22-Aug-2016, 02:16
The old Zen koan asks us to imagine the sound of one hand clapping. It's a test of imagination, a kind of mental riddle. It seems an apt way to describe the sound of the legendary Quad ESL (released in 1957, almost 60 years ago) driven by the Devialet D400 amplifier.
The Quad 57 came as a thunderbolt out of the blue, as most speakers then were large ponderous horn type units, which could go very loud indeed, but high fidelity they were not. The BBC promptly adopted the Quad 57 and internally began a program of research into more affordable and easy to use moving coil derivatives, which lead the LS3/5, LS5/9 and many offshoots from Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, and many more.
It is not hyperbole to say that the Quad 57 defined high fidelity, and not surprisingly, was voted by Hi Fi News as the greatest hifi product of all time. Quad sold more than 50,000 of these, many in active use. A legion of enthusiasts keep the flame burning, and Quad's in almost any condition can be repaired for a cost. (check out Roybatt Audio's no cost spared retrofit of the 57s, engineered by Kent McCollum, Quad refurbisher extraordinaire at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxp1MPvsan0).
Let's start with a beautiful but largely unknown suite for two cellos by the French composer Jacques Offenbach. Sadly, Offenbach is remembered mostly for his gaudy "Can Can" overtures, frothy suites with images of women dancing, legs kicking, you get the picture. But, as with many composers, Offenbach reserved his best music for his private satisfaction, and being a cellist himself, wrote an absolutely riveting set of pieces for two cellos.
You haven't heard this, you say? Do not, repeat, do not spend another nickel on music till you buy the Harmonia Mundi recording of this by the two French cellists Pidoux and Peclard (it will cost you just $8.99 at Arkiv Music, http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name...er/14696-2). A desert island disc, if there ever was one.
WARNING: you may be unable to sleep for a day or two after you hear this recording. You will want to hear it in your car when you drive to work. You will go to bed wearing your headphones with this music playing on your iGadget, annoying your spouse. Any loss of productivity due to excessive listening to Offenbach's Suite for Two Cellos is not my responsibility!
Heard through the Quad 57s, the opening first suite features a vigorous exchange between the two cellos, both closely recorded, one to each channel. The two cellists play different types of cellos, one a beautiful Stradivarius. The cello is a demanding instrument to reproduce for the standard bass reflex moving coil loudspeaker, since its many resonances conflict with the cello's sound. But the Quad 57s have no such problem, and the sound is hauntingly mesmerizing. On the second slow movement track, the pace slows down, the musicians start to breathe heavily, and you find yourself adjusting your breathing to their rhythm. All the world outside the listening room ceases to exist, and you slowly drift to meditate on the meaning of the Zen koan: this is music that puts you on a higher plane of existence.
The Quad 57s are a difficult speaker to drive, with impedance fluctuations ranging from 20 ohms in the bass to lower midrange, and then sharply dropping to 2 ohms in the high treble. The Devialet D400 seems to have no problems with this large fluctuation. There is a great deal of variation in Quad 57s depending on the age of the panels. Mine are in absolutely fantastic condition, with no hint of any distortion or panel breakup, but they are slightly hot on top (I have measured a slight peak of 1-2 dB in the lower treble). I find the use of the treble control on the Devialet to be most apt here, just a light touch of a couple of dB is enough to bring the treble down a notch. This depends on your tastes.
The midrange is of course the main glory of the Quad 57s. Sadly, the Quad 63s, which I also own, are a more technically sophisticated speaker in many ways, but they do not match the sheer presence of the 57s midrange.
One more recording recommendation. The oboe is the most important instrument in the entire orchestra. The whole orchestra tunes to the oboe, as you have no doubt heard if you have gone to a concert of a great orchestra. One of the sad aspects of the marketing of classical music is that certain composers are marketed to excess (witness the 5000 recordings of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, a piece of music that scarcely deserves this much adulation), whereas others languish in obscurity, waiting to be discovered.
A prime example of this is 18th century German composer, Ludwig August Lebrun, whose oboe concertos put Mozart and Vivaldi to shame. My recording comes from an SACD by Channel Classics, by Dutch oboist Bart Schneeman. As the opening movement of the Oboe Concerto No. 3 begins, you hear this intoxicating melody for strings, luxuriantly flowing out of the two speakers. Then, Schneeman's oboe begins to play, and what a sound he makes. Rich, full-bodied, and absolutely riveting. This is again a desert island disc, an absolute reference quality disc, for both the sound and music.
Finally, a peek at my listening room, where more sonic adventures are waiting to happen, thanks to Le Devialet and Mr. Peter Walker, an Anglo-French collaboration to be celebrated! Vive la France!
The Quad 57 came as a thunderbolt out of the blue, as most speakers then were large ponderous horn type units, which could go very loud indeed, but high fidelity they were not. The BBC promptly adopted the Quad 57 and internally began a program of research into more affordable and easy to use moving coil derivatives, which lead the LS3/5, LS5/9 and many offshoots from Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, and many more.
It is not hyperbole to say that the Quad 57 defined high fidelity, and not surprisingly, was voted by Hi Fi News as the greatest hifi product of all time. Quad sold more than 50,000 of these, many in active use. A legion of enthusiasts keep the flame burning, and Quad's in almost any condition can be repaired for a cost. (check out Roybatt Audio's no cost spared retrofit of the 57s, engineered by Kent McCollum, Quad refurbisher extraordinaire at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxp1MPvsan0).
Let's start with a beautiful but largely unknown suite for two cellos by the French composer Jacques Offenbach. Sadly, Offenbach is remembered mostly for his gaudy "Can Can" overtures, frothy suites with images of women dancing, legs kicking, you get the picture. But, as with many composers, Offenbach reserved his best music for his private satisfaction, and being a cellist himself, wrote an absolutely riveting set of pieces for two cellos.
You haven't heard this, you say? Do not, repeat, do not spend another nickel on music till you buy the Harmonia Mundi recording of this by the two French cellists Pidoux and Peclard (it will cost you just $8.99 at Arkiv Music, http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name...er/14696-2). A desert island disc, if there ever was one.
WARNING: you may be unable to sleep for a day or two after you hear this recording. You will want to hear it in your car when you drive to work. You will go to bed wearing your headphones with this music playing on your iGadget, annoying your spouse. Any loss of productivity due to excessive listening to Offenbach's Suite for Two Cellos is not my responsibility!
Heard through the Quad 57s, the opening first suite features a vigorous exchange between the two cellos, both closely recorded, one to each channel. The two cellists play different types of cellos, one a beautiful Stradivarius. The cello is a demanding instrument to reproduce for the standard bass reflex moving coil loudspeaker, since its many resonances conflict with the cello's sound. But the Quad 57s have no such problem, and the sound is hauntingly mesmerizing. On the second slow movement track, the pace slows down, the musicians start to breathe heavily, and you find yourself adjusting your breathing to their rhythm. All the world outside the listening room ceases to exist, and you slowly drift to meditate on the meaning of the Zen koan: this is music that puts you on a higher plane of existence.
The Quad 57s are a difficult speaker to drive, with impedance fluctuations ranging from 20 ohms in the bass to lower midrange, and then sharply dropping to 2 ohms in the high treble. The Devialet D400 seems to have no problems with this large fluctuation. There is a great deal of variation in Quad 57s depending on the age of the panels. Mine are in absolutely fantastic condition, with no hint of any distortion or panel breakup, but they are slightly hot on top (I have measured a slight peak of 1-2 dB in the lower treble). I find the use of the treble control on the Devialet to be most apt here, just a light touch of a couple of dB is enough to bring the treble down a notch. This depends on your tastes.
The midrange is of course the main glory of the Quad 57s. Sadly, the Quad 63s, which I also own, are a more technically sophisticated speaker in many ways, but they do not match the sheer presence of the 57s midrange.
One more recording recommendation. The oboe is the most important instrument in the entire orchestra. The whole orchestra tunes to the oboe, as you have no doubt heard if you have gone to a concert of a great orchestra. One of the sad aspects of the marketing of classical music is that certain composers are marketed to excess (witness the 5000 recordings of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, a piece of music that scarcely deserves this much adulation), whereas others languish in obscurity, waiting to be discovered.
A prime example of this is 18th century German composer, Ludwig August Lebrun, whose oboe concertos put Mozart and Vivaldi to shame. My recording comes from an SACD by Channel Classics, by Dutch oboist Bart Schneeman. As the opening movement of the Oboe Concerto No. 3 begins, you hear this intoxicating melody for strings, luxuriantly flowing out of the two speakers. Then, Schneeman's oboe begins to play, and what a sound he makes. Rich, full-bodied, and absolutely riveting. This is again a desert island disc, an absolute reference quality disc, for both the sound and music.
Finally, a peek at my listening room, where more sonic adventures are waiting to happen, thanks to Le Devialet and Mr. Peter Walker, an Anglo-French collaboration to be celebrated! Vive la France!
