometimes what I've heard or thought I've achieved was great may not be regarded that great for others. So I'm always willing to learn and try new things with the existing gear. Luckily this time round, with a little help from a few professional chaps, I've managed to achieve a significant level of improvement, which I thought was not possible since I thought it was fine to begin with..., and so my quest continued! It was well worth the effort.

There's something magical that I've found with Quads and stats in general, and that is for late night sessions, not waking up the rest of the household, I can drive the stats at the lowest softest possible levels and still experience breath taking performance! It's immediacy and delicate tones that come across so effortlessly, I find totally engaging and highly addictive. I really don't get that sort of engagement with any other type of design, and there are some speaker designs where you have to crank things up a fair bit just to get realistic soundstage and scale but then it gets too loud. I certainly don't care for such levels. Afterall this is "recorded" music and not live! There's absolutely no point in trying to recreate a live event when the entire chain is recorded playback... I just don't get it when people make such claims.

Just enjoy the original recording in whatever shape size or form, and a system that can capture and reproduce exactly what's on the recording will be enjoyed the most.

Cheers to stats! And enjoy those fine tunes!
Best, RJ
Hi RJ,

I live in Canada (though for a year or so I lived in England and married a Brit). i have always preferred the speakers either made in the UK or here in Canada over the US brands. Right from the very early days of my plummet into the rabbit hole of audio discovery. Yep, the JBL's may go loud and "rock" for some, but I could never get the detail I wanted from US brands. Give me Hendrix where I can hear his fingers on the guitar... A good friend recently bought some older Maggies...and they sound great.
Great story about the Celestion's in the tropics...
Completely agree with the full low volume sound stage of the ESL's...they don't need to be loud to be enjoyed. Put on Miles Davis' In A Silent Way and feel the magic, no matter the volume!
 
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I heard a restored pair recently and while they were pleasant, I found them limited in bandwidth (very pipe and slippers). Frankly, I don't think their mid/highs can touch my Kithara with the giant Heil driver (open baffle dipole) matched with a 10 inch up firing woofer. The 57s have a lovely sound that is good for relaxing music, but not so versatile IMHO. I hear that when double stacked properly, they transform into something else, where they retail the former goodness and add dynamics and impact...in other works, they can ROCK with the qualities you already admire.
Did you hear the 57's with sub's? They definitely get a little boost from smallish (8") fast subs. Limited in bandwidth? Hmm...they did lack bandwidth when not positioned correctly. My ESL's are up on a stage and I listen from a sunken living room arrangement, with the rear legs of the ESL's propped up about three inches so the panels are not facing so skyward. My head is level to the top of the panels (or almost) and in the sweet spot, I hear no lack of bandwidth! The weakness I agree with is the narrow sweet spot. Pipe and slippers?!! Ha ha!! Just played Al Dimeola's Elegant Gypsy. Loud enough to knock one's slippers off and blow out the pipe! No, the ESL's can provide more than just good sound for relaxing music. Set up right, that is.
Would love to hear the Kithara speakers...unique looking design. Don't think I have ever heard an upfiring woofer, in fact. Must sound fantastic!!
 
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Hi Robert, No subs. Yes, it seems that double stacking creates the positioning similar to what you did with your single speaker pair setup. It would also add more driver surface. Agree somewhat about narrow sweetspot, but it was not too bad IIRC.

The Heil driver is very fast and the midrange sound is very pure (voices are so realistic). As the accordian tweeter weighs so little. It does not have a resonant freq in the music range to colour the MR/HF. Just another way to skin the cat. The 10 inch foofer crosses over at 600hz and produces bass down to 28db, quite convincing! There are lots of Kitharas in Canada. Vince at Tri-Cell used to (or still does) carry them. I have the optional floor plate with the conical bass tuner. Very happy with it. Reverendo here also got a pair recentl;y and adores them. His cables cost more than what the speaker did. LoL
 
Well it’s been a little while but the Quad Esl are back with a vengeance
I have seemed to have hit upon the problem why only some amps work
i have upgrade the idea, and now have very spectacular sound
I will try to add some videos with the plus and minus of the upgrade
but totally enjoying
 

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