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High Efficiency Speaker Asylum Need speakers that can rock with just one watt? You found da place. |
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High Efficiency Speaker Asylum Need speakers that can rock with just one watt? You found da place. |
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In Reply to: RE: quad esl 63 vs altec model 19 posted by Vinnie on August 29, 2010 at 02:51:20:
Hey Vinnie!
This is going to sound like audio cliche city, but sometimes cliche's have a bit of truth to them.
You well know the virtues of the Altec Lansing Model 19-- HUGE sound, very coherent, robust bass, extremely clean, clear and highly detailed sound. For me, the only drawback is that they can have that slightly hard, over-crisp coloration horns tend to have that I find irritating over time. I have owned Klipsch Cornwalls and a pair of K-horns, so I feel I have tried some of the best of the old-line, still affordable, horn speakers. I have done my share of tweaking of the K-horns too, but nothing I did changed what I believe is a basic character of horn speakers. If you like that sound, and you like really to crank the volume up to ear-bleeding levels,stick with the Model 19s.
I hesitated for a long time to try Quads. The old saws that they "have no bass" and "can't play loudly" concerned me. I went to an audio store and auditioned a pair of Quad 2905s, and was simply blown away by them. They were just stunningly good. However, I could never afford a pair of them, and many in-the-know audiophiles prefer the smaller Quads for more even in-room balance. So I went looking for a pair of ESL-63s. I was fortunate enough to locate a nice pair nearby and the seller was great about letting me come by and audition them. The first thing, the "can't play loudly enough" thing, was eliminated. He was driving them with a McIntosh 275 Mk V tube amp (same as the 2905 Quad dealer). I told him about my concerns, and he just said, "How loud would you like me to play them?" He kept turning the volume up and up until I told him to stop...then we listened. They played plenty loudly enough for me.
They begin rolling off at around 40 Hz, so they do not do super-deep bass, but that was more than compensated for by their superbly clean, coherent reproduction. I'd gladly sacrifice a little bass for that clarity and smoothness of reproduction.
I have since acquired a pair of Gradient SW-63 subs for my ESL-63s. I performed the MT Audio Web site crossover tweak and now I'm in heaven.... The Gradient active crossover crosses over at 110 Hz, I believe. The tweak keeps any signals over that pitch from going through the crossover, and sends them directly to the Quads resulting in much cleaner reproduction. The SW-63s are dipole radiators, like the Quads, and are thus not really going deep in that 20-40 Hz area, but are providing bass that is a bit better than the Quads can do unaltered. I would highly recommend this tweak to any ESL-63 users out there...well worth the trouble.
But I digress.... The ESL-63s, with or without the Gradients, are velvety smooth, superbly clean, coherent reproducers. The detail they provide is equal to if not better than the Model 19s.
The real difference is as follows.... I listen to opera, symphonic classical music, acoustic music of all kinds (folk, blues, etc.) and a smattering of pop, rock, bluegrass, jazz, etc. What I have never been able to take for long is the hard, honky, over-crisp character of horn speakers. The Model 19s have far less of this than my Klipsches did. It is far more subtle on the Altecs, but it is still there. I probably could live with it, but I know myself well enough by now to know that I'll be happier, long term, with the Quads.
I go to a lot of concerts--live opera, symphonies, chamber music, recitals, etc. I listen very carefully to what I hear. Bottom line is that I NEVER hear from these live venues the hard, over-crisp attack of horn speakers. I think people read this as clean, clear reproduction, but to me it tends to come off as "hi-fi" not real sound. This is especially true of soprano and tenor voice, when singing high-range music at full cry, and massed high-pitched orchestral strings. They start to get edgy, steely and irritating over horn speakers. The Quads simply reproduce this kind of sound far more accurately, far more like what I hear live in front of real musicians. This "problem" is, ultimately, what becomes the deciding factor for me.
If you never listen to this kind of music, or find that your Model 19s reproduce it to your satisfaction, then look no further.
I know this is long-winded, but I hope it provides a detailed-enough explanation of my decision making process to be of some help to you.
keep us posted!
George
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Follow Ups
- RE: quad esl 63 vs altec model 19 - George S. Roland 08/29/1005:11:27 08/29/10 (1)
- RE: quad esl 63 vs altec model 19 - Vinnie 06:06:07 08/29/10 (0)
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