Quad Electrostatic Loudspeaker
Peter Walker’s loudspeaker without a cone: a thin charged membrane that moves over its whole surface.
Peter Walker wanted to get rid of the colouring of sound that an ordinary loudspeaker box gives. His speaker had a thin plastic film between two high-voltage grids, which moved over its whole surface in time with the music.
The Quad ESL became a reference for natural voices and acoustic instruments and was made for almost thirty years. Its form – a screen rather than a box – became the model for other electrostatic speakers.
Materials: Electrostatic elements, metal grille, wooden end pieces
Manufacture: Made by the Acoustical Manufacturing Company in Huntingdon from 1957 to 1985.
The wide, low screen as a single element.
The metal grille over the whole front.
The wooden end pieces and short legs.