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ESS AMT 1a equiv.: Concept 2CE

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Njord Noatun

Super Member
Banned
ESS AMT 1a equiv.: Concept CE2

Hi,

I have my eyes set on a pair of Concept CE2 loudspeakers for sale her locally. The Concept CE2 speaker was produced for Pacific Stereo by ESS, and I believe this model is essentially similar to the ESS AMT 1a with a purportedly improved woofer/x-over. I have found a couple of older threads about the Concept speaker without a whole lot of information here on AK - does anyone have any experience with this speaker?

The Concept CE2 has a rear facing passive radiator (as I believe ESS AMT 1a does) that needs replacing - seller says these are available on the Internet - does anyone know any details about what sort of replacement part I should be looking for?

Rgds,
 
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If it's a flat diaphragm - basically a styrofoam disc, lined on the front with grey foam, you can buy them at SimplySpeakers for about $40 a pair or I've seen them on eBay for significantly less. - Mark
 
I just received this information from Richard Schram about the CE 2 speaker, and wanted to share it with you: Richard was chief designer at Pacific Stereo responsible for all PS brands, including their premium Concept line "back in the day". He is the founder and current CEO of Parasound.

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The CE 2 was a terrific speaker. You might find you need to have the surrounds refoamed, though. They were prone to getting brittle. I think the CE 2 was most like the AMT-10B. There were no direct equivalents to the CE 1 and CE M. Everyone loved the flashing lights; I think my design was the first to indicate power driven only from the voltage in the speaker wires.

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Rgds,
 
I have a pair of those. They are great speakers. Buy them if the price is reasonable. The passives are easily replaced. They aren't a flat disc, but look like a woofer. Although, I guess any type would work.
 
EVBoy said:
I have a pair of those. They are great speakers.
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EVBoy, Richard says that the CE2's correspond to the ESS AMT 10B - I'm wondering if that should be ESS AMT 1a or 1b - any thoughts?

Thanks,
 
I've seen AMT 1a's and the drivers look similar to the CE2's. I've never seen 10B's so I don't know. CE2's are relatively rare and hardly ever show up on eBay. What does the guy want for them? As was said, you will need to put some money into them to fix them up.
 
The woofers have been refoamed and they have new grilles. All they need, purportedly, are the rear 12" passive radiators (eBay $25/pr). I am going to audition them at the seller's house this Wednesday - he has them hooked up to some real high-end Marantz separates of sorts. Will bring some Steely Dan. Below are some pirctures of one 10b, as well as some 1b/1a's (in that order) - I really think they are the the CE 2's correspond to the series 1, likely b. EVBoy, can you confirm that your CE2's do not look like the Series 10s (the traditional box-shaped series below).

Rgds,
PS! I was told that the "b" in the model series stands for "Bookshelf" - that's a good one!
 

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They look like regular speakers. They are distinctive in that they have a chrome strip close to the bottom with with two little lights and two controls.
 
EVBoy said:
They look like regular speakers.
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So with regular speakers, you mean the "traditional speaker box", with all right (90 deg.) angles at all corners, right?

I really wish I had the dimensions of the CE2s - I think I need to "presell" to my family members an eventual purchase, hopefully this weekend. EVBoy, any chance you could PM or post me the external dimensions?

Rgds,
 
Another member near me swears by the ESS AMT 10. Please post pic when you get yours and tell us what you think of the sound.
 
They are regular box type speakers except they have a slight slant to them. They are 25" high, 14" wide, 14" deep at the bottom and 12.5" deep at the top. They probably weigh about 45 pounds.
 
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