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After Quad ESL's?

I am enjoying listening to Quad esl-63's and to the 57's (which I prefer). And though my wife has enjoyed them also, she informs me that her heretofore acceptance of the visual impact on our living room has been "only out of love." Her valiant endurance of my Quad-love has come to an end, period.

It has been six years.

So, now the time has come:
Speak, Quad owners (and former Quad owners), about what else has worked for you.

I would like a smaller, (than the quad) used speaker that images better than the Quad's. These are some of the directions I am thinking about:
The Vandersteen 2c Signatures are on the large side.
Perhaps a Dynaudio monitor, B&W 802 Matrix Series III, Proac (are there any that aren't excessively bright?). Are Lowthers a possibility, or too hopelessly colored?

I am attracted to ATC and Merlin, My taste runs expensive, but my pocket book (I work as a concert piano technician) runs shallow.

$1500 a pair or less would work best.

I also welcome your synergistic amplification suggestions. So far, I have prefered the sound of tubed equipmnet in the under $1500 per component range. I have recently been captivated by the idea of TVC (transformer volume control) Bent Audio NOH, etc. with a SET. But, the TacT M2150 (integrated without room correction) also intrigues me. Does anyone know how it sounds?

Acutal experience prefered to conjecture. Let it rip, and I thank you in advance for your thoughts and replies.
earthpulse
halcro's avatar
halcro
2,289 posts
 
Just in time Abz90.......
Another few years and Earthpulse would have made a terrible mistake?
lacee
811 posts
 
I had stacked Quad 57's, and a single pair of 63's.
My first stats were Acoustat 3 without the servo amps.
Also owned Martin Logan Sequel 2, and two pairs of ML CLS.

I went thru a cone phase,but came back to stats with a nice pair of Acoustat Monitor X with the tube servo amps which have been upgranded where necessary.

I think that once the stat bug bites,and you have been bitten, someday you will want another pair of stats and rue the day you let your Quads go.

I suggest you find some cheap little speakers to please the wife, and look for another space in your home for one pair of Quads, or at least put one pair in storage.

Trust me, someday you'll be looking to buy what you've sold.
essentialaudio
1,147 posts
 
I've had several ESLs through the years, from Acoustat 2+2s, Audiostatics, Quad 57s, and Sound Labs. The Quads and the Sound Labs are the best of the genre; I have been a Sound Lab dealer for several years. Wanting a smaller speaker line, I recently brought in Transmission Audio M1i monitors, and as great as the Sound Labs are, these little speakers are the real deal. I can listen to them joyfully all day and night without fatigue. They're not inexpensive but the performance belies the simple appearance. Fast, fun, and true to the music.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
7,068 posts
 
Audiokinesis also makes speakers that should be considered. They are easy to drive and quite musical! as well as very reasonably priced.
213cobra
762 posts
 
In your stated price preference:

I'm a former owner of Quad ESL (what people now call "ESL-57) and ESL63. Particularly if you prefer the 57 over the 63, I think you will not find satisfaction in a crossover-based dynamic speaker. Of that sort, consider the Spendor S3/5 in either of its voicings. This is one of a few speakers able to legitimately claim to be a modern update on the venerable BBC LS3/5a monitor, and is probably the most neutral among them.

However, I have two other, more pertinent suggestions in crossoverless speakers that have the behavioral unity and speed of the Quads. One option is the Zu Omen speaker. THey take up about 1 square foot of floor space and can be ordered or found used in a variety of stained wood colors. The Zu Omen is friendly to SS or tube amps. The Omen is built around Zu's 10" full range driver supplemented by a supertweeter above 12.5kHz on a high pass filter. At 98db/w/m efficiency, Omen is easy to drive with a modest power SET tube amp, will handle much more power from push-pull tube amps, and it puts solid state amps in their sweet spot.

A second excellent option, if you stretch your budget just a little, is the Audience 1+1 micro-monitor. This uses the astonishing Audience full-range driver. This speaker delivers all the behavior unity of the ESL57, without the beaming, and despite its tiny dimensions is less limited dynamically than the much larger Quad.

For anyone looking for Quad ESL-like sound and unity behavior in an aesthetically discreet speaker with high spouse acceptance factors, I think the Audience 1+1 is unbeatable. $1800/pair. It was pushing out one of the best sounds at any price, at the recent Newport Beach show.

Phil
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