{"id":10400,"date":"2019-11-27T16:22:29","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T16:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/?p=10400"},"modified":"2022-02-24T14:29:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T14:29:06","slug":"quad-esl-57-butler-audio-monad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/2019\/11\/quad-esl-57-butler-audio-monad.html","title":{"rendered":"Quad ESL 57 \/ Butler Audio Monad"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.22.3&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;3px|||||&#8221; saved_tabs=&#8221;all&#8221; collapsed=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;3_4,1_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.2&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; saved_tabs=&#8221;all&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;3_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.2&#8243; background_color=&#8221;rgba(12,113,195,0.05)&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;|2px||2px|false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Logo.png&#8221; alt=&#8221;Capital Audiofest&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.2&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.6&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 30px;\">Robyatt Audio &#8211; Quad ESL 75 by Electrostatic Solutions \/ Butler Monad \/ Miyajima \/ VPI<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">I was pretty thrilled when I poked my head in around the door at the Robyatt Audio room, there in the flesh&#8230;a pair of my old Quad ESL57&#8217;s looking pretty much like the day they were born (from a distance).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10408\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/3-quad-esl57\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3-quad-esl57.jpg?fit=900%2C522&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"900,522\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Robyatt with Quad ESL 57s\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3-quad-esl57.jpg?fit=300%2C174&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3-quad-esl57.jpg?fit=900%2C522&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3-quad-esl57.jpg?resize=900%2C522&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"900\" height=\"522\" alt=\"Robyatt with Quad ESL 57s\" class=\"wp-image-10408 aligncenter size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3-quad-esl57.jpg 900w, https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/3-quad-esl57-480x278.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 900px, 100vw\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The room was pretty empty so I slid in on the back row of chairs initially before moving to front and center. To my surprise the Quad&#8217;s were being powered by a pair of Butler Audio Monad tube amps. I&#8217;ve never seen these puppies in the wild before. In fact, in all my many years of scouring the audiophile classifieds I&#8217;ve only ever seen one used pair for sale. So they&#8217;re pretty rare and I&#8217;d love to get my hands on a pair.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10409\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/butler-nomad\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/butler-nomad.jpg?fit=400%2C231&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"400,231\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"butler-nomad\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/butler-nomad.jpg?fit=300%2C173&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/butler-nomad.jpg?fit=400%2C231&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/butler-nomad.jpg?resize=400%2C231&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"400\" height=\"231\" alt=\"Butler Audio Monad\" class=\"wp-image-10409 alignright size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/butler-nomad.jpg?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/butler-nomad.jpg?resize=300%2C173&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Anyway, as far as I could tell, Robyatt Audio is a dealer and distributor of a couple of high-end lines including the\u00a0<span>TZAR DST Stereo Phono cartridge &#8211; which I would never have learned at the show but gleaned from Robyatt&#8217;s website just a moment ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>They also sell other high-end goodies, but no mention anywhere on their website of any affiliation with Butler Audio or Electrostatic Solutions. (that I could find).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Anyway, my confusion is their loss, so to speak. I can&#8217;t really say much of anything positive about the sound I was hearing from this setup, either. I noticed at their website just now that they received a &#8216;Best Sound&#8217; award from AVShowrooms. I can only assume that the sound improved significantly as the show progressed; it was early afternoon on the first day when I listened to a couple of familiar Beetles tracks from a pretty good vantage point in the room.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10410\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/quad-esl57\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/quad-esl57.jpg?fit=800%2C858&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,858\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"quad-esl57\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/quad-esl57.jpg?fit=280%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/quad-esl57.jpg?fit=800%2C858&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/quad-esl57.jpg?resize=800%2C858&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"800\" height=\"858\" alt=\"Quad ESL 57s\" class=\"wp-image-10410 aligncenter size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/quad-esl57.jpg 800w, https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/quad-esl57-480x515.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 800px, 100vw\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I know the Quad sound pretty well, even though it&#8217;s been over twenty years since I had the misfortune of having to place my 57&#8217;s curb-side for the garbage collector. I would never have described the Quad-sound as veiled, even sitting off-axis, but that&#8217;s what I heard. Pleasant enough but lacking in dynamics and soul. Since others have indicated a more pleasurable experience, I&#8217;ll give Robyatt the benefit of the doubt and try to catch them at a future show.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10407\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/2-quad-esl57\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2-quad-esl57.jpg?fit=1000%2C598&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1000,598\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"2-quad-esl57\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2-quad-esl57.jpg?fit=300%2C179&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2-quad-esl57.jpg?fit=1000%2C598&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2-quad-esl57.jpg?resize=1000%2C598&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"1000\" height=\"598\" alt=\"Robyatt with Quad ESL 57s\" class=\"wp-image-10407 aligncenter size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2-quad-esl57.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2-quad-esl57-980x586.jpg 980w, https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2-quad-esl57-480x287.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1000px, 100vw\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.25&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.8&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; global_module=&#8221;17081&#8243; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3>CAF 2019 Menu<\/h3>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_menu _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.8&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; menu_id=&#8221;150&#8243; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][\/et_pb_menu][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.2&#8243; header_font=&#8221;|||||on|||&#8221; header_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_font_size=&#8221;14px&#8221; min_height=&#8221;27px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||0px||false|false&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1>Our Awards For Outstanding Performance!<\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/awards-triode-labs-cables.jpg&#8221; disabled_on=&#8221;on|off|off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.6&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/awards-VON-SCHWEIKERT-speakers.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;VON SCHWEIKERT speakers at 2019 Capital Audiofest&#8221; title_text=&#8221;VON SCHWEIKERT speakers at 2019 Capital Audiofest&#8221; disabled_on=&#8221;on|off|off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.6&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robyatt Audio &#8211; Quad ESL 75 by Electrostatic Solutions \/ Butler Monad \/ Miyajima \/ VPI \u00a0I was pretty thrilled when I poked my head in around the door at the Robyatt Audio room, there in the flesh&#8230;a pair of my old Quad ESL57&#8217;s looking pretty much like the day they were born (from a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-show-reports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/quad-esl57.jpg?fit=800%2C858&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audioresurgence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}