Quad ESL2912X, Electrostatic Loudspeakers, Price per Set, New

Quad ESL2912X, Electrostatic Loudspeakers, Price per Set, New

New Price: € 16.900,00 per set

EN.

General: The Quad ESL2912X is the top-of-the-line electrostatic loudspeaker from Quad. The Quad brand from the United Kingdom is a brand with an enormously rich history. Such a rich history, in fact, that Quad was the first manufacturer ever to bring a full-range electrostatic loudspeaker to the consumer market in 1957, which was the Quad ESL57. These loudspeakers are still being serviced and loved even today. Over the years, Quad has certainly not stood still and has significantly improved their designs. The result is this latest X-generation electrostatic consisting of the smaller ESL2812X and this larger ESL2912X.

Technology: Electrostatic loudspeakers sound unlike any other loudspeaker because of the extremely thin and light electrically charged membrane suspended in an electrostatic field. This membrane has a completely different radiation pattern and sound compared to a woofer with spider, voice coil, and surround. The membrane of the Quad ESL2912X is made of stretched Mylar, which is an extremely strong, heat-resistant, and flexible type of polyester film. Quad's Mylar membrane is no less than 10 times thinner than a human hair, exceptionally thin indeed. Because it is so thin, it is also light, so light that its mass is almost equal to the mass of air itself. This provides unprecedented speed and thus also accuracy when reproducing music in a colorless manner.

In addition to being the first to bring a full-range electrostatic loudspeaker to the market, Quad revolutionized the electrostatic in 1981 when they introduced the ESL63, which used a new delay-line technique by placing multiple circles in the center of the panel, with the outer rings slightly delayed compared to the inner rings to simulate a point source. This provides much better coherence and placement in the soundstage and a reproduction that feels more authentic and live. Quad has since incorporated and refined this technique in every ESL loudspeaker model, and you will also find this technique in the ESL2912X.

Quad Delay-Line in ESL63

In 2012, the ESL2812 and ESL2912 were introduced. These have now been perfected and released as the X-series, the ESL2812X and ESL2912X, which were introduced to the market in 2025. The electronics in the ESL X-series are now distributed across three individual modules instead of one single circuit board, which reduces interference, keeping the signal more intact and lowering the noise floor significantly. The manufacturing of the panels themselves has also been renewed and improved, making the panels more consistent and accurately produced, giving them better performance and making them more reliable in the long term. As a final upgrade, custom-designed transformers built in the United Kingdom. These transformers improve signal dynamics and resolution across the entire frequency range, enhancing clarity in the midrange and linearity in the high frequencies, qualities that are central to the electrostatic listening experience.

Listening: The Quad ESL2912X ranks among the finest electrostatics we have had the pleasure of hearing to this day, especially in their price class. Everything you hear is pure music, live and dynamic. The sound is simply honest and real, without sounding studio-like. Voices and instruments are placed convincingly and with extreme precision in the space, with enormous air around them. This makes the space around the voices and instruments more realistic; what we mean by this is that you feel more like you are actually there. Also remarkable is the bass, which not only goes very deep, but also remains stable and linear from the deepest low tones to the higher low tones. This provides a very balanced and coherent reproduction, allowing you to truly relax, with no exaggerated peaks and dips. The bass is also extremely tight and distortion-free, never resonant or colored, but simply rhythmic and very well defined. Thanks to the very light membranes, the Quad can reproduce all details very clearly at low volumes and with quieter music. But you can also throw a party with these Quad ESL2912X; we have played various percussion pieces on them at solid volume and were simply amazed at how stable, realistic, and dynamic this was reproduced by these fantastic and extremely musical loudspeakers. The Quad ESL2912X do need some space around them; a little distance from the rear wall is desirable, but once properly positioned and connected to a high-quality and powerful amplifier, the Quad ESL2912X will bring you a loudspeaker for life into your home.

The Quad ESL2912X is available for demonstration at Ohm-Audio B.V. and can be listened to by appointment.

Specifications:

Brand: Quad UK

Model: ESL2912X

Type: Floor-standing Electrostatic Loudspeaker

Warranty Ohm-Audio B.V. / New Transtec : 36 Months

Loudspeaker Input Terminal : Single Wiring Inputs

Power Input: 1 x C14 input for AC powercords with C13 or C15 IEC connectors

Connectors: Loudspeaker connections for Spades and/or Banana Plugs

Finish: Black

Sensitivity: 86dB

Impedance: 8 Ohm Nominal, 4 Ohm Minimum

Trade-in: Negotiable

Dimensions:

Dimensions: 147cm Height x 69cm Width x 38cm Depth
Weight: 44 kg Net Per Loudspeaker

Manufacturer Website and Reviews:

Manufacturer Website: Quad ESL2912X
Review Hifi.nl: Review Quad ESL2912X Hifi.nl
Review Hifinews: Review Quad ESL2912X Hifinews