Back in the mid-1970's, I worked for a high-end audio dealer in Seattle named ElectriCraft (long since defunct) which carried the ESS / Heil speakers. They produced very good sound for their time, but were VERY inefficient. To get loud SPL's from them, we used the PhaseLinear amp (Bob Carver's first commercially successful power amp, which was affectionately known as the "FlameLinear" for its tendency to overheat and "flame out"). The PhaseLinear amp produced 300-350 wpc (immense power output for that time), and it had barely enough power to drive the Heils to high volume levels.
ESS and Heil air-motion tranformer - any thoughts?
These seem like interesting speakers, has anyone on this board had any experience with the ESS line of speakers?
A.M.T. description:
"The Heil diaphragm, made of soft, quiet mylar to reduce background noise, is bonded with conductive aluminum strips. It is equivalent in surface area to a conventional cone type eight inch midrange driver, but is accordion-folded down to a compact one-inch band for better point source dispersion. The low mass diaphragm is suspended in a massive magnet structure concentrating an intense magnetic field around the diaphragm.
When a signal passes through the aluminum strips, the bellows-like motion of the folded "pleats" squeezes air out five times faster then the air motion of a conventional cone driver. The virtual "instant acceleration" provides high definition, crisp transients, and overall spaciousness with superb dynamic range. This type of performance distinguishes the heil from all other transducers."
http://www.essspeakers.com/
A.M.T. description:
"The Heil diaphragm, made of soft, quiet mylar to reduce background noise, is bonded with conductive aluminum strips. It is equivalent in surface area to a conventional cone type eight inch midrange driver, but is accordion-folded down to a compact one-inch band for better point source dispersion. The low mass diaphragm is suspended in a massive magnet structure concentrating an intense magnetic field around the diaphragm.
When a signal passes through the aluminum strips, the bellows-like motion of the folded "pleats" squeezes air out five times faster then the air motion of a conventional cone driver. The virtual "instant acceleration" provides high definition, crisp transients, and overall spaciousness with superb dynamic range. This type of performance distinguishes the heil from all other transducers."
http://www.essspeakers.com/