The latest version of the highly acclaimed Quad ESL series, the ESL-2812 is a celebration of a classic. Using the signature mylar diaphragm, yet while re-evaluating all circuitry and components, the result is an authentic ESL experience – incredible full range accuracy and startling realism.
The Quad ESL Contemporary Design
The ESL-2812 is the latest audiophile class electrostatic speaker that fulfill Quad's promise of 'the closest approach to the original sound'. This ESL incorporates Quad's classic push-pull technology which has led the field in electrostatic speaker design since 1957.
Born from current market demands and combined with Quad's continuous aim of challenging itself to further improve the ESL System; ESL-2812 represents the pinnacle of Quad's achievements and incorporate enhancements in speaker dress, metal work and veneer finish whilst retaining the original Quad design philosophy. The Quad ESLs have always been known for their natural quality of reproduction, neither adding nor taking away anything from the music, a factor which was the design goal of this range.
ESL-2812 is Quad's latest reference loudspeaker and, like its predecessor, should be regarded amongst the finest loudspeakers in the world. Quad's patented technology provides a unique combination of sonic speed and accuracy that is only possible from an electrostatic loudspeaker. With the imaging and sound staging realized by a theoretically ideal point source, alongside near perfect transparency and lack of coloration, Quad ESL speakers are without peer.
The Electrostatic Technology
The ESL is a dipole, radiating sound equally to the front and rear. Since no box is required the ESL can easily maintain a coloration free sound reproduction while the use of a large panel area ensures well maintained bass to below 40Hz. The centre two panels in each Quad ESL incorporate a conductive pattern of concentric rings on the stators either side of the diaphragm. Each ring is subjected to a minuscule time delay and attenuated by its own individual circuit, the sound spreading gradually from the centre outwards through each successive ring. This creates a near perfect spherical wave front originating from a point source. The result is a loudspeaker of unsurpassed accuracy in stereo imaging and coherency. These features combine to make the Quad ESL one of the lowest distortion loudspeakers ever made.
Specification:
The history of Quad is one of technical achievement in the field of sound reproduction. It is a story that began with the Quad 1 amplifier, which brought the benefits of 15 years knowledge and experience in professional audio and industrial products to the task of making the most accurate domestic audio amplifier of its age.A few years later, in 1953, the product which set the standard for amplifiers was the Quad II Power Amplifier, the time of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation and the year in which Mount Everest was finally conquered. This amplifier pioneered the principle of cathode coupling through the output transformer to reduce harmonic distortion to almost negligible levels. Such was its clear superiority that this model remained in production for 18 years. Three years later, in 1956, Quad demonstrated the first true full-range electrostatic loudspeaker. This remarkable product (known later as the ESL 57) used a virtually mass-less plastic film as a moving diaphragm between two charged plates. Compared with moving coil loudspeakers, the ESL 57 was free of unwanted colourations and distortions. This landmark product remained in production, virtually unchanged, for 28 years.
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