New Quad ESLs

dunkyboy

dunkyboy

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Anyone heard these?

I made the mistake of listening to the 2805s in a local shop - just popped in to talk cartridges as I'm upgrading my Sumiko, but they were all set up and ready to go, so I couldn't resist - and oh my god I have to have them! I've had ATC actives for five years now and in all that time have never heard speakers that I thought sounded more "right" or honest than my own. And these Quads just blew me away.

Not only do they sound more like the real thing (in a subjective sense) than any speaker I've ever heard (and I've heard quite a few!), but they also dredged up vast amounts of detail - particularly ambient detail - without ever sounding the slightest bit bright or "etched", as many high end box speakers do. And they imaged like absolute BEASTS...

I've heard Quad ESLs before - 57s and 63s - though not usually for any length of time, or in ideal setups. They've always been a mild disappointment, after the praise that's heaped on them. They've always sounded a bit flat, a bit lifeless. Not the 2805s. They were punchy and snappy and dynamic - they had real PRAT. Hate to use the old flat earth cliche, but my foot was a-tappin' at the slightest beat.

And bass! Glorious, big, clean, beautifully textured bass! They may not go as low as some big box speakers (particularly at that price), but I didn't notice as what was there was so gorgeous!

The closest analogy I can make was that they sounded like my Sennheiser HD600s, but huge and in front of me (rather than in my head!), slightly less warm (and more accurate for it), and with much better resolution and every semblance of veiling completely removed!

Admittedly they were driven by the 4-grand Quad QC-24/II-Forties, but the front ends were rather more modest - the Quad 99CDP and [far better] the Funk V turntable with TechnoArm and Ortofon MC1-Turbo cart.

Anyway, at 4.5K for the 2805s, they're a lot more money than I have lying around. But I'm still going to buy them! Give me 6 months, and by hook or by crook they will be mine - oh yes, they will be mine! :cool:

Dunc
 
:)

My speakers are GBP3.3K including power amp. The 2805s are GBP4.5K sans amp.

A much more interesting comparison would be 2805+II-Forty v. Active 50........

Dunc
 
have a listen to the Kingsound electrostatics. They were very impressive and cheaper then the Quads. Steve at Select Audio brings them in He is up in Cumbria. Give him a call. They are definatly worth a listen.

I did deal in them before my split. I did rate them very highly. Even the smaller Kingsounds called the "queens" are fantastic value at £1600. The hybrid base is quite small but fast and work well with the pannel.

It's worth a listen and they are not even a product I deal with any more (shame really)

But I do however deal in Mangers and they are the nearest to a static in a box and the stand mounters are very good value.

Just thought I'd put my pennt worth in.
 
dunkyboy said:
A much more interesting comparison would be 2805+II-Forty v. Active 50........
Click to expand...

Not really, they have different strengths - the quads have resolution beyond what the ATC's are capable of, while the ATC's have greater volume range. It's an apples and oranges comparison at best, and your choice of speaker will be dictated by your typical use..

In the spirit of full disclosure, I haven't heard 2805's, but I have no reason to believe they are any better than 989's (which I own), OTOH I have reason to believe they are possibly worse.

I was of the opinion that everyone should own Quads because they have such great clarity.

Now hear this, I've recently acquired a pair of speakers which (and this is a remarkable achievement) beat the quads at their own game, and have additional dynamic range to boot. Brand loyalty, xenophobia and "listening with the eyeballs" rules this pair of speakers out as a credible alternative for "audiophiles" - which is a great shame.. To avoid derision, I'm not even going to tell you which speakers I'm talking about:)
 
Paul Ranson said:
Why defeat the object with the valve power? Better to save cash, distortion and get the full output from the speaker with a 909.
Click to expand...

I should be giving that a try shortly, but I have a sneaking suspicion it won't sound as good... In any case, I won't nearly be able to afford a GBP4000 amp to start with, so I'll probably have to make do with something like the 909 initially. Hopefully it won't disgrace itself...

Dunc
 
When I had the Quad 988s I tried many power amps with it but the best by far was the Graaf 5050 50w push-pull 6550 valves... totally magical.

You can get good KT88/6550 power amps at very reasonable prices, and good 2nd hand availability too.
 
Thanks for the offer - if I do get them I'll think about it. Would there be any convenient way to dem them way up in Scotland?

Dunc
 
oedipus said:
...I've recently acquired a pair of speakers which (and this is a remarkable achievement) beat the quads at their own game...
Click to expand...

Which ones are you listening to? Are you recommending the pro or the pleb gear, or the whole range? They are a hell of a bargain if they are as good as you say, though I've got 'issues' with that tweeter material!
 
dunkyboy said:
I should be giving that a try shortly, but I have a sneaking suspicion it won't sound as good... In any case, I won't nearly be able to afford a GBP4000 amp to start with, so I'll probably have to make do with something like the 909 initially. Hopefully it won't disgrace itself...

Dunc
Click to expand...


Dunc, if you like valves why not get a recent second hand amp?

A few examples below.

Art Audio Concerto
http://www.hi-fishop.com/artconcerto.html


Rogue Audio Metis pre, Atlas power. Ex dem - less than 20 hours use
Canary 608LV integrated amp. 25 watts with Living Voice upgrade
http://www.definitiveaudio.co.uk/stuff.htm



Living with valves means living with their foibles (like turning them off, replacing blown tubes etc), but if you love what they do - you just put up with it and enjoy it.
 
Ah, someone got the hint;)

walnut said:
Which ones are you listening to?
Click to expand...

Pleb.

Are you recommending the pro or the pleb gear, or the whole range?
Click to expand...

If only heard the pro gear on the floor of the AES convention, it wasn't an enlightening experience, so I can't say much about them.

They are a hell of a bargain if they are as good as you say, though I've got 'issues' with that tweeter material!
Click to expand...

So, buy this bargain, then spend the money you have saved on therapy for your 'issues':)
 
Stereo Mic said:
Paul Ranson said:
Why defeat the object with the valve power? Paul
Click to expand...
Because Quads sound better with them Paul. you must get over this prejustice thing and try it.
Click to expand...

Amplifiers should all sound the same. The fact that they don't is a combination of cynical manipulation, truly poor engineering, or cost constraints. Any amplifier over $500/channel has no excuse in terms of cost, into a reasonable load and at reasonable power (let's say 2 ohms and 100W for the sake of argument).

When your paying over $1000 for a stereo amplifier and it sounds "different" then you are buying an elaborate and non adjustable distortion peddle combined with a tone control. This is an aethetic decision you are free to make, but in practice you are merely making an "artistic" interpretation of the work - a job best left to mastering engineers who knew the intent of the artist who recorded the music.

The other difficultly with the fixed nature of this at home equalization is that it doesn't work for all recordings. If you really want to have artistic control over your recordings then buy an equalizer and a good AV receiver..

Now, that you (Stereo Mic) have some sense of what you'd like your recordings to sound like does mean that (a) you're right and (b) the rest of us are prejudiced for not agreeing with your artistic interpretation :)
 
oedipus - "the rest of us" is only a correct application of the term when your opinion is in the majority.

If your view was concurrent with the readership of the forum, then the ''what system have you got'' thread would be full of people with Behringer amps (and such like).... and it's not.
 

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