I don't know what made think about ESS's today, but it lead me here. I have had a set of 7's ( they have the flat oval woofer) since the early 70's, with the Rosewood tops. My brother currently uses them. Do they have any value?
ESS speakers "Translinear" Transstatic
These were speakers designed by California based company called ESS, that is, Electro Static Sound before they used the Heil Air Montion transformer. These models were current in 1970-1975. I am curious if any one still owns either of the above models, or has seem them listed on any of them listed in the used audio web sites. They were incredible speakers for their time,and sounded as good as many of so-called elctrostatics of today. They used good driver elements, for example, the KEF B-139 oval driver for the bass response.If anyone has knowledge of either of these above vintage speakers,please leave info on this Web page. Thank you!!
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I have a pair of AMT-1b's that I want to sell (South Florida, in use since purchase in 1970's or so. Can anyone recommend a venue or price? Bob miami_grower@yahoo.com |
Hello fellow music lovers, I bought my first pair of ESS speakers back in 1975-76 they were called "Tempest" and sold for $500.00 per pair. Last month November 2006 I just bought a set of AMT3 Rock Monitors from a seller on ebay who lived in New Hampshire. I'm from Albany, New York but since 2001 now living here in Germany. Anyone want to guess the cost to have these monsters shipped by air to Germany? $750.00 plus the $855.00 winning bid. Took them out of the box yesterday and found dust for speakers - four woofers - two midrange, all of which need to be replaced. Inside the housing I also found the missing pieces of the speaker cover frame-work - made of particle-board - that someone tried to use for handles in order to try and pick these babies up off the ground!!! Dumb move. They've been well used but not abused by their owner - but someone got into the housing and played with the hardware. As both AMT were loose - the plastic on top cracked, the plastic sides were flopping around inside as well. At first I was disapointed, as I just wanted to hook them up and zoom off into sonic-heaven....but the reality is, it's worth the investment and the time and patience needed to perfect this Winter Project. Also, the good news is that the outside housing is in mint condition, with a little wash and polish they'll make any owner proud. So that's the story of my dream speakers. I couldn't afford to buy them back in 1975 and now I cant afford not to have them. You ESS lovers know what I mean! Much respect from Dave in Germany, Host of the following websites: www.ten-years-after,com (Now) www.alvinlee.de (Tribute) Enjoy our work! |
I sold HiFi gear in the late 1970's and had the opportunity to try every speaker out there. In the end, I bought a pair of ESS 7's to mate to my Marantz 2270. The speakers(and Marantz) are still going strong after all these years. Everytime we have guests, they always complement on the sound of the speakers. You will not find a better, more realistic bass reproduction and the overall image those speakers produce is still competitive today. I love my 7s and would love to grab a pair of Translinears. |
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