• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

ESS AMT1D restoration-pictures

gonzomeep

gonzomeep

Super Member
Hello Members, I've just finished a complete restoration of a pair of ESS AMT 1D's and I thought you would enjoy seeing the results. I am a journeyman fine finisher of some 22+ years. I love this stuff. I bought these 1D's in pretty good condition. They had some dings and scatches, the grilles needed new cloth, the woofers needed new foam, the passive radiators were toast, the input terminals were broken, but other than that , they were nice...:D . I have always loved Rosewood. Such a beautiful tone/color. I tried a new process on these 1D's, I mixed a small amount of WATCO dark Walnut with Miniwax Rosewood Gel Stain to get that nice tone to the veneer. The Gel Stain is a big PITA to work with. It dries to a gunky-gooey film that must be rubbed off with a lot of elbow grease. The veneer on the grille frames is extremely thin (compared to say a JBL) so great patience and care must be taken when sanding it.
I sprayed several coats of DEFT Satin clear lacquer over the top to finish them off, then burnished it to a MATTE Luster. The grille cloth was another PITA, the eight panels are light-weight and have curved radius corners, so stretching the cloth over them without tweeking them out of wack was a slow, painful process too.
I hooked them up to my main 2ch rig. The 1D's are powered by a Yamaha MX1000u SS amp, and I used my twin Sumo Samson subwoofers, with the Delilah electronic crossover, and a Yamaha M80 SS amp for their power. Preamp is a Yamaha C70, and the source is a vintage 20 bit Denon DCD-1560. SUPERB!!!!!!:yes: :thmbsp: :banana: . These speakers are heavenly! I cannot say enough good things about them. I noticed that the original passives had a small weight attached to it's flat piston and the woofers are the new type Bexetrene. I've read over the years about the woofer not being able to keep up with the HEIL, but I honestly don't feel that way about this pair. This speaker does it all. Jazz, Rock, R&B, Metal-etc-etc. Everything sounds good through them. I'd love to Bi-amp them and use my VTL EL34 amp on the HEILS. I'm afraid if I do, I'll want to keep these and sell the JBL's!
So here they are, I hope you enjoy the pictures. Good sound to you all, regards, Steve G.
 

Attachments

  • 1d ebay 4-30-07 005.jpg
    1d ebay 4-30-07 005.jpg
    16.9 KB · Views: 389
  • 1d ebay 4-30-07 006.jpg
    1d ebay 4-30-07 006.jpg
    19.8 KB · Views: 319
  • 1d ebay 4-30-07 016.jpg
    1d ebay 4-30-07 016.jpg
    51.6 KB · Views: 430
  • 1d ebay 4-30-07 019.jpg
    1d ebay 4-30-07 019.jpg
    34.5 KB · Views: 388
  • 1d ebay 4-30-07 021[1].jpg
    1d ebay 4-30-07 021[1].jpg
    47.2 KB · Views: 333
  • 1d ebay 5-1-07 003.jpg
    1d ebay 5-1-07 003.jpg
    52.8 KB · Views: 424
  • 1d ebay 5-1-07 002.jpg
    1d ebay 5-1-07 002.jpg
    55.5 KB · Views: 409
  • 1d ebay 4-30-07 028.jpg
    1d ebay 4-30-07 028.jpg
    38.8 KB · Views: 347
  • 1d ebay 4-30-07 029.jpg
    1d ebay 4-30-07 029.jpg
    49.4 KB · Views: 230
  • 1d ebay 4-30-07 023.jpg
    1d ebay 4-30-07 023.jpg
    38.6 KB · Views: 324
Register to hide this ad
Beautiful job, sir.

Yup, perhaps not the TOTL woofers, but those Heils grow on you and after a while, everything else sounds a bit lacking. I enjoy the way my original AMT-1As sound with a Sansui G-8000, but I was surprisingly pleased at their character when connected to a tube preamp/amp combo (Dynaco PAS-4 and Stereo-80.)

Many they continue to grow on you and provide many hours of listening enjoyment. :thmbsp:
 
You have great patience to deal with all the corners and angles on those cabinets. You did a fine job. I'm about to finish my first speaker refinishing job with a pair of New Large Advents and I know just how much work you did on those ESSs.
 
The ESS AMT1 uses those woofers with a poly cone, 2", 2 layer vc, and ferrite magnets. They look like they were made by Oaktron, but I don't have on in front me to check the EIA code.
The AMT6s have two woofers with paper cones, 2-1/2", 4 layer vcs, and large AlNico magnets. I don't feel like taking them apart to check the code, but I'm sure they were made by CTS.

I've had a few ESS speakers which used the woofers like you have, but I've never seen any others with the same woofers as the AMT6. Does anybody have some insight on this? :scratch2:
 
The original AMT-1 used a 10" paper cone and AMT-1a used a 12" paper cone. The AMT-1b through 1d used the 12" poly cone.
 
Huh?

sleddogman said:
Beautiful job, sir.

Yup, perhaps not the TOTL woofers, but those Heils grow on you and after a while, everything else sounds a bit lacking. I enjoy the way my original AMT-1As sound with a Sansui G-8000, but I was surprisingly pleased at their character when connected to a tube preamp/amp combo (Dynaco PAS-4 and Stereo-80.)

Many they continue to grow on you and provide many hours of listening enjoyment. :thmbsp:[/QUOTE
I've owned 7 pair of various big ESS models. I agree that the AMT3 is probably a bit more balanced, but in no way is the AMT1D suffering. KILLER speakers. Sure, I could compare them to Westlake HR1's, TAD Model 1's, JBL DD66000's and say that they're "lacking". But...., when coupled with high quality source components, I've never sat listening to any ESS speakers and thought, wow, that's lacking. They are not the end-all, but I'm somewhat irked with the perpetuation of that tired old "lacking" statement(s). The Sumo's are overkill. Do you know that Europeans are buying these same AMT1D's for an astonishing $9,264.00 at the current Euro to Dollar exchange rate! Not AMT1E's, AMT1D's. http://www.audioanalogdistribution....57&PHPSESSID=2433b8160dccf82081206dba0dcd53ae That price in Euro's is for ONE AMT1D. America blew it! Bigtime! It is statements like "lacking" that helped kill ESS Sacramento. Now the Europeans are laughing all the way to the BANK
I'm very passionate about ESS speakers. I've listened to that some ol' crap about them for years. I really meant it when I said NO FLAME. That is your opinion, and you have a right to express it. I respect that. I have mine too. I'm a JBL guy, HARDCORE. These ESS speakers are better sounding speakers than about any JBL bookshelf model and most floorstanders IMHO. Come on over and have a listen. Tell me when you hear (or don't hear) the lacking part.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Whoa!
I don't think anyone was really dogging ESS here. I too am a BIG fan of ESS, but most of them, there are exceptions of course, do need a pretty decent (and powerful) source to sound really good. Then they tend to outshine just about anything else in their price class.
I just had to get that in before this thread gets cut short.
 
tarior said:
Whoa!
I don't think anyone was really dogging ESS here. I too am a BIG fan of ESS, but most of them, there are exceptions of course, do need a pretty decent (and powerful) source to sound really good. Then they tend to outshine just about anything else in their price class.
I just had to get that in before this thread gets cut short.
Click to expand...
I believe I wrote very clearly: "No Flame" and such, enough. If someone cannot understand what I'm saying without taking offence when I've made it clear that it is not my honest intention, that is their problem. I believe any Moderator or Member can tell the difference if they read what I wrote in context, especially with that much prefacing. I was responding to the "lacking statement.
 
tarior said:
The ESS AMT1 uses those woofers with a poly cone, 2", 2 layer vc, and ferrite magnets. They look like they were made by Oaktron, but I don't have on in front me to check the EIA code.
The AMT6s have two woofers with paper cones, 2-1/2", 4 layer vcs, and large AlNico magnets. I don't feel like taking them apart to check the code, but I'm sure they were made by CTS.

I've had a few ESS speakers which used the woofers like you have, but I've never seen any others with the same woofers as the AMT6. Does anybody have some insight on this? :scratch2:
Click to expand...
The AMT6 woofers do not have AlNico magnets, nor do they have a cast aluminum basket. They don't look like much, but they sure kick some major butt! that quad HEIL array is something to behold. Lucky dog to own a pair :yes:
 
gonzomeep said:
The AMT6 woofers do not have AlNico magnets, nor do they have a cast aluminum basket. They don't look like much, but they sure kick some major butt! that quad HEIL array is something to behold. Lucky dog to own a pair :yes:
Click to expand...
The AMT6 woofers do have an Alnico magnet, and a stamped steel basket, I should know. I got mine from the original owner, and they had never been apart until I took them apart to re-foam (and later re-cone:o ) the woofers.
 
tarior said:
The AMT6 woofers do have an Alnico magnet, and a stamped steel basket, I should know. I got mine from the original owner, and they had never been apart until I took them apart to re-foam (and later re-cone:o ) the woofers.
Click to expand...
I found this pair of AMT6's for my friend in New York (see pic). They were acquired from their original owner. He included about 6 different brochures and original spec sheets and 8 new diaphragms for the HEILS. Not once is there a mention of AlNiCo being used in the magnetic structure in all that material. Nor have I ever seen, or heard of AlNiCo being used in any other ESS driver. I usually don't just write things that I'm not sure of, unless I write "I'm not sure of that". I'll just have to take your word for it about your particular pair having AlNiCo magnets. If you ever need a diaphragm, let me know and I'll put you in touch with him (I do this as a courtesy, I have no $$ interest in it at all)
 

Attachments

  • AK ess amt6.jpg
    AK ess amt6.jpg
    39.6 KB · Views: 143
nice job. I had a pair of original amt ones that had no grills, the original woofers were replaced and the cabinet wasn't so hot. If I knew you then i would have sent them to you. My wife pestered me to get rid of them, they weren't used too often and lack of space etc. The tweeters went one way, the woofers another, the crossovers to someone else and the cabinets went in the trash. The person who bought the tweeters was restoring a set, the crossovers went to someone whose controls were smashed by the movers. So they went to happy homes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom