Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Quad ESL-63 Speakers by George S. Roland

Model:	ESL-63
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:
Description:	Electrostatic loudspeaker
Manufacturer URL:	Quad

Review by George S. Roland on March 19, 2009 at 15:33:02
IP Address: 67.140.30.197 Add Your Review
for the ESL-63

I am a 61 year old audiophile who has been interested in stereo equipment since I was 18. I began with a used Fisher tube integrated amp, a Garrard changer and B&O Beovox S60 loudspeakers. This rig sounded a LOT better than my Sears plastic portable "record player" which is what they called those thing then. Speakers have been a special interest over the years and I went through Bose 901 IVs, Klipsch Cornwalls and a pair of KEF 104aBs in a fairly short period on time. The KEFs were replaced with a pair of PSB Stratus Golds when they came out and I enjoyed them for quite a few years. More recently, over the last 4 years, I have had a resurgence of interest in new equipment and sampled several more speakers--Klipschorns, Thiel CS 3.6s, Magnepan MG 1.6QRs, and the Quad ESL-63s, the subject of this review. The Quads are the only speakers left in my listening room.
I had heard that they didn't play loudly enough, broke down and had no bass. I have had this pair for over a year now, bought them used on e-Bay from a gent who had recently had them serviced, and have had no trouble with them at all. As far as I am concerned, they play more than loudly enough for me, and while it is true that they do not have much bass below about 40 Hz, that frequency is below that of an orchestral bass. The bass that is there is clean, clear and free of boom.
I am still awed by the detail, clarity and absence of listener fatigue found in these speakers. Inner instrumental voices that are colored, lost or garbled on other speakers are there, clean and clear with the ESL-63s.
I mostly listen to classical music, acoustic blues, folk, chamber music and opera. These speakers sound more like the real thing than anything else I have ever heard. I go to the symphony and opera house regularly and what I hear from the Quads sounds right, musical, and highly detailed.
I am not a wealthy person, and almost all the speakers auditioned in my last "blast" of listening were bought used on e-Bay or Audiogon. I would never spend the kind of money people spend on new audio gear these days, so my budget for a pair of speakers was around $2,000. I bought my Quads for $1,800.00. Prior to shopping for used ones, I visited a dealer and listened to his 2905s. They were beautiful, but I don't think I have lost much in buying the older model speaker. If you are a fan of naturalism in music, detailed inner voices, accurate musical timbres, quick, nimble transients and tired of "hi-fi" sound, I urge you to give these electrostatics a listen.
If you are a fan of the deepest synthesizer notes played at ear-bleeding stadium-level volumes you probably won't like these, but those are not my listening habits.

Product Weakness:	Missing the 20-40 Hz spectrum, somewhat more fragile that dynamic speakers.
Product Strengths:	Relatively easy to locate, used they are reasonably priced, clean, clear, accurate, listenable, non-fatiguing natural-sounding speakers.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Audio Research VT 100 Mk I
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Audio Research SP-8 Rev 5
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Jolida CD player, Thorens TD 152 TT
Speakers: Quad ESL-63
Cables/Interconnects: hardware store stranded copper
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Acoustic, classical, opera, chamber
Room Size (LxWxH): 22 x 14 x 7.5
Room Comments/Treatments: Large carpet on the floor
Time Period/Length of Audition: One year
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): none
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Audio Research VT 100 Mk I
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Audio Research SP-8 Rev 5
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Jolida CD player, Thorens TD 152 TT
Speakers:	Quad ESL-63
Cables/Interconnects:	hardware store stranded copper
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Acoustic, classical, opera, chamber
Room Size (LxWxH):	22 x 14 x 7.5
Room Comments/Treatments:	Large carpet on the floor
Time Period/Length of Audition:	One year
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	none
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner