Stacked Quad ESL 57

[theaudiohobby]

I heard a pair of Quad 57 with my current amplifier and I was very impressed, I am interested these vintage speakers at home, what are the caveats that I should look at for and what the benefits of a stacked pair? Thanks in advance.

[Geoffcin]

I heard a pair of Quad 57 with my current amplifier and I was very impressed, I am interested these vintage speakers at home, what are the caveats that I should look at for and what the benefits of a stacked pair? Thanks in advance.

The benefits of stacking are myriad. Bass, image size, dynamics, maximum uncompressed SPL, all increase X 2. I've heard a lot of speakers stacked, and I often run my speakers stacked. In my early days I stacked EPI's with KLH's, large Advents, and a friend even had two pair of DQ-10's stacked that was simply fantastic. ( I wish he still had that setup)!
I still stack speakers now. I bet not too many people have stacked Magnepan 3.6r's with Gallo Reference 3's but I can tell you that for some recordings there's just nothing like it. If you have the chance to get a quad of Quads then I would recommend it without question.

Caveats; Amplification that has the same gain. Contrary to what some people might tell you, you don't absolutely need matched amps. It would be nice, but if the amps have near the same gain, then it's not a big problem. Also, you will need a preamp with dual output. My vintage PS Audio IV preamp has this, but a lot of newer preamps don't. If yours doesn't you can always use a splitter.

[theaudiohobby]

thanks Geoffchin, I was not aware that various speakers are used in stacked configurations.

[Brian Levy]

Years ago the company that made the frames to stack the Quads also made a set to stack the DQ-10s. In a store that sold both lines had these set up and as much as I like electrostatics the double DQ-10 seemed the better speaker array.

[theaudiohobby]

Years ago the company that made the frames to stack the Quads also made a set to stack the DQ-10s. In a store that sold both lines had these set up and as much as I like electrostatics the double DQ-10 seemed the better speaker array.

Interesting, why did you prefer the DQ-10, I am not familiar with the DQ-10, so I am ears, thanks.

[squeegy200]

I am not a Quad expert. But I remember there was an advantage to stacking the electrostatic speakers. QUADs place a heavy requirement on amplifiers, not in the amount of amperage but in capacitative load. There are some very technical user groups specific to the QUADs.

The Dahlquists have an interesting history. Briefly, Roger Dahlquist built a pair of speakers using dynamic conventional drivers in a phased array setup. He was so impressed with the QUADs that he decided to imitate them using conventional drivers. His crossover network and his "Phased Array" setup mimiced the QUADs in appearance as well as sound. Interestingly, he was also working on an electrostatic version which never made it to the public.

Stacking DQ10s was a popular practice in the 80s -- again to mimic the Quads but there was no significant advantage other than creating a "Wall of sound" They looked impressive stacked but I suspect there was probably some cancellation and overlapping frequencies in the arramgement.

I love my DQ-10s. I've admired them since my first experience with them back in 1982. Only recently have I been able to own a pair. And had to refurbish them back into operation but I've not got a functional pair of totally stock DQ-10s.

But again, I am no expert. So my opinion is only worth the $.02 entry fee.

[squeegy200]

I posed this question to some Quad owners on the advantages of stacking ESLs

The purpose was to increase overall square footage of the driver panels themselves. Since the drivers were so linear and the response approaching theoretical, often the sound would be characterized as lacking bass response. Stacking ESLs did not have the inherant cancellation nodes often evident with conventional speakers. Usual practice dictated two additional amplifiers to drive the additional pair.

The results would be 6db increase in lower frequency response and 3db increase in mids and hi tones.

[E-Stat]

The Dahlquists have an interesting history. Briefly, Roger Dahlquist built a pair of speakers ...

Roger? That would be Jon Dahlquist. And they are exceptional speakers that coincidentally use the Advent woofer. I sold them back in the late 70s. Not a big fan of the piezo super tweeter though.

As for stacking them (I have stacked New Advents in the vintage garage system), you pick up 6 db sensitivity.

rw

[Trevor]

Hi there, I am new to this forum scenario but here goes. I have a pair of 57's and 63's does any body know if it is possible to stack them or am I being daft.

[JoeE SP9]

Hi there, I am new to this forum scenario but here goes. I have a pair of 57's and 63's does any body know if it is possible to stack them or am I being daft.

Hi, Trevor
Stacking is normally done with 2 pair of the same speakers. I suppose it could be done with ESL 63's on the bottom and the ESL 57's on the top.

[frankmarsi]

I heard a pair of Quad 57 with my current amplifier and I was very impressed, I am interested these vintage speakers at home, what are the caveats that I should look at for and what the benefits of a stacked pair? Thanks in advance.

Hi, if it's any help to you? I run four (4) 'stacked' AR-LST's with (2) two vintage Phase Linear 400 power amps. The sound is unbelievably 'huge' sounding , with a natural-ness of sound that's excellent also. I've found that stacking speakers keeps the amps and speakers from stressing too much because their jobs are now easier with double amps and the amount of speaker radiating area being doubled. If anyone has any similar experience, I'd like to hear about it.
Thanks, Frank Marsi