Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

Quad Reference ESL-2805 loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP & DX-5 universal players; Apple G4 Mac mini running OS10.5.8, iTunes 10, Pure Music 1.83; Shuttle PC with Lynx AES16 soundcard & dual-core AMD Athlon processor running Windows 7, Foobar 2000, Adobe Audition 3.0; dCS Debussy, Logitech Transporter, Mark Levinson No.30.6 D/A converters; Empirical Audio Off-Ramp4 USB-S/PDIF converter.
Preamplifiers: Classé CP-800, Ayre Acoustics K-5xeMP.
Power Amplifiers: Classé CT-M600, Lamm M1.2 Reference, MBL Reference 9007 (all monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: BBC LS3/5a, Sonus Faber Amati Futura.
Cables: Digital: DH Labs Silver Sonic. AES/EBU: AudioQuest Coffee, Belkin Gold USB. FireWire: AudioQuest FireWire 400 (prototype). Interconnect (balanced): AudioQuest Wild. Speaker: AudioQuest Wild. AC: XLO Reference 3, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Target TT-5 equipment racks; Ayre Acoustics Myrtle Blocks; ASC Tube Traps, RPG Abffusor panels; Shunyata Research Dark Field cable elevators; Audio Power Industries 116 Mk.II & PE-1, APC S-15 AC line conditioners (computers, hard drive). AC power comes from two dedicated 20A circuits, each just 6' from breaker box.—John Atkinson

COMPANY INFO
Quad Electroacoustics Ltd.
US distributor: Taiga LLC
310 Tosca Drive
Stoughton, MA 02072-1516
(781) 341-1234
www.taigallc.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
mrplankton2u's picture
Submitted by mrplankton2u on May 4, 2012 - 3:40pm

Your review was an absolute pleasure to read - a lot of interesting details and insight into what has made this speaker so special for so many years. Thanks!

remlab's picture
Submitted by remlab on May 4, 2012 - 4:26pm

 AN EFFING GENIUS!

shakey's picture
Submitted by shakey on July 20, 2012 - 7:04am

I recently read a post online that Quad introduced new speakers, the 2812 & 2912, at the last show in Munich. Would you know if the 2805's will be discontinued?

camadeco's picture
Submitted by camadeco on October 15, 2012 - 8:29am

The US importer, Taiga LLC has closed shop. At this time, Liberty Trading, run by May Audios' Canadian counter-part is the sole NA importer. Also, prices have increased.

camadeco's picture
Submitted by camadeco on October 15, 2012 - 11:36am

It would appear that the 2805 are still available

fremontxianren's picture
Submitted by fremontxianren on December 6, 2014 - 11:05am

This may be a moot point since no one seems to be paying attention to these speakers these days. I have had quality problems with the Quad 2805 speakers made in China. I had to return the speakers to the manufacturer three times and the problem is still not resolved, and they want to charge me for repair. I find it incredible that the manufacturer would not take back a clearly defective product.

labarkeer's picture
Submitted by labarkeer on September 5, 2019 - 1:27pm

I am still using the original Quad ESLs, purchased in 1976. I have no intention of "upgrading". I don't have NZ$19,000 for the latest ones anyway!

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