QUAD ESL 2905 / 2805

There are two comments about failures of the new Quad speakers on Audioreview.com Is that where you have seen/heard of the reliability issues, or from some other source?

Quad dealer Sound Hounds in Victoria, BC, reports no reliability issues with these from their customers. Then again... they sell A LOT more AN-Es than ESLs...

Has anyone had success pairing 18wpc SETs with 2805s in a small room at moderate volume levels?? Thinking of trying that...

I loved my 2805s and used a McIntosh 275 (75wpc) and McIntosh C2300 preamp. The match was great with plenty of power in my 12 X 24 X 8 room. Over the years I used other lower power tube amps which also worked well.

But in the two years I owned them (bought them new), I had them in for repair 3 times, even though I never drove them beyond 80 - 85 db. It was not panel failure, which is common from over-driving them, but electronics failures. Poor soldering, shoddy workmanship, etc. It is a real shame, because they are great sounding speakers. The warranty is only one year.

The dealer I bought them from has since dropped the line due to so many reliability issues with both the 2805 and 2905. I've since moved on to other electrostatic speakers with a much better reliability record.

If I was to do Quads again, I would get some rebuilt 63's or maybe even 57's, from one of the reliable companies here in the US that does the rebuilds.

Dave