Quad ESL-63 rebuilt question - appreciate help

[Esl5763]

I came across parts & pieces from ELS-63 in a shop which turned out enough for a pair about 2 months ago & bought the parts, put the frames, EHT unit etc together & tested them with the panels, they played music ok but cannot play loud else it crackled. I have some 12 micron PET on hand & went on to rebuilt all the panels, conductive coating was soluble nylon. The pair of speaker is now up and running but I found the sound is on the "darker" side (if you know what I mean). The treble "sparkle" is not there, 2 of my friends came to listen & both agreed with my observation. My question is : will I be able to get more "sparkle" by putting more tension with new 12 micron diaphragm or do I need to look for thinner film or .... ?
Thanks in advance.

[Calvin]

Hi,

every material has a certain upper bandwidth limit which is mass related. The 12µm´s film limit will be around 15kHz-20kHz. If the coating adds considerable mass, the bandwidth limit will drop further down. The Nylon coating is a coating that adds a lot of mass compared to nearly every other usable coating. I´d only use the Nylon if I wanted to exactly rebuild the old Quads with their special closed-in and dark sound. Else I ´d prefer a more modern coating, which are generally lighter and also easier in handling.
With diaphragms of 6µm thickness and less, coated with a modern coating the treble sparkle will be there. There are of course certain issues to be considered, regarding the interaction of the audio trannies with the panel, but generally will lighter moving parts give more detail and sparkle.

jauu
Calvin

[moray james]

The stock Quad 63 uses a 3 micron diaphragm and a light coating. You can buy 3 micron film check out ER Audio in Australia. Hope this helps best regards Moray James.

Electrostatic Loudspeakers By ER Audio

[Esl5763]

Ok,... thanks Calvin & moray james for the information, will see how much i can "squeeze" out of the 12um PET first,... in unsatisfactory, will then look for thinner film.

[arend-jan]

You are never going to get a proper performance out of 12 micron film in a ESL63. 6 micron perhaps but not 12.

3 micron film will be a challenge as it is rather fragile. If you can get 4.5 micron that would probably be a good alternative.

My advice is to stop wasting your time and get proper film and coating. You will find out it's hard enough to restore them with proper materials.

When restored to good working order they are very nice speakers. Well worth the effort and expense.

Enjoy your Quads!

[Esl5763]

Thanks arend-jan .... agreed with your comments, I think I have exhausted all my available avenues with my 12 micron film ... but the time spent was considered well worth it for me ... just to satisfy my curiosity of what a newly installed 12 micron film sound like ... tensioning it up hard "does bring out some sparkle from it .. but not enough" ... I had the chance to listen to one unit speaker with original (near end of life) panels yesterday & they still sounded very good... I had also source some balance materials from other rebuilder & last night I put on 3.5 micron Mylar to 2 treble panels & played mono... oh boy!! the speaker does sing beautifully ... I did not have the chance yet to compare it side by side with original speaker, but memory tells me this rebuilt with 3.5 micron film still lack slight sparkle compared to the original. Will anyone tell me what is "tensilised Mylar" ... when we buy Mylar,... how many types are there ?? Is it true for ESL, that some special treatment is needed as compare Mylar used to make eg. capacitors/transformers ? One last question, anyone tried buying & using on ESL63, this 2 micron Mylar sold on ebay in this link ? eBay.com.my: Electrostatic Speaker Mylar C 2um 40M + Elvamide 60g (item 270737346263 end time Apr 21, 2011 21:06:05 MYT) Thanks so much for all the comments so far.

[chinsettawong]

Hi,

For treble panels, you will have to stretch the diaphragm with a little more tension than the bass panels. What method did you used to stretch your diaphragms?

2 micron Mylar will be very nice for your treble panels, IMO.

Wachara C.

[Esl5763]

Hellp Wachara,
After trying out different tension (no measurement, just by very rough counting no of turns on the wing nut of the screws that pulls the film) i agree & i also put a bit more tension on treble than bass panels. My rebuilt so far is using 12 micron film on all panels, so this latest 3.5 micron is only on treble panel. My bass panels still got the 12 micron film which is tension less (% wise). I built a wood frame to stretch the film. Anyone bought from the seller on ebay ? (link in post #6).
Kind regards.

[geraldfryjr]

THAT LOOKS LIKE A PRETTY GOOD DEAL. jer

[SM7UYJ]

Anyone bought from the seller on ebay ? (link in post #6).

-Yes, I'm using both the 2µm and the 6µm film in my latest build!

Delivery took abt. one week to Sweden - recomended!

Roger