Orpheus Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) Last week, Andrew dropped round stereo subs, paired with a Crown CDi amplifier, so that I could hear the potential for real bass with my stacked Quad ESL57s (powered by a McIntosh MC275). The task of integrating Quad ESL57s with subs is notorious. Given the size of these monsters, both cabinet and driver, the integration was surprisingly good. The laminated plywood finish also shows an extremely high level of finish, and quality. The Crown is a very flexible amplifier, and extremely well-adapted to be a sub amplifier, as it has a fully variable cross-over, a wide variety of slopes, and full EQ. It can be controlled from your computer via USB, and there are 20 user presets. It can be configured in stereo or mono. I found the combination of the Crown and the subs gave me great flexibility, running in stereo operation. Eventually I settled on a low cross-over of 50hz, and a boosted low bass. The subs are ported, but I found I preferred them with the ports damped. For other settings, such as home theatre, you would leave well alone, and leave the ports open. How did it sound? Extremely good. The integration was excellent, and I would not have known they were on with a lot of music. The support at the very low frequencies only became evident when they were removed. Most particularly, I noticed that kettle drums and double bass lines were much better defined and supported, and that there was more weight and punch. Further, the kettle drum now had a well defined note, as well as that strange apparent warp in pitch that it has when it is struck (the note somehow "stretches" when played. I very nearly purchased these. At the price Andrew was asking, they were a screaming, absurd bargain, compared to other subs that I had heard (and I am terribly fussy - I hate and reject them almost without exception). However; 1.) My room is small (as Andrew would attest), and therefore they are not where they ought to be (as they were in the corners), and they were making the room even smaller (because I had to move the main speakers forward to accommodate them); 2.) The finance manager would kill me if she knew about them, and they are not possible to conceal; AND 3.) With very low bass rock and electronic music, because of their placement, there were mild room interaction issues which are beyond my capacity to solve. These would not bother most (they were very mild), however, I concluded that I would prefer to revert to my simpler life with very little bass below 50 hz. They would also be exceptional in a home theatre application. They will also keep up with nearly any speaker, and if you are an expert with EQ and cross-overs, you will find them very adaptable with the Crown amp. THey would also be exceptional in any decent-sized room, with any speaker, and purely audio. I strongly recommend a listen if you are out Andrew's way. They are well below the price which he ought to be selling them at (but don't tell him that ). Edited June 3, 2011 by Orpheus
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