Rudy81

Thank you sir. I don't recall ever being this sick. Waiting for test results. I was in two hot spots this very month. I guess they got me. We shall see. Lord willing I will be just dandy and back at it soon. As long as my lungs stay clear I am counting my blessings.

UPS just dropped off a small package from ESS! Thanks Ricky. I'll work on this when I feel better.

True. In my case. Once you hear it set up, it is so worth the effort.

Excellent!

I seriously doubt it from my discussions with Ricky. In all fairness, I damaged my diaphragm by being an idiot, totally on me. Ricky was nice enough to send me a replacement when I called to find out if it was possible to re-solder the lead. He has always struck me as an honest guy working hard on making ESS a go. Who knows what problems he is facing etc. I know, it is frustrating. I get the impression he has minimum staffing and works his butt off. Regardless of whether I get the diaphragm or not, I will give him the benefit of patience. I have spoken with him many times and never got the impression that he is anything other than a standup guy. Funny, the older I get, the more mellow I become. I have noticed that installing the diaphragm if not done carefully can fold the foil corner. The one I damaged was like that when I removed it. That did not seem to affect performance or create any distortion. Unless you really MUST take the diaphragm out, I really, really, really advise against it. As a general rule, nothing good comes from messing with it. Just my 2C.

I received the replacement diaphragm with my fourth order for a pair of AMT1s. The diaphragm was a very tight fit to slide into the magnet structure. I literally spent over 30 minutes trying to gingerly insert the diaphragm. After finally getting it inserted, I went on to break in the driver with low volume music. Within moments, the diaphragm started to cut in and out. I just could not get it to work properly. I know it was not anything I did. I have learned to be super careful with these parts since they are very easy to damage. I returned the faulty diaphragm to ESS and was promised a replacement. Sadly, I'm still waiting for the replacement. Like @dkalsi , I have spoken with Ricky several times. Chris is correct, this is such a promising technology for us. It is a shame we are having these issues. Hopefully ESS will catch up and improve QC.

Superb!

Well done!

Hopefully this crisis will be short lived and we can all get together and enjoy a good time in near future.

Thank you for your support! I won't tell you where I just came back from then......I'm protecting you! I'm being overly cautious is all.

Ah, finally found the correct thread... I'm bummed to say that I will not be attending. My apologies, I was really looking forward to it.

Not sure if this is the right thread to withdraw, but I will be unable to attend SWAG. Dang it!!!!

Great to hear! Have fun. Thank you for everything as well. Now you know why never looked back either!

You are a master of understatement! Enjoy

I honestly did not notice any measurement difference, but Chris indicated this would be of benefit. And I tend to follow Chris' advice.

I forgot to mention. Once you get them all finished, add some tape to seal and smooth the seam between the driver and the wing edge. I used simple electrical tape since my wings are black.

Depending on what you use to finish the wings, you will likely find that after the first coat you will need to re-sand them just slightly. The plywood will tend to absorb the product and the grain will 'raise' giving you a fuzzy texture. Once you sand after the first coat, the problem will not emerge again....that is just the nature of the beast. If you are going to use stain, there is a product that you should use before staining to promote a nicer and more even grain. It is generally called "Pre-stain wood conditioner" and works very well.

Looking good sir. As I have mentioned, the dimensions of the magnet structures are not uniform and slightly different. If you it is a little snug, just pull the wings slightly apart and slide the driver in. GENTLY. Do not drop the driver or you may damage the diaphragm.....I'm still waiting for a replacement on the one I damaged. If a side is too snug, one of those mouse sanders will make quick work of adding a little more room. Keep us posted on your experience.

I wish. I'm on my fourth pair!

That is still a decent price for what they do. I have heard they were in the $400 category some years ago.

Yes, the leads are too short for our stack. What I did was to solder extra wire to the leads to make them plenty long. I also used red/black wiring to make the connections make standard. The shhhh is most likely from one of your components. Once again, I remind you to be SUPER careful with the leads. You don't want to go through my nightmare.

Looks like it is to me. AFAIK, only ESS builds the original AMT

I'm getting better at it. I've made about 12 including prototypes etc. These are not perfect, but my best work yet. I still need to learn some better techniques with hand guided tools like the bandsaw. My Sawstop table saw with the Incra precision fence system make it seem like I'm a better carpenter than I really am.

Keep us posted on what you hear, please. I am very interested in your impressions regarding soundstage and depth as compared to whatever you had previously.

ESS is certainly backed up now with all our orders. I spoke to Rick a couple of times after I damaged my diaphragm as well. I'm still waiting on a replacement and on a backup set of AMT's. I do know they are in the manufacturing process of a new batch of spare diaphragms. Just have to be patient I guess. My center channel is currently running with just one AMT since I'm such a dumb a**. Rick is a super nice guy and I'm sure working on all this as fast as he can.