Price Paid:  $150.00 from From a friend

Summary:
Back about 1970 I first heard a pair of Quad ESL57s and I remember being unimpressed. They just sounded so ordinary. Many years later I bought the pair I have now and I realized that the fact that they sound ordinary is their greatest strength. They just sound like the real thing. OK, so they are not going to blow the roof off and organ pedal notes need a bit of help from my home made sub-woofer but everything else is just right. I can listen to them for hours and they are do not induce listening fatigue. For voice and accoustic instruments they are just so accurate. And the stereo image is so stable and deep. These things may have limitations but I am more than willing to live with them for the amazing ride they give on just about everything.

Strengths:
Mid range to die for
Accuracy

Weaknesses:
None that matter to me.

Similar Products Used:
Nothing else I have ever had has even come close.

Price Paid:  $2000.00

Summary:
These were bought on eBay and the price incudes a complete refurbishing by ESL specialists Quad Musikwiedergabe GmbH in Germany (whom I cannot recommend highly enough).

Is this the greatest loudspeaker ever made? I don't know, but I've heard enough to convince me that it might be. An open, airy and above all EFFORTLESS sound. A common criticism is lack of bass. It's true, they won't do bass on the Richter scale, but what's there sounds so natural and unforced that I throttled back my subwoofer on my other speakers to match.

A word of warning - the last authentic Quad ones were made in the 1980s, so they are all getting on and will occasionally need some TLC from people who know what they're doing. However, they are so addictive that you can't wait to have them back in action. Of course, you can avoid that problem by contacting Manfred Stein at Quad Musikwiedergabe and buying a pair of the brand new ones he makes (QM inherited all the tools for making the ESL 57 from Quad, including the wondrous contraption for stretching the membranes).

Strengths:
Quite the best speakers I have ever heard

Weaknesses:
Very large and low WAF.
Can be cantankerous in their old age

Price Paid:  $700.00 from eBay

Summary:
Well, hearing the Quads for the first time after 30 years of listening to finer audio reminds me of a Mel Brooks line in an old movie. Brooks' head is screwed on backwards (literally) in one scene and he looks down and asks "How come no one told me my butt was so big?"

Same with the Quads. How come no one ever told me to listen to these FIRST!

I own a great set of Snell A's, they are amazing. My Grado Reference headphones fantastic.

Now multiply it all by a thousand and there are the Quads with a Dyna St-70 and a PAS-3 with a Music Hall MMF-7.

Maybe there's another level. But I am fine right here in Quad Heaven.

Strengths:
Soundstage, clarity, piano and voice (wow), and vocal texture. Horns and fiddle and cymbals are incredible.

Try the Housemartins' "Build", Wilderness Road's "Death Dream", Andy Pratt's "Avenging Annie", Little Feat's "Long Distance Love", or 10CC's "I'm Not In Love", or the 2nd BS&T album... you'll be spellbound.

Just a wonderful reason to have time alone!

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
KEF Reference 4
Snell A, Snell B, Snell C-II
Proac

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from used

Summary:
My current pair of Quads has been in my possession since 1978. For 26 years they have shared my life through folk, hard rock, jazz and classical phases. The same electronics with no modification have run them: a Quad 405 amplifier and a Citation 11 pre-amp. A Sony CDP-302 CD player was added in the mid-80s which permanently replaced the original Technics manual turntable.

There is a reason that so many knowledgeable people have stated the original Quads are the finest loudspeaker ever made. For you to agree is to listen - just once will do. The sound is crystal clear, transparent, splendid. There is nothing to come close to the sound of these full range electrostats - not horns, not cones, not magic, not anything. Specifically, sound is so real it's easy to believe the musicians have sneaked into the room with you. If you are a fan of voice, piano, horns or string instruments, put on the CD, close your eyes, and Quad heaven awaits you.

There are a few caveats in owning a pair of Quads. They are like an old MG car - British and quirky. Positioning is everything. Obsessive-compulsive types will spend months to get perfect placement. They have solid, clear bass, but if your idea of stereo is a thumping rap party at ear splitting levels, these are not the speakers for you. The arcing and subsequent repairs will empty your bank account. And they can be picky about the type and quality of amplifier and pre-amp. You don't need but 20 or 30 watts a side for full volume, but it has to be clean. The Quad clean sound is a two-edged sword. You will hear every bit of distortion from any sub-standard electronics or even poor CD production.

My Quads have never had repair and I believe the reason is the matching Quad amp and the fact we have resisted blasting the neighbors with our favorite music. My husband, a cellist in a past life, also adores these speakers. To blow away friends who come over for dinner, he just puts on something like Madama Butterfly or Linda Ronstadt. They sink into the chair in front of the speakers, down for the count.

I have critically listened to hundreds of speakers and can state conclusively that the Quad ESL 57 is the finest loudspeaker ever made.

Strengths:
Lovely transparent, transcendent sound. No distortion. Once heard, you will never go back to any other speaker.

Weaknesses:
None

Price Paid:  $200.00 from 2000

Summary:
I had Bose 901 and I thought these are good speakers. How I was wrong. I kicked them out the moment I heard these. I hear things I never heard before . Looking for the ultimate, go for it!!!

Strengths:
Mid-range. INCREDIBLE

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
EMT948-QUADII -Studer A-730