Has anyone heard of essential arms, and what is their reputation for quality?

My .223 cents...

I have a preban EA lower with a colt 9mm upper.  And I have a Full Auto EA lower with a M4 upper.   They look and work just like my colt lowers.    

The only thing I dislike, is the tolerance in the magazine area.   Most like Bushmaster and Colt are around .930"  whereas the EA's are around .905.    I've had one USGI magazine rub a little and I couldn't get in a 9mm tacblock in.  I had to file the tacblock down to fit it in my M16.

Result.  Thumbs up. or AR15 up. [^]

Had a few Essential Arms lower guns, they all worked fine. Basically, as long as it is milspec, a lower is a lower is a lower.  If it aint milspec, then you got problems. AFAIK, all EA lowers were milspec.

I've heard Essential Arms lowers are cast, not forged.  Is this a problem with long term durability?  

Bud

No.  Shooting an AR puts very very little stress on the lower.

Where are they out of, and how much do their lowers cost?

SS109, Essential Arms went out of business in 1993...I believe they were bought out by DPMS.