+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Hello!

  1. #1
    Join Date: Oct 2020

    Location: Fife, UK

    Posts: 3
    I'm John.

    Default Hello!

    I am a retired university professor (nothing to to do with electronics, audio etc) enjoying picking up a soldering iron again after over forty years. My current system is a Naim DAC, and NAC/NAM 152 going in to a pair of Beauhorns with Lowther drivers in a very large listening space (about 10m x4m x 8m). That creates a slightly toppy sound as there is a lot more glass and walls than soft furnishing, and a bare wooden floor, but I'm not complaining. I listen to all sorts - mostly classical, especially opera, but also folk, rock, jazz... anything.
    I enjoy picking up old audio stuff at auctions and repairing/reconditioning it. I recently managed to get hold of two pairs of Quad 57s, both 1969/70 vintage. I wasn't expecting much as they came without leads, only one pair still had legs and even then only five of them. However they were both covered in so much dust that I hoped they might still be OK. I lucked out. After a thorough clean they looked fine, no arcing damage and dust covers all in one piece. They were a wee bit quiet but the volts on the EHT blocks didn't look too bad. I've since rebuilt the rectifier boards, which has pepped them up a bit. Running them as a stacked pair definitely improves them. I think my space is just too big for a single pair to be comfortable. However, even in my large space there is not enough room for the both the Beauhorns (about 1.4m x.4m x .9m) and stacked quads, so the latter are going to hang from the ceiling.
    I know positioning is going to be critical, so I want to be able to move them around (at least until I know exactly where they are going to go). That means keeping the weight down. I've replaced the front and rear grills with a lighter and sonically more transparent but still electrically grounded mesh. By far the heaviest components are the four audio transformers. I fancy moving them to the wall nearest where the speakers will hang. However I wonder about the impact of having bass panel bias voltages of 6K, along with treble panel voltages of one quarter of that, travelling for about a metre. My school physics tells me it shouldn't be a problem as long as I use high voltage cable of the kind used for test probes. But will longer cable lengths mess anything else up, such as the crossover or relative volume of the panels?
    Any advice very gratefully received.

  2. #2
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

    Default

    Hello John. Welcome to AOS.

    Your Quad ESL questions might get an appropriate response if placed in our Past Masters section. I'm sure members will have opinions.

    Join in the chat, there's a lot going on and it's a friendly place.


    Enjoy the forum,
    Geoff.
    It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!

  3. #3
    Join Date: Oct 2020

    Location: Fife, UK

    Posts: 3
    I'm John.

    Default

    Thanks Geoff.
    J

  4. #4
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    hi john, welcome to the site.. an interesting idea the tx's being taken out. if done right the ht voltages should be ok, but unless anyone has tried it, then its suck it and see.
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  5. #5
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,228
    I'm Josie.

    Default

    Welcome to AOS, John.

    Hope you enjoy the forum.
    Ultrafide U500DC power amplifier - Croft Vitale )highly modified) - TRIO L-07D Turntable - Denon DL103C1 - Funk Firm Houdini - Lentek MC head amp - 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold Loudspeakers in Lockwood Major cabinets (From Trident Studios) - Tannoyista SPEC 3 Custom Crossovers - VanDamme Black Speaker Cable


    Tannoyista.com

    Facebook

  6. #6
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Essex

    Posts: 31,850
    I'm openingabottleofwine.

    Default

    Welcome to AoS John,

    Ummm stacked Quads! I wish I had room for a set. Well done!

    The crossover frequencies are largely determined by the capacitance of panels and the inductance of the audio transformer windings, so the resistance of the wiring ought not to have much effect.

    On a point of safety, the audio voltages applied to the stators present a greater risk of shock than the HT voltage applied to the diaphragms, because the audio transformers are fed by the power amplifier which can supply high currents. So even though you might use slicone rubber insulated HT cabling, all connections to the secondary side of the audio transformers need to be very well insulated, covered and safe from curious children and pets.

    Good luck with the project.
    Barry

  7. #7
    Join Date: Oct 2020

    Location: Fife, UK

    Posts: 3
    I'm John.

    Default

    Thanks for that Barry. The plan is only to offload them till I've got the positioning sorted out, and then put them back in their usual place once I have a permanent mount for the quads. My guess is that without the weight of the transformers, the frames would move too much, and it would probably weaken the bass response. If it doesn't, or I decide to keep them off for another reason, then I'd allow plenty of safety margin for the cable insulation etc.
    If I get inspired enough I might even try working out how to alter the ratio of bass to treble panels, since the latter are plenty powerful enough for the space. However I don't see an easy way of doing that without upsetting the crossover function.
    John

+ Reply to Thread

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •