There are now many variations of the Heil AMT speakers since the patents all expired! Legacy builds a couple of speakers you might be interested in. Very nice speakers and American made!
Are there any current production great speakers using AMT tweeters?
Back in the day, I had fallen in love with the ESS Heil AMT speakers, which were always too large and too expensive. Now that I am looking for a new speaker, I am wondering if there are any current high end monitors that use these tweeters? Or have good ribbons made the AMT tweeters less desirable?
My budget is in the $5k to $15k range, new or used, so don’t tell me about some of the $1k speakers that I know are out there, no matter how good they might be.
Stand mount is preferable, but a floor standing with a small footprint might be workable in my smallish room.
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Beware nostalgia, as it can lead to worse sound and listening experiences. I do not recommend pursuit of vintage gear. I know you are seeking a current model; I'm just adding my perspective. The relevancy is that the older drivers are often surpassed by newer technology or models. AMT has gone mainstream with many companies using smaller variants. Frankly, the AMT is now perhaps as popular as the dome tweeter. However, in my room under direct comparison I have not found them to universally outperform well-designed speakers with other forms of tweeters. You may still be able to get the ESS Heil driver and use it in the PureAudioProject Trio 15. I haven't checked on it for a while, but that was an option. You would have to source the driver yourself, I believe. If you are adamant about that particular driver, it's a possibility, but I'm not sure if they still support it. Whether that would holistically outperform a variant of PAP speaker like the 10" Coaxial version I reviewed for Dagogo.com - that is another question! If you are curious about that option, talk to PureAudioProject about it. |
YES! ESS still makes the Heils in three sizes no less and they are frequently on sale. The sale price? $250/pr, brand new, usually including the mounting hardware. And the sale just happens to be on right now. https://essspeakers.store/collections/heil-amt/products/pair-of-heil-amts-mounting-kits A modified Heil is hard to beat, especially for the price. No eq or room correction used here. |
I also fell instantly in love with the original ESS Monitors when I first heard them, back in the day. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford them at the time. Some of the best speakers using AMT tweeters that I've heard recently are made by Martin Logan and GoldenEar. However, beware of proper room placement with these types of speakers! In order to avoid listening fatigue, they sound best in rooms with plenty of empty space behind the listener(s) (e.g. a good six to ten feet and preferably more). |
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