Introduction

The Quad ESL was the world's very first full range, commercially available electrostatic loudspeaker. In spite of its great antiquity (some 50 years old to date) it was voted the "Greatest Hi-Fi Product of All Time" by Hi-Fi News and record review in the January 2000 issue of that journal.

The Quad ESL was first introduced to the public arena in 1957, although it was demonstrated on several occasions prior to this. It remained in production for some 25 years, being replaced by The Acoustical Manufacturing Company, Huntingdon, England in 1982. For many listeners and music lovers, this speaker remains the marque against which all other speakers with pretention to high quality are measured. Even it's successor in the Quad stable, the ESL '63 has never attracted quite the same following.

This speaker is often referred to as the Quad 55 or the Quad 57. If you respect the wishes of the designer, you call it the Quad Electrostatic Loudspeaker - that's all. IF you would like to investigate the origins of this confusion then go to Hard Core.

If you are devotee of this particular loudspeaker, or the electrostatic format, you should find this site particularly interesting. Even if you are not a fan, the historical and technical details contained in this site could be of some interest.

The various site locations you can visit are:

Some pictures of the Quad factory, Quad employees, Peter Walker and the Walker family.

One of the most contentious areas of discussion in the Quad community. Here are some ideas to start a few more pub brawls...

Frequently Asked Questions - You knew that, right? I've tried to include exactly that. The questions I am frequently asked in e-mails about this speaker. FAQs cover a wide range of historical, refurbishment, and technical topics. So, if you're in a hurry for some popular  info, then it's probably here.

A complete section on repairing and refurbishing The Quad ESL, with references to other excellent sources and sites.

Patent histories. ESL and acoustical theory and mathematics of sound reproduction.

A brief history of Quad - The Acoustical Manufacturing Company, and its founder, Peter Walker.

References on the Web, to other Quad and Quad-related sites. Some of them are almost as good as this one!

Suppliers of those hard to get parts for your Quad Electrostatics Loudspeaker. Check out Area 51 for those really hard to get items!

A section for those who have just acquired a pair of Quads. Room placement and positioning is discussed, among other topics.

No, not ‘hype’ or ‘Chutzpah’. A simple discussion of everyday work being done in the Quad world today outside the ‘boffin factories’ where authentic, musical noises are still uppermost in the mind of the researcher.