Planar Speaker Asylum Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.

---

[ Follow Ups ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Planar Speaker Asylum ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ] [ Edit ] [ Delete ]

---

Re: FINALLY I have heard the light! US Monitor ESL-63's

69.200.82.208

Posted by mark maloof on November 2, 2006 at 22:55:50

In Reply to: FINALLY I have heard the light! US Monitor ESL-63's posted by Coffeecupman on November 1, 2006 at 09:08:16:

Welcom the stat land! I used to own Quad 63 USA Monitors, and loved 'em. Like you, I listen to rock music (as well as experimental stuff, jazz, 60s and 70s funk and soul, some classical, etc.) I did enjoy rock stuff on my Quads at moderate volumes, with a small sub to add a bit of light kick. I ended up going with Innersound Eros (upgraded to MK III panels and Kaya reference crossover amp), and like these better, esp. for rock (REAL bass, going down to the upper/mid 20s, and, yes, I have some recordings that show that it's there.) They don't compress at all when music gets busy, complex or "loud", something the Quads did with certain recordings. Also, arc-proof panels (I'll get to that in a moment.)

When I had 'em, my plans were to build a dipole sub (to better match the 63 Monitor) with 15 inch drivers, and experiment with a good active crossover, and also with just using a single cap to roll off the lows in the Quads from, say, around 180 hz. If you use the Gradients, try this, DON'T use the Gradient crossover. From what I have read, it's garbage, and compromises the transparency of the Quads greatly. Just use a single cap on the quads for a simple low pass filter, do searching here and you will find out about that.

One thing to watch for is panel arcing. When I bought my USA Monitors, two panels were new. One of them had a stator go loose within a year. I took the Quad apart and sent the panel to Wayne Piquet in Florida (highly recomended, he did a great job.) Wayne told me that A) the 57, being handbuilt instead of being made of factory PC boards, was built to last longer without incident than the 63 and B) the main problem that Wayne thought of in regards to the 60 panels breaking down is the glue used on the stators, which would dry out over time. He uses a different glue, and told me he thought the panels he rebuilt might last 20 years. If I ended up keeping the Quads, I probably would have shelled out the dough to have him rebuild all the panels, ain't cheap, but I would have peace of mind.

If you get a chance, check out a pair of Innersound speakers someday (or, if you are ever in NYC, drop me a line.) People rag on them because of the small sweet spot, and also they do present a difficult load for many amps, but they do something special, and the integration between the transmission line woofer and panel is seamless (even though it's at 360 hz!), something I have not quite found in any of the Martin Logan hybrids. It's the light (hence fast) 10 inch driver in a transmission line, it's fast enough to keep up with the panel. Dipole is probably the other best way to go with bass with a stat, or maybe the right servo sub. Anyways, if there was room in my studio apartment, I would have kept the Quads as well as the Innersounds, they are special, but for rock and other bass heavy music, the Innersounds are better (and the highs extend to 27K vs 16 on the 63. Still, the 63 does have its own magic.)

Oh yeah, I liked 'em better off the floor, though they sucked there. I made MDF boxes on casters, filled each with 100 lbs of sand. Worked fine.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Inc.

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---