bjarnetv Posted July 1, 2011 Report Posted July 1, 2011 i finally finished the dipole woofers for my ESL 63! after living with the eminence alpha 15a for a while i decided to go with lower Q woofers, as the alpha felt slightly "loose" at times. i ended up using some local (probably produced by eminence) woofers as they had powerful magnets, high sensitivity, cast aluminium baskets and a Q of 0,4. they were also really cheap, compared to the build quality im using a rotel rb1510 to drive the woofers; one of the best audio bargains available right now. sounds pretty darn good
Duggeh Posted July 2, 2011 Report Posted July 2, 2011 I am about to home-demo a pair of 57s which are for sale locally. See if they're a solution for downsizing from the Soundlabs. I do not expect them to push like the Pioneers, but we shall see how the famous midrange plays for me.
spritzer Posted July 2, 2011 Report Posted July 2, 2011 Get the ESL57 off the floor and you'll be in for a treat. It's a bit amazing just how good the ESL really are given their age and all the hype. Now I'm all nostalgic and I'm going to reach for the Stax SR-1's...
bjarnetv Posted July 2, 2011 Report Posted July 2, 2011 I am about to home-demo a pair of 57s which are for sale locally. See if they're a solution for downsizing from the Soundlabs. I do not expect them to push like the Pioneers, but we shall see how the famous midrange plays for me. i wonder how much difference there really is in the midrange of the 57 compared to the 63. i need to find a local pair and give them a listen. what i do know for sure though, is that relieving the 63 of the bass frequencies made them sound a whole lot better! the midrange and treble sounds a lot crispier and clearer then before. Get the ESL57 off the floor and you'll be in for a treat. It's a bit amazing just how good the ESL really are given their age and all the hype. Now I'm all nostalgic and I'm going to reach for the Stax SR-1's... im sure you could fit a pair of 10" woofers,gradient sw57 style, underneath the esl57. perhaps use similar woofers as the linkwitz orion and cross over using minidsp?
Duggeh Posted July 2, 2011 Report Posted July 2, 2011 I could put them on top of the DSS-9 and disconnect the DSS-9 mids and tweeter. Allo. Instant sub/stand. Hopefully be here tomo afternoon. Also, I just bought a cassette tape deck. So nothing but the finest source for this, obv.
spritzer Posted July 3, 2011 Report Posted July 3, 2011 If it is a Nakamichi Dragon then that wouldn't be a bad source at all...
Spychedelic Whale Posted September 13, 2011 Report Posted September 13, 2011 I have been interested in some vintage speakers and found this ESL 57 that have never been repaired supposedly working well but I don't know if something this old would work without any maintenance. It includes 2 - Rectifiers, 2 - Low panels; 1-Panel Treble. How much do you think would be a fair price for this ?
postjack Posted September 13, 2011 Author Report Posted September 13, 2011 I wish I was more knowledgable about ESL-57 prices, but I can say I've seen "perfect", as in recently restored pairs, with asking prices of ~$2,000. I suppose its possible the pair you are looking at currently works, but if its NEVER had maintenance its just a matter of usage time until it needs to be fixed up. Having said that one of my ESL-63s is completely stock and unmaintenanced, and it still sounds fine. manufactured probably around 1984, so thats over 25 years. the 57s are of course going to be older.
n3rdling Posted September 13, 2011 Report Posted September 13, 2011 MY 57s are still stock, from 1984, and work perfectly. Just ask the owner to charge them for a day and go audition them at his place to see what the condition is like. Listen for any channel imbalance, popping, or hissing. I bet you'll like these speakers a lot. If they're in perfect working condition then they're worth between $1000-2300, it really depends on the local market.
CherryBomb Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 I just purchased a pair of Quad 12L. Anyone have a suggestion for speaker stands? It would be best if I could source them from the internet. I hate going to dealers.
dBel84 Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 B&W stands from Best Buy , very robust and unbelievably good value compared to other offerings ( cheap and expensive ) ..dB
CherryBomb Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) That looks perfect. Thanks. **Edit: But unavailable in the hick town I live in. Open to other suggestions. Edited October 23, 2011 by CherryBomb
cobra_kai Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 Sanus makes some nice speaker stands. I use these ones: http://www.amazon.co...19408199&sr=8-2 If you search amazon for 'sanus stands' there is a pretty large selection in different heights/styles.
blessingx Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) A local audio shop has them on Target Hi-Fi (not the discount store) HR-60 or HR-70 stands. Seems perfect and available online all over. Edited October 23, 2011 by blessingx
Milosz Posted November 10, 2011 Report Posted November 10, 2011 (edited) My ESL-57's do many things right. I have them in a fairly small room, a narrow room, and they are about, but not quite, midway placed in the length of the room; in this configuration the bass can be pretty amazing for speakers that are said to have no output below ~50 Hz. The bass "punch" and proper tone, with no sluggish overhand makes me wish all speakers could make bass like that, only more so. But it's really the lower midrange to lower treble that shines. I think it's a result of a very good frequency response evenness across this critical region, combined with that utterly fantastic transient behavior especially in the lower part of the mids. Quad ESL's can portray music with so much BODY but yet without chestiness or other unpleasant effects. This is hard, I think, for most box speakers to do; if the speaker has enough energy in the low-mid/mid region it tends to excite the cabinetry and get trapped by the mass of the whole business- there's blur and overhang, the energy at these frequencies tends to "pile up" and the speaker will sound 'boxy' or even downright woolly. So I think to avoid this, many speaker manufacturers opt for lower output levels at upper bass / lower mid frequencies, since the whole apparatus of their cones and boxes seems to conspire to store and then re-radiate the energies in this sonic realm. The result may be a speaker which measures flat - the stored energy compensates for the reduced driver output at these frequencies - but yet lacks body or weight in the upper bass / mids. I think a flat steady-state measurement hides the important things the ear listens for in terms of transient behavior. The ear doesn't care that the average intensity of sound is constant across frequency- what the ear wants is the right balance of sound at every instant. So, yeah, the upper bass and mids have all the warmth, body, palpabilty and so on that they really need to convey music; and the treble, while not perfect, is no slouch either. DYNAMICS, however, are limited. Electrostats just don't do what horns or good dynamic speakers can do in terms of dynamic contrast and range. In a small room, a pair of ESL-57's can play pretty loud, satisfyingly so, but they do not reproduce the full dynamics of real instruments. But the colorations of horns, and the boxiness of cone / dome systems really don't satisfy me. I will gladly live with the dynamic limitations of the ESL-57's in exchange for all that they do right. I also have a setup with tri-amped Magnepan MG 3.6's using a DEQX; this gives very satisfactory results, in many ways besting the Quads; and although this system approaches the upper bass / midrange rightness of the Quads, the Quads are still noticeably better in this regard. Edited November 10, 2011 by Milosz
bjarnetv Posted November 11, 2011 Report Posted November 11, 2011 the glue i used to repair my 63's didn't last very long before it lost its tension, so the els's are back in the closet awaiting repairs i built some speakers using the dipole woofer towers and L.cao alnico fullrangers, to listen to while i figure out how to repair the quads. of course, since i no longer use quad speakers, i have to make up by using a pair of quad amplifiers
deepak Posted February 23, 2012 Report Posted February 23, 2012 Reminds me I have to message postjack and Kent. Any more recommendations for amps for the ESL63 (commercial only)?
deepak Posted February 23, 2012 Report Posted February 23, 2012 Pass XA-60.5? Do you think 60 watts would be sufficient? Looks like they are around $6000 used, just a bit out of my budget though I'd consider them in the future. Something more like $2000-3000 used is probably my budget.
n_maher Posted February 24, 2012 Report Posted February 24, 2012 Up for a drive to NJ? These seem absurd enough for the job. http://app.audiogon.com/listings/463047
luvdunhill Posted February 24, 2012 Report Posted February 24, 2012 Dual mono F5s. Seriously. Maybe these? http://app.audiogon....-2-mono-blocks
deepak Posted February 24, 2012 Report Posted February 24, 2012 Dual mono F5s. Seriously. Maybe these? http://app.audiogon....-2-mono-blocks I would be all over those, but don't really trust someone with so little feedback. But Aleph 2 sounds like a great idea (bonus I liked my Aleph 30), I always thought these were 50 watts or something. I will keep my eyes out for them. How much power would dual mono F5s put out (not the Turbo)? About 60 watts into 4 ohms? Nate- I was not a big fan of a couple of vintage Krell amps I've heard and probably not worth the effort to drive down there for a limited audition.
Knuckledragger Posted February 24, 2012 Report Posted February 24, 2012 Up for a drive to NJ? These seem absurd enough for the job. http://app.audiogon....listings/463047 I really like the case design on Krells from this vintage, much more on than their current overly shiny chromed look.
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