360 degree treble dispersion

take 32 HZ down to -6 DB on the EQ for cleanest loud bass and add a sub

I found a pair of Heil Towers put out for trash 8 years ago. I took them home, replaced the rotted woofs and sat down to hear my new find. I was amazed, these speakers are incredibly clear, clean, and can handle just about anything. These speakers are great for symphony, pipe organ, LedZep, Jazz.......very capable indeed. They are also excellent for home theater, AND you can still buy them from ESS.

I purchased my Towers about 25 years ago while working part time in a local stereo shop. At that time, there were four salesman working at the shop other than myself -- two owned the Towers, one owned the ESS rock monitors and one owned the ESS AMT 1B's. The Towers are probably the "leanest" sounding of the three. They do not possess the fuller (some would say exagerated) mid to low end sound of either the Rock Monitors or the AMT 1B's. Curiously, of the three ESS speakers, the Towers actually had the best rated low end -- down to 30 HZ as I recall. For the music I listen to (light rock and folk), they sound the most accurate to me. I have yet to find any other speakers that sounded as good to me -- and I have tried. The Heil transformer still produces the best high end sounds I have heard. I would urge anyone who likes folk to light rock music to buy the "Practical Magic" soundtrack. It is perhaps the best recorded acoustic guitar CD I have ever heard -- and it sounds great on the Towers. Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance" is also great. I recently had the woofers on mine re-done. The ESS factory had a great deal -- send them your old woofers and for about $75, they will send you new ones. I would have to rate these speakers about 4 1/2 stars. The only thing I would change is to give them a slightly "warmer"
mid range

I agree with your assesment of the AMT 1 Towers. Unfortunately that design did not last long. I never cared for the 'Rock Monitors' at all although they sold quite well. Maybe it was the simplicity of the Tower's (Great Heil Driver and Transmission Line Bass)that created a much smoother sound. In any event the Heil used in those early models was less musical than those used in later models. The material used in the old diaphragm tended to become brittle and crack. An upgraded woofer and newer Heil should sound great. Norm

Clarity across the frequency range, powerfully tight bass, open and revealing sound stage.

None

This review is for the AMT 1B's. I have owned this pair since 1980, they were built from 1974-1977. In the 21 years that I have owned the 1B's, I have never been moved to replace them. I have replaced the HEIL diaphram in one back in the mid eighties, the woofers and the passive radiators in the mid 90's, all from ESS factory replacements. The company is a joy to work with, the speakers are superb at delivering the most demanding soundtracks, and what can I say.... I've had them longer than anything else I own.

So far they have made the transition from vinyl to CD to home theater with no signs of coloration or loss of intended soundstage! From Steely Dan to Jurassic Park, these speakers are built to perform.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity RS 3a

This is for the LS5, not AMT 1 tower. Extremely clean and clear without harshness. "Fun" and engaging speaker to listen to. Revealing of acoustical space. Impressive deep bass even well away from walls.

Foam surrounds rotting. Passives completely gone (Wide open back!). Midrange can get blary when loud. MAy be due to missing passives.

This is the first review of the ESS LS5 on this website. Speakers circa 1975. Extensive web search has not revealed any mention anywhere on this planet. Magnets seem to be small but powerful Alnico V type. Plan to replace passives and rotting surrounds of bass drivers and camfer edges of cabinets to reduce diffraction effects. Alternately, will apply thick felt carpet but this may alter response by narrowing effective baffle and changing the frequency at which response rise occurs. If necessary, will compensate by altering crossover. Updates with auricaps and new internal wiring as well as binding posts. Contemplating also eliminating pot on tweet. Tweeter is not full version like AMT1B. It's a round and mounted on baffle like conventional driver. It is offset from center to smooth step response but it mounted at quite a distance from woofer and I detect lobing. One must be careful to sit at the right distance from the speaker to obtain flattest response. Ultimately, rebuild of cabinet may be in order. Perhaps tower. Piano transients a little blurry. May be due to rotting foams or lack of seal in enclosure due to missing passives. Then again, i may remove AMT to combine it with smaller, faster mid-bass driver. I wonder howhte new ESS speakers sound? Have the AMT's changed in any way?

Similar Products Used:

None- First Heil AMT I've come across. Cause for musing. May be restoration project.

Just plain, clean sound.

NONE!

I was impressed (at first) with the POlk RT 600's. What I thought was a good "overall" system. THEN I bought a pair of ESS AMT 1D's and Whoa! I bought them Sunday and took Monday off, doing nothing but listening to my music that I had become bored with.

I guess I now know what "fatigue" means in the sound world. I thought I'd just become bored with my CD and vinyl collection. With the AMT 1D's, it's like hearing all new music!

I'm so impressed with these speakers, I'd love to buy the rights and start making these again.

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Infinity, Polk