ESS Transar rebuild thread

[Porkloin]

We're all going to be disappointed if you don't go out and pour enough liquor down Ricardo that he divulges every technical secret ESS has kept locked in a vault for the past 30 years.

 

[Porkloin]

When you're in California, drop this hint:

"AMT3 Nuevo"

 

[essNeff]

He may not be reachable. Last I heard, he was setting up a system for Ramtha.

With or without wine?

 

[13stoploss]

Hey 13, these are the Transar model I had been looking at. These were with the matching subs/stands and eq thing. I really know nothing of these but they looked interesting however shipping killed the deal. Now will you be able to build your own matching subs or would this be something you'd have to source separate over time? I don't expect they'd come up on the block all that often as I understand these Transars were were extremely rare and delicate...
View attachment 764957

Those are the newer Model 2. The vertical "low frequency" driver had four units instead of the five in my earlier model. There's some other minor changes, too.

I haven't tackled the sub issue for mine. The interesting thing about adding a sub is that I'll need something that can cross over at 150hz. This isn't impossible to find, but it is a good deal higher than many economy subs on the market right now. Long term, I'd love to acquire/make/buy the dual 3-driver dipole subs that Ricky uses in his ESS demo unit:

 

[essNeff]

How about building your own sub enclosures?
2 of these, each in 1cu ft. box for sealed or 1.5 cu ft. with a Dv 3" and Lv 8" for Ported.

http://www.parts-express.com/grs-10sw-4-10-poly-cone-subwoofer-4-ohm--292-482

You can use an Inuke or similar for power.

 

[Porkloin]

EssNeff's solution is probably a little more pragmatic than dipole subwoofers. The common thread to dipole woof is a lot of cone area, be it the stacked versions like the Hurricanes in the PE project gallery (8 woofers per side) or the Surreal Sound Fifth Row (6 woofers per side) or every other open baffle project (2 15" woofers). Translation: $$$$
Maybe you can get a bit of the dipole action going using the drivers in a push-pull configuration like the
subwoofers. "Outword pointing" driver up front, "inward pointing" driver out the back. They both fire "outward" simultaneously in relation to the enclosure due to the reversal of polarity on one of the drivers, and so pretty much operate like a standard sealed dual driver subwoofer, with the bonus of the distortions associated with cone direction movement cancelling each other out. The only challenge would be designing a case with a woofer hanging out the back that didn't look like it was haphazardly thrown together in junior high woodshop.

 

[13stoploss]

I'm legit excited and hopeful that my Transar will be operating in July 2017.

 

[essNeff]

Glad to see this project back on the rails.
It give's the rest of us a chance to live vicariously through YOUR wallet!
Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Porkloin]

It give's the rest of us a chance to live vicariously through YOUR wallet!

Words of a pragmatic audiophile. A reasonable alternative to compulsively lapping up every thrift store turd that catches one's eye.
I only wished that 13 lived on the left coast so I could practice a bit of "pragmatism" and swing by for a listen.

 

[13stoploss]

Glad to see this project back on the rails.
It give's the rest of us a chance to live vicariously through YOUR wallet!
Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ha, it's not exactly like that. I've invested about as much as the going rate on a pair of used AMT Monitors, certainly less than the going on a pair of AMT-3.

Words of a pragmatic audiophile. A reasonable alternative to compulsively lapping up every thrift store turd that catches one's eye.
I only wished that 13 lived on the left coast so I could practice a bit of "pragmatism" and swing by for a listen.

We'll be packing up to move back home to California this time next year. We're just about done with the east coast and are eagerly watching my service-time clock click down...

 

[13stoploss]

In other news, I bought a new Emotiva 10" BasX subwoofer to play low frequencies up to 150hz, which is the lower limit of the Transar "low-freq" AMT.

I've also had to buy new insert thread-mount screws for what the vertical Transar AMT mounts into. But I'm also contacting local metal fabricators to make me some mounts. I need both AMT mount brackets for the top, and I need two vertical mount strips for the right speaker.

Aside from that, my AMT-1a grilles shipped on Thursday from ESS. When I talked to Ricky, he said he'd find me a Transar I crossover, but I haven't confirmed. I do have a beat on crossover from someone who found this thread, but he said he's having health issues and that it's in his garage somewhere and he has to find it. So, things are moving in the right direction, just need patience. :/

 

[13stoploss]

I'm still a bit lost on the 5-pin connector. The only way that makes sense is that at least two of the five pins are soldered to wires that go to the positive and negative terminals of the transar, if it's wired up like a conventional speaker. Two more pins would have to be soldered to wires that go to the Heil's pink and bluie terminals, so the should be separate.

This would make perfect sense with the amp below. The amp would actively sort the highs and mids and distribute it to the pins in the xlr connector accordingly. You would simply plug the XLR female cables into the amp and run them to their respective (Left/Right) speakers

View attachment 761153

Unfortunately, the story gets more convoluted as the amp above is not the one that was separated from Stoppy's Transars at auction, which leads me to wonder if the two components were ever hooked together at all. Was the amp below purchased at another time and actually does not go with Stoploss' Transar speakers, as discovered by the seller in Ohio, who gave up on the project? Otherwise, why separate the components at all? Would a complete set not be worth more than the sum of the components sold separately?

View attachment 761164

The most important question of all: Does Ricardo have the answers to these questions and will he be willing to divulge the information?

Stay tuned.

This will hopefully be answered soon. What we know now--and not then--is that the 5-pin XLR only uses four pins, and two of them are pass through for high frequencies, and one of them is a shield and one is unused.

Hey 13, these are the Transar model I had been looking at. These were with the matching subs/stands and eq thing. I really know nothing of these but they looked interesting however shipping killed the deal. Now will you be able to build your own matching subs or would this be something you'd have to source separate over time? I don't expect they'd come up on the block all that often as I understand these Transars were were extremely rare and delicate...
View attachment 764957

Yes, the Transar II/ATD can use different subwoofer. IIRC, the documents I have show that Transar/ATD plays at either as low as 85hz or 95 hz. I forget. It is a passive and bi-amped crossover.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

 

[13stoploss]

Look what I just found! Anyone know and can translate Italian? I bet there's so much info in here that we just don't know and need to know. Plus, some useful pictures of the mounting brackets I don't have.

 

[13stoploss]

Found this interesting prototype news:

http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-84-1232.html

Hi-Fi/Stereo Buyer's Guide evaluates the Transar/atd full range Heil air-motion loudspeaker system by ESS
Press Commentary

Hail to the Heil ESS Transar/atd Speaker. A close-up look at what it is and how it works
By William S. Gordon

It stands more than three feet high. Rigid panels extend out from its central core-the wings of a futuristic gargoyle. In the center, the power core-a cylindrical acrylic tube filled with an array of wafer-like diaphragms. At the apex of the drive cylinder, the electromagnetic motor, coupled through a complex array of incredibly stiff carbon fiber rods to the drivers. And suspended over all, the silver-black corrugated folds of the super-high- frequeney emitter.

A hush falls over the room. The engineer deftly mans the control console. Power on. The silence is broken, and with a mighty roar, all in its presence are carried back in time by the winged machine. The time warp is instantaneous. There is no sensation of motion. The days, the years, do not slip by in reverse order as the flipping leaves of a calendar. You are there. In Severance Hall. George Szell is on the podium. The space around you is filled with sound. The incredible time machine has spoken.

And speak it does, for it is the newest concept in loudspeakers-the ESS Heil Transar/A.T.D. The all-Heil system is, perhaps, the longest awaited debut in high fidelity history-certainly the most anticipated loudspeaker in history. It's finally here, or, to be more precise, two prototype stereo systems were hand-fabricated and demonstrated to the cognescenti this past spring. As of this writing, ESS is tooling up for production and Plans to have the first production run of 50 sets out by early fall. They will be sold on a limited basis by selected ESS dealers throughout the country.

ESS plans to follow the early units right through to the home of the ultimate user. They'll get quick feedback on whatever potential shipping or manufacturing problems exist on this radically new speaker. One of the earliest prototypes was earmarked for the Winter GES in Chicago. It was so mishandled by the airlines that it arrived in pieces and had to be re-assembled in the back room. Accordingly, it missed most of the show. ESS has vowed that that won't happen to their production units. But it is generally conceded hv the engineering fraternity-at least in a tongue-in-check manner -that any device that can survive being shipped into and out of Chicago will pass any military or NASA reliability spec in existence. So perhaps ESS has experienced the worst, first.

The new Heil low frequency driver is the result of three years' continuous research by both ESS and Dr. Heil. While it is not an air-motion transformer in the sense of the Heil high frequency driver, it is an equally unique innovatiou by this exceptionally talented scientist. In essence, the problem he sought to solve with the low frequency driver was the same one he tried to circumvent with the Heil tweeter-the inability of the conventional cone to follow the audio signals in a faithful manner vis-a-vis phase and transient response.

With proper engineering, the voice coil of a conventional dynamic driver can be made to move in accordance with the electrical signal, accurately and rapidly-at least suffiicently fast to be used as a woofer. The problem with the woofer is the cone. It must be large in order to move a sufficient volume of air to generate appropriately large sound pressure levels at low frequencies. And it must be rigid enough to move as a whole and not collapse under the strain.

Conventional paper cones that meet these conditions are massive and so of relatively low efficiency. But, to the ESS/Heil way of thinking, they have an even more serious problem. It takes time for the sonic energy to move up the cone, from the apex, connected to the voice coil, to the final outer edge. Thus, although the coil and base of the cone may move in synchrorism with the signal, the outer edge responds late. The speaker is out-of-phase with itself, different sections reacting at different times.

ESS improved matters with the Bextrene woofer in the amt lb. Bextrene is a British innovation-a rubber,/polystyrene compound with exceptional physical properties: low mass and high rigidity. Although Bextrene can be vacuum-formed, doing so to make a loudspeaker cone is no mean feat. A "normal" vacuum-forming operation would produce a cone with a thick outer rim and a thin apex, precisely the opposite of what is desired. Suffice it to say that ESS overcame the technological problems and has been able to form cones up to 12 inches in diameter.

Although the low mass, high rigidity and relatively high propagation velocity of Bextrene offered significant theoretical advantages over a paper cone, the basic "cone problem" still remained. And that's what the Heil low frequency driver is all about. Dr. Heil reasoned that the real solution would come about by using a multiplicity of sma11 radiators that could be driven simultaneously and in phase. Each radiator would be so small that it would move and radiate as a whole, essentially instantaneously in the low frequency region. The resonant points of these miniature radiators could be moved to a frequency sufficiently above the band of operation so that the resonance would not be excited.

Imagine, if you will, a hollow plexiglas cylinder, perhaps three feet high and five inches in diameter. Now, imagine five horizontal plates across the inner diameter of the cylinder and located at equal distances along its height. Each of these plates supports a pair of thin Lexan sheets, vacuum-formed to produce four bubbles, one in each quadrant of the sheet. (ESS and Dr. Heil may shudder at the analogy, but the formed Lexan sheets look very much like a section of "bubble-wrap"-that all-pervasive packing material.)

Four carbon-fiber rods extend almost the entire length of the cylinder, linking the corresponding bubbles on each of the five sheets. The four rods are then affixed to a voice coil at the top of the cylinder. The voice coil and its magnet structure are similar to that of a conventional woofer. As the voice coil moves, the vibrations are carried down through the rods to each of the five Lexan sheets. Each of them move, pumping the air in the cylinder.

In effect, the speaker "cone" has been divided into five small cones-or rather 20 very small bubble-cones. Since the bubbles are so small, they can move as a whole, in-phase, and their resonant point is above the low frequency range of the speaker. Carbon-fiber has one of the highest sound propagation velocities of any material known to man. It is extremely rigid for its mass. In fact, ESS claims that it takes less than 1/300,000 of a second (about 33 microseconds) for the energy to be transmitted from the voice coil to the farthest radiator. Thus, all five sheets move together, in-phase.

To allow the vibrating air (the sound) out of the cylinder, sections are cut from its periphery. Internal baffles are arranged at a 45° angle near each sheet. These baffles direct the sound from the upper surface of the sheet out of the front of the Minder, while that from the lower surface is reflected to emerge in the rear. This prevents the out-of-phase radiation from the lower surface (emerging to the rear) from canceling that from the upper surface (emerging to the front.) Thus, the cylinder acts as a dipole radiator, much like a large electrostatic panel.

Of course, at low frequencies, the out-of-phase rear radiation would just flow around the outside of the cylinder and still cancel the useful sound. Therefore, baffle panels are attached like wings to opposite sides of the cylinder to lengthen the sound path. The total width of the system is about four feet.

The Heil low frequency driver operates up to 1 kHz where the signal is crossed over to a bi-polar Heil high frequency driver that sits above the cylinder. The high frequency driver is similar to that used in the ESS amt lb and uses the original Heil pleated-diaphragm air-motion transformer design. That unique driver has been described many times in the past and so we needn't go over it again here. Suffice it to say that it is widely acclaimed for its exceptional frequency and transient response, wide horizontal dispersion and high power handling capability.

The Heil low frequency driver provides its best performance when fed from a current-source amplifier. A current-source amplifier provides an output current proportional to input level rather than an output voltage proportional to input. Essentially it has a very low damping factor-much less than 1-as opposed to the typical high-damping-factor transistor amp.

ESS will be marketing the Heil Transar/A.T.D. with its own low frequency current-source power amp. The special amplifier actually inserts the Heil low frequency driver within the feedback loop to insure linearity between the output current and the input voltage. The amplifier also includes the requisite crossover networks at 1 kHz-active type with 18 dB/octave slopes. Your present amplifier would still be used to drive the high frequency air-motion transformer. You'd probably be best off with an amp that has separate preamp and power amp sections. The preamp would feed the crossover network in the special amp, and the highs would be routed back through your power amp. Although the special amp is quite powerful-on the order of 250 watts/channel, the system efficiency is very high-about 93 dB SPL at 1 meter from 1 watt.

With its dipole radiation pattern, you can expect to find that the sound character-especially on the low end-will be affected by the placement of the Transar in your listening room. When we heard them, they were spaced about 3 feet out from the wall. This gave an excellent illusion of depth to the imagery.

They're not cheap. The expected price range is about $1,000 per speaker plus $800 for the amp-approximately $2,800 for the package. But, that's not firm at the time we're writing this. Only two sets of prototype existed, and they took a month each to build. Obviously, firm pricing has to await production experience.
Again, Dr. Heil has come up with a radically new concept in loudspeaker design and the long-awaited all-Heil system is now a reality. It was worth waiting for. The sound is prodigious.

Frequenzgang: Subwoofer 26 - 95 Hz
Transar-Bass 95 - 800 Hz
Heil-Air-Motion-Transformer 800 Hz – 23 KHz
Daten Subwoofer
Frequenzgang: +0 -3 dB, 26 Hz - 95 Hz
akustische Ausgangsleisung: bei 26 Hz 330 mW, 50 Hz 4,5 W
Tieftöner-Ausführung:
305 mm
Magnetgewicht 2,4 kg
Schwingspule 5,08 cm
Schwingspulenwicklung 3-fach
Resonanzfrequenz 14 Hz
Gesamtvolumen 300 Liter
Daten Transar Schallwand
Frequenzgang: 95 -23 KHz
Heil-Tieftöner: 95 Hz - 800 Hz
Heil-Air-Motion-Transformer:00 - 23 KHz .
Daten Heil-Air-Motion-Transformer
Gesamtabstrahlfläche:139 cm2
Rechteckanstiegszeit: 15 Mikrosekunden
Übertragungsverhältnis: 5,3 : 1
Magnetgewicht: 5,9 kg
magnetischer Fluss: 4.000 Gauss
Daten Heil-Tieftöner
Effektive Abstrahlfläche:413 cm2
Diaphragma-Material: Lexan
Magnetgewicht: 5,8 kg
magnetischer Fluss: 12.500 Gauss
Schwingspulenwicklung: 2-fach
Rechteckanstiegzeit: 40 Mikrosekunden
Elektronische Frequenzweiche
Regeleinheit für Subwoofer, getrennte Regler für Transar Schallwand Ausführung
Schallwand und Subwoofer: Nußbaum furniert
Stoffbespannung: braun/schwarz
Maße:Schallwand: Breite 70,1 cm Tiefe 38,1 cm Höhe 114,3 cm
Subwoofer: Breite 60,0 cm Tiefe 60,0 cm Höhe 40,0 cm
Gewicht: 100 kg
Versandgewicht: 136 kg

 

[13stoploss]

Next: need to reach out to Albert Von Schweikert!

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.audio.opinion/BjXoBY-_PPE[26-50]

Albert started tinkering with speakers as a teenager, and made PA cabs for a rock band while he was their guitarist (well, Marshall stacks *are* expensive). Albert then went to Georgia State University, failed to graduate and landed a lab assistant job at Cal Tech, eventually working under Dr Richard Heyser, a well-respected audio designer. Dr Heysers design group, including Albert, worked on a plasma driver, and on the well-known principles of minimum-baffle speakers using 4th order crossovers (hey, this sounds familiar!), to produce the Vortex.

Albert then left Cal Tech, for a job working for Dr Oscar Heil, inventor of the Air Motion Transformer. Albert designed the first order crossover (hardly a challenge, but interesting!) for this speaker, and assisted Dr Heil in building a very strange device called the Transar.

Searched him and found Von Schweikert Audio: https://www.vonschweikert.com/designer-bio-c1hom

After he left Cal-Tech University, Albert went to work for Dr. Oskar Heil, of ESS Air Motion Transformer fame. Later, at KSC Industries, one of the world’s largest transducer manufacturers, Albert worked with numerous audio companies and was responsible for over 100 speaker designs. At KSC, Albert designed transducers and/or crossover systems for Polk, Klipsch, JBL, ESS Heil, Infinity, Apogee, Cerwin Vega, Jensen, NHT and many others. At Counterpoint Electronics, Albert won his first Product Of The Year Award; his Lucas Film THX design called ClearField Home Cinema was featured on the cover of Video Magazine’s July 1995 issue.

 

[essNeff]

Thanks for the info!
Very interesting history.
I have hoped you would have had a better opportunity to "reinvigorate" your Transar's than these communications seem to indicate.
.

 

[Porkloin]

Thanks for the info!
Very interesting history.
I have hoped you would have had a better opportunity to "reinvigorate" your Transar's than these communications seem to indicate.
.

Short of laying hands on an OEM crossover/amp, I think the only way Jason is going to get those Transars up and running is with one of those fancy speaker management systems, like a DBX Driverack, or, I dunno, a Behringer DCX2496? Do you know anything about those? The wide range of adjustments on those things would be the only way one could one-up the original equipment, but it would involve a lot of tweaking and listening time, unless one were to use the auto room correction functionality that I believe that they both have.

 

[13stoploss]

Well, I'm finally making some progress on the little things, and maybe some progress on the one big thing. Yes, it's been two years this month since I purchased these sight unseen'ish.

Earlier this week, with help from my crafty father-in-law, we affixed and epoxied new inset screws into the Transar front baffle. Some of them were stripped when the previous owner mounted the Transar driver into the baffle with aluminum screws.

With the inset screws in, we next had to fabricate two of the silver mounting strips that help attach the Transar driver to the baffle. We went to the local Ace, got some 36"x3/4"x1/8" aluminum, and cut the pieces to fit, then measured and drilled the mounting holes.

Next, we had to figure out how the four brackets were used to seat the Transar driver's voice coil magnet assembly, when secured to the baffle. Of four, there are two pairs that are different: two for the fronts and two for the rears.

Lastly, we had to fabricate brackets to hold the dangling AMT. These aluminum brackets are silvery, for now, but I'll paint them black later. And get black screws, too. (the picture doesn't show the fabricated brackets, just the aluminum L-bracket we used)

Next is the big thing. I don't want to jinx myself, and it's a really great story that I hope to eventually share, but I've found someone friendly who has one (and no set of speakers to attach them to). Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, some pics!

 

[JoeESP9]

 

[Porkloin]

Well, I'm finally making some progress on the little things, and maybe some progress on the one big thing. Yes, it's been two years this month since I purchased these sight unseen'ish.

Earlier this week, with help from my crafty father-in-law, we affixed and epoxied new inset screws into the Transar front baffle. Some of them were stripped when the previous owner mounted the Transar driver into the baffle with aluminum screws.

With the inset screws in, we next had to fabricate two of the silver mounting strips that help attach the Transar driver to the baffle. We went to the local Ace, got some 36"x3/4"x1/8" aluminum, and cut the pieces to fit, then measured and drilled the mounting holes.

Next, we had to figure out how the four brackets were used to seat the Transar driver's voice coil magnet assembly, when secured to the baffle. Of four, there are two pairs that are different: two for the fronts and two for the rears.

Lastly, we had to fabricate brackets to hold the dangling AMT. These aluminum brackets are silvery, for now, but I'll paint them black later. And get black screws, too. (the picture doesn't show the fabricated brackets, just the aluminum L-bracket we used)

Next is the big thing. I don't want to jinx myself, and it's a really great story that I hope to eventually share, but I've found someone friendly who has one (and no set of speakers to attach them to). Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, some pics!

By "the big thing" and "someone who has one," I assume that you're referring to the amp/crossover