Oskar Heil

About Oskar Heil

Oskar Heil was a pioneering German physicist and inventor most renowned in the HiFi world for inventing the Air Motion Transformer (AMT), a unique type of electroacoustic transducer with an accordion-folded diaphragm. The AMT design, developed in the 1960s, revolutionized high-end audio by offering greater accuracy and dynamic response than conventional drivers. Heil's AMT technology first reached audiophiles in the 1970s through ESS speakers ("ESS Heil") and later through brands like Precide SA with the Kithara loudspeakers, as well as influencing many contemporary audio manufacturers. Although Oskar Heil also made significant contributions to other fields—patenting the field-effect transistor and advancing microwave technology—his name in HiFi remains synonymous with the enduring legacy of the Air Motion Transformer.