ESB - Over Half A Century Of Electroacoustic Brilliance
Electroacoustic maestro ESB was officially founded in 1972. Fast forward over fifty years and it's still regarded as a world leader in loudspeaker design. During it's tenure this audacious Italian company has mastered the art of high-end speaker design, acquiring a wealth of experience and knowledge difficult to find elsewhere. Some of the most important milestones in the history of high fidelity audio have been marked by ESB. Whether it be ideologies, insights, applications of electroacoustic principles or just plain passion for high fidelity audio; achieving these milestones have become the very foundations of the company's history. You can read the genuinely fascinating history of ESB's fifty-year reign by clicking here.

8000 Series - Elevating To Perfection
The superb 8000 series are the direct heir of the legendary 7000 series, that for many years scored success after success in the world competition scene and beyond. Already exceptional in themselves, ESB took the 7000 series driver fundamentals and completely redesigned them to reflect the evolution and advancement of materials and technologies. From the gold inlaid components through the beautiful sonic performance, everything about the 8000 series is awe inspiring.

Design Ideologies
The superb 8000 series from ESB are the direct successor of the highly acclaimed 7000 series. The goal during their development was to completely redesign and improve upon the older series, which coincidentally was already exceptional. The new range however benefits from the implementation of the latest technologies and latest materials available. Furthermore, this new range also had to be most versatile; able to be installed into many different locations without fuss. Thus enabling more people to experience ESB’s exceptional musicality.

Design Features
During the development stage every detail was scrutinised with the utmost care, from the choice of materials used and construction finishing right through to the ventilation systems for magnets and coils. Almost every design element has been improved upon, thus ensuring the 8000 series will set the standard for decades to come.

The 8000 Series Woofers
When it comes to the development and manufacturing of components the ESB engineering team are beyond reproach. The combined degree of physical abilities and technical acumen amongst them is staggering. Just a single look at the components will confirm as much. We’ll outline but a few of the more important highlights below. Let’s start with the woofers both larger and smaller.

Thunderous Kick – The Baskets
All 8000 series woofers feature basket made of inert aluminium alloy, machined with absolute precision on CNC machines. As a result, the structure is very rigid and with practically zero tolerances. This in turn provides a platform for consistent performance and maximum energy transfer from the voice coils to the cones with an increase in efficiency in the low-range and absence of resonances in the medium to high-range. The side mounted exclusive design clamp accepts large section cables.

Strength Beyond Strength – The Cone
The woofer diaphragms are all reinforced compression free cellulose pulp. This material offers the best blend of damping and rigidity, which is necessary for an extremely natural sound without colouration or alteration. A water repellent treatment also makes it suitable for applications in harsher environments.

Controlling Force – The Motor
Solid Y35 ferrite magnets on the larger drivers and O52 neodymium magnets on the middle drivers guarantee a titanic surplus of energy. This ensures the excursion peaks are easily and accurately reproduced from these drivers. Even at high excursion lengths the coils remain within the magnetic field due to their lengthy Xmax and careful positioning. The large diameter voice coils use aluminium supports to better disperse the temperature. The entire voice coil is exposed to the outside air through large slits in the basket, however they’re protected by a dust sponge. A careful study supported by FEM analysis has allowed ESB to design the metal parts of the magnet to maximize the flow exactly around the moving coil, making it linear throughout the entire excursion. The air is thence expelled via a large opening at the bottom where its conformation reduces the noise of possible turbulence to inaudible levels.

Fluid Suspense – The Suspension
The 8000 series woofers employ a carefully engineered suspension systems that combine Comex progressive rolled spiders with specially profiled butyl rubber surrounds, each selected for their ability to maintain precise control under demanding conditions. The progressive nature of the spiders allow for smooth, linear excursion while providing increased resistance as the cone travels further. This helps to stabilise motion and prevent distortion at higher output levels. Complementing this, the butyl rubber surround is shaped to support consistent and concentric movement of the cone; offering excellent flexibility and resistance to environmental wear over time. Together these components ensure that the drivers moving elements remain perfectly aligned and responsive, even when subjected to heavy loads or extreme playback levels. This results in tighter bass, improved transient response and overall more accurate sound reproduction.

The 8000 Series Tweeters
With the woofer jargon done and dusted, let us now turn our attention to the smaller sibling. The 8000 series tweeters are not only beautiful to behold with their finely finished materials and precision-crafted design; they’re also an exceptionally accurate performer in their own right. Engineered to reproduce high frequencies with remarkable clarity and finesse, they delivers crisp detail, smooth extension and an effortless sense of air that brings recordings to life. Every element of their construction is focused on minimising distortion and preserving the integrity of the signal, allowing subtle nuances and textures to shine through even at higher listening levels. The result are tweeters that don’t just complement the system visually; they elevate the entire listening experience with precision, balance and refinement.

Precise Dispersion – The Dome
The tweeters feature a Torcon® soft dome, a robust polyphenylene sulphide fibrous material that offers superb heat resistance, low weight and excellent damping. This guarantees a resonance free response over the entire audible frequency range.

Power And Precision – The Motor
The tweeters boast large diameter 28 mm voice coil is the right compromise between the lightness of the classic 25 mm coil and the great power management of 32 mm coils. A perfect combination of power and lightness, the necessary for a tweeter that must reproduce frequencies in a linear and faithful way even beyond the threshold of audibility. The coil uses an aluminium support to better disperse the temperature. Surrounding it all is an oversized O52 neodymium magnet. This provides a perfectly linear and constant magnetic flux over the entire working range of the tweeter, guaranteeing an extremely linear and neutral response both at low and high volume. Furthermore, a pure copper ring was added to reduce the harmonic distortions. A careful study supported by FEM analysis has allowed ESB to design the metal parts of the magnet to maximise the flow exactly around the voice coil, making its movement linear throughout its entire range. Ventilation is ensured by a large opening on the bottom, protected by a sponge with calibrated holes. This solution also reduces the peak impedance to the resonance frequency making the tweeter easier to interface with any crossovers.

Holding Firm – The Body
The tweeter body is crafted from a combination of aluminium alloy and brass, materials chosen for their strength, durability and acoustic properties. They’re expertly machined using advanced CNC technology to achieve extremely precise tolerances. This meticulous manufacturing process ensures a highly rigid structure that effectively minimises unwanted movement, resulting in a housing that is exceptionally stable and resistant to physical duress. By eliminating structural weaknesses the design significantly reduces the risk of vibration and resonance, allowing the drivers to perform with greater clarity and accuracy. The result is a cleaner, more detailed high-frequency response; as the driver operates in an acoustically inert environment that preserves the integrity of the sound signal.

The 8000 Series UMA Plates
This special and exclusive component driver is a concept born way back in 70’s, its aim is to concentrate medium and tweeter emissions in a single virtual point. This minimizes phase delays and irregularities at the crossover point. You can read more on the phase page. Combined the two components can reproduce sound with perfect linearity from 500Hz to 25KHz. Small permanent magnets fix the tweeter and midrange grill in correct position, and these are easy to remove for customisation.

The 8000 Series Passive Crossovers
Should you choose to run your 8000 series system passively, ESB provides meticulously engineered crossovers to match the performance characteristics of the drivers themselves. Built with flexibility in mind, it supports both multi-amplifier and single-amplifier configurations; making integration into a wide range of systems straightforward. The crossover is housed beneath a clear acrylic cover that not only protects the internal components but also promotes effective ventilation for thermal stability. Premium construction details such as gold-plated component and oversized parameter adjustment jumpers ensure excellent conductivity, minimal resistance and the ability to handle high current loads with ease. Internally; air-wound coils made from large-diameter 99.9% pure copper wire help reduce distortion and preserve signal integrity, while anti-inductive resistors with aluminium heat-dissipating bodies maintain consistent performance even under demanding power conditions. High-grade bi-metallized capacitors deliver exceptional clarity and detail in the mid and high frequencies, with the circuit benefiting from parallel low-value capacitors to enhance response speed and precision. Yet despite its advanced design, the crossover remains compact and easy to install. Featuring a practical four-point mounting system for secure placement in any vehicle.

Electrical Specifications
– Nominal configuration: two-way 6.5″ & 1.1″ active component set
– Continuous power handling: 160 Watts
– Maximum power handling: 320 Watts
– Voice coil diameter: 32.4 mm
– Frequency response: 45 Hz – 25000 Hz
– Sensitivity: 89 dB
– DC resistance (Re): 2.2 Ohms
– Resonant frequency (Fs): 62.7 Hz
– Xmax: +/- 14.6 mm
– Compliance (Vas): 11.1 l
– Total Q (Qts): 0.39
– Mechanical Q (Qms): 4.27
– Electrical Q (Qes): 0.43

Physical Specifications
– Mounting diameter: 144 mm
– Mounting depth: 68 mm
– Weight: 4.5 kg

Documentation
– 1″ Specifications sheet
– 6.5″ Specifications sheet
– Crossover Specifications sheet

Important Disclaimers
Given the dynamic nature of electronics industries these days; below are listed some very important specifics you need to be aware of.

Brand Authorization And Stock Sourcing
We are a fully authorised Australian dealer of this brand and all stock is sourced through legitimate channels. It therefore enjoys full Australian warranty, backing and support.

Pricing Structure
Whilst we endeavor to offer the best price possible, we ask that if you do find a better price elsewhere from an authorised dealer; please contact us. Also be aware that we regularly conduct group buys and sales, therefore pricing can sometimes be subject to change without notice.

Stock Structure
Being a dynamic store is conducive to our inventory constantly changing. We list only a small portion of our stable online, usually products most popular. Aside from these we also stock numerous other variants and configurations of these products, hence if you don’t see what you’re after please contact us.

Shipping
All our products are shipped with registered and insured postage. Upon ordering you’ll be issued with a receipt, a consignment note via which you can track your order, and we’ll also SMS you photos of the package for identification purposes.

Technical support
This last one we cannot emphasise enough! Please contact us if you require any further information or assistance with the setup and use of this product, especially pertaining to aspects more technical. As we want you to get the very best from this product.