Even after all these years, and despite the fact that it is out of production, the ESL-63 is a revelation. The sound is absolutely effortless, distortionless, uncolored. Contact to the original signal seems intimate and immediate. No part of the signal is emphasized - every aspect of the sound is properly proportioned and in its place. I want to listen and listen and listen.
The sound of these speakers isn't "good" - it isn't anything. I can not find an adjective to hang on the sound. No boom, no honk, no tizzle, no muffle,... Image depth is uncannily realistic and involving. Image height is realistic. Pianos sound like real instruments - you feel the power of the sounding board, you hear the subtleties of the hammers hitting the strings. (A well recorded Bosendorfer is breathtaking on this speaker.) Drums and percussion instruments sound like they are in the room - you hear every nuance of sticks and skins and shimmering cymbals. Applause sounds like individual handclaps in a real space -not like the ill-defined almost hissing/rushing sound you get from most other speakers. Female vocals are natural and unforced. There is clarity and space around the sounds - they don't come from speakers - they are just there, distinct and real and there. At times, it is downright spooky.

I am at a loss for words to describe these speakers, other than simply to say that they are the finest transducers I have ever heard. They make even high end "cones-n-domes" speakers sound crude by comparison. They make Magneplanars sound rough. They make Martin Logan electrostatics sound muddy (that dynamic woofer does not integrate well, I'm afraid, no matter what ML says). To my ears, they are in a league by themselves.

They will go plenty loud on only a few watts. They may not be for dance party volumes, but for listening to music at volumes that are completely involving (even in a large room), they are more than adequate. I think their low end is wonderful - it goes plenty low, and has a clarity and immediacy that cone woofers cannot touch.

As for the mechanicals, I agree with the previous poster. The plastic plinth is inadequate to the job (it will actually crack with stress from the weight of the speaker itself), and there is a significant amount of flex in the speaker frame. The after-market Arcici frames seem to me like a bad idea - they suspend the speaker from four points on its periphery, potentially adding more (uncontolled, uneven) stress to the frame, and the allen bolts that screw into the frame damage both it and the grill cloth. However, the added height you get with these stands opens the speaker up and provides an additional degree of clarity. A better stand is needed, one that supports the speaker from below. The internal wiring is indeed beautiful to look at (don't touch - they hold their charge for a long time!).

I have heard that the new Quad electrostatics (the 988 and the 989) address the ESL-63's mechanical issues, and the 989 is supposed to have a better low end (by doubling the radiating area of the woofer sections). I am anxious to hear these new Quads - if they fulfill their promises, they will be absolute world beaters. Expensive? Yes, until you compare them to the sound of the competition, at which point their price seems eminently fair.

Crystal clear sound which surrounds and transfixes!

Build quality maybe - no complaints really

What can I say, I've never heard anything like it in my life. I would say that you hear about 30% more of the music than through normal middle-of-the-range cone speakers.
The sound is very forward, punchy, and oh so clear. I could listen for hours. Some complain of lack of bass - they are better than by cone speakers. Okay, there could be more bass, but what there is is very tight and punchy. This is music in its purest form. I wish I could hear the new 989's!

Sound...

size, bass

Great sound. Sounds like having the source in the room. Especially great for any acoustic music. Never heard piano / vocals / strings / percussions so real before. I use it with the Gradient SW, and highly recommend the combination. In any case SW is a good idea with these speakers.

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ESL-57

Virtually everything compared with cone speakers of similar cost. Neutrality, transparency, lack of smear and overhand are particular strengths, along with imagery/ambience if you get the room and setup right.

Ultimately none - see later. In its ordinary application, bass and loudness limitations and, even though you think it sounds great with some amplification, the right amplification can take it forward even more.

As the ESL63, the speaker, driven by Quad amplification, is wonderfully neutral with splendid imagery but some loudness and bass limitations.
Add the Gradient subwoofer and the loudness and bass limitations go.
Get the Gradient crossover rebuilt and you can eliminate the slight veiling you get with the standard crossover.
Now add better amplification and make all your electronics as good as you can - I use Audio Synthesis CD transport and DAC/preamp and two power amps - and you then hear how wonderfully the ESL63 can portray detail, imagery, ambience,
speed - everything.
Hifi then becomes irrelevant, you stop buying all the audio magazines and you CDs get played over and over again.

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I've only used the ESL63 in the last 17 years apart from a brief use of Celestion SL600s - near to the Quad sound but still a significant way short. Lots of others heard but nothing can get to the Quad standard. Previously used the Quad ESL57 which was nice but the limitations were too significant - loudness limitations and beaming.

Detail

can be overpowering.

My pals system consists of ;

Quad ESL63

Gryphon LineStage

Gryphon MonoBlocks

You can see that this is a really high end but at first I wasn't exactly blown away by these speakers. Sure they are amasing at detail but they were so strong that I could only listen to them for short period's. My ears became tired very quickly and under no circumstance could the volume go above modest levels without causing a haze around my ears which was not pleasent. I quess its because these speakers are so strong that this unique sound developed by the electrostatic system didnt agree with my ears.
Everyone thought that they were amazing, and that there was something wrong with ME. But this sensation was only ever caused buy the Quads,( Except years before in a car hifi set-up, sometimes when you would change CD in the Autochanger it would create this terrible high pitched shrieking noise which aparently only myself could hear.)

For months I desliked the Quads and this pissed my pal off no end specilaly since his hifi cost more than most peoples cars. Until one night I fell asleep while listening to Rod Stewarts Greatest Hits I woke up to ' I was only Joking ' and BAM everything was .... P E R F E C T. The sound was so realistic that I could hear layers of Rods CD that were invisible to me before ( And this was a far from great recording ).

From that moment on the quads are a delight to my ears. I dont know what happened but no longer did they hurt they just from that moment on sounded like nothing I had heared before. They are very sensitve to positioning and the slightest movement off center changes the sound dramatically. They are not at there best with heavy bass lines like Luniz ' I got five on it ' or Destinys child and the likes . Many a night all the lads will go round to just sit and listen to there favarite CDs and they always sound fantastic but they are at there best strong with vocal and instramental numbers.

My only down point is that most people have the benifit of working there way up to sort of sound imposed by speakers of this quality. You know, Start of with Budget systems and work your way up by upgrading to bigger and better componets as there wallet allows . So this means that the standard that they consider to be of good quality increases as they progress.My Friend inherented this system from a reletive so we missed out a lot of steps of hifi evolutionary levels The Quads have robbed me of this to a certain extent. What I mean is that now very few hifi systems I consider to be of a quaility to match the sound that the Quads produce. I can pick niggles and slight inperfections on almost every other speakers I hear so there for this leaves myself discontent with listening to systems with speakers of a lesser quality.

Now if this is the only down side to Quads then I hope you can understand just how special they are.



P.S : If anyone else has had similar expereince of discomfort when first listening to electrostatics then E-Mail me and let me Know.

Or was It just me ???

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Really expensive Zingales if thats how you spell them ( Big Italian things with Wooden horns ) and Tag Mclaren's which use carbon enclosours.

The purest speaker on the market at any price

There is nothing I have to add concerning these speakers that was not said before.This is a must audition speaker if you what to hear the cleanest,fastest,and most accurate speaker money can buy.The regular cone driven speakers are no match for eletricstatic powered speakers.Match these babys with tubegear or even warm soldstate amps and you will not regret this purchase.A MUST HEAR..........

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When you hear perfection there is nothing else worth listening to.