[kittyboy]

I'm seriously considering 988s as well as  the sig 30 and am hoping someone here can tell me if they'd be a good match.

I believe that quads have different power concerns than dynamic speakers (current vs voltage perhaps?), but perhaps I'm confusing them  with the 57s?

The sig 30 is a bit underpowered for the 988s, but perhaps the fact that it's a high-current amp would compensate? 

If someone with an understanding on this could reply I'd be most appreciative.

FWIW, I don' listen very loud, probably 90db max, usually closer to 80-85.  Thanks.

[cxmontg]

I recently purchased the Signature 30 amp and use Quad 988's as part of my stereo/HT setup.  Had the Signature 30 for about 1 1/2 weeks and can say that this amp works great with the Quad's. 

I do run the Quad's with a Meridian G68J that passes off the Bass below 45hz to an Infinite Baffle sub.  Even so, I watched the Matrix the other day (lots of very heavy Bass and volume) and the Signature 30 was flawless, lots of impact and stunning sound quality.  Now Vinnie only needs to develop the monoblock he has mentioned and I'm good to go with the Center Channel.

[Dmason]

I see those two as pretty much the ultimate. Or, Ultimate. I have Roger Modjeski on the lookout for a pair of ESL's. Who better? Like I said, I think those two are about as good as it is going to get. I envy you. Can we be friends? How bout a write up on that pairing, for the folks?

[Wind Chaser]

Hey Kittyboy,

One thing you might want to consider about electrostats is they do not handle all types of music well.  As much as I loved my Acoustats, the Quad ESL 63's, 57's and the HQD, I found their Achilles heel to be dynamic range.  This is especially apparent with drums; the even cheapest boxed speakers will sound far more realistic in that regard.  Other than that, the speed of an electrostatic speaker is unrivaled. 

[silverfi]

I am using a Quad ESL-63 since 1995. Although they seem to like tube pre combined with high current power amps (not more than 100 watts) for final monitoring/voicing sessions of my cables I prefer to drive them with a Audio Note Meishu (with TJ Meshplate Princess 300B's, Tungsol 5687's and an RCA VT-231) using my SilverFi cables to reasonable levels. Strangely my Audio Note Soro SE (approximately twice the power of Meishu) is not that much sucessful in driving Quads. I am interested in trying my Quads with a future/possible 70 watts Sig 70 monoblocs. I think it's worth to try.

Sezai Saktanber
SilverFi Cable

[Vinnie R.]

I recently purchased the Signature 30 amp and use Quad 988's as part of my stereo/HT setup.  Had the Signature 30 for about 1 1/2 weeks and can say that this amp works great with the Quad's. 

I do run the Quad's with a Meridian G68J that passes off the Bass below 45hz to an Infinite Baffle sub.  Even so, I watched the Matrix the other day (lots of very heavy Bass and volume) and the Signature 30 was flawless, lots of impact and stunning sound quality.  Now Vinnie only needs to develop the monoblock he has mentioned and I'm good to go with the Center Channel.

Hi cxmontg,

Welcome to audiocircle and the RWA forum!  Thanks for posting about your experience using the Signature 30 with your Quad 988s and I'm glad to hear that this is working out for you! 

The Signature X monoblocks will hopefully be ready for the fall.  I will keep you all posted.

Best,

[cxmontg]

It looks like my response did not post the first time so I will try again.

To quickly answer Dmasons question, the combination of the Signature 30 and Quad's is fantastic.  While I have only been able to listen to the Quad's with Bryston 9-Bsst and Nuforce 8.02 amps in addition the the Sig 30, I can without a doubt state that the Sig 30 amp is "By Far" the superior amp with the Quad's.  Imaging, sound-staging, micro-dynamics, and overall listener fatigue are much improved.  For my listening even dynamics seem superior.  This is quite amazing considering the Bryston was been bench tested to 141 watts by Bryston themselves.  I have to believe that Vinnie's use of the battery power supply has paid off in huge dividends by eliminating so much electrical noise from the playback.  At times last night I was constantly amazed at what I will call noiseless sound being produced by my system.  By noiseless I mean sound so pure and clean it is almost surreal, it is truly something you have to experience to understand.

To respond to the description of electrostatic speakers not being dynamic, I will agree that as a standalone electrostatic speakers can be lacking especially in the Bass region.  However, pair with a really good subwoofer, dynamics are no problem.  I have my Quad's incorporated into a home theater set-up that absolutely shakes my house when playing Bass heavy movie soundtracks.  Just make sure you have a good pre/pro to integrate the bass. 

Also, I have found electrostatic speakers to be very good producers of drum playback, I believe even better than the box speakers I have owned.  Again a good sub does help in this area for some of the very low Bass drum material, but with smaller drums like snare drums the electrostatic speakers are so quick I find it very real sounding.

[kittyboy]

Thanks for all the replies.  I may just be sticking with my Living Voice Avatar OBX-R2s which I'm excited to heard withe the sig-30 (currently using the peter daniel integrated currently).