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ESS Heil Air Motion Transformer AMT Tweeter for Heresys


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Would ESS Heil AMT tweeters be plausible/possible replacements for my Heresys' horn tweeters? To our aging ears the Heresy tweeters seem to squak more than tweet...

If so, would I need a re-configured crossover or would the tweeter replacement be a "simple" drop in? I have the Bob Crites replacements x-overs.

We have a smallish listening room, a Will Vincent ST-70 amp and listen mostly to classical music via CD/DVD and satellite.

Any thoughts, ideas, opinions will be greatly appreciated...

MTIA

Harry Freiberg

Brookings, OR


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Harry,

That's a very interesting question about the AMT's. Years ago had a roomate who owned a pair of towers with those tweeters and thought the sound was good.

Think they could work, but wouldn't be any help at all about what would be needed in terms of a crossover. Don't know what kind of a match they would be to the compression driver in the mids.

I think with your system it would be worth considering Bob's CT-125 tweeters. They are a (physically and electronically) drop in replacement for the K-77.

Have used these tweeters for several years and thought they bested by a long shot the Beyma CP25 so many people talk about. In terms of sonic realism they are the real deal, IMO.

one more thought, if you do use the CT-125's it's a pretty simple crossover mod to cross from the mid to tweeter at 4500hz instead at 6000hz. I've done that with Khorns, LaScalas and Heresys, all with CT-125's. To my ears the improvement is pleasing. I forget the values, but the crossover changes involve adding an inductor and changing the value of a cap. Can't remember the values right now, but others would, i'm sure. or check with Bob.

btw, i'm a huge fan of Will Vincent and his builds. they really are better than new and near works of art, imo.

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I neglected to say that we do have the Crites tweeters. For more than a few years we were pleased, but not so much now. As I implied, maybe we're getting old and losing our "golden ears"...

Re Will Vincent: his amp is the first (and only) piece of audio equipment that has passed the WAF test with flying colors. The SO has been know to dim the lights when listening to enjoy the glow...

Many thanks.

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Violins, flutes, female choruses, some male tenor voices are strident, especially when played/sung loudly.

Not so much at less than forte. String quartets and trios stll sound quite nice.

The rub is we (well mostly the SO) are opera and mass fans and are finiding more and more of our library less than pleasant to listen to.

Maybe our ears are getting old, along with the rest of us...

Many thanks.

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Violins, flutes, female choruses, some male tenor voices are strident, especially when played/sung loudly.

Not so much at less than forte. String quartets and trios stll sound quite nice.

When is the last time that the midrange driver-to-horn gaskets were inspected / replaced?

How about checking the six machine screws on the midrange driver itself for tightness?

I ask because I experienced a similar issue with my La Scala last year...

Please see : http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/154630.aspx?PageIndex=2

When the driver gaskets harden up, they leak. When the horn leaks at the throat, the diaphragm unloads and distorts. The problem manifests audibly as "grit", for lack of a better word. The subsequently reduced midrange output in addition to the distortion will make the treble sound abnormally hot and nasty.

The tell tale here is:

Do you find yourself, or the SO, listening the system a touch louder (from where the volume knob or VU meter typically is) than you can recall in the past?

newgasket_med.jpeg

Bob Crites stocks the correct o-rings for a couple bucks shipped. I highly recommend taking a look into them instead of throwing money at entirely new drivers. Simply fresh gaskets and tight screws can make a BIG difference in the sound.

-QH

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OK, understand. since you are wanting to move on from the CT-125's could be worth dropping a pair of K77's back in to see how they sound to you now. The K77 was Mr. PWK's choice and what sounded good to his ears is worthy of consideration or reconsideration. There are a number of folks who auditioned CT-125's that just preferred the sound of the K77.

For the AMT option, it's an idea with merit. one could probably pick up some decent speakers with AMT tweeters on Ebay. Might have more pleasing results than modding the Heresy's with AMTs.

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Guest David H

Would ESS Heil AMT tweeters be plausible/possible replacements for my Heresys' horn tweeters? To our aging ears the Heresy tweeters seem to squak more than tweet...

The AMT would probably work fine, the spl on the AMT is about right for heresy. My AMT's are 3 ohms, I suspect you could parallel a 1.0 uF cap to the original 2uf cap and give it a shot. These are certainly great sounding tweeters, I was using them on top of a pair of Cornwalls. Dave
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Max Potter used these tweeters in his Heresys -- which was what he normally listened with. I never thought to ask him what he did with the network because I only had a passing interest in the drivers. What Dennis (DJK) says seems to make the most sense after looking at the cut sheet.

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The ESS AMT-1B's was my first introduction to Hi-Fi back in '76. I had a friend who was 10 years older than me who had a pretty nice system with those speakers, and I was very impressed. Great highs, very good lows, and a below average mid-range if I recall. When he moved up to the 3-way KEF 105/3's they really blew me away! An outstanding 3-way which he was running with some Carver amps and preamp. I was only 18 at the time, but I knew I was hooked on hi-fidelity from that moment on. It's been a heck of a journey....

Mike

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If you are looking for refinement and will be running the tweeter on top of your cabinet, try http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=276-410

Careful with the crossover though may actually work well with the stock Klipsch. Also with ribbons and other amt type devices, the listening angle will have a lot to do with the sound but Klipsch crosses very high so the crossover should cause little problem with these as tweeters.

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