SOUND TRAVELS
If you’d like a pair of Quads restored just as Peter Walker would have done it himself, Melbournian John Hall’s your man, as Peter Xeni and David Chambers discovered…
John Hall confesses his restoration work on the Quad electrostatic speakers he receives for repair is painstakingly detailed. It takes him hours of fine workmanship to re-create the goals set by the inventor, Peter Walker. After many years of restoring Quads for a hobby—while earning his income as a hi-end audio salesman—John professes to knowing every nut, bolt, and nuance of this esteemed beast (and the 63s), and why Walker designed the units the way he did.
‘It took me a long time to work it out— why he did what he did—and it’s the reason that—unlike some others—I stick closely to the design he set when I restore the constituent parts of the Quads to their original parameters.’
John knows the exact composition of the coatings on the diaphragms, the microscopic thickness of the Mylar (and the changes Walker made in refining the treble panels in the 57s later on), the crossovers and EHT high-voltage sections; everything is dissected and reconstructed to make the restoration just that—a fully-restored Quad panel loudspeaker.
It’s been a long journey, he says. He’s been into audio for decades, and has serviced power and preamps too.
That doyen of the Melbourne hi-fi scene, Alec Encel, originally employed him as a sales representative. ‘I couldn’t believe
I was being paid to sell equipment in a place made in heaven for an audiophile like myself.’ It was while working at Encel Hi Fi in Richmond that Hall began repairing his own Quad 57s. A friend, who Hall describes flatteringly as being “one of the smartest people I’ve met in my lifetime” taught him audio theory. ‘Robert was a polymath of fierce intellect, and understood scientific concepts far beyond electronics… he was a sponge for knowledge’, he says. They were friends and Robert taught him the electronic theory behind the speakers so he could service them correctly. ‘Even though he wasn’t a technician, he taught me how to repair some amplifiers too. I learnt everything from this guy, I owe him so much...’
John later left Encel to work in audio repairs for Trevor Lees and at other audio outlets. Meanwhile, he remained devoted to the restoration of his beloved Quads. It’s a lifetime love affair that continues today.
He reminisces here about the long and winding road.
DC: Do you have a first memory, a first unforgettable musical experience that left an impression?
JH: I have a very clear memory, even after all of these years of my first audio experience, which is what got me into both loving Quads and into loving the hi-fi scene. I was quite young, and one day I walked into Myers—which surprisingly had a top hi-fi department in those days where they carried all the best equipment from around the world. There was something playing when I turned the corner and it turned out to be Frank Sinatra on a pair of Quads 57s with a pair of Quad IIs driving them, and the Quad 22 pre-amp. It was so magical that it drew me into thinking that what I was hearing was virtually a live performance. It had that immediacy. I was riveted. To hear something that, at the time, was nearly perfect, absolutely floored me. It was in the early 60s when I had that experience.
DC: And later, what started you on the audio equipment quest?
JH: The Quads were so expensive, I used to think how in the hell could I afford this sort of luxury—particularly with my wages being what they were. I bought my first pair in the early 1980s after numerous changes of equipment, including speakers.
DC: Yours is certainly a high-end system. What can you tell us about your choice of components?
JH: I run the Quad 2905s, they are obviously the successors through many models since the Quad 57s. You win in some areas and you lose in others, that beguiling
To hear something that, at the time, was nearly perfect, absolutely floored me. It was in the early 60s when I had that experience.
immediacy of the midrange is to some extent missing throughout all the 63 series… although replaced with more neutrality. Incidentally, all of the Quads since the 57s are based on the 63s because, in fact, the design hasn’t really changed—it’s only been refined; it’s exactly the same design. The 2905s are really only glorified 63s.
Over the years, I refined the other components as I could afford it. Now I drive them with what I consider to be the best amplifier I’ve ever heard: the Audio Research Reference 75. While using a range of amps over the years, I think the midrange in post 57s was and is more accurate and neutral; though not as involving. It’s because the colouration in the 57s is seductive to the ear. The AR75 is highly neutral, very uncoloured and musically very accurate. If you listen to the timbre of most classical music instruments—and I go to live concerts often and am familiar with acoustic instruments—I can hear what I consider to be accurate reproduction from the Quad and Audio Research combination.
My preamp is a passive device and it’s a set of transformers made by a New Yorker called David Slagle, which I used to make myself. I first heard them as a passive line stage preamplifier and was blown away again by the accuracy, neutrality and lack of colouration. The transparency comes because all it was was a transformer winding tapped to reduce the output as an attenuator, with no other components. When you compare that to the standard preamp—with all the capacitors, transistors, valves, wire and so forth—none of the signal has to go through that.
DC: Do you have a preference for vinyl or CD?
JH: My preference is LPs though I don’t own any now. I’ve only used CDs, and that’s because in the early days I was too fast out of the blocks thinking that this new medium was going to improve and take over sonically from LPs. Of course, CDs are much better now but not quite as good as the best records. I believed the lies that Philips told and didn’t believe my ears. I’d sold everything off before I knew I’d thrown the baby out with the bath water (laughs). I sold hundreds and hundreds of LPs and I sold my VPI turntable, SME Series V tonearm, and a $2,000 moving-coil cartridge. I wasn’t about to start again.
But now the sound on CDs has improved so much, I’d be happy to have them both. They are mostly comparable to the best of vinyl in my opinion.
My speaker cables I bought for the same reason of sonic accuracy and neutrality. They’re Townshend cryogenically-treated copper speaker cables that cost me about $1,500 a pair for two three-metre lengths. They are so neutral I don’t have to worry about that part of the system when I’m changing gear.
The interconnect cables I made myself. I stripped some Neumann microphone cable I got from a generous friend, and I used the copper cable conductors to make the best sound I could get.
DC: Do you have an unforgettable musical experience that left an impression?
JH: There’s so much drop dead, beautiful classical music that I can’t realistically pick my favourite desert island disc. I might occasionally go for a day just playing Mozart. To be frank, I must add that I do most of my listening at night in the dark if I can. That’s a more intimate time for listening to me, the equipment doesn’t get visually in the way because I get very much involved with the emotion of music, and I confess that some pieces can get me teary.
I go to many live concerts, particularly to the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra with Paul Dyer with period Baroque instruments. He somehow manages to always pull a rabbit out of the hat in his programs, using some the finest artists from around the world.
DC: How do you see the way we will consume music in the future?
JH: Music in the future looks like it is going to streaming, which from a technical point of view could be very, very good on all levels, and therefore I am interested in researching it more. I admit though that I have no love of computers and find them a pain in the butt. Computers are so temperamental to use that to me they are a backward step in some ways. What could be simpler than putting a CD in a CD player? It may appear insecure when I ask: ‘Is this music I’ve downloaded going to be available in the same form in five years’ time or will I miss having it on tap by not recording it?’; and if I did record it, it’s somehow defeated the whole purpose—unlike the convenience of CDs or records… and there’s also the disadvantage of not having something tangible like a record cover with its artwork and notes, the same applying to the CD format.
DC: What genre of music do you listen to mostly and who are some of your favourite artists?
JH: My favourite genre is largely classical, and virtually every major composer. There are no particular favourites, but the ones I ever so slightly favour are Beethoven, Sibelius, Haydn… and Mozart, of course. There are just so many great composers. I also like the Baroque period and early traditional jazz; people such as Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, George Lewis. After all, music like that sounds wonderful on fine speakers! Interview by Peter
Xeni and David Chambers. *Peter Xeni and David Chambers are members of the Melbourne Audio Club. New members welcome: marydee1@bigpond.com