Solid State Amps for Quad ESL 57?

Bass is hard to get with transistors and Quads. The problem is that the speaker does not run according to the rules that a lot of box speakers use- it seems to work best with amplifiers that can make constant power regardless of load- which is usually a tube amp.

Many transistor amps will double power as you cut the load impedance in half. The Quad has high impedances in the bass and low impedances in the treble/HF region. Most transistor amps will play the speaker with weak bass and too much highs.

Given Atmasphere's explanation, maybe this is why some find that the old Quad 303 works reasonably well with Quads. It is solid state, but my understanding is that its power output actually drops as impedance drops. There are a few firms that do updates, like Net Audio or the new one that advertises on EBAY.

Back in the day, the SS amps that paired well with the Quads were the Levinson ML-2, the Bedini 25/25, the Pioneer M-22, and the Classe DR-2.

Quad 909

The transistor amps will not give you what you want , in my opinion. I have been a confirmed user of transistors since I built a Heathkit in 1963 and was a Quad dealer for 15 years. Transistors are undoubtedly faster on cone speakers , because of higher dampening factor among other considerations. But these factors do not apply to the Quad, which is already faster than any cone. When I was a dealer I drove my 63s with Krell, Musical Fidelity and Stax class A solid state amps but could not detect a difference in speed or bass between them and good tubes. A friend drives his 57s, which I sold him in 1975, with a rebuilt Heath tube amp , it sounds as good as anything I have ever heard drive them. Foster Blair rebuilds them, they are available through Mapleshade. This is one case where having a transformer in the line helps the sound. After all, they were designed with a lower powered tube amp in mind. If I wasn't happy with the sound of the 57s driven by a good tube I would look at another speaker, they are what they are and the amp will not change them that much.