On Aug 10, 2:36*am, "Phil Allison" wrote:
"Justin"

Does anyone have any first hand information on the state of things
with Quad these days?

** Everything has moved to China.

The Chang brothers from Taiwan bought the company.

I’ve been a devotee of Quad ESL for many years, initially with the one
now known as the ESL57, and for the last 20 years with the ESL63. I’ve
found them enormously satisfying over the years, and never felt the
need to use anything else for my main system.

** Most Quad owners are never likely to change brand.

However, having had a sequence of failed elements (the usual culprits
of unglued stators or fractured diaphragms) which were expensive to
have replaced, I’m wondering the current owners are doing justice to
their legendary inheritance.

** By all accounts, the new Quad gear is first class.

I’ve got two ESL63s here with element faults less than three years
since they were serviced.

** The new panels have not failed - *have they ?

At 20+ *years of age, *ALL *the panels in an ESL63 need to be replaced *-
if they have not all failed already, they sure as hell will when you
transport them.

It is also advisable to replace the EHT stack PCB too *- still a far cheaper
option than buying a new pair of 2805s etc.

Also, have a *GOOD *look at this site in Germany *- *they sell refurbished
panels, EHT boards and whole speakers too.

http://www.quad-musik.com/html/products.html

I can recommend their stuff and service.

..... * Phil

Thanks for the replies, Phil.

I think I may well go the Quad Musikwiedergabe route for spare panels.
Their website gives a good impression.
It’s a bit galling to discover that Quad themselves charge more for a
replacement panel as a spare than if you ship the speaker to
Huntingdon for them to repair.

I actually have two pairs of ESL63, one pair I bought new in late ’89
and a late model pair I bought second-hand in 2000 as an alternative
to having the original ones repaired (they were suffering un-glued
stators).

In November 2006 I had both sets repaired by Quad at Huntingdon, for a
cost of £1996. That was for 12 elements, all 8 in the original set and
four in the newer set. It’s this newer set that are now faulty, and
the trouble is I can’t tell which elements were replaced in ’06. It is
probably reasonable to assume they were not the ones that have now
gone down.

What I’d really like to know is, what’s the lifetime of the current,
made-in China parts? I’m fairly sure that my 12 new elements were from
China.

There’s been a steady trickle of new 2905/2805 on eBay at around half
list price, which is a bit worrying in itself.