Ah! The famous Quad ESL's... actually owned those as well (ESL 63, 989, 2905's and 2912's). Just about great until production moved to China and what a bloody disaster that was! Won't dwell over that, I've posted lengthy reviews on various threads here... so we'll leave it at that.
The ML's are in a totally different league, there's no comparison whatsoever! Also, I'd be more than willing to pay for proper QC and production standards coming out of Canada or USA or Europe any day!
Having also owned the previous Reserve line, from the Ethos (real vfm) to the Montis and Summit-X, I can confidently say that ML's Masterpiece line is a true Masterpiece! Nothing more to add.
The Quad 2905's are quite large, by no means are they smallish stats, and they do require a fairly decent amount of space to perform optimally. Thanks to their unique dispersion pattern (using concentric ring anodes with delay coils) that form a ripple effect, mimicking a point source rather than a line source, which enables the advantage of placing the Quads in smaller rooms or closer to the back / front wall. Hence, doesn't have to be a football field away. It's getting that bass / LF to sound right from Quads multiple panels, where the top & bottom most panels are the extra bass panels. So in total the 2905's have 6 separate stat panels wired together and held together with their concentric ring anodes (a marvellous concept by Peter Walker the genius!) And also suited the much smaller Quads (ESL 63's and 2805's) definitely not the larger ones. Apart from the HF's being rolled off with an artificial bump in midrange, the bass from Quads always had a "drum" effect, I could clearly hear that panel! Anyway, that's Quad.
With ML's Masterpiece series, it's at a completely different level.
1. Latest Blade tech is used, previously deployed from the X-stat tech, using various high performance metal alloys.
2. Micro-perf stators, providing even greater electrostat surface radiating area.
3. The stators are vacuum bonded, allowing very high tolerances, no arcing, no flexing, and zero distortion, absolutely no overhang. (No glues or adhesives are used extensively like those found in every Quad ESL's)
4. These vacuum bonded stators have very high tolerances to over 10,000 volts, so trying to arc any Masterpiece series ML's will pretty much burn your house down, if ever you were tempted to do so. So don't even go there!
5. Dual Force bass drivers, with greater levels of control, plus fitted with powerful Class D amplifiers (allows faster switching) with built-in DSP and ARC (Anthem room correction) software, allows for proper room placement and fine tuning, where the bass drivers blend seamlessly with the stat panels, it's bloody marvellous!!! Definitely no subs required here whatsoever. Unless you really want that Abraham's tank rolling into your living room... HT settings perhaps.
Overall, compared to any other ML line, the Masterpiece series have come a long way, and they are definitely true High Performance speakers, without a doubt!
Now, I simply cannot say that your room would suit... simply because I haven't been in it to have a listen. Therefore, all we can offer is speculation that it would, should or may work. Only you can determine that factor, based on your listening habits, musical preferences and style of listening playback.
One thing I can say though is that if your Quad 2905's performed just about ok in that particular setting, the ML's will elevate your entire listening experience, it will enhance your life! Just to be cautious, I would first recommend the 11A's, simply because it's a more manageable design, even though the 13A's aren't that much bigger. I've personally auditioned 11A's out-performing 13A's and 15A's solely based on the room size. The very extraordinary performance will exceed all expectations when given proper space to breathe. If you do go larger in panel size (13A's to 15A's) that room size needs to expand corresponding with the panels dispersion dimensions, not just panel height. Depth of bass encloser is just as important in order to achieve smooth, layered and detailed bass lines, otherwise it'll end up sounding lumpy.
*Note** the larger size in panels will also equate to a much more stable power amplifier. By stable, I'm not only referring to watts per channel in RMS output power but also in terms of rock solid power supplies- high current capacity and highly stable voltages across the impedence swing of stats. Don't use small amplifiers with puny power supplies, they'll run out of puff... regardless of watts/ch, doesn't mean anything. Class A power is an awe-inspiring experience with stats, Class AB is pretty awesome and equally outstanding, Class D- not all are built the same high standards (Jeff Rowland is my preference in Class D if it's a must). Since I prefer tooobs, I exclusively use Conrad johnson design tube amplifiers to drive CLX's. No other speaker system I'd rather own, regardless of price or make.
Cheers mate! Hope that helps 50cts worth of my experience with fingers burnt many times in this topsy-turvy passion of highend audio.
Enjoy those fine tunes!
Woof! RJ
