Fred DuBuron
Active Member
New Schematic
This is the ESS recommended setup IF you are running the Goldwood 10" Woofers
This is the ESS recommended setup IF you are running the Goldwood 10" Woofers
ESS AMT-1 Tower Restoration
Fred DuBuron
Active Member
If anyone has a AMT-1 Tower apart...
Can you verify some of these measurements?
Can you verify some of these measurements?
GabeD
Active Member
Yes, indeed. I'm happy to help spread the love for Boz!
This is great! Thanks for putting it together! The schematics are much easier to read than the microfiche xeroxed 100 times poorly scanned version. It's good to have this stuff documented for all to see.
There are at least two variations of the cabinets as the pair that I have do not match. The input jack/attenuation knob location is different, the size of the holes around the AMT are different on the front and sides, and the top most part of the t-line at the front just below the woofer is located higher. I'll have to see if I can get some time to take them apart again and make some measurements. The pictures in the first post of this thread show the exterior differences.
Fred DuBuron
Active Member
Working on the first ESS Tower crossover for the last couple of days in my spare time...
Will post a picture of the first one tomorrow. I also have to repair the 10" driver mounting hole on the Tower baffle board. ESS was wicked the way they cemented those speakers in. The MDF is slightly damaged where a few of the screw holes are located.
I have been "Skagging" down in the workshop all afternoon while working on the crossover... This Pay Day CD is growing on me BIG TIME.
(This picture of the workshop testing system was taken when I had my Advents "Stacked" with an EPI 180 as a center speaker.
The current Shop speaker setup is two EPI M150W mains, a single EPI M100W center, and two of the legendary AR-18S breaking in as my surrounds. Also, have an Energy XL- ES10 subwoofer filling in. AMP is a Denon AVR-1909 (one of two I currently have) and the DVD/SACD players are both Denon DVD-1920s (One black and one silver).
The bottom of the equipment stack is my old TV room amp... a Sony STR-DE845 that has been replaced by an Onkyo TX-NR717... Ya, I have an eclectic taste for equipment).
Will post a picture of the first one tomorrow. I also have to repair the 10" driver mounting hole on the Tower baffle board. ESS was wicked the way they cemented those speakers in. The MDF is slightly damaged where a few of the screw holes are located.
I have been "Skagging" down in the workshop all afternoon while working on the crossover... This Pay Day CD is growing on me BIG TIME.
(This picture of the workshop testing system was taken when I had my Advents "Stacked" with an EPI 180 as a center speaker.
The current Shop speaker setup is two EPI M150W mains, a single EPI M100W center, and two of the legendary AR-18S breaking in as my surrounds. Also, have an Energy XL- ES10 subwoofer filling in. AMP is a Denon AVR-1909 (one of two I currently have) and the DVD/SACD players are both Denon DVD-1920s (One black and one silver).
The bottom of the equipment stack is my old TV room amp... a Sony STR-DE845 that has been replaced by an Onkyo TX-NR717... Ya, I have an eclectic taste for equipment).
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Fred DuBuron
Active Member
Well here they are... one is done and tested on the workbench... The other board is ready to be mated to the other crossover.
The daughterboard for the new caps is stuck on with 3M double-sided tape and will get two additional screws with standoffs.
They are not pretty.
I am really worried about having all this "acoustical junk" sitting in the back of the Woofer Chamber. I am thinking about installing an angled reflector to cleanly redirect sound waves into the start of the linear transmission chamber...
Thoughts on this are welcome??
View attachment 2074623 View attachment 2074624
Layout planning and board positioning
Looking at the mounting side... the two mounting standoffs are glued on (Black plastic rings)
The business side... Lots of hot-glue to hold caps and insulate solder joints... 2nd board is ready to install on the second crossover.
The daughterboard for the new caps is stuck on with 3M double-sided tape and will get two additional screws with standoffs.
They are not pretty.
I am really worried about having all this "acoustical junk" sitting in the back of the Woofer Chamber. I am thinking about installing an angled reflector to cleanly redirect sound waves into the start of the linear transmission chamber...
Thoughts on this are welcome??
View attachment 2074623 View attachment 2074624
Layout planning and board positioning
Looking at the mounting side... the two mounting standoffs are glued on (Black plastic rings)
The business side... Lots of hot-glue to hold caps and insulate solder joints... 2nd board is ready to install on the second crossover.
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Fred DuBuron
Active Member
WOW!!
I retouched your pictures to bring out the detail and I must say I am astounded!!
One cabinet actually looks a tad wider than the other (optical illusion?).
I now need to compare my two cabinets with the measuring tape as I only used one to do the diagram.
I am thinking the ESS Cabinet suppliers were into a bit of LOCOWEED
GabeD...
Is Cabinet A the same width as Cabinet B?? Cabinet A looks wider to me in the pictures...
Or is it an optical illusion?
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Sure.
Well you figure there is a 10% +/- tolerance in ESS crossovers (as was most speakers in this era) -so these numbers aren't out of line.
Both virtually the same given the 10%-I doubt you could hear the difference-if the caps were the same brand/type.
The woofer voice coil/inductor interaction would be more of a concern IMHO, and how that works with the driving amplifier.
As mentioned-IMHO I would spend the extra$ if possible on the Heil caps.
Mundorfs Evo Oils/Jantzen Superior Z in my experience are well worth the money-there is a significant difference in how the Heil presents itself.
There are layers, and tonalities that are frankly absent with your average Daytons, Solens, etc (too bright to hear any difference anyway).
I have tried more then a few caps with the Great Heils.
Money well spent-my 2 cents worth.
If I was concerned about the crossover physicality in the transmission line-simple fix is a outboard crossover.
ESS made one-ESS just sold out of old stock. They were intended for the Monitors.
The Goldwood is a nice woofer-clean response, like many poly cones/rubber surrounds.
I didn't like them as they lack the transient response and detail of a paper cone and poly ether surrounds.
I found it to be a big difference.
But of course, in some respects matters of taste.
Some prefer the clean, damped response of a poly cone with rubber suspension.
The light paper cones, combined with a fairly unrestrictive poly ether surround-matches the Heils dynamic, and unrestrained, transparent response. Combine this with the superior transient response of a sealed enclosure-and you have the making of a well balanced, highly dynamic, and musical speaker in the making.
Devore, for example spent a lot of time designing a cone suspension with the same properties as poly ether.
Apparently speaker manufactures are afraid of looking "cheap". Fact is cone suspensions wear out-get stiff, etc, rubber, cloth, sanoprean-you name it. The new poly ether is improved over the 70's-90's. Sun is a killer-but eventually is also with rubber and cloth.
The cool thing with poly ether is it easy to obtain, and easy to replace.
Big deal??
You get a brand new suspension when it's worn out-because it's obvious.
I'll take the better transient response, over perceived longevity/quality.
But interestingly enough-ESS went back to paper cones (rubber surrounds).
I'm sure they sound just fine-just a observation-I have gone through a number of different 10" woofers with my AMT3's
Nice job on the cabs!
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Fred DuBuron
Active Member
Those are GabeD's cabinets we were talking about
Hi I have same ess amt 1 towers and thinking about refrubing, is it would it how does your sounds how is the bass? are these goldwood woofer available? I see ess has repalcement woofers, any comments would be apprecited
Fred DuBuron
Active Member
They are the best replacement that I am aware of... The ESS Replacement speakers I last looked at 4 to 5 years ago required some doctoring of the opening in the baffle board for the woofer mounting ears. I had heard they were not very effective in the towers. I would say try them and report back on your impressions.