[Nepenthe]

http://www.essspeakersusa.com/Press1.jpg

I'm planning to buy a pair of these. They'll be driven by a Carver TFM-35 amp and a Harman/Kardon HK 3480 receiver as a preamp and supplemented by subwoofer (right now a Velodyne CT-120, soon to be either a single or dual REL subs).

I owned a 1970s original pair many years ago and was always in love with the sound they produced. I'd like to read a review or two of these new ones before committing but I don't know if that's possible so I may just take the plunge.

 

[tim3320070]

I have owned a few lesser ESS versions. Their weakness was always their bass (flabby, inaccurate) but maybe these new versions are improved.

 

[Nepenthe]

I think they will be improved. I spoke with the head designer of the company and he assured me there will be improvements.

The ESS AMTs with the transmission line bass system were actually very good.

I think matching them with a quick, musical dual sub system and a high current Carver amp along with modern improvements will yield a satisfying integration.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I picked up a pair of ca. 1972 ESS AMT-1 speakers last year. Mom'n'Dad carted them off (I will get them back eventually), but they were about the best $300 I ever spent on audio. They needed a few mods and upgrades, but the AMT is top shelf.

I hope they can pull these off at a reasonable price. If the woofer is well integrated, these would be giant slayers.

 

[tim3320070]

Even the lesser "P" series sound darn good for how old they are. I considered finding 6 or 8 of the smaller Performance series to do a home theater setup.

 

[Nepenthe]

Lessee... thirteen and a half months later, and I'm still waiting.
 
http://www.essspeakersusa.com/Products.html
 
Here's how ready I am: I actually opened a separate brokerage account which I named "ESS Speakers" on Fidelity's website just for these speakers. It's up 14% since I opened it.
 
I haven't spoken to the owner of the company since November of 2009. At that time he assured me they would be ready by the end of January. Of 2010. But I know it's tough out there...
 
At this point I have to make one of three choices. I mean, my old-skool Infiniti Kappas and Velodyne CT-120 with appropriate isolation are certainly okay (read: better than anyone's house I've personally visited), but I want to move them into the game room. So, besides the ever-popular "do nothing and keep waiting" (we'll call that option #1) I can:
 
2. move on and find some other speaker system in the $3K to $6K range -- I'm thinking only ribbons, planars, or electrostats will please me, and will a single Carver TFM-35 drive any of those properly?
3. purchase my own Heil drivers and build my own crossover and enclosure system
4. start hitting eBay hard for vintage ESS systems
 
A fifth option is to invest in the company, but that's a distant fifth...

 

[tim3320070]

5th option sounds unwise in the extreme unless you have Trump cash to play with. If you really need that type of tweeter, try some VMPS maybe.
 
For that money, I would get the Mirage OMD-28 from eBay for about $2000-$3200.
 
If the new versions don't improve the bass region, ESS speakers are not worth more than $1000- any version IMO. The tweeters are awesome but the rest was pretty muddy. My statement from before referred to used ESS under $300.

 

[Uncle Erik]

As for option 2, take a look at Linkwitz' Orion3 speakers. Within your budget and has a heckuva reputation. My pair isn't done yet - I still need to build the cabinets. But if they stand up to their reputation, they'll be my last audio investment. If not, I'll sell them and stick with fhe ESL-63s.

Though you might want to cast an eye towards the Kithara. Runs $6,000, and uses an AMT.

 

[scalar vortices]

Had a pair of Eclipse B-102's which demonstrated tight bass hit and clean upper spectrum.  The original radiator seemed rather crude but it may explain why people replace them with mass tunable basket designs.