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I first heard Eugene Gigout's pipe-organ masterpiece, the Grand Chorus in Dialogue, in the Smetana Concert Hall of Prague's Municipal House (Obecnim Dome) on a Saturday evening before the 2002 flood. I recall seeing the delicate, youthful Michele Hradecka sway from side to side to reach the pedals. In response, a massive wall of deep organ chords shook the hall, the magical acoustic blending the delicate, extended highs with the thunderous bass. But this memory mixed the music with the beauty of Prague's soaring church spires, brilliant red terracotta roofs, and lavish palaces.
The speaker's structural rigidity was increased for the launch of the ESL-63 USA Monitor in 1988. This evolved from a special "pro" version used by Philips' European recording division for location recording. Quad replaced the '63's aluminum frame with steel, and put handles on the sides and rubber kick pleats at the base. Philips was delighted, and soon other studios requested the "pro" version. Quad decided that the improved structural rigidity made it the best version for export, even though it increased the speaker's weight by 30%.
The ESL-63 maintained a firm hold on its Grade B…
Like other electrostatic loudspeakers, the ESL-989 must be plugged into AC mains to charge the diaphragms. Operating them without plugging them in can damage them. A 6VA, 100mA fuse sits in the AC socket on the speaker's rear panel next to its On/Off switch and power-on LED. The step-up transformers also have fuses, to protect the speaker's internal power supply from extreme voltage surges. Replacing these fuses involves removing the cover of the power supply.
Each of my vintage ESL-63s has a sliding wood top and a base plinth of black plastic embossed with the company's name. The ESL-…
Was the ESL-989's protection circuit more sensitive than the ESL-63's? It's hard to say, because I always use my ca 1989 ESL-63s with the Velodyne HGS-18 subwoofer, which shunts all deep-bass signals away from the Quads, which in turn means that the Levinson No.334 rarely triggers the '63's triac. I did most of my listening with the '989s run full-range, where they proved to be more sensitive to voltage peaks. I had to do some gain-riding to determine the maximum preamplifier setting and volume level.
Sound
Set up near the corners of my large listening room, the Quad ESL-989s…
The '989's treble range was effortless—grain-free, smooth, beguiling, and extended. There was no extra brightness, steeliness, or metallic edge. I heard the great stick definition and good, warm undertones characteristic of the 20" Zildjian Custom Ride cast-bronze cymbals played by Brady Blade on Spyboy. Chimes heard through the Quad had a magical sheen, as heard on Prelude and Aztec Dance from Owen Reed's Fiesta Mexicana (Reference RR-38CD). Paul Simon's vocal sibilants on "Trailways Bus," from Songs from the Capeman (CD, Warner Bros. 46814-2), didn't offend, but sounded natural and light.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Full-range electrostatic loudspeaker. Power capacity: 100W, 10V RMS, 40V peak maximum signal input. Program peak for undistorted output: 40V. Permitted peak input: 55V. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 6.2 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 86dB/2.83V/m. Frequency response: 30Hz-20kHz, ±6dB.
Dimensions: 52" (1335mm) H by 26" (670mm) W by 12.25" (315mm) D. Weight: 55.7 lbs (25.3kg) net.
Finishes: black, blue, or silver.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 901969, 901970, 9890003, 9890004.
Price: $7999/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 20.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo turntable, Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital sources: Krell KRC-28 CD transport, Sony SCD-C555ES multichannel SACD player.
FM tuners: Day-Sequerra FM Reference Classic, Rotel RH-10, Magnum Dynalab MD-102 with Model 205 Sleuth RF amplifier, Fanfare FT-1A.
Preamplification: Krell KCT, Sony TA-P9000ES, Mark Levinson ML-7A with L-2 phono section, Conrad-Johnson Premier 18LS preamplifiers; Duntech MX-10 moving-coil, Margulis phono preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.334, Krell…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Although the different kind of interaction between a panel speaker and the room can make it sound louder than its measured sensitivity would suggest, the Quad ESL-989 is still on the low side, at an estimated 83dB(B)/2.83V/m. Given its strict 100W power handling, this puts quite a low ceiling on its maximum loudness capability, as LG found. Over most of the audioband the Quad is not a difficult load for an amplifier to drive, the impedance (fig.1) remaining above 6 ohms from 32Hz to 3.7kHz and from 18kHz to 32kHz. And though the magnitude drops to below 4 ohms at…
Art Dudley wrote about the Quad ESL-989 in May 2003 (Vol.26 No.5):
Beginning in 1982, the Quad ESL-63 had a fine 15-year run as one of the most recommendable loudspeakers ever, offering as it did a combination of clarity, balance, musicality, and adaptability that few could match. During much of its life, the '63 also sold for a reasonable price compared to anything else that dared call itself "the best," and while it might sound cynical to say so, the cachet of being an electrostatic panel in a world of plain-Jane boxes didn't hurt, either. The ESL-63 was a smash.
But all good…
John Atkinson also wrote about the ESL-989 in May 2003 (Vol.26 No.5):
The world of loudspeaker enthusiasts, divides readily into three camps: those who love horns, those who love panels, and everyone else. Though perhaps dwarfed by the third group, what the first two lack in numbers they make up for in passion. Art Dudley writes about this divide in his "Listening" column this month, and while I've never gone down the horn route to happiness, I have at various times in my life dabbled with panel speakers. I owned a pair of original Quads for a long time, and MartinLogan Aeriuses and…