Quad ESL help appreciated!

[jandl100]

Just bung a graphic equaliser in!

Yep, forget your purist faith, if any.
These are neat and effective - not totally transparent, pretty damn good, though - this is the cheapest you'll find, I think (you can pay a LOT more!)
https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Behr...PAH0004617-000



Behringer FBQ800
I use one in my 2nd system to cure a bass-light tendency.
Even better is a Behringer DEQ2496 - a full 31 frequency bins to really hit the spot. Just on totally transparent if used in pure digital mode.

[Light Dependant Resistor]

I did try some large canvas panels behind the speakers and also on the wall directly behind. It did dampen the bass somewhat but it also messed with the imaging. The rear panels reflect the sound intentionally so if you take that away to my ears it loses something. Layering and depth of soundstage are certainly reduced.

I reckon the answer is in increasing the amount of absorbing material in the corners and along the walls of the room so the sound can exit from the rear of the speaker but the bass will be dampened by this material. That seems to be working so far anyway.

I have also tried them close to a flat rear wall in my lounge and they went a bit dull and flat. Maybe I'm getting a bit of a reverb effect in my loft from the pitched roof also which I've grown a custom to and tweaked the system and speaker positioning to suit. It might have lost some accuracy but I do get a really 3D effect which I believe is partly to do with reflections from the rear panels into the space behind which is then projected back by the pitched roof.

To me with an all tube setup it sounds incredible. Like I say possibly colored and inaccurate but harmonically very pleasing.

Cheers

Did you try raising them up off the floor 30cm using supports under the the existing legs and tilt the top forward by having the third rear leg about 6cm higher than the front two legs ? .

[Light Dependant Resistor]

Yep, forget your purist faith, if any.
These are neat and effective - not totally transparent, pretty damn good, though - this is the cheapest you'll find, I think (you can pay a LOT more!)
https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Behr...PAH0004617-000



Behringer FBQ800
I use one in my 2nd system to cure a bass-light tendency.

ESL57's are so transparent and unforgiving they will tell you straight away why an equalizer cheap or expensive is totally the wrong thing to use.

Talking of amps, a valve amp is a good choice with the 57 because of its rather strange impedance curve and valve amps exhibiting higher output
into higher impedance loads , Likewise the Quad 303 or 50E is a good choice. Running monoblocks with shorter speaker leads is yet another advantage.

Also ESL57's demand the best volume attenuation...

[Opti-cal]

You could try swapping the speaker cable for some really thin stuff, bell wire type. That will reduce bass output. I don't think you have enough space to build a bass trap large enough to absorb the problem frequencies.

Worth a go Martin. I haven't found using more expensive speaker cable to give any advantage with the Quads to be fair so this is an easy idea to try.

Cheers

[Opti-cal]

You could try swapping the speaker cable for some really thin stuff, bell wire type. That will reduce bass output. I don't think you have enough space to build a bass trap large enough to absorb the problem frequencies.

Worth a try Martin. I haven't found any real sonic differences using more expensive speaker cable with the Quads anyway so this will be an easy one to try.

Thanks.

[jandl100]

ESL57's are so transparent and unforgiving they will tell you straight away why an equalizer cheap or expensive is totally the wrong thing to use.

Don't agree. I know what a transparent speakers sounds like and decent equalisers can be quite transparent.
Sure, there will some degradation.

But the OP seems to have a choice between equalisation (tone controls) or selling the Quads.
For £40 it's worth a try, imho.

Faffing around with cables or extra padding material isn't going to get him anywhere.

[Opti-cal]

Yep, forget your purist faith, if any.
These are neat and effective - not totally transparent, pretty damn good, though - this is the cheapest you'll find, I think (you can pay a LOT more!)
https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Behr...PAH0004617-000



Behringer FBQ800
I use one in my 2nd system to cure a bass-light tendency.
Even better is a Behringer DEQ2496 - a full 31 frequency bins to really hit the spot. Just on totally transparent if used in pure digital mode.

Yes I was trying to avoid using anything else in the signal path but if the absorption efforts don't provide the desired effect its certainly one to consider.

Nice bit of kit by the looks of it and like you say can pay a lot more.

Nice one.

[Opti-cal]

ESL57's are so transparent and unforgiving they will tell you straight away why an equalizer cheap or expensive is totally the wrong thing to use.

Talking of amps, a valve amp is a good choice with the 57 because of its rather strange impedance curve and valve amps exhibiting higher output
into higher impedance loads , Likewise the Quad 303 or 50E is a good choice. Running monoblocks with shorter speaker leads is yet another advantage.

Also ESL57's demand the best volume attenuation...

Wouldn't use anything apart from a valve amp with the 57's (apart from possibly the Quad you mention or possibly 606 or similar).

Indeed the impedance at high frequencies is something to look out for.

I do use an SS with my 63's sometimes but nothing compares to the 57's with tubes

[Opti-cal]

Did you try raising them up off the floor 30cm using supports under the the existing legs and tilt the top forward by having the third rear leg about 6cm higher than the front two legs ? .

I'm going to give this a go tonight too. I have some wooden blocks about 20cm in height to put under all the legs. The rear legs already have 4cm extra height on them to help tilt them forward a bit.

Hopefully the clearance to the ceiling won't hamper how high I can get them if I pull them out a bit more.

They are probably a good 10" forward from where they are in the pictures and its helped a lot.

Cheers Chris

[Light Dependant Resistor]

Don't agree. I know what a transparent speakers sounds like and decent equalisers can be quite transparent.
Sure, there will some degradation.

But the OP seems to have a choice between equalisation (tone controls) or selling the Quads.
For £40 it's worth a try, imho.

Faffing around with cables or extra padding material isn't going to get him anywhere.

ESL57's one of their main features is a lack of time domain errors.To quote David Blackmer "conventional speakers turn time into a pretzel"
Inserting a equalizer regardless of cost, involves emphasis or de-emphasis, as well as extensive series circuitry- all inviting time domain errors
which are then tied in as part of the source equipment, which the ESL57 will indeed faithfully reproduce as error, vs much less error without equalization.