Sort of new here but I too have a pair of ESS.
Bought new in '79, AMT-1-Towers. Not the Translinear but rather the evolved legendary BIG Heils. Fabulous ESS sound from a 48"? Quarter Wave Transmission line Tower.
Recently re-foamed and new X-over parts. Better than ever.
Thanks for the small hijack. |
Was ESS the same company as Sound Stream?
Wasn't Dr. Oscar Heil the inventor of the Heil talk box, used by guitar players like Joe Walsh and Peter Frampton? |
I was a tech in R&D for ESS for 1.5 yrs. '77-'78. The company was long past the electrostatics by then. I hired on there so I could afford a pair($450 ea.) of what I believed were the best sounding speakers in the world. Don't have all the answers for your questions, forget the 'statics they were before my time and did not compare with the Heil AMT.
I helped with the proto-types of all of the systems at the time including one special one called the Transar (full range Heil AMT). I left the company with what may well have been the best pair of speakers to that date: 1978 AMT1B Bookshelf built in the lab by myself with hand tested |
The Transstatics were low sensitivity loudspeakers so they would not play loudly without the potential for damage. My store sold a few and fortunately they were discontinued before we sold many. It was a very good sounding system but just not meant to be played loudly. The Phase Linear 400 was not a good match. The Phase Linear 700B might have been better but still was a poor match for the Transstatics. We serviced just about every Phase 400 we ever sold. You guys must have been loaded to be able to afford the JBL Paragon. I use to stare at that system in the Dell audio directory published yearly and daydream about owning it. Other speakers that caught my eye during that period were the Stephens with enclosures designed by Eames. They were virtually identical to JBL. In fact, Stephens originally worked at JBL in the early days. However, the sound of JBL, Altec, and Stephens was becoming obsolete in many ways with introduction of the acoustic suspension systems and the "New England Sound." |
I just posted some comments as a former dealer for ESS. Whatever happened to the owners and can you tell us the inside story of what happened to ESS. My guess was that they went for the mass market and failed. I remembered two of the owners, Gary Hudson and Phil Coelho but not the third, who was a college professor. |
I just came across this thread. I HAVE A PAIR of original ESS transmission line speakers; the ones that were made just before the Heil tweeter were added.
I purchased them in Toronto for $900 in 1970. I moved back
to NY in 1972 with the two speakers on the roof of my car. Going about 70 mph on the Thruway in the middle of the night they lifted off my roof rack, (I thought they were gone) and they did a perfect 180 degree flip (as seen from my rear view mirror) and landed on the side of road, sliding, with almost no damage. One of the speakers broke part of the top teak wooden panel, which I glued together again. Ten years later I replaced one of the Kef 9x12 oval speakers; the part cost me $125.00 in the 80's. My wife didn't like the size, and when one of the fuse housing broke I retired them to the attic. They are still there! and I think in good condition. I will post a photos when I set them up. I remember incredible sound playing Pink Floyd - Money.
What sold me on them originally was a cover shot of a stereo magazine with them competing with 10 foot Magnaplanars Monsters and coming in second. |
Just found this thread, picked up a pair of m102's (1980 I believe)recently and am quite impressed with them. They are all original,only needed a good cleaning and a little touch up on some edges. Was able to get original grill cloth from
ESS. They are amaizing and play well on all music. |
just bought me a used AMT 1D that was built after 2001 so it's the newer line but the cabinets are the same design. I will improve it some more with dakiom feedback stabilizers and the fact I have many sound processors like dbx, bbe, behringer, it will definitely have very little limitations cause I can alter the sound in which so many seem to have their limitations. I also acquired an AMT 10B, and with my ohm walsh 300 mk 2 rebuilt by ohm, at least i can switch. I also have eminent tech lft 8a's and a maggie 2.5r's with new ribbons, I have the best of both worlds and if i ever find space, i can always pull out my DINOSAUR, an ACOUSTAT SPECTRA 33 the electrostat the size of a room! |
i could never tolerate the original ESS AMT1 in the top where it was so rough as to be intolerable. the same effect was present in early shibata equipped cartridges and the original threshold 400 amp. i can only imagine the high frequency cacophony if all three of those components had been used together.
i never got to hone in on the lows of the towers like transtatics with their transmission line loading in the lows. i will guess they werent quite as good as the IMF and Fried embodiment of that approach. i think mike wright of the UK did that design work on the IMFs and later TDL.
there are numerous speakers out there now with heil drivers including one with a very large amt (Atma Audio) marketed by Paul Squillo Music Systems.
i heard a LARGE version of this speaker at the moorpark theater while attending a performance of dan hicks and it didnt exhibit the roughness i referred to that i heard in the AMT1s.
perhaps this technology has evolved to a more usable state. |
The ESS AMT was my first intro into high end in the mid '70s. A friends attic with a Marantz integrated amp and turntable and the spekers. It was the hang-out for our gang in while in college. It was a great way to spend the cold Iowa winters. Amazing sound for its day and still stands on its own. If anyone is interested in an upgrade - we now offer a killer one. Check out our info on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151132188420489&set=a.10151126147345489.460048.119021235488&type=1&theater. |
I have the only 2 sets of these ESS speakers that I've ever seen like this, there are 4 satellite speaker small bookshelf looking and 1 large bass sub and a satellite power matrix? that says Electrostatic sound systems ... I bought them from the original owner in 1978 and he bought them in 1973 ... While I'm sure there are tons of new stuff to surpass them the sound is really remarkable just a pleasure to listen to ... Anyone else have any experience with these? |
I picked up a couple of Translinears several years ago at a Goodwill for fifty bucks, but since I have another high-end system, after listening to them for awhile, I put them into storage. I would like to restore them as a gift for a friend along with a Carver HR-752 and TLM-3600 that also are stored. In case I have to replace the drivers, I need crossover points. Please, help. |
Ds1058:
I love this story, especially about the speakers flying off the car roof on the freeway! This speaks to the difference in build quality compared with today's junk, which would have to be swept up instead.
I first ran across the Transtatic and Translinear in 1970 when an Oakland dealer was going out of business. He was selling both at half price, but I could not come up with the asking price then. At the time only the Infinity ServoStatic at about five times the price of the Transtatic, could outperform them among the speakers that I had heard. But the bass of the Transtatic was at the time the best I had heard, nearly causing me to wet myself! |
I still remember my one and only audition of the Transtatic l speaker system at a boutique stereo store located in Santa Cruz Ca. in 1972. In their era I think they were the best system by far until the introduction of the Infinity Servostatics which were a whopping 2200 dollars more expensive than the 1200 dollar price of the ESS. My house payment at the time was 145 dollars per month so one can see that these high end speakers of that era were more expensive than 10K speakers today relative to the vanishing value of the dollar. |
I've been an ESS fanboy for some 40+ years, still using my amt 1b pyramids I bought from a friend in the late 70s in my main system. He got them from the original owner as trade for some concrete work he'd done, and I paid $350 for them. All I've done since is refoam the woofers twice, and replace the passives once.
What brought me here to this old thread is that I have a chance to purchase a pair of Translinear speakers from an acquantance the next town over. On-line info for these is very lean, and that helps muddy up consideration of their fair market valuation, so I haven't any idea what a fair price would be for the pair.
I heard them yesterday and boy do they sound nice. Huge and heavy, though
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Better late than never to respond. I have a matched numbered pair of ESS TS Is and have been contemplating selling them. I purchased them (1973) as floor models from Paulson's in Tacoma, WA. They are in great shape and the rosewood veneer is intact and shiny. I have 7 or so extra RtR es wafers that I scored on ebay a few years ago. They are the only downfall of the TSs because the wafers were glued and riveted together making it difficult to repair. I also have a roll of mylar given me by a British man in case I decided to attempt a repair. What are you willing to pay for a one-owner pair of ESS TS towers? I reside in WA, the State. Shipping would be expensive for over two hundred pounds. Also, I would have to custom construct transport boxes in the case of sending them via freight.
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Can you send me some pictures...
mrluckeyy at aol.com
Thanks...
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I've loved ESS since first hearing them back in the early 70's. Still have a couple pair with the large original Heil tweeters. One with original mylar and the other with Kapton diaphragms, still sound great to me! Just wondering if anyone has a pair or heard the model with the huge Heil woofer. Can't remember the name, Transtar?
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This is my first viewing of the thread. I first heard the Transtatic I in 1971, and wanted a pair badly. Unfortunately, I was a starving musician (not literally ;-), so had to settle for a pair of Infinity 1001’s (the 2000A’s little brother). I also heard the Infinity Servo-Static I, which at around $2,000/pr was the most expensive speaker I had then heard. But there was something about them I just didn’t like.
Ten years later I was in a different financial position, and saw a pair of the Transtatics in The Recycler (a Los Angeles-area buy-and-sell rag) for $400, and snapped ’em up. One speaker’s original KEF B139 woofer had been replaced with a knock-off, so I called ESS in Sacramento to get another. They had one and only one B139 left!
Like @jermo I am in Washington State, but am keeping my Transtatics. Somewhere along the way I picked up some spare RTR ESL tweeters, but am keeping them as well. That RTR tweeter was the first ESL I had heard,,and it started my love affair with ESLs. By the way, the FMI (Fulton Musical Industries) Model J also employed the RTR ESL tweeter---six per speaker. In the 1970’s, the most transparent tweeter there was. Dave Wilson used an array of them in his original WAMM.
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Just signed up. Funny, as original post was 21 yrs ago...
I have a pair of these ESS. Loved them for many years.
Curious how audiophiles think they compare to Contemporary units?
Brian/So Cal (818) 590-8642
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I'm almost 42. Grew up with the ESS AMT sound. In fact, until the recent hostile takeover, I used to run ESS' social media for the Ricky Caudillo era.
I currently own my late father's AMT Monitors, a pair of Transar that I rebuilt, and as of today, a pair of nearly mint Transtatic I.
The latter are, by far, the best of the bunch. And I say that as an AMT lover.
I've also owned and rebuilt AMT-3 Rock Monitors, AMT-1A pyramids, a previous pair of Monitors, and too many PS series speakers, including the PS Model 4, which is among my favorites.
Commenting here because I'm interested in acquiring more RTR electrostatic panels, as it seems a few of you are selling.
Btw, I'm powering my Transtatics with a 43wpc Linear Tube Audio tube amp. I don't suffer for power or transient attacks or deep, authoritative bass. Heading into 2023, these are my new reference speakers.
I can be reached at jasond@soundstage.com.
You can read more of my audio writing at SoundStage!, starting here: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/blogging-on-audio/270-jason-davis/973-new-noise-1-embracing-the-unexpected
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I am listening to a 12 inch woofer and ESS AMT from an ESS Eclipse B122 right now. Finished the build about 2 weeks ago. Bill Holman Brilliant Corners sounds wonderful. Of course I don't have the budget constraints of a main line consumer speaker that these had when they came out I 1978. So, crossovers are much better in design, technology, parts and tolerances. These blend beautifully.
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Wow, this thread has been going for a while. I was looking for info on the ESS Tempest Lab Series ll. I was wondering what the red buttons on front and back are for. Anyway, I stumbled across a pair for a really good price and loved the sound so much I bought another pair. I've recently stripped the vinyl covering and added wood veneer. I think these are keepers. I've lost a lot of my high-end hearing and these tweeters more than compensate. So can anyone please explain the red burttons? The seem to be an overload protection or something??
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@mynameislarry its a 1.60 A circuit breaker on your TLS IIs.
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Glad to see you guys are enjoying your revitalized amt creations. I worked there early 1980s, and still fiddle with them a bit. Running scratch designed AMTs right now with my larger mono tube amps and a recently upgraded full Class A 50w solid state amp this weekend. All new crossovers, with really good parts, and pairing with really good woofers can open up a whole new world of sound. Keep it going!
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Thanks for the fast response. So hard to find info on these.
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