amt10b cheaper and for me better then amt1 , unbeatable crystalclear midhighs
betters esotar or scan speak or ruban philips even stage accompany

only fane studio 8m that follows them,

in short i bought several pairs of amt1 tweeters , untill i discoverderd their sisters the amt 10b's disregarded because of shut in mounted , but for me these are the marvels , espessialy when put outside on top of a super high quality midbass like the fane studio 8m, romy the cat is right about it its a wonderfull midbass, even with the original cross-over from the amt10b's the wedding is tremendous, it beats my atc system with esotar dynaudio en the famous atc dome mid and 9 inch basses, in fact i use two 9 inch atc basses each side and on top the fane studio 8m and ess amt10B fane and amt with original amt cross suppose 1500hz, and a cerwin passif-actif at 250 hz the atc's below are powered by a transistor quad amp, the fane ess by a pushpull el84
rogers power bloc renewed where needed and singing better then my cary dbl pushpull el84, the complete set is wonderfull integrated and the fane is the only mid that can follow the light of the amt's, ps i treated the cones of the fanes with metalalu foil which highers its young modulus and sound velocity, it sounds full range like a elctrostatic but with 98db/w efficiency and dynamics unbelievable

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atc esotar

ecellent low frequincy
loud like you would not belive
no and i mean no distortion even when i max his system out on his summer trips

none

i remember i was just a little kid and my dad came home with these new speakers he had bought the ess front as you can see and also the rear ess towers man let me tell you i am now 38 years old and i still listen too music everyday and i have paid more then 10 thousand dollars for my system and it dont even come close to my fathers i ask him to leave them to me in his will as a joke i hope he will and the tweeter is unbeliveble it is v shape interlace aluminum man i tell you they were years ahead of there time dad i want your spekers

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none

Best tweeters ever made
durable
unique style

average middle range
good bass, but add a sub
not the best classical or jazz spekers

I was really surprised to see my old ESS speakers were in the "top 200" reviews in Audio Review magazine. I didn't expect anyone to even remember 30 year old speakers in an age when electronic equipment is often outmoded in less than a year.
I bought my ESS AMT-1b's new in the late 70's from the now defunct Audio Associates in Arlington Va. At the time, Bose 901's were the biggest thing around, but I personally thought their "direct reflecting sound" system with a bunch of small drivers was a pricey scam (still do) and I was looking for speakers with some real clarity, after putting up with the cloudy sound of the average speakers of the day for a long time. The ESS tweeters were amazingly clear, (Sound as clear as light") and delivered an excellent bass as well. I've never had any problems with them, although I did have to have the foam surrounds replaced sometime in the 90's. This is normal; foam turns to dust after 15 or 20 years.
I agree with some of the other reviews that these are not the best speakers for some types of music; the midrange is not impressive and the bass, while excellent, is not as accurate as it could be. I usually use another pair of speakers for classical and jazz.
I am an audio enthusiast as opposed to audiophile, I suppose, but I've never heard better tweeters than the ones created by Dr. Heil. I recently upgraded my system, replacing an old Yamaha receiver with a new surround sound Onkyo tx-sr703 and adding a Velodyne DLS-5000R subwoofer. When I first hooked up the new equipment, I was disappointed....the sound was poor. Then, as a last resort, I tried reading the instructions and used the automatic speaker set up system with the included microphone. What a revelation ! The sound was fantastic ! Sound quality,separation, clarity, imaging, etc. were all.wonderful. I must say that receivers have certainly improved a great deal in recent times. I'm still old school when it comes to bass, however, which is why I went for the 600 watt, 15" Velodyne. I still think that big bass sound for rock music means a big box and a big driver and high RMS wattage.
Getting back to the ESS speakers though, if you've never heard Heil tweeters, ask your friends if they know any old guys like me that have them and go listen. I find myself often diappointed at what passes for "great speaker sound" in the mid-price range at high end audio stores these days, so I think I'll just hang on to these old dinosaurs. By the way,although the Sacramento ESS company apparently went under, they might be available in Germany soon. Here is a website address
www.audio-intl.com/en/index.html:

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these speakers are unique.

Brilliant clear crisp highs
Solid reasonably deep lows
Solid construction
In spite of being a big speaker, they do well in a smaller room

Midrange is mushy
Placement dependent
Will not tolerate any clipping

I lived with these speakers for well over ten years. They were a wedding gift from a group of audio-minded friends. What these speakers do well, they do extremely well. The problem is, what they don't do well may well be a deal breaker depending on what kind of music you like.

First, what they do well. The Heil air-motion tweeter is a thing of beauty. The highs out of these speakers are crisp, articulate, detailed and nicely nuanced. The low end, for "only" a 12" driver and passive radiator is more than adaquate and well presented as well. They won't reproduce that bottom half octave that we've come to expect in this world of powered subs, but what they do reproduce is fairly tight and accurate.

Now here's the part they don't do well - mids. I'm not sure if it's due to the crossovers or the fact that it's a two way speaker or both, but the mids on the ESS's are somewhat sloppy and not very articulate at all. "Veiled" is about the best you're going to get. "Mushy" is more common. If you want a speaker that reproduces accoustic jazz or (especially) orchestra and chamber music, these ain't them. They do ok with small ensembles, but the busier the musice, the less capable they become. (Their previous owner had a second set of speakers for this kind of music.) But, if rock, electric jazz or (especially) electronic music are your forte, the ESS's will make you smile. Put on some Kraftwerk, crank it up and you'll be in heaven.

Some other details a prospective owner might want to know. Placement is very important because the Heil tweeter works in both directions and they have a rear-facing passive radiator. They do well in small and large rooms. They also seem to like lots of power (I ran them with a 200 wpc amp). Be warned: Even a very small amount of clipping from the amp will fry the tweeter elemants and ESS can be a bit erratic when it comes to obtaining replacements. The AMT 1Bs came with circuit breakers, which seem to get funky over time. I had them replaced with 6 amp fuses on the recommendation of the repair shop. Last, these are old speakers now. Be careful when buying. Foam rot was a problem (mine were reconed by the previous owner and I still had to have one fixed again, not for foam rot, but because the voice coil cover came off), and as stated above, the tweeter elements are somewhat delicate. I would be cautious of the crossovers too. Definitely listen before you buy.

If you let them play to their strengths, you will love the ESS Heil AMT 1Bs. If you aren't aware of their limitations though, you will likely be disappointed

Customer Service

ESS has always been helpful, but their resources are limited.

Similar Products Used:

Phase Tech PC 3.1 II

Fidelity of sound reproduction The rediscovery of vocal and instumental nuancies outside a "live performance"

Relatively heavy and large, but what an equitable price for the sound fidelity

These speakers are the best I've ever heard. The nuiances of sound discernable through these speakers are so compatable with their monicars of "SOUND AS CLEAR AS LIGHT" that they're hard to beleive. I worked for ESS in 1975 during the summer break while in college. At that time I was so impressed by the Heil Air motion transformer in conjunction with their sound fidelity that they became an intregal part of my audio life experiences/memories. I was not able to affort them at that time & it was not until 2002 right after I purchased a pair of small "ESS performance series" new from a local audio store that induced my looking for other ESS speakers. I had the great fortune of seeing a pair of ESS AMT 1B speakers located in the clasified ads. "I still resided in the city where they manufacture ESS audio speakers" I responded to this ad "just prior to Christmas in 2002" and found not only the ESS AMT 1B, but discovered they had been rebuilt by ESS recently. I listened & purchased. These speakers weigh approximately 85 pounds each, but the seller was gracious enough to help me get them into my SUV. The speakers' specifications are "375 rated watts" and "35-23K hertz amplitude frequency response". These speakers have the hishest fidelity I & any/all of my aquaintances have ever heard. "I always hear unsolicitied compliments on their fidelity". These speakers and the physics used with the "Heil Air Motion Transformers" produce the best quality sound experience of any I've been exposed to & that is especially significant since the time span of their design exceeds 35 years. What a Christmas present. I only hope that if exceed their life span that I will be able to replace them. All other componets in my system pale in relationship to thes speakers. I know they exceed my aduio reception range, but they are incredible enough that every CD listened to through other systems sound better through these. I am not trying to sell anyone, anything, but on reading this forum I took the time to register for this just so I could expand this information to any middle income person the brillant and "true" reproduction of sound that these speakers are capable of. I hope whoever reads this and is interested in sound fidelity finds this information useful. Luck was with me, I hope any one else my find the opportunity to listen to this marvelous speakers.

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Klipsch, Bose, PolkAudio

Imaging, clarity, longevity

They have to be rebuilt occasionally. ;^)

I purchased the classic ESS amt 1Bs in 1978. At that time they were powered by a Heath AR1500 receiver pumping out an unheard of (for the time) 60 watts per channel at 8 ohms (85 watts at the ESS's 6 ohm nominal impedance). Since then all of the amplification electronics have been replaced with some serious separates, but the ESSs have remained in the system. Of course, the speakers' crossovers were rebuilt, woofers exchanged at ESS or reconed by Orange County Speaker, passive radiators replaced, Heil ribbons replaced, and grill frames recovered. I've just completed rebuilding them, yet again. Why would anyone keep these antiques alive? Because despite all of the listening I do to state-of-the-art, bank-breaking modern speakers, nothing sounds as good! I must admit to liking Martin Logan's line of products and Maggies, of course. At the same time I loath the sound of Wilson Watt Puppies. The dipolar ESSs still create an incredible sound stage, not just between the speakers, but beyond the edges. Further, it is a 3-D front-and-behind sound image. Instruments stay fixed in space unless the recording engineer moves them. Transitions through the frequency response are smooth, never boomy on the low end, blasting in the middle or shrill on the crystal-clear high end. Jazz ensembles are simply in the room with you, as are chamber groups. Full orchestras are glorious. I seriously considered replacing them before this latest rebuild. However, I couldn't find anything I liked better at any price. So, the rebuild decision was easy. However, I am keeping the option open to replace 35 years from now.

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Paradigm Mini Monitor Type IIs in the HT system and literally 100s of auditioned high-end speakers

The Heil, still in production in tiny quantities, is still alone at the top of all mid-tweet designs after 30 years. If only someone like Paradigm were allowed to use it. Efficient. Brilliant. Clear. Plays very loud without strain. A Heil-equipped speaker is more sheer fun to own than any other, since it not only does dipole tricks but responds to gentle tinkering. Not the worst choice for surround speakers, either.

amt-1a/b/c woofer's too big, doesn't quite match tweeter, though it tries. Fragile cabinets not always assembled with topnotch furniture-building techniques (not always airtight, don't ship well without lots of luck and paranoiac packing)

Thanks to UPS I have only one gloriously working amt-1b, thus I can report that the Heil sounds great even in mono. In the right room (very big, with the speakers well away from the walls and on-axis at ear level only) a pair of amt-1bs can sound wonderful. The Heil is everything you've heard it can be. It's a crime that no American manufacturer with a dealer network is producing it. I've owned ESS/Heil speakers of various sizes since 1976, but always wanted one with der Grosser Heil, the socalled Great Heil, even though I knew that by today's standards, the amt-1a/b/c/d were, well, just a bit *perverse*. Let me explain. Ever heard owners or ex-owners complain that it seemed impossible to splice the sound of the amazing Heil to the sound of the woofers ESS chose to go with it? In reviews the "speed" of the woofer is always faulted, but that's not in fact the problem. Day/night differences in dispersion between the Heil and a 12" woofer through a crossover region that lies smack dab in the midrange where there's no margin for error, are. What modern speaker designer in his right mind would cross over any 12" woofer, no matter how "fast", as high as 800Hz? What modern speaker designer in the "affordable yet serious" price range even uses 12" or even 10" woofers any more? Too directional at any frequency above about 200 Hz, they're considered subwoofer drivers. Try to match them with a frequency-independent dipole that's effectively omnidirectional in the horizontal plane and you get sonic fruit salad in the critical midrange. Not to mention that the Linkwitz-Riley type crossover had yet to achieve its current popularity when the amt-1b was designed, so there's lobing and the design needed a 3" or so midrange driver, and... anyway, it's all a bit of a mess, but a pleasant-sounding one in spite of everything. There is a way to enjoy the effortless sound of the big Heil without the cloying "room boom" of a 12" woofer crossed over too high, and that is to find the amt-1b's "nephew", the amt-II. The II in some ways is a throwback to the original amt-1; both have a 10" treated-paper woofer. But the II shares a last-generation big Heil with the amt-1d. It also has a simplified (therfore improved?) crossover. We'd prefer it to have an 8" woofer, but we'll take any improvement we can get; suffice it to say that bigger is not necessarily better in a 2-way design, and so the II is clearer, less muddy, more sparkly. Who cares that it doesn't have the pseudo-high-tech straight-sided 12" plastic cone with its excitingly psychotic breakup modes, or that it doesn't play quite as loudly? If you can find a pair in good shape and are willing to poke around with a tube of caulk to ensure the air-tightness of the cabinet, you'll have a speaker that in most ways sounds better than the 1b. Oh, sure, the design of the amt-II is still a bit perverse (no attempt was ever made to reduce cabinet diffraction effects, for instance), but... glorious. There's literally nothing like them; you must hear them before you die.

Similar Products Used:

ESS Evaluator, ESS Fortura 12, ESS amt-II

Highs, mids, bass. No weak mids anywhere with six ESS speakers! It's awesome!

I don't hear any weaknesses. The sound is so clear and bright with tight deep bass and super-clean mid range.

I had to update the forum because my enthusiasm for ESS Heil AMT speakers has reached new heights. I have a complete wall of sound with ambience delay. One SAE amp (A501 - 250 watts RMS) pump out sound to my main "wall" of sound: one set of ESS AMT 1-C speakers, another set of ESS Rock3 Monitors. Another SAE amp (1401 - 250 watts RMS) pump out delayed sound to one set of ESS AMT 1-B speakers directly behind and off to each side of my listening area. I wish I could post a picture of this. Better still, I wish you could hear it. IT IS SO ULTIMATE!!! Words cannot describe the supremely clean highs and lows this monster wall of sound produces. There is not a weak link in this system. Each speaker sits on four Dayton Audio Chrome Speaker Spikes. No vibration gets transfered to the floor and carpeting cannot dull the sound of these speakers that now "float in air". Honest. These speaker spikes improved the sound of these already tremendous speakers and can be found at partsexpress on the web. I'm not plugging for these folks - I'm just sharing something that was shared with me and at $20 a speaker times my six ESS speakers, the sound is unbelievable. I've got monster cable out to each speaker, monster cable connecting all the amps and components, I've got Monster Cable Z1 connecting my main amp to the preamp. Combined with the SAE rack-mounted amps, preamp, delay, equalizer and the Monster Power HTS 5100 Home Theatre Reference Power Center to clean up the electricity out of the power outlet - it's a sound you have to hear to believe. If you're ever in the Cleveland, Ohio area and you want to stop by for a listen, email me your phone number and we can set up a convenient time for a demo.

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None. I'll never be talked out of the current setup.

the ability to make your present recordings and equipment sound noticeably better in a host of acoustically challenging environments. exceptional sound stage, presence, and tonal realism across the musical instrument spectrum, with excellant efficiency using various input power sources (i.e Carver M-1, 200 watts, Conrad-Johnson 80 watts, and another Yamaha, the RX-V390.

not enough info about more ESS products conveniently available to consumers.

I recently purchased the AMT 1B's in the oddest place, at a local thrift store that I frequent. When I first saw these speakers I knew instantly that they were something special. But, I had no idea what I was in store for. I have been fortunate enough to have travelled the world and have made a conscious effort to listen to as much audio equipment as I could, long story short, I to am one of those who are now on the ESS amt bandwagon. The people at ESS are to be commended for having captured what so many are still trying to. I consider myself to be the most critical of critics when it comes to audio science. I had never seen or heard of these speakers before, but when I saw the design of the 1B's I was so excited that I called all my audiophile friends, and these 1B's had slipped under their audio equipment review radars as they had mine. We met in my home where we began to demo music from classical, to folk, to heavy metal, to jazz and r&b funk, and they brought incredibly detailed nuances from all the genres sampled and passed the proverbial test with super-flying colors, even above and beyond the B&W (Bowers and Wilkes) system I am absolutely in love with for the last 23 years. These speakers are audio masterpieces for the ages. What they do to capture sound reproduction is second to none in ANY price range. The price that I paid for them was a STEAL, and I thank the previous owner who has given me the pleasure of a lifetime. I am now looking to purchase a second pair now that I know they exist, I would like to always have them in my listening or theatre sound systems. I know different equipment sounds differently to different ears. But, I find it very difficult for anyone not to appreciate this great achievement in sound reproduction from the engineers at ESS who got it right a long time ago and created this product that is truly ahead of their time. I could have spoken techy geek speak here. But, that's already been done, find a way to hear them, then decide for yourself.

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none

Unequalled presence.

I bought my ESS Amt-1b speakers new in 1979 after reading good reviews. It has been one long love affair since then. I doubt whether I ever will ever hear any better speakers. I had the woofers rewoofed and passive radiators overhauled at ESS last year. The felt surrounds had rotted. The first exchange woofers they sent me didn't fit. The outline of the cast speakers was too large to fit into the wood recessed ledeges of the enclosures. Kind of strange since I thought they would all be the same. They plainly didn't fit though so I sent them back. The next pair fit fine and I am listening to them as I type. Good as new. It cost me $35 to send back the defective pair but ESS would not reimburse me. Here's a tip I've learned about setting the grill straight: place one finger under opposite corners and then set it down.