Waw :)

?

I've just got two ESS AMT 1C for 350 $ in November 99 from a friend in Switzerland. Never heard something like that. I'm re discovering a part of my soundtracks, Even if the passive part of the speaker is missing :)

Heil tweeter

Lack of clarity in the mid/low-low fz

I just bought a pair of ESS Heil AMT 1s. I was overwhelmed
on how good the tweeters sounded. Unfortunately I have
my doubts that the 10" woofers are the proper ones and I
can not find replacements. If anyone has any information
on where to get replacements or has some laying around
please email me, kopi@lucent.com. There is a misconseption
going around that the Heil unit is a mid/tweeter. Any
element that has a frequency responce of 1,000Hz-23,000Hz
is a tweeter only. Most 1" softdome tweeters have a similar
rating.

I am quite familiar with the AMT-1B as I used t sell them. They indeed are excellent speakers -- a great high end and a great mid range. The low end was another matter. It really is fairly loose and to some ears, a bit boomy. Some folks like that but to me that was a deal breaker. So I opted to buy the somewhat drier sounding AMT 1 Towers which have the same great high end, a much tighter and deeper base but a somewhat distant and/or nasally midrange. I could handle the not-as-good mid range but I really wanted a more defined low end. One tip to all ESS owners is that the speakers really, really benefit from an amplifier with a very high damping factor. One of the best amps around in that regard is the Phase Linear 400. Reasonable sound quality, lots of power and high damping. If I couldn't have a pair of ESS Towers, I would opt for the Ib's. I have also heard that ESS has tightened up the low end on more current 1B's or C's or whatever they are now called, so that low end "problem" at least in my view, may now be mute. Overall, I would rate the 1B's four stars.

Like everyone else !! Superb highs,decent build quality and strangely enough [on a personal note] massive physical presence!!!!.Actually ,versus my other speakers[Mission 751's and Leak Sandwichs']these AMT's really have impressive bass extension.

Not the tightest/most controlled mid-bass.Lack of information on these apparently quite rare AMT6's

Actually I've only owned these 'remarkable' speakers for a couple of months and haven't really had the time to really put them through their paces.
These ESS AMT6's Heil Professional speakers were purchased as part of a complete system ,including a 30" EV30W sub in a 6'4" enclosure!! as well as various crown amps, crossovers,etc,etc.
This outfit actually cost me about $1600US which was a great deal when you consider the original owner had about $20,000 into the system.
The AMT6's are bi-amped using Crown D150+DC300 amps and Crown VFX2 crossovers.The EV30 Sub is just too big to get up the stairs and besides I'm actually pretty impressed with the bass the AMT's put out.Can't wait to get space to let that 'monster' breathe!.
Anyhow,the reason for this post is to make contact with anyone who may have any info./reviews/etc about the AMT6.
They are fitted with two 12" bass drivers and 4 Heil tweeters each and must weigh close to 200lbs a piece
.Seriously,these things are enourmous,look totally ridiculous in my living room but even the wife has found a soft spot for their sweet sweet sound !!
Also any 'tweaks' would be appreciated too.

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none

Sound

Flimsy mesh covers

Like most reviewers, from the first time I heard these things I was impressed. "Back in the Seventies"...the sound simply made my jaw drop. Sure they were being powered by gear I couldn't then afford and they were expensive but the sound was so great they were never forgotten. Went thru lots of other crappy speakers until one day about twenty some-odd years ago I saw an advertisement from some cut-rate stereo store for a low level Marantz receiver for $299 and for "only a dollar more" get two ESS Heil AMT 1-b speakers", total price $300. Ran down there as fast as I could and grabbed 'em. Took the receiver too, although it just sat in its box until giving it to a friend. It was a good buy. Love these things even with the hassle of having the surrounds replaced on the woofer and passive. Managed to keep them in perfect shape over the years. Cannot recommend them highly enough, the clarity of sound is enough to make you turn your head looking for the fire truck or jet plane or telephone if a sound effects cd is put on. Musically they are very versatile, being fine with me from bluegrass to didgeredoo. Called up ESS a little while back and they wanted to sell me another pair for about six hundred bucks. I would advise anyone to listen to these speakers before buying ANYTHING else, regardless of cost. BTW, my Magnaplanars are in the closet now. The Heils are powered by an old Pioneer SX-980.

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Nothing else IS similar

Incredible highs, beautiful midrange, good bass.

The grills are flimsy. I'm going to construct some new ones to replace the plastic framed ones that crumbled.

I LOVE these speakers. Mine are the AMT 1C version. Any previous problems that previous models may have had with poor bass, must have been resolved by the time that they got to the C version because the bass is tight, solid, and ample. The heil brings out parts of my music that I've never heard before, even on headphones. If you can find a pair of these puppies, grab em. Whatever you pay will likely be worth it because it's like getting a new music collection at the same time. Everything sounds great - except for some of my cassette recordings, which now have their weaknesses exposed. I first heard these speakers in about 1978/79, when I was 19 and couldn't even afford the owner's manual. I drooled over them then, and I'm thrilled to be able to own a pair now because they still sound better than anything else I've heard since. The looks are controversial, especially with the grills removed, but I personally like their unique look. I'm not one for sameness anyway.

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previous speakers were paradigm 7se's

ESS 500A amp.

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I get a kick reading everyones ESS experiences. I used to work at a shop in the midwest and we sold lots of them. Just a couple of observations. The second generation ESS Eclipse amps were designed by Bob Bird of AB amp fame. Althogh simular in power to the Phase Linear amps the Eclipse used a much cleaner design with TO3 RCA output transistors which were rugged and very advanced for the era. The power supply caps would fail but can be replaced with better units, I use McIntosh MC300 caps in mine. The 250/500 watt 500A version of this amp uses 10 250 watt outputs per channel. In the 500 watt mode a fan or the ESS fan pack should be fitted.
The later 'bridal veil' version of the full sized Heil diaphram was an improvement in that it would not distort its shape when driven hard. When a diaphram fails this is usually due to the lead wires loosing contact with the leaves of the diaphram.
The original AMT3 Rock Monitor which has a 5" mid and two 10" drivers + Heil is the most ballanced of the bunch in my opinion. The Heil is two different in dispersion to mate to the 12" bass and should be crossed over higher than 1000Hz for best power handling.
The most recent diphrams use teflon as oposed to the original mylar in their construction. The teflon should handle heat better.
Everyone enjoy their old speakers!

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McIntosh Amps

Intense presence. Great high-end reprduction and overall fullness

Lower mid's and low end can't quite keep up with the heil's.

Dusted these off from the closet this year. Amazed to find this site had these babies reviewed! After reading reviews on my Bose and questioning my sanity I decided to get the old ESS AMT's out for a test run. Needless to say some repair work was in order. Called ESS and spoke with technical. They suggested heil cartridge replacement. I had the woofers and passives repaired in town. I was able to get the woofers reconed and instead of springing for the passives the folks that reconed also put JBL style radiators in the rear. Got four cartridges for my speakers and away I went. Had the cabinets refinished and moved them into the living room. Currently running an HK AVR 7000 with a Sony HDCD player. What happened next was amazing. I disconnected the 501's and connected up the ESS. Set the volume to 0db and put an old ESS favorite in the CD (Kiss Detroit Rock City) and pressed play. This was loud with the Bose and I enjoyed it however with the ESS it was a different experience. After picking up the pieces of the front of my house and having neighbors come over and reminisce of REO concerts I began testing. I found the best way to listen to the ESS was with the surround off. It seems the current methodologies for Bose is to separate frequencies. I also found the Bose to do a better job of surround definition during DVD playback, but for RAW music fullness I find the efficient ESS better. I must admit, the heil’s sounded fantastic with the remastered STYX greatest hits. They matched and in many cases exceeded sound reproduction on high-end synthetic notes of the Bose. I have yet to setup my second set of ESS for rears surround but am hoping to pickup the definition of Matrix bullet dances that was lost switching from the Bose. It may also have to do with current recording technologies that I am unfamiliar with. I can take definite advantage of the different surround modes of the HK with the Bose environment for current CD’s and DVD's as opposed to, shutting down the surround while listening to the older rock recordings. Current rear surround are 201’s. I don’t believe they are nearly as efficient as the ESS. Just a side note, I highly recommend the integration of a large SUB for a greatly enhanced experience. I have a 16 inch Velodyne that makes up for seat vibration units and also fills in any void that the ESS have in the low end. Overall it was a BLAST from the past that has rekindled my music experience. I’m burning away with an HK CD conversion from my old Dual 701. Just like the old days!! Move over Mr. Marshall, and put away the AMPEX! The ESS are alive and rockin and at 23 years for those speakers that ain’t too shabby.

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Dynaco A25's, Bose 501's, 201's (surrounds) Velodyne 8 and 16 in.

extremely clear in the high range

woofers, cannot use the speakers, while the rubber of the activ and passiv woofer is gone.

Here is a message from holland. I bought in 1977 a pair of AMT's (not the 1A, but the PS 8). It was music listening like in heaven!For 3 years the rubber of the woofer(first the passiv ones, afterwards the active spaekers) was falling apart. Problem in Holland was to find a sales compny
while the old one was gone.I heard then that ESS-laboratories was broke(gone). Now I am very happy to find your internetpageSo, please, give me an adress or e-mail adres of the ESS-factory in Sacramento where they can give me the information where I can purchase the woofers?
I have more people here who like to know they can get the serviceparts by a reseller in the Netherlands or Belgium.
Yours sincerely yours, Maarten van Dijk, NL.
PS The best part you ever can get, but in Europe we hear
nothing of ESS!

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JBL SM-100 (While they are chaep)

I have a pair of ESS B-102 speakers (Heil AMT W/10" base) These speakers are 18 years old and the passive radiators have long since rotted out but they still sound better than everything I listen to up to in the $1200 range. The Heil tweeter is amazing.