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Planar Speaker Asylum Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences. |
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In Reply to: Quad ESL-63 & Gradient SW63 VS. Quad 989 or 2905 posted by George S. Roland on February 9, 2010 at 22:59:35:
I have not spent any time with the 2905 but I am familiar with the changes in the speaker versus the 989. I do own a pair of 989 and have spent plenty of time with the 63/Gradient combo.No contest, the 63/Gradient by a wide margin. While the 989 does produce more bass energy into the room versus the 63, the bass quality it not nearly as good as the bass from the 63 IMO. Everyone I know that has heard the two has immediately reached the same conclusion.
The problem with the larger Quads is panel resonance. The system is tuned to resonate at 50Hz and was balanced by Peter Walker with (2) bass elements not (4) bass elements in mind. While the 63 does have an audible resonance at 50Hz, it is quite low and not really a big deal.
Add those extra bass panels and now you have a huge resonance peak at 50Hz and this is quite audible. Richard Greene pointed out this problem in his review of the speaker in TAS #126. I have read numerous on-line post on various forums where owners of the 989 have made the same comments. And I can certainly hear this problem with my pair. Besides the resonance problems in the bass, the extra panels seem to sully the rest of the speaker.
The 989 is still a Quad in the best sense of the word, but far from Quad's best effort IMO. I guess they did this to make a small group of folks happy that complain about bass response. It is nicer solution versus the 63/Gradient combo from the standpoint of system complexity. No extra woofer boxes, external crossover, and no need for another amp.
The Gradient delivers truely outstanding bass without the resonances issues. It does have crossover issues, but these can largely be worked around. There will be a slight price to pay in terms of performance with any crossover filter, but this is minor IMO versus what the Gradient adds overall.
Listen to a pair of 989 or 2905 if you have a chance. I think you will be shocked and quite pleased with your 63/Gradient. You aren't missing a thing. IMO you have a better system.
I have visited with Quad about the resonance/tuning issues with the 989. They confirm my observations and claim the design of 2905 took this into account. Perhaps the 2905 solves the problems with the 989 and will be better than the 63/Gradient combo. Givens is $12K price of admission it is going to have to be signifcantly better than the 63/Gradient and I would be shocked if this is the case. Can't wait to spend some time with the 2905.
Edits: 02/10/10
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Follow Ups
- RE: Quad ESL-63 & Gradient SW63 VS. Quad 989 or 2905 - kentaja 07:02:02 02/10/10 (3)
- RE: Quad ESL-63 & Gradient SW63 VS. Quad 989 or 2905 - George S. Roland 08:51:55 02/10/10 (2)
- RE: Quad ESL-63 & Gradient SW63 VS. Quad 989 or 2905 - kentaja 11:10:30 02/10/10 (1)
- RE: Quad ESL-63 & Gradient SW63 VS. Quad 989 or 2905 - George S. Roland 18:53:41 02/10/10 (0)
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