Kef Concerto
Naim Ariva
Naim SL2, later with addition of nSub
Shahinian Diapason
The Ariva obviously had its limitations but I was pretty fond of mine. I loved the SL2s and the nSubs allowed me to be silly with them across a variety of genres, but I did hanker after more scale for big orchestral works in particular. DBLs sadly didn’t quite work in the room I had at the time. And there was nothing else I preferred to the SL2s including Kudos T88, until I heard the Shahinians. First the Obelisk and then the Diapasons. Had a home demo, bought them on the spot and have never looked back.
Just to report that I get the system fired up yesterday, and listened to lots of music, including Jeff Buckley, The Doors, Santana, Carlos Kleiber’s Beethoven, Springsteen, and no doubt lots more.
It was indeed sublime to listen to music on a proper system for the first time in over a year. I’ll just have to hope that it didn’t annoy the neighbours.
I’m amazed at your patience Graham- all those new records and a year away! Impressive self control, although I’m sure you had other pleasurable things to do first.
Glad you are home- there’s no place like it
Best wishes
Jonathan
Late 1970’s
I used a pair of home built bass reflex speakers using Whitely Stentorian HF1012 drive units. To my teenage ears they had great bass but lacking in the treble. You could blow matches out using the bass ports. Strange the things that teenagers are impressed by!
1980 – 1988
Pair of Richard Allan Chaconne speakers. These were a 2-way infinite baffle set up which were handed down by my father having bought them in the late 1960’s. A much more balanced sound.
1988 – 2001
Quad ESLs (57) These were a revelation compared to the previous ones. Especially after I had them serviced by Quad in 1992. They worked well in my previous house, but never really got them to work in the current one. I still have them in storage.
2001 – 2010
Mission 733. These had much more bass than the Quads but lacked the clarity over the mid-range. These were bough second hand as they took up much less floor space and enabled us to get a more modern TV. Life is full of compromise!
2010 – 2018
B & W 683. A much more tuneful speaker with a more accurate midrange and sharper treble. Although the bass was less prominent.
2018 – present
PMC Twenty5 23. I really like these speakers. The mid-range seems as clear and natural as the Quads, but the bass is much stronger having real depth and power. The treble is also detailed. No plans to change.
The thing is - she’s not interested in using them at all. Much as I’d like the iconic speakers, I do wonder what they’d sound like now compared to modern kit. I seem to recall they were weak in the bass ??
That’s one of ‘Walker’s little wonders’, the QUAD Electrostatic Loudspeaker, known these days as the ESL57.
I have six of those, fairly newly-built in Germany, in my system upstairs. You’re lucky to have found a pair. Have you tried listening to them? - don’t blast too much power into them, or you risk destroying the membranes which produce the sound.
If they’re not working properly, you can have them brought up to spec by One Thing Audio in the UK, or by QUAD Musikwiedergabe near Koblenz in Germany (who made brand new ones for me).
When properly set up, the ESL’s bass is very clean and clear. It just doesn’t have the boom and reverberation that listeners have come to expect from wooden cabinets.
Yes, the original ESLs are definitely smewhat limited in the bass department, also in maximum volume, so not the best for music with deep bass or for people who like to play spiritedly. IIUC stacked pairs make a big difference to both aspects, though max sound level would still be lower than the majority of other speakers are capable.
I have three pairs of ESL57s playing simultaneously, and would never dare turn the volume control of my NAC52 even up to half way round. There really is no lack of volume or shortage of bass, although there’s none of the ‘boom’ associated with so many coffin-like wooden cabinets.
(There are so many myths surrounding ESLs, mostly perpetrated by people who have never seen them, let alone heard them actually producing music.)
My awareness of the Quad ESL57 is from numerous reviews and reports over the decades, and admittedly not from firsthand experience. To the best of my recollection review consistently indicated that they can’t go below something like 40 Hz and were running out of steam by then, though I seem to recall stacked pairs going down lower. And I recall that the maximum limit of sound level was not much over 100 Hz, so not that great for realistic levels of either rock music or dramatic orchestral, risking arcing and damage to the units if people did (wasn’t there a limiter added at some point to protect then?) But yes, everything I recall about them was that they sounded fantastic, particularly in the midrange, completely lacking any “boxiness“, having no box resonances etc that plague poor quality, and sometimes not so poor quality, box speakers. Room interactions are of course just that and nothing to do with the design of speaker, and any room nodes/resonances within the range of decent output from ESLs can still be excited.
The ESL57 never appealed to headbangers but having heard them on several occasions there is no doubt in my mind that they are one of the all-time greats on a par with DBLs, SL2s, the early Linns and Shahinians
PS, before I get lynched, I agree that’s not a complete list
Well here goes, speakers I actually PAID for…
1975 Goodmans Goodwood ($400 and I was 16)
1976 Spendor BC1s ($700 ish)
1977 Active Isobariks (s/hand a snip at $9000 but I also got a lot of black boxes thrown in)
1985 Linn Kans (passive then DIY active)
1985 DCM Time Windows
1985 Gale GS401s Chrome
1986 Meridian M2s
1990 B&W CM1/CM2 combo
1993 Meridian M2s (the same pair)
1996 Royd. A9?
2001 Harbeth HB1?
2009 Dali Somethings (don’t ask)
2014 Naim S400s (still have)
I have also had MANY speakers on extended home trial, (but never put the money down)
Regrets, well…
Active SARAs. Should have, could have…didn’t
Magnapan MG1s. So close.
Apogee Duettas. Biggest regret.
