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What's the Deal with ESS Labs?

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NickCas

New Member
I'm just an audio aficionado/nerd who has heard a lot of fantastic stuff about ESS speakers from back in the day. I was not alive when they were huge so I checked out their social media and it looks like they have a very active fan base. Just wondering why it's not a bigger company. I'm interested in purchasing 5 or so pairs of their LTD speakers (long story) and before I go through with it I would like to hear anyones experiences with them. TY!
 
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I use their speakers in my surround system.

I guess the words I would use to describe them are extreme coherence; I would even go as far as saying they have sound as clear as light. They excel at speed, dynamics, accurate timber, and they have a huge soundstage. They even sound great at low volumes. They are never fatiguing. I've had a lot of speakers roll through this house and these are the ones I have kept. I believe I've had some pretty nice speakers. I've had Acoustic Research, Altec, Thiel, Infinity, Carver Amazing Loudspeakers, Klipsch, Linn, Allison Acoustics, Epicure, Pinnacle, DCM, JBL and many others I can't think of right now, but I still have the ESS and plan on hanging on to them for good. They're not perfect, I've never heard a speaker that was.

I think you'll be very happy if you get them.

I use a pair of ESS AMT 1B as my front left and right, I have a pair of AMT 4 that I use as a center channel / stand to hold up my Panasonic plasma TV, and another pair of AMT 4 as surrounds.
I also use three subwoofers in my system, not ESS.
 
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I agree with the above statement. I own a pair of AMT 1 bookshelf speakers that never cease to amaze me. The "Great Heil" air motion transformer is an amazing piece of engineering.
 
SleeperSupra said:
I use their speakers in my surround system.

I guess the words I would use to describe them are extreme coherence; I would even go as far as saying they have sound as clear as light. They excel at speed, dynamics, accurate timber, and they have a huge soundstage. They even sound great at low volumes. They are never fatiguing. I've had a lot of speakers roll through this house and these are the ones I have kept. I believe I've had some pretty nice speakers. I've had Acoustic Research, Altec, Thiel, Infinity, Carver Amazing Loudspeakers, Klipsch, Linn, Allison Acoustics, Epicure, Pinnacle, DCM, JBL and many others I can't think of right now, but I still have the ESS and plan on hanging on to them for good. They're not perfect, I've never heard a speaker that was.

I think you'll be very happy if you get them.

I use a pair of ESS AMT 1B as my front left and right, I have a pair of AMT 4 that I use as a center channel / stand to hold up my Panasonic plasma TV, and another pair of AMT 4 as surrounds.
I also use three subwoofers in my system, not ESS.
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Thank you so much for the comprehensive response. This may have just sealed the deal for me. Going to call up ESS later today!
 
I think you'll be very happy with your decision.

Couple things real quick.

They are a very sensitive speaker that does not take much power to get loud.

I don't think they sound that good on tubes. They seem to love high current solid state.

That's just my personal experience.

I've never owned any tube gear but I did hook them up to a tube amp briefly and I just was not that impressed.
 
I mean they didn't really sound bad on the tube amp they just didn't sound as articulate, real, or live; just like you showed in the videos you posted.
 
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Well, first to NickCas, welcome to AK. I sold ESS products in the 70s when I worked at a small ESS audio dealer. I liked these products better than any other speakers we had in the store and bought a pair of AMT 3s and AMT 1s and never looked back. I have added to the ESS collection since then and use no other speaker.
The Heil pleated diaphragm concept has stood the test of time and is going into its 6th decade of operation. It is used by other speaker makers and can be purchased as an individual driver.

ESS is going through a reorg right now and Ricky, mentioned in another post, is gone from the company. The only speaker they are selling now is the AMT Limited which is the same basic design as the older AMT 1 A, B, C, D series. They claim they are bringing out some new products soon. Until then, you have one choice if you want new.
 
jcidave said:
Well, first to NickCas, welcome to AK. I sold ESS products in the 70s when I worked at a small ESS audio dealer. I liked these products better than any other speakers we had in the store and bought a pair of AMT 3s and AMT 1s and never looked back. I have added to the ESS collection since then and use no other speaker.
The Heil pleated diaphragm concept has stood the test of time and is going into its 6th decade of operation. It is used by other speaker makers and can be purchased as an individual driver.

ESS is going through a reorg right now and Ricky, mentioned in another post, is gone from the company. The only speaker they are selling now is the AMT Limited which is the same basic design as the older AMT 1 A, B, C, D series. They claim they are bringing out some new products soon. Until then, you have one choice if you want new.
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Thank you very much for the warm welcome. That's really cool that you sold ESS back in the day. I've been researching their Heil AMT technology and find is fascinating. Do you by chance have any experience with ADAM Audio? They seem like they're offering the same technology, if not something better.

I called up ESS the other day and spoke with a woman who was able to answer most of my questions. I didn't want to ask about ADAM as they're obviously not going to say if they're actually "better". I will say that their customer service has definitely kept them as a top contender for me. Now I have to decide if I should buy new, go for the classics, or a combination.
 
I was not familiar with ADAM Audio and had to take a few minutes to look them up. It all sounds impressive. Looks like they have a few distributors here in the States. If you are looking for other brands with Heil's, Martin Logan, Elac, Wharfedale and Legacy all come to mind and I;m confident there are others I don't know.

I have not heard any of these other Heils so I don't know how they will sound. They all seem to use a yellow substrate like the Dupont Kapton product. ESS does not, although they did briefly around 2000 then suddenly stopped. I have a few pair of these diaphragms in use and they sound like the others. I also have the earliest series ESS diaphragms from the early 70's in use and these still sound fine.

If you have to replace an ESS diaphragm, you can do it yourself with basically no tools and no training. You won't be doing that with the ADAM product.
 
The ADAM Audio speakers look nice, but I noticed that they are not dipole and the air motion transformers seem very small. I guess these would be good for near field listening, but they don't look like they'd be able to fill a room the way my AMT 1Bs do.
 
SleeperSupra said:
The ADAM Audio speakers look nice, but I noticed that they are not dipole and the air motion transformers seem very small. I guess these would be good for near field listening, but they don't look like they'd be able to fill a room the way my AMT 1Bs do.
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Good points.

They also seem to make a bunch of subwoofers. Guess they need them.
 
SleeperSupra said:
They could be a really big company, but I don't think Ricky really knows how to run a business.
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I just found out he is no longer working there but the owner is the same as since the late 70s or so...wonder if a change in admin will make a difference!
 
NickCas said:
I just found out he is no longer working there but the owner is the same as since the late 70s or so...wonder if a change in admin will make a difference!
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I don't know exactly when Leo David acquired ESS, but I doubt it was as early as the late 70's. In any event he's a pretty old guy and already has his own chain of audio stores, Leo's Stereo close decades ago like so many other chains. Ricky's been gone now about 6 months and I don't see any improvements to the site or the brand as were promised at that time.
 
jcidave said:
I don't know exactly when Leo David acquired ESS, but I doubt it was as early as the late 70's. In any event he's a pretty old guy and already has his own chain of audio stores, Leo's Stereo close decades ago like so many other chains. Ricky's been gone now about 6 months and I don't see any improvements to the site or the brand as were promised at that time.
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I'd be surprised if much could change in 6 months with supply chain shortages, tbh. Have a buddy who's been waiting since 2020 for woofers - I'd hazard a guess that's why. They told me they are working on new crossovers for the Limited Edition speakers, as well as a new line of headphones, among some other things. Seem like really nice people though, I'm looking forward to seeing what they come out with.
 
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