Quad ESL 57 0 again!

[Wakefield Turntables]

Guys, I need you help. I have been after a pair of these for a while now and I have the choice of 2 pairs. One has been serviced by Quad in 2010, the other is a complete rebuild from One thing Audio. One pair is £200 cheaper than the other and quite easy to pick up. My main concern is which pair is going to be the best. In my heart I think the Quad pair should be the best cos these guys make the bloody things and should know them inside out. But, I understand that One Thing are the masters of stripping the 57's down and rebuilding and upgrading. I'm left with this feeling that if I get the 57's from Quad I'll be missing out on a pair that has been rebuilt with brand new parts and potentially with a longer shelf life?? What do think, please help... :rolleyes:

[Ali Tait]

No brainer IMHO. Get the One Thing Audio ones.

[Ali Tait]

Perhaps I should clarify. Quad is now not the company it was in any way really. I have heard OTA Quads, and they are superb. Were it me, that's what i would buy.

[Ali Tait]

A further thought. Do they come with stands?

[spendorman]

can you listen to both sets?

[RobHolt]

OTA do a great job on the 57 and 63.
I have a pair (and 63s) and the 57s were fully rebuilt by them including there own design OTEC treble panel.
I ended up buying a pair of fully tested original treble panels from them in preference to the OTEC, but it was just my preference.
Ron and Steve at OTA don't claim their own treble panel to sound like the Quad panel.

As said above, a 2010 Quad serviced 57 will also be unlike the original, and you also have to consider that 3rd parties are (and were) used to service the speakers at times.

Go with the OTA rebuild - Ron Best has been servicing them for over 30 years!

[DSJR]

I'm inclined to agree there. Quad's service dept were to inclined to just do a basic repair on their old stuff when sometimes a full re-furb would have made the unit more reliable. I cite my II's as prime evidence, as a quick repair by Quad wasn't enough to prevent a major blow-up on one a year later which took out most of the '57 connected to it. Glenn Croft's subsequent rebuild has proved totally reliable for twenty years of intermittant use.

[spendorman]

I'm inclined to agree there. Quad's service dept were to inclined to just do a basic repair on their old stuff when sometimes a full re-furb would have made the unit more reliable. I cite my II's as prime evidence, as a quick repair by Quad wasn't enough to prevent a major blow-up on one a year later which took out most of the '57 connected to it. Glenn Croft's subsequent rebuild has proved totally reliable for twenty years of intermittant use.

That seems terrible a II doing all that damage to 57's. I guess that something made the output transformer fail.

I shall have to be careful when I get my 57's and 63's back into use after many years. If they power up OK, think I try them on a Quad 303 and not the II's

[Wakefield Turntables]

ok, it sounds like OTA! just answer a few questions, nope they dont come with stands, and I dont think i'm going to be able to hear them. I need to make some enquiries, I havent bothered because I wanted your opinions! Thanks guys :)