ESL 57s will be added to my system soon. What to expect?

[Rosewind]

I will soon have some Quad ESL 57 speakers in my small study where they will be used in a way not unlike stereo headphones. They will (1) either be elevated and slanted downwards to my listeing position or (2) "bolted to the wall" (perhaps on some TV mounting thingees).They will replace a set of 47 laboratory 4722 Lens speakers that I have been very happy with. But the temptation to get myself a pair of Quad ESL 57s for my system was too big.

The rest of my set-up in my main listening rig is:
EAR 912 pre
Amcron D150 Series 2 SS amp (due for repair as it distorts heavily after only one month in my room) ---> much later I supose that I will have finished my FirstWatt F4 build or have bought myself an EAR power amp.
Amazon Audio Reference with Morch UP-4 unipivot arm and Benz Micro Gullwing SLR
B&O Beocord 6500 Cassette Deck
Audio Note CDT Zero Transport + Audio Note Dac 3 1x (old style).

I hope the ESL 57s wil be to my liking. What can I expect from the ESL 57s that Magnepan MC1s (Wall mounted speakers) or Magnepan 1.7 speakers did not get me?
I have had both in my tiny room - with an entirely different set-up, however.

[Barry]

Well done on your new acquisition Peter.

I'm a big fan of the Quad 57s - I've used no other for the last forty-five years. They are not perfect and have some serious shortcomings, but I can forgive (or put up with) them for the aspects of sound reproduction which they do do well and which are important to me.

However you will not get the best out of them if you hang them on a wall. Having a dipole radiation pattern, they need at least a metre of clear space behind them. And you need to position the speakers so the centre strip tweeter 'fires' directly towards you.

Some users say the Quads are fussy or difficult to drive, but most modern SS amps will drive them well and virtually all valve amplifiers (both modern and vintage) will do the same. I have had success with the Quad valve units; Quad 303; Quad 405 (-2, or if -1, modified by replacing the input op-amp); Quad 510 monoblocks, Electrocompaniet "The Two Channel Amplifier"; Mark Levinson ML-2 monoblocks, and the valve Radford STA15 Mk.III.

Expect clear, neutral, natural reproduction, free from cabinet colouration; more than adequate frequency response; superb soundstaging and focus, and excellent transient response free from overhang. They can't be played loud so are a bit limited in their portrayal of dynamics, nor do they have subterranean bass.

[jandl100]

Based on my experience, don't necessarily dismiss the idea of wall mounting.
I agree that it would seem to be far from ideal for dipoles - but I once visited someone with Quad 63 speakers mounted actually in specially made wall recesses the same size as the speakers with their fronts flush to the wall. I thought to myself "that is going to sound awful" but actually the sound was very good. I have no idea why or how, but it worked fine.
Certainly worth a try with your 57s.

[Rosewind]

Thanks.

I have heard that they should be able to be used mounted on a wall. However, I wonder how this could be done. I am going to make room for them on either side of a window where they will span each their own corner slanted in towards my seat in front of a desk. I wonder if they could be mounted on TV mounts like this one: https://www.harald-nyborg.dk/p3685/v...pa13-484c-sort

If not I will place them on top of bookshelves leaning in on me.

Here's a photo of wall-mounted ones: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WEP...ew?usp=sharing

[Barry]

Based on my experience, don't necessarily dismiss the idea of wall mounting.
I agree that it would seem to be far from ideal for dipoles - but I once visited someone with Quad 63 speakers mounted actually in specially made wall recesses the same size as the speakers with their fronts flush to the wall. I thought to myself "that is going to sound awful" but actually the sound was very good. I have no idea why or how, but it worked fine.
Certainly worth a try with your 57s.

I have seen Quad 57s positioned in alcoves each side of a chimney breast and close to the wall, but there was sound absorbing material fixed to the wall behind the speakers. The 57s can be used close to a wall but there must be some sound absorbing material used between the speaker and the wall. However too get the best performance from the Quads there is no substitute for free space.

Also the treble dispersion in the vertical plane is poor (the beam width is only about 7 degrees), so to avoid the 'letter box' effect the speaker pannels have to positioned so they aim at your ears when sat in your listening position. The dispersion in the horizontal plane is fine (beamwidth is 35 degrees), so to say the Quads only have one 'sweet spot' and can be enjoyed by only one persion is a bit of an exaggeration.

One other thing which I neglected to mention is the limit to the voltage swing produced by the amplifier. The voltage limit is 33V peak, or about 20V (rms), which implies a maximum power of 50W. It would be wise to check the maximum voltage swing your Amcron amplifier can produce.

[Rosewind]

Thanks. I wll look into sound absorbers for corner placement. I like the idea of hanging it from the ceiling. I will check into the amp measurements, too.

[jandl100]

Here are the Quads of AOS's very own Alan / Firebottle

[Rosewind]

How have they been "anchored" there? I see some wire going to the ceiling, but how have they been mounted on the wall?

Nice to see that it can be done. Mine will be mounted in a similar way but angled in more.

[jandl100]

They's just a hangin' by those wires!

Not heard the setup myself, but is reliably said to be very good indeed.

[wee tee cee]

I agree with everything so far mentioned. I would be having a look at one thing audio. You really want to put a protection circuit in them and the widget seems to make a nice but very incremental improvement with my SS amp.

Im now running supertweeters velcroed on the rear firing vertically- works very well IMHO.

You will adore them if you want a headphone like sound.