review33.com: 影音天地: QUAD ESL speaker

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[#302] QUAD ESL CP, let them power on and charge for days. u will see daily improvement.		rsbn589 正式會員 210.xxx.xxx.51	2006-02-20 15:14

[#303] QUAD ESL
Thanks rsbn589.
Yes I believe it needs charging up quite a bit.
Actually I think adyc might not have used it often enough. The speakers now sound like new without running in. The upper midrange and treble is quite coarse. I would honestly believe that they have not been run in since serviced by One Thing as the dust cover is clean like fresh. With the electrostatic, it should be quite dirty.
I can already hear the difference since this morning.

cpsjj

正式會員
203.xxx.xxx.12

2006-02-20 15:31

[#304] QUAD ESL
Sh_t!
Browsing through the links of this thread trying to get more information on the speakers, I was shocked to learn that the speaker need to be charged for at least 24 hours before playing music, or otherwise at the risk of permanent damage.
I only charged the speakers for 15 minutes before playing music this morning. I hope I didn't do any permanent damage. Is that the reason for the rough treble?
I have to thoroughly check the speakers tomorrow morning.
Dumb! Dumb!

cpsjj

正式會員
218.xxx.xxx.159

2006-02-20 22:03

[#305] QUAD ESL
I do not think it needs for 24 hours charge b4 playing. You can play immediately after power on but the sound is getting better the longer the power on. Maybe I'm wrong. Any guru to advise?

rsbn589

正式會員
60.xxx.xxx.92

2006-02-20 23:52

[#306] QUAD ESL
Congrats cpsjj, that looks like a very good condition unit.

I don't think playing after just 15mins of charge will damage the speaker. What will damage the treble panel is if the ESL is on then you change amps and connect an amp that is also on with music playing. This may damage the treble panel if the gain is too high.

Happy listening.

mozilla

正式會員
203.xxx.xxx.140

2006-02-21 10:03

[#307] QUAD ESL
Thanks everybody for your kind advice.
I did check the speakers again this morning. Nothing wrong. The treble becomes more refine but still not yet high enough to compare with BC1.
As advised, I think they need to be charged for a few more days before I can invite friends to come to give me more comments.

cpsjj

正式會員
203.xxx.xxx.107

2006-02-21 10:49

[#308] QUAD ESL
The treble is very beamy, meaning its very directional and has a very narrow beam.

You'd have to toe it in AND tilt it directly to your ears.

Once you do this and lock-on to the sound, try moving your head just a few inches and you will see that the tonality & focus will change drastically.

Only one person at a time can stay in this sweet spot.

mozilla

正式會員
203.xxx.xxx.140

2006-02-21 16:50

[#309] QUAD ESL
Thanks mozilla.

I have already done this.
The speakers are now 66" apart and toe in at about 22 deg so that the treble panel points directly to the ears.
The tonality and also the bass level change drastically even on the vertical axis.
Once on axis, this is the most involving speakers I've ever had.
I believe it can still improve a lot as the treble, even on axis, is still not comparable to BC1 making the tone a bit dark.
Will it be a insufficient charging or run in problem.

cpsjj

正式會員
203.xxx.xxx.107

2006-02-21 17:01

[#310] QUAD ESL
cpsjj,

It's hard to tell until listening by the experienced ESL users such as Patrick. Please also explore different panel tilting angle for best results as I understand the ONE THING AUDIO stand is raising the ESL by 12" tall. I guess you need to experiment different position for optimal results.

Even your ESL needing run in and proper positioning, One thing I am pretty sure, the transparency of your ESL can easily outperforms any speakers on this planet.

Dennis

dkyyu

正式會員
210.xxx.xxx.217

2006-02-21 22:41

[#311] QUAD ESL
CP

From my experience, it will take time for you to get used to the sound of the ESL57. First of all, there is one sweet spot from the ESL, so you will lose some treble if you sit outside the spot. Secondly, the ESL's treble is not as bright as BC1, but it is very refined.

Hon

hifienthusiast

正式會員
80.xxx.xxx.11

2006-02-22 02:39

[#312] QUAD ESL
Thanks Hon and Dennis.

I think I might have found the sweet spot, even if I didn't, I'm already quite satisfy with the sound now. It is extremely involving and despite the image is not as pinpoint as from small box speakers, it is very realistic and full body, not like small box speakers that most of the time you see the mouth but not the body of the singer. I particular like violin and cello with the very realistic resonant sound of the sounding box.
The One Thing stand, which I'm not sure whether it is actually from One Thing, Hon may be able to confirm it, is actually 14" high and with a tilting angle same as the original legs. Patrick told me that he tilts down the speakers so I am now sitting very low to achieve this.
I still believe that the speakers have not been run in judging from the rate of improvements they have everyday.
Give me a few more days and see whether there will be further improvement and I would like to invite Dennis and Patrick and all other friends who might be interested to come to give me further advice.

cpsjj

正式會員
203.xxx.xxx.235

2006-02-22 09:50

[#313] QUAD ESL
Here's what the set up looks like now.

cpsjj

正式會員
203.xxx.xxx.235

2006-02-22 09:51

[#314] QUAD ESL
Thanks,cpsjj,

Yes, if ESL positioning is proper, you can hear a whole person from ESL instead of being the mouth from box speaker in the air.

Really a pleasure to visit another ESl user in HK. Call us when ready. I'll arrange with Patrick and other friends to visit your ESL on same day.

Aprt from the most critical positioning, please also try different cable at hand. I'd tried Linn cable, no fun at all. Suggest settle with non-expensive but fast sounding cable such as the cheapest version Nordost flatline. I guess under GBP60 for a pair in UK. Other fast sounding and least coloring cable will work fine.

Did you ensure 15ohm output from your QUAD or LEAK amp to match with the QUAD ESL?

Enjoy.

Dennis

dkyyu

正式會員
218.xxx.xxx.124

2006-02-22 16:11

[#315] QUAD ESL
Dennis,

Yes, all the Quads and Leaks are set to 16 ohm.
I really takes time to fine tune the speakers, not because it is that difficult, but whenever I sat down trying to focus on the hifi aspects such as whether there was enough bass, whether the imaging is correct or not, I could only do it for a few minutes; and then I would completely immerge into the music and forgot what I was doing until the entire disc finished. And I have to start all over again.
I no longer listen to the chinese female singers and go back to my favourite chamber music. It sounds like I was playing in my old school orchestra.
My colleague played a chinese opera CD this morning which I hated in the past, but I suddenly find it sounded like sitting in an old cinema and it was so interesting.

cpsjj

正式會員
218.xxx.xxx.168

2006-02-22 16:30

[#316] QUAD ESL
On speaker cables, I don't have any exepnsive cables at all except a pair of audionote.
All my speaker cables now are either Klangfilm green or black cable or western electric which I bought a few spools at very low price.

cpsjj

正式會員
218.xxx.xxx.168

2006-02-22 16:34

[#317] QUAD ESL
cp, if can, try to listen to choi kum in mid-night.

rsbn589

正式會員
60.xxx.xxx.49

2006-02-23 00:00

[#318] QUAD ESL
Patrick,

I got your voicemail. I'm sorry I left my phone in the car when I left for a dinner meeting. Will call you tomorrow morning.
On recent development, I would like to report that in driving the ESL, I swapped between Quad II and Leak Stereo 20 and confirm that St20 did drive the ESL better in my case. Quad II sounds too dark. But in the afternoon, I switched to Marantz 9 in triode mode. It is completely a different world. The soundstage is so much bigger and stable. The whole room was filled with concert hall ambience and the timbre of every instrument was so correct and real. One of my client happened to visit me. He is a non-believer of hifi and said he could never tell any difference between hifi and lowfi. He sat down and was completely absorbed and told me this was the most natural and realistic sound he ever heard from any system.
Frankly I didn't find it that well, but the sound is really very mellow, relax and open that makes everybody feel very comfortable.
I agree with Dennis that investment put into the ESL worth every cent.

cpsjj

正式會員
218.xxx.xxx.157

2006-02-23 23:22

[#319] QUAD ESL
CP...
A friend of mine from SF visited me on Feb 19 and I have been busy showing them around. I only got the chance to visit R33 today. I am a bit concern about the treble panel of your esl. You mentioned that the treble is not as bright as the BC1. I don't know how the BC1 sound, but in my case, I got crystal clear treble from my esl. It may not sound as high as the traditional treeter. but the quality of highs is accepable for me. Please bear in mind esl is different from tradition box speakers and is unable to reproduce dynamic sound effects. You will find your esl super enjoyable If you focus on the music more then anything else.

Going back to your treble problem. I noticed in your picture, your esl is tilt slightly upward on a rather tall stand. Will the vertical dispersion aimed directly into the ear level while you are sitting? FYI, I mounted my esl on an arcici stand which look a bit lower then yours and I adjusted the vertical angle at 90 degrees. The vertical axis is just level with my ears.

I have tried a few power amps on my esl including Cary CAD300SE mono block w/300B, Quad II with KT66, Goden Tube with EL34, Dynavactor KT88, MC275 w/KT88 but I like my current one, a cheap Quicksilver M60 w/KT88 the best. The reason being was I find the Quicksiver sound more bright and open with extremly accurate sound stage then the others. The sound is also very natual and accurate without colouration. Some may think the sound is too dry but I like it that way. Again, different strocks for different folks!

Its getting late now, or may I say it is getting early (the next morning). Talk to you tomorrow.

Regds
Patrick

PCS100

正式會員
219.xxx.xxx.199

2006-02-24 01:37

[#320] QUAD ESL
Review of "High Fidelity" on ESL57 back in the days when the speaker was launched in US.
Look at para 2 of page 2 which confirms Patrick's listening area.
It says that ESL57 can sound great in a room so small that no conventional speakers can be accomodated.