Hello aficionados of good audio

[Firebottle]

Hi I'm Alan enjoying la bon vie in the middle of France.

I listen to a very wide range of music but particularly rock and blues.

I have been a Quad electrostatic fan for many years then built an OTL valve amplifier to see what all the fuss was about :wow:

Equipment listing is
Dual 505/Shure 70B plus
home built Douglas Self design phono preamp for very occasional vinyl listening,
Naim CD5i
Quad 405 (issue 7 pcbs) for general listening,
Firebottle OTL home built valve amp for serious listening,
Quad electrostatic '57s hung from the ceiling, plus
REL Stadium home built copy sub woofer.

Mines a beer, cheers

[Audio Al]

aficionados

Sorry I cant read French :lol:

Welcome to the forum

Nice set up you have but as always :-

:worthless:

We need photos :D

I also have some Quad components

Have fun on the forum ;)

[Firebottle]

Hi Audio Al,

A couple of pics, the speaker installation:

http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/Paramotorpilot/ESL57.jpg

The valve amp:

http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/Paramotorpilot/Valve%20amp/P1020644.jpg

No I jest, here is the real one:

http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/Paramotorpilot/Valve%20amp/Firebottlelrg.jpg

Cheers

[Audio Al]

:stalks::stalks::stalks:

Wow that's some listening room

Love the valve amp as well

Thanks for showing us ,
never seen 57's suspended like that before ,
How do they sound up in the air

[Firebottle]

Yes the room opened up well when the false ceiling was taken out.
When the '57s were on the floor (on custom made stands to bring them more upright) it was always a compromise with positioning.
Once up in the air the coherence of the sound stage improved dramatically. They sound great!

[Audio Al]

This is my system http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19987

Need to get my 57's off the floor :)

[Ali Tait]

Does the OTL drive the 57's well?

[Beechwoods]

Wow! The suspended 57's look magnifique, I've never seen them done like that. Was it difficult getting the angle of the dangle right (so to speak!).

It looks like you like in a converted Church or Barn, very lucky!

Welcome to AOS by the way ... :)

[Firebottle]

Thanks for the welcome Nick.
To suspend the 57s I fitted the eye bolts as far rearward on the base board as possible, then fitted a thin suspension wire to the bottom edge to tilt them down a little more.
Ali, the OTL/57 combination is a match made in heaven.

Getting the 57s in the clear really makes them sing, the Firebottle gives such clarity it makes your brain tingle.
Compared to the 405 it's like a veil has been removed from the soundstage.

Anybody in the vicinity is welcome to have a listen,
cheers