The Quad thread

[aerius]

In other news, I am in the process of getting the speaker shipped to Kent. I'm opting to just have him ship me the special box, and I'll ship it back in that. This is not going to be inexpensive, but if I can convince myself these are the last speakers I'll own for the next 15-20 years it softens the blow a bit.

For most people I've heard about they are, well, unless they get the Quad 57 to round out the collection. They'll get other speakers from time to time or maybe a 2nd system, but the Quad remains their main speaker and they end up refining the amps, sources, cables and everything else.

[bjarnetv]

bjarnetv, awesome job refurbing your ESL-63 and awesome avatar! Mind elaborating on the modding? You know how we orthoists are. Modding for us is analogous to moths to flame.

it was mostly structural mods.
hundreds of small wooden bracers had been glued between the panels themselves, and the inner frame had been glued to the outer frame via plastic bracers.

this is the best picture i have of the wooden bracers


the result was one incredibly stiff structure, but the wooden bracers had to be removed when refurbishing the panesls, and it was a huge PITA

i think i'm going to do something similar again once the reliability of the refurbed panels has been confirmed, as the structure now feel slightly wobbly.

he had also ripped out the protective grille and dustcover; not the best idea if reliability is a concern, but it sounds pretty good

[mypasswordis]

Interesting, thanks for the info and pics. I'd have at least kept the dustcovers in, even if I knew I was about to croak. Good luck with the re-modding if you choose to do it! Speaking of modding electrostat speakers, I'm finally about to get around to modding my Jecklin 'stats and will go back and search for your posts on it.

[cetoole]

Oooh, modding the Jecklins in what way?

[mypasswordis]

Something about mass-damping the frame with some bitumen, and I think there were a couple of other things bjarnetv did I need to look up. I will also need to replace the foam that goes over the head and will play around with different materials instead of the thin foam rectangles that go on both sides of the drivers. In fact some of the pics I see of peoples' Jecklins don't even have those foam rectangles and the drivers are just bare (well, they still dustcovers, of course). It really doesn't take much to damp a 'stat, as you know.

[n_maher]

So can I play now too or are my QUADs not worth?

[postjack]

sweeeeeeeet!

[Salt Peanuts]

Looking great, Nate! Are you using the SB3 to control the volume? Also, what's under the SB3?

[n_maher]

Looking great, Nate! Are you using the SB3 to control the volume? Also, what's under the SB3?

For now the SB3 is the source/preamp but that's due to change within a week. Ultimate goal is to case up the TP Ventus as a preamp and get the EAD DAC back from Mark and use that in the stack as the D/A stage and source selection device. The SB3 "stand" is my Thorens CD player which will remain is disc spinny thing in this rig. It's a bit of a quirky beast but the smallish footprint helps.

[n3rdling]

Nice diffusion materials

[swt61]

^

[postjack]

yeah I definitely want some 12L actives for the computer rig before it's over with. still not sure why I sold the ones I had.

I want to pair them with a, you guessed it, CDP-2. it's the perfect digital source for me in terms of sound, features, and budget. where else can you get a cd transport, multiple digital inputs, a 24/96 DAC, fixed or variable outputs, and a remote for less then $500 used?

[n_maher]

I want to pair them with a, you guessed it, CDP-2. it's the perfect digital source for me in terms of sound, features, and budget. where else can you get a cd transport, multiple digital inputs, a 24/96 DAC, fixed or variable outputs, and a remote for less then $500 used?

My plan is similar and if I didn't already own a dac, cdp and preamp i'd give the CDP-2 serious thought. One thing that I do worry about is the quality of the variable outputs, my prior experience with variable outputs on CDPs has been less than stellar. I had a very nice Yamaha player that had a remote variable output (cost ~$500 back in 1998, yikes) and the fixed output was clearly better. I'm also not a huge fan of being required to use the remote to do simple things like adjust volume or switch sources. In my case everything will be within arm's reach.

[postjack]

true, I have never listened to the variable outs of the CDP-2.

[swt61]

Agreed, I had variable output on my Sony XA20 ES CDP, and while it offered remote control as well as a tiny knob on front, it clearly was not as good as the fixed output.

[EdipisReks]

the variable output on my CDP works pretty well.

[n_maher]

the variable output on my CDP works pretty well.

Your CD player is not exactly "average" in its abilities.

[EdipisReks]

i don't know, it's fairly normal, spinning discs and taking it in the rear digital like. i think a player with above average abilities would at least have a flashlight.

[swt61]

Just a quick peak into your mind would be all I could stand Reks. And I mean that in the best possible way!

[EdipisReks]

just imagine what it's like living there.