Jim Lesurf wrote:


The assumption was that if someone wanted (and was willing to pay for) ESL's
they'd buy Quad amps because they were specifically designed for the task..



** Actually, the Quad II valve amp was designed at least 4 years *prior* to release of the ESL in 1957. It remained stable with open circuit and low impedance loads, as any good amplifier should. It lacked the power output to damage an ESL but was otherwise designed to drive any 4, 8 or 16 ohm hi-fi speaker system.

Released 10 years after the ESL, the Quad 303 was similarly stable and also short circuit proof. Having a power output of 26 watts into 16 ohms put it on the limit for the ESL. But 45 watts at 8 ohms made it suitable for the vast majority of other speakers available.


Franchised dealers of the period would be likely to have told customers this.


** They likely did, if you visited one with a view to purchase ESLs.

But if you acquired a second hand pair, hooking them up to whatever amp you happen to own is a near certainty.

I personally know one who hooked his pair of ESLs to a Phase Linear 400 and actually got away with it for many weeks.



.... Phil