Thass tha sperrit, lad!
EDIT: Wouldn't you like to read a report on the granddaddy of the Ergo AMT, the ESS Mark 1 (which you now own)? Of course you would. This is from the esteamed (pshhhhh) Boston Audio Society newsletter, The Speaker, and it's from October 1976. Cut and pasted from the BAS website. Either the modern cavalier abuse of apo'strophe's's and spelling is older than we thought, or a present-day intern was given the thankless task of transcribing the old newsletters.
ESS Mk. I Headphones -- a Listening Report
When Phil Coelho of ESS spoke at a BAS meeting about the ESS Heil speakers, he brought
with him a pair of Mark 1 stereo headphones, which were then a brand new product. These
were left behind for evaluation by BAS members, and this report compiles our comments on
the Mark 1's.
It may be significant that this "test panel" never gathered together in one place to listen
under uniform conditions or to compare notes. Of course, headphones defy instantaneous
A-B comparison because it's impossible for most people to wear two pair at once, but some
of the variables might have been better controlled -- the comparative units, the source ma-
terial, and the electronics. Even taking all the variables into account, the range of comments
is a bit surprising, if not staggering.
Our listeners numbered six -- Ira Leonard, Mark Foreman and Al Foster (who listened
together), Bob Graham, Bob Borden, and myself. Personal taste and physiology being what
they are, it's not too surprising that Bob Borden at the one extreme could liken the phones to
very tight vices [sic] while Mark and Al could pronounce them "very comfortable. " After all, Bob
was comparing the Heils with AKG's [sic] and Mark and Al with Koss Pro 4AA's. The more dis-
concerting extremes were to have Bob Graham assert that he's "not easily pleased" by head-
phones class the Heils as a superior headphone with smooth clean sound as "undistorted as
I've ever heard from headphones," while Ira Leonard pronounced the sound "canned, raspy,
and super-cavelike."
For the record, the Heils list at $97 and weigh in at 22 ounces with fourteen feet of
coiled cable and at eighteen ounces without. Although the ear-cushions surround the ear and
provide a good seal, the drivers are vented at the rear, so the isolation from ambient noise
is not high. More significantly, the headphones are unusually inefficient. Some of the panel
-- including myself -- were able to drive them from the headphone jacks on our electronics,
but others could not. ESS provides an adapter for hooking the headsets to the speaker taps
of an amplifier, but Al Foster and Mark Foreman found this alternative unsatisfactory be-
cause it produced hum and hiss at their speakers. Bob Borden -- who could use them with
his headphone jack -- nevertheless found the speaker tap adapter gave better sound. A sep-
arate headphone amplifier seems worth considering. Here's a tabulation of our jury's find-
ings.
Ira Leonard, comparing with Yamaha HP-1S [sic]. Location of instruments seemed to be fre-
quency dependent, with cymbals and other high-pitched instruments seeming more prominent
and forward and the midrange sounding farther back. "Not a pleasant or a comfortable ex-
perience."
Mark Foreman and A1 [sic] Foster, comparing with Koss Pro 4AA . Bass "fat" and boomy,
though some bass notes seem to be missing, Nothing above 10 KHz. Pro 4AA's more natural.
Bob Borden, comparing with AKG . "After 10 minutes of listening, they induced pain
within my ears." After that he could listen for over an hour "with no great discomfort and
few sonic irritations." Pleasant, smooth sound with excellent transients but lacking trans-
parency.
Bob Graham, comparing with AKG 60 . Bass audible to 30 Hz. Revealed instrumental de-
tail. Clearly superior to the AKG's. Also compared the Heils to other phones including the
Stax SR-3 and found the differences subtle.
I will leave it to dispassionate audiophiles (those who have not replaced a component
within two years) to decide if it's significant that the more favorable comments came from
users of AKG headphones, and whether that says more about the headphones or about the
users. As for my own comments, I will pass up this opportunity to find creative adjectives
to describe what I heard through these headphones (Gordon Gow, are you out there?). I side
with the thumbs-down crowd. I was always relieved to return to my Pro 4AA's after listen-
ing to the Heils. -- Henry G. Belot
