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ESS speakers "Translinear" Transstatic

These were speakers designed by California based company called ESS, that is, Electro Static Sound before they used the Heil Air Montion transformer. These models were current in 1970-1975. I am curious if any one still owns either of the above models, or has seem them listed on any of them listed in the used audio web sites. They were incredible speakers for their time,and sounded as good as many of so-called elctrostatics of today. They used good driver elements, for example, the KEF B-139 oval driver for the bass response.If anyone has knowledge of either of these above vintage speakers,please leave info on this Web page. Thank you!!
sunnyjim
rurdangaraye99b
2 posts
 
ESS is still in business. You can view their web site at http://www.essspeakers.com. Their product line has not changed very much of the years. I used to own a pair of AMT-1As with the Heil. I thought the Heil was a great driver. Unfortunatly, it was not well integrated with the 12 inch woofer used in the speaker (hard to do). The Heil AMT is being used in speakers other than ESS. There are 2 Swiss speakers the Oscar Aulos and Kithara (the former was recently well reviewed in Soundstage e-mag. There is also a British company called Orchid that is using the Heil.
sc53
689 posts
 
Hi, I owned a pair of ESS AMT 1A's in 1975 through about 1980. I gave them to my sister and she still has them and loves them. The woofer surrounds disintegrated about 12 years ago, but the dealer (a local TV store) ordered new ones for me and as far as I know, they are still functioning well. My sister likes them, anyway. They are the highest-end speakers she has ever had.
I remember the day I had these speakers delivered, I thought I had way overdone it in size and cost. However, 30 years later, I see I had many more extreme excesses to go, audio-wise.
albertporter's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
albertporter
4,927 posts
 
Trelja, no, we lost the ESS line about that time, and instead picked up the more popular JBL commercial line and Infinity Systems. I had a hell of a time learning all the technical materials and specification sheets required for JBL. I quoted parts and power requirements for commercial sound applications such as auditorium reinforcement and rock band equipment. It is nice though, to have owned and lived with so many technologies, it does however make me even more committed to my Soundlabs, which I consider to have the fewest compromises.
trelja
3,215 posts
 
Thank you Albert. Your postings are always very well written and thought out, not to mention insightful.
trelja
3,215 posts
 
By the way, it's been a long time, but I have never hated those ESS speakers the way so many have. The 12" woofers did need to be replaced, due to the surrounds rotting out. It's in the back of my mind to go through them, and see what happens. Does anyone know the crossover point of the speaker? How low the Heil AMT can be crossed over? Any other bits of wisdom? Thank you, Joe
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