Audiophilepure

So you’re trying to build a time machine out of a 1973 AMC Pacer. You want to time travel back to the mid-70s to hear the glorious midrange sound of an original pair of Quad ESL-57 loudspeakers. I hear ya. I get it. I have audiophile dreams like this too.

Then again, maybe you don’t need to risk life, limb, and a whole lot of 88 mile-per-hour speeding tickets to get that midrange sound quality? Today, in the summer of 2025, a current-production bookshelf monitor exists that sounds remarkably similar to a vintage pair of ESL-57s. With decent tube amps driving them, Charisma Audio’s Caprisse bookshelf speakers can deliver the same sonic quality and breathtaking midrange purity as Quad’s legendary electrostats.

Down through the last 40 years, I’ve owned two pairs of Quad ESL-57s and three pairs of ESL-63s. The Caprisse reminds me—fondly—of a vintage pair of ESL-57s. It has lightning-fast transients, lifelike PRaT, and magic in the midrange. The genius of the Caprisse is that it doesn’t need a large room to create the jaw-dropping sound quality of an old-school electrostatic floorstander.

If your listening room is small to mid-sized, do yourself a real favour and audition these speakers. It’s far easier than trying to get a vintage Delorean up to 88 miles an hour.