Quad ESL 57 Main / Stereo Speakers

After my 14 month old grandson decided to push over one of my Quad 57's it stopped working.
I saw on Ebay a pair of One Thing 57's "collect only" I believe as a result that they went for far less than they otherwise could have done. They were £736 so not that inexpensive (£1500 from One Thing).

I drove to the far side of East Anglia

It was worth the 300 mile return drive,they were in immaculate condition, I left them on overnight to charge the caps etc. The One Thing 57's came with "Rupert" stands which are about 10" high & £250 on their own: The speakers sound incredible, treble clear, sharp but not digital brittle "valve" clear/clean: Incisive voluminous mids: low low expansive bass 35hz (test CD) not bad for 57's, with a natural bloom, the whole system is now even more phase coherent, I have a Chesky CD test disc, which s well produced it shows there is more height & width than before included is a test that I used to use setting up multiple speaker car sound systems.


Using this test on my system. A group of musicians enter a chapel from a door on left, walk along an aisle playing Elizabethan instruments, they then walk 3 times around the microphone at which point your head is placed; you can actually hear them walk around around your head, first time I ever heard it work with stereo ie 2 speakers, I played it for my son John jnr, I was standing o/s the lounge door and I could hear the musicians process along the room eerie!


Above all the system has a synergistic feel in that the sum is greater than the individual components: I have tried all sorts of music chamber, female vocal & orchestral it even made a good attempt at the Bach toccata & fugue in D minor. I have run out of superlatives thankfully not LP's









John

After years of spending 1000's on HiFi, and after several house moves in which it all went on Ebay (Linn / Naim / AE1 / KT88 valve amps / Mirage floorstanders) I went for an aged Quad system, 33 / 303 / FM3 and ESL57's. It's superb and looks great, there's no point upgrading, it works, it is amazingly musical. These go louder and deeper than I expected, despite their reviews. Don't use them with big transistor amps however, you'll blow the lot up.

The best loudspeakers in the world for around £500 - doesn't get better than that.

I had a pair some years ago ,they have a mesmorizing transparency of sound with an unrivalled midrange ,they are not for bass freaks but with classical and jazz trio and the like they are fantastic, they are rated at 40 watt and can be over driven and can arc actually causing visible sparks .A Quad 405 has limiters in circuit in use with these but sensible use should cause no problem,s as with 63,s make sure they have had a recent service to avoid a large bill Quad have an excellent service department despite this being a 45 year old design they can be repaired. These are more transparent than the 63,s which I have ,however the 57,s are critical on listening position but when you sit dead centre the imagery is amazing, a beautiful musical speaker and a great investment when a good pair is located.

I've owned 3 sets of these speakers over the years and always come back to them in the end. Partnered with a valve amp (quad 2's) and a good source they are truly unbeatable. I have had Martin Logans, Usher Dancers and currently use an all Meridian system and nothing compares to a well set up pair of 57's. You need space front and back, at least 1m behind them. The listening position is critical and the best sound and placement of musicians is likely to only be experienced by one listener in the sweet spot. When buying don't be fooled by "all original", and sequential serial numbers. By the cheapest pair you can find, working or not, and have them FULLY rebuilt by One Thing Audio; anything else is an absolute waste of money. I have never heard a pair of "orginals" sound anywhere near as good as a rebuilt pair and I have heard a lot of them. You'll pay £1200+ for the rebuild and stands but the sound is amazing. Don't believe what people say about the base they haven't heard a rebuilt pair.