Ess hd12

[thewizardofa]

Hi folks. I'm an ESS speaker fan. I just purchased a set of ESS HD 12 Professional Series HEIL (this is on the panel where the speakers are hooked up). I bought them because I have never heard of them nor seen photos. The speakers have a horn which disperses the sound the HEIL AMT puts out. This is the top part of the speaker. The main woofer is a 12 inch. In addition to the horn, the hook up panel has the ability to take input from 7 sources and output to 7 sources, other than the primary "full range" speaker input. They are going to need some serious restoration as someone put a bucket of white paint on the walnut veneer and even the grill. I uploaded them to my facebook account for your convenience. If anyone has any information on these, I'd appreciate it if you send it to me. I've contacted Rick Caudillo,the guy who runs ESS now, to see if he will send me what information he has.http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2063164&id=1364603709&l=1948555ac3

 

[Cactus Bob]

I love ESS Speakers. Never saw those before. Are they functional now? If so how do they sound? I still have my AMT 1's that I bought in 76'. I'm also rebuilding a pair of AMT 3 Rock Monitors. There are a lot of ESS fans on this site. Welcome to AK! Bob

 

[sealy]

I gather they were intended for stage monitors or something similar. They are probably able to take gobs of power. They may be rolled off a bit on the bottom end.

 

[wualta]

Aha, so you were the one that got 'em. Yeah, they're rare. Over the last year I've been finding out crazy things about ESS's pro audio speakers using the Heil, including the buzongous Blue Ox:

Though there's a family resemblance, the HD12 is mild by comparison. I really like the attempt to horn load the Heil, which can't help but prop up its lower limit. The HD12's woofer looks just like the second-gen ESS 12-inchers: CTS straight-sided pulp-cone woofer with (probably) a stamped basket, and possibly an Alnico slug. The connections on the back allow you to connect a single amp in the conventional way, or two amps via an electronic crossover. The Evaluator model is a descendant, as is the more common 10b.

I think you're going to like this little fellow. What'll be really interesting is seeing whether or not ESS led the Heil's backwave out the rear of the cabinet, and how.

 

[automojo]

Welcome!! Glad to see another ESS/Heil fan!! I was looking at those on Ebay-they seemed like a good BIN. Very interesting, looking speaker-never had seen one quite like it till I came across that on Ebay-I was tempted-but I'm glad you got them- I bet they will rock!!
I didn't noticed the white paint. They are surely worth a complete restoration-keep us informed on any other information you find about them- and of course how they sound!! I myself,and I know a few others here are very interested in your find for sure.!!