[Mountain-ear]

Well,, it's been several weeks since I got the "Heil Heavens" from Jim with the Heil AMT-1s on top and the Visaton 7" aluminum woofers on the bottom, and I couldn't be happier!  Here are a few observations:

-- I've always liked the Heils.  I find them very smooth and spacious.  Jim was concerned that the imaging might not be as precise as he gets with conventional drivers.  I have no concerns whatsoever in that regard.  Could the imaging be better?  Maybe, but I've had Dahlquist DQ-10's and Maggie II-A's and neither of them could image this well.  Obviously there are a lot of variables when it comes to these things, but the Heils work exceptionally well for me.

-- According to Jim, the F3 on these babies is around 30Hz.  My in-room experience is actually better than that based on readings from my Phonic Personal Audio Analyzer (which is a nifty little tool unto itself for those of you who have never seen one).  He also said there was a dip around 13KHz.  I don't see it on the Phonic, but even if I did, it turns out my 52 year-old ears don't register much above 10KHz.

-- Despite Jim's meticulous packaging, we had a little shipping problem, and one of the Heil AMT's had to be replaced.  I was able to do that from home so I wouln't have to ship that speaker back to Jim.  That gave me a reason to peek inside the cabinet, and I have to tell you, they are as meticulous on the inside as they are on the outside.  To me, that's the sign of a real craftsman -- someone who cares about the parts no one sees as much as he does about the exterior.

It has been a real joy for me to rediscover music I already owned.  Thanks, Jim and Dennis!  And for those of you, like me, who like an open sounding speaker, ask Jim about building another pair.  In the meantime, if you are in the Pittsburgh area and would like to check them out, PM me.

Steve

[DMurphy]

I'm glad to hear the Heils worked out for you.  The big dipole Heil is a bear to integrate with a conventional woofer, but the Visaton 8" is a rare bird.  It combines superior bass reach with a very smooth top end and a very light aluminum cone.  That meant I could cross it where the Heil and Visaton were still at their best (around 1600 Hz), and where the basic sound character of the two drivers was fairly similar.  The Heil has two problems, besides its goofy looks.  Its vertical dispersion is a bit limited, so it's definitely going to sound best on-axis and not standing up.   Second, its inherent response is not as smooth as a conventional dome or ribbon tweeter.  It does have a dip around 11K, and some hills and valleys here and there.  But those aren't resonances, and I don't think the ear picks up on them. What you do get is an extremely deep sound stage due to the open rear wave over a very wide range (below 1600 Hz on up to beyond hearing), and very fast transient response.  This was another speaker that I really regretted not hearing in stereo.  I'm sure that's where it really shines.  I've attached the final frequency response of the whole system--it looks a little uneven, but it actually pretty much fits into a +/- 1 dB window. 

[*Scotty*]

Dennis,back in the late 70's when I first heard the HEIL AMT 1B, I thought they sounded pretty good but they seemed to accentuate sibilance on female voices. Looking at the response curve you posted I really can't see evidence of any peak that could cause this sort of problem with the current version of the Heil driver.
  This is the first response curve I have seen of the Heil driver that I have had any confidence in. It looks pretty good,were any frequency response shaping networks used to achieve the final curve you posted?
  I was also wondering if you took a waterfall plot of the Heil driver? This is another measurement that I have never seen and I wondered how well behaved it was.
Scotty

[adydula]

Please post some pictures!!
Thanks

Alex!!

 

[DMurphy]

Dennis,back in the late 70's when I first heard the HEIL AMT 1B, I thought they sounded pretty good but they seemed to accentuate sibilance on female voices. Looking at the response curve you posted I really can't see evidence of any peak that could cause this sort of problem with the current version of the Heil driver.
  This is the first response curve I have seen of the Heil driver that I have had any confidence in. It looks pretty good,were any frequency response shaping networks used to achieve the final curve you posted?
  I was also wondering if you took a waterfall plot of the Heil driver? This is another measurement that I have never seen and I wondered how well behaved it was.
Scotty

Hi  Here's the raw response of the Heil without any crossover.  As you can see, it took a little work to beat it into submission.  An inadequate crossover might very well produce a tipped up response in the mid-treble, which would accentuate sibilance.   Waterfall plots are hard to do in high resolution.  I need to work on that.  But I really don't think there are any decay problems with the Heil. 

[opnly bafld]

Please post some pictures!!
Thanks

Alex!!

 

[*Scotty*]

It looks like you had to open a can of whoopa** on it alright. The entire region I would associate with potential sibilance problems is elevated relative to 1kHz. in the drivers raw output. I was probably listening to a basic crossover with no attempt made to suppress the frequencies between 4.5kHz and 10kHz.
Very nice result,an old dog has been taught a new trick for sure.
Thanks for the reply.
Scotty

[dB Cooper]

As a fogey in training, I remember hearing the original AMT-1's demoed at a Macintosh amp clinic. They played "You're So Vain". I actually do remember thinking that they were very crisp but sibilants were fairly prominent. The original had a 12 inch woofer but I don't remember noticing the driver blending. These look beautiful.

[Wallacefl]

Might be a fun experiment to see the Heil crossed to the Seas w18e001 at 1600

[greg92]

I’ve been meaning to write about my journey to build the speaker of my dreams for some time…so here we go.
Many years ago I had friend who had an audio store. I always loved listening to a pair of ESS Heil Towers powered by a Phase Linear preamp and 400 amp. The speakers had such drive and clarity, but were beyond my budget. I am not a very materialistic person, but a great audio system was always on my wish list.  However, money tended to find more practical uses.

After several events made me realize how short life is, I decided to upgrade my existing system.  My first system was a pair of B&W 683s, an Onkyo A-9555 and a Marantz CD-5001. It was a good sounding system for the money, but lacked excitement. Staying within my budget I upgraded the Onkyo to an Emotiva RPA-2 and RSP-2.  Things began to improve, but I knew my speakers could be better. I said to my understanding wife there are two types of speakers: the ones I really want and the ones I can afford.

Remembering the ESS Towers, I looked at a number of German based Heil speakers. The Germans are really fond of the technology, but all were beyond my budget.  All the ESS stuff on Ebay was overpriced and looked like it had seen better days.  Besides, by modern standards, ESS build-quality, woofers, and crossovers left a lot to be desired.
When I discovered ESS was making the driver again, I bought a pair. Understanding nothing about speaker building, I began a search for someone to construct a system.  I knocked on many doors.  Some could build the speakers, but I felt it would be a generic job, many had no interest, while others wanted to charge me just to tell me which woofer they would use.  I then discovered Jim Salk. As I began to read about Jim and Dennis’s abilities I knew they were the ones to do it.

Let me say there was a good deal of anxiety with this project because, for me, it was a significant amount of money to build a one of a kind speaker. Jim assured me he would not put his name on it if it did not spec out. Jim’s easy going manner made it easy to discuss my requirements. He inspired confidence; especially his tolerance for my technical ignorance.

I must say Dennis had his work cut out for him to wrangle the Heils into shape; but he did a great job on the crossover. The Heils sound amazing. The Visaton AL200 and the Heil are a great combination and Dennis’s magic worked them into seamless integration. As always Jim did a great job building the speaker.  I couldn’t be happier with the quality of the build. I wanted the speakers to dig deep, so I specified at least 30Hz on the bottom end. I know the speakers are hitting at least 25Hz in my room and on their own have enough grunt for movies and dynamic music.

They are extremely dynamic, detailed, and revealing. They thrive on input quality and ruthlessly exposed deficiencies in source material and equipment. I replaced the CD-5001 player for an Onkyo C-S5VL and was amazed at the improvement. Just this week I replaced the RCA connectors with XLR connectors and was surprised at how the RCA connectors were holding back the speakers. It makes you wonder about the true potential of these speakers.
My 60 year old hardwood floors are a bit uneven so I added Soundcity speaker outriggers.  They are a great addition because they not only look great but make the speakers rock solid and billiard table level.

One attribute I love about the speakers is how you “feel” the music when keys are struck, strings played, or voices emanate.  The speakers have a great sound stage and work well for movies The Heils are crystal clear for dialog and so spacious the jungle noises in Avatar fill the room. For some time I debated getting a subwoofer because the bottom end was already very capable, but I recently added a 10” sealed sub. The sub was icing on the cake. These speakers are perfect for a 2.1 system. They are great at all listing levels-especially when you throttle them up.  Bang for the buck is high. At a grand more than the B&W 683s the sound is many, many magnitudes better.
Jim means it when he says he will build the speaker of your dreams.

[BernieD]

Mountain-ear, I haven't figured out how to PM you on this site, so if you could PM me, that would be great.
We met this past Summer, and I bought some gear from you(you did a lot of driving)...,  I'd like to come by and give these a listen sometime.

Bernie, aka...

[BernieD]

Steve -yes, that's me..I was able to read your message, but had no way to reply - the "reply" button was missing! That's frustrating because I'd love to take you up on your offer to give your custom "Heil Heavens", a listen. I've got to come out your way at some point in the near future, so a small detour wouldn't be a problem. I might be able to  bring those 10's which have been completely restored with all the correct drive units, (but kept the mega expensive caps!)since you said you'd like to hear them once that was done.
I've read much about Dennis Murphy's design work, and of course Salk's custom fabrication has a great reputation. As it turns out, I too have a set of the Heil drivers, and if I liked yours, perhaps I could have them build me a set like yours? How could I not like them as the only thing wrong with those units is the ragged response, which apparently Dennis has tamed?
I deleted that old email address you had because of unrelenting spam, so you can't use that, and of course I didn't think to save my email contacts..

You could try, bernarddavidosu at that old email service , if you recall that?  I sent a message to one of the facilitators, so maybe they can help me get my messages problem resolved?  In the meantime, give the above a shot if the offer is still open.

[srb]

I was able to read your message, but had no way to reply - the "reply" button was missing!  I sent a message to one of the facilitators, so maybe they can help me get my messages problem resolved?

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=90423.msg893152#msg893152
 
"New members must have their first three posts approved by a Facilitator ..... up until the three posts are approved the new member will not be able to send PMs. They can receive, but not send."

[Nuance]

Mountain-ear,

Congratulations on your new speakers!  I think it's pretty amazing that you were able to have your dream speaker built to your exact specifications.  Who else would do that and at this level of quality?  Too cool!

Welcome to the Salk family sir!

[JLM]

This is all very intriging:

My current main speakers are commissioned MLTL's that are rated to below 30 Hz in room, but are approaching 10 years old and my 2nd audio system's speakers are 15.

Low crossover, bipole without extra drivers, great imaging, Jim/Dennis, live near Jim.   

What's the efficiency of these speakers?  Maybe an active pair?  (I already have 4 monoblocks.)   

But Jim would have to "dumb down" his cabinetry as the last pair of Soundscapes I saw would make my solid cherry furniture look like yard sale stuff.