• 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 Performance Series Model 4 - Video

Porkloin said:
This has got to be the first time I've ever heard anyone complain about a lack of lows and highs on an ESS two-way.
Did you replace any of the resistors? If yours is the one below, I'd be concerned about the status of R1 and R2.

View attachment 842926
Click to expand...

Considering you are going from a 10" driver to a AMT tweeter, and the tweeter is crossed over a bit low, the 10" a bit high, I have never heard anyone say they were heavy on the midrange. I like these speakers. I also think the AMT is great on them too. If you've recapped the mids, there is probably not much left to be done. Many may say placement, you can try. Maybe sell them and go back to the bookshelf speakers.
 
Nope, no resistors were replaced (just did the caps). Those are easy enough, so I'll check the 2 and see what (if anything) changes.

And yeah, it's the first time I ever heard of a Heil with an over-emphasized midrange. The upper & lower ends are there, but are not balanced properly.
 
Or go all Rube Goldberg on the thing and move the radiator to the back, move the woofer to the lower hole, fill in the upper hole with a disk of particle board cut with a jasper jig and put a midrange driver in. Pattern the crossover after the AMT3 being as it appears to have similar components already. The normal midrange of choice is the Eminence Alpha 6, but I'd be tempted to use one of them modern full range thingies, like a Tangband or Fostex..
 
FYI, since I kind of dropped this thread around the holidays: looking over the crossovers (which looked nothing like what's posted above -- they were 2 caps and a 10W resistor to align the impedance of the tweeter) I decided to just replace them. Picked up a set of 2500HZ units from ERSE Audio, and finally installed them today. Total transformation -- the muddy-sounding over-emphasized midrange is gone and they're absolutely smooth across the full range now. Highs are now what you expect from ESS units. I'd actually replaced the caps right after buying them, but who knows -- maybe the resistors were burned out (I'm not the original owner and don't know how they were driven) or the Xovers were just kind of cheap, but now they sound incredible.

Also just installed new grille cloth, so they now look and sound the way they should. I'm a happy Heil owner; thanks for the chat, folks.
 
EntilZha said:
FYI, since I kind of dropped this thread around the holidays: looking over the crossovers (which looked nothing like what's posted above -- they were 2 caps and a 10W resistor to align the impedance of the tweeter) I decided to just replace them. Picked up a set of 2500HZ units from ERSE Audio, and finally installed them today. Total transformation -- the muddy-sounding over-emphasized midrange is gone and they're absolutely smooth across the full range now. Highs are now what you expect from ESS units. I'd actually replaced the caps right after buying them, but who knows -- maybe the resistors were burned out (I'm not the original owner and don't know how they were driven) or the Xovers were just kind of cheap, but now they sound incredible.

Also just installed new grille cloth, so they now look and sound the way they should. I'm a happy Heil owner; thanks for the chat, folks.
Click to expand...
No coils or array of resistors attached to a rotary switch? I wonder if you were the victim of a misguided mod from the previous owner?
Enjoy those AMT's. They're Oskar-licious.
 
Nope, no amp or pre. Right now I'm driving this set off a late 80s Denon receiver. I'm not sure if I've seen one of the Heil amps or preamps since the late '70s when our local audio shop sold Heil.

Porkloin: nope, nothing adjustable at all -- literally the Xover was just 2 caps and the resistor, but it didn't look aftermarket and I can't see any evidence anything else was ever there. It was mounted on the original board along with the input jacks, hot glued down to the fiberboard.

I also have a set of the bookshelf units, which I scored for the princely sum of $125 after someone else rebuilt the Xovers.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom