by Michael

CES 2014: EMM Labs MTRX Amplifier

These amps really drove the poop out of the speakers. Yep, poop ALL over the floor. You could hear exactly what the amps were trying to get the speakers to do, and whether the speakers were capable of doing it or not. Do not think ‘yet another big mofo solid-state amp’. Those other solid-state amps sound wimpy and weak and are probably in need of a flu shot. There really is that big of a difference – this is not one of those subtle audiophile-ish things.

The tone here is very Meitneresque: tuneful and clear sounding and not at all solid-state-ish, although it is certainly not tube-ish either. It is kind of like you always thought solid-state amps were supposed to sound, before you learned that the vast majority of them are stereotypically harsh, lean, uneven, aggressive and unpleasant to listen to.

These amps seriously change the landscape and set a new bar for performance, much like their CDSA CD player did several years ago, sounding better at $10K than the $60K top player at the time. At $130K these 1500 watters arn’t cheap, but there is finally [finally!] a solid-state amp commensurate with the extreme high quality of the bevy of hard-to-drive statement speakers from Magico, YG Acoustics and, more recently, Marten [not to mention Sonus Faber, Venture, Avalon, etc. Lots of hard-to-drive speakers out there that have never been driven well]. Word to the wise: Once you hear these on your favorite speakers, whether at a friends house or dealership, you are going to feel really silly [or perhaps some other emotion :-/] for having bought one of those other mega amps. Just sayin’.

[This is an excerpt from a previous post posted last January. We’re trying to modernize and make posts like this available to other parts of the website].

 

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 by Michael

CES 2014: Most Interestings of Show (part one)

[Similar to the RMAF 2013 show report – we will put the politically correct version for all ages and levels of audiophile, along with well over 1000 photos, over on Ultimist – and we will put the more opinionated report here on the blog, which we will call ‘Most Interesting of Show’, for people who are focused on Pursuing the Ultimate Music Experiences.]

There were actually quite a few rooms this year that we thought were interesting. Interesting sometimes due to an intriguing pairing of different brands of gear together and sometimes due to interesting sonics, and there were also a couple of exceptional sounding systems as well.

In no particular order:


Acapella Atlas speakers driven by Einstein electronics and TechDAS Air Force One turntable

This system, when driven by the Einstein CD player, was more or less competitive with the best at the show: the Perfect8 / VAC / Walker, the SoundLab / Wavac, the Lamm / Verity, etc. But with the TechDAS Air Force One table on the Einstein OTL amp driving the Acapella Atlas speakers, this system forced me to step back [mentally :-)] and compare what I was hearing to the best I have ever heard [which was at about 4 times the price: Marten Supreme 1 speakers, Audio Note UK Gaku-on amp and M9 pre, Nordost Odin cabling and Brinkmann Balance TT (although we still had the Walker TT at the time, it was stuck downstairs. doh!)].

We played Tin Pan Alley. Not exactly a well-rounded test song but we have nevertheless heard it many times on many variations of very serious systems. Here we heard really good solidity and even-handed dynamics up and down the frequency and loudness spectrums [on other systems, the aggressive guitar notes are often over or under emphasized]. Really good separation and decent harmonics. Although not at the other-worldly level of resolution and harmonics of the aforementioned super system, this system here was directly on the path and was an in-kind sound and one of the best sounding systems I have heard. What a freaking surprise this system was to these somewhat jaded show-going ears.


SoundLab Majestic 945PX speakers driven by WAVAC electronics

Another system that took me completely by surprise. Yow. The WAVAC amps on the big SoundLab speakers was certainly the best I’ve heard the SoundLab speakers sound [and we’ve tried many, many different front ends with these speakers in the 5 years or so they were here at Audio Federation. (We decided to take a break from being dealers several years ago although we still like their electrostatic speaker line very much)]. Most people put cold and nasty solid-state amps on these speakers. Low and behold, they get a cold and nasty sound. Putting a nice sounding solid-state amp on these speakers tended to generate a sound that was kind of laid back and not very exciting [the Sanders amp and olde Edge pyramid amps were the best of these and did manage to be a little more lively than a sleeping dog]. Putting tube amps on these speakers was kind of the holy grail, but, at least with the previous generation of the Ultimate speakers, the tube amps tended to not like this gig a whole heckuva lot.

I didn’t get to spend a lot of time here, and I am not sure Neli did either when she was here, but we agree this was really something special. Warm and musical, well controlled, dynamic, lots of separation in the sound-stage… After all the previous show systems where WAVAC sounded cold and wimpy, and all the previous show systems where the SoundLabs were edgy and lean, thank goodness these two finally found each other.

This system made me think hard about what in my heart of hearts do I really want out of electrostatic speakers, and how would this be different from other speakers. And I think now that there should be no difference – that electrostatics should be held to the standards of standard cone driver speakers, but with their single-driver and high-resolution advantages they should not have a problem if correctly designed and partnered. Like this system clearly shows.


Perfect8 THE FORCE Mk II speakers on VAC electronics and Walker Audio Proscenium Black Diamond V turntable. Stealth cables.

The Walker turntable on VAC driving Perfect8 speakers had a few minor issues but did some things that were extremely pleasing making me wonder just what were those things, anyway, and how could we get to hear them here. The things I think we liked the best were the really nice sized scale of the sound and the easy dynamic swings in the upper mids. This was a big sound without any apologies. There was some really good separation in the upper frequencies – those ribbon drivers really kick ass: everything seemed very stable and clear sounding, and with excellent dynamics.

That said there was some blurriness and smearing in the mids and on down, with the commensurate lack of separation and resolution. Some of this is probably due to asking a little too much of the extremely high value but reasonably priced VAC electronics in a sea of state-of-the-art gear. The Perfect8 guys also mentioned that they chose to put the DSP time-aligned sub-woofer arrays to the outside of the speakers, and if instead they were placed inside of the speakers the bass would have a little more energy and tightness to it.

Anyway, another system that strove to break new ground. It was great to hear the Walker again, still one of the top 2 or 3 tables [we sold our store demo table a few years ago after they decided to change to a direct-to-customer business model] .


Wilson Alexia speaker driven by Lamm M1.2 hybrid amplifiers. CEC transport and TechDAS DAC through Lamm L2 Reference linestage. Kubala-Sosna cables

After privately wondering whether the Wilson Alexia was a flawed speaker, after much ballyhooed amp after much over-hyped amp after yet another amp failed to bring out the bass beyond a few little blumpety blumps, the good old relatively inexpensive Lamm m1.2 hybrid amp finally made the speakers sound like what one would think the big brother to the Sasha should sound like. High resolution, dynamic, some bass slam, wide-band… it was all there.


Atma-sphere M-60mk3.2 amps on PranaFidelity Vayu/fs speakers
Another pleasant surprise was the Atma-sphere OTL amps on the PranaFidelity speakers. I haven’t been a real fan of the Atma-sphere amps on the Classic Audio speakers system that they have been showing for the last, I don’t know, 5 years? 10 years? And Atma-sphere on the SoundLab speakers did not work for us either. But this system? It sounded bold and colorful and continuous [but not too smooth] and musical. Liked this I did.


The EMMLabs MTRX amp, and their DAC2X and PRE2 with laptop source, on the Sony SS-AR1 speakers.

These amps really drove the poop out of the speakers. Yep, poop ALL over the floor. You could hear exactly what the amps were trying to get the speakers to do, and whether the speakers were capable of doing it or not. Do not think ‘yet another big mofo solid-state amp’. Those other solid-state amps sound wimpy and weak and are probably in need of a flu shot. There really is that big of a difference – this is not one of those subtle audiophile-ish things.

The tone here is very Meitneresque: tuneful and clear sounding and not at all solid-state-ish, although it is certainly not tube-ish either. It is kind of like you always thought solid-state amps were supposed to sound, before you learned that the vast majority of them are stereotypically harsh, lean, uneven, aggressive and unpleasant to listen to.

These amps seriously change the landscape and set a new bar for performance, much like their CDSA CD player did several years ago, sounding better at $10K than the $60K top player at the time. At $130K these 1500 watters arn’t cheap, but there is finally [finally!] a solid-state amp commensurate with the extreme high quality of the bevy of hard-to-drive statement speakers from Magico, YG Acoustics and, more recently, Marten [not to mention Sonus Faber, Venture, Avalon, etc. Lots of hard-to-drive speakers out there that have never been driven well]. Word to the wise: Once you hear these on your favorite speakers, whether at a friends house or dealership, you are going to feel really silly [or perhaps some other emotion :-/] for having bought one of those other mega amps. Just sayin’.

in Acapella / CES 2014 / Emm Labs / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / Lamm / Legacy Brands / Soundlab / Walker 4 comments
 by Michael

RMAF 2013: EMM Labs MTRX amplifier


Prototype EMMLabs MTRX amplifier on Sony speakers with EMMLabs digital and Pre2 preamp, and Kimber cables.

The 1500 watt $100K Emm Labs MTRX amplifiers in the EMM Labs, Sony, Kimber, IsoMike room

In many ways this was the perfect way to introduce an amplifier at a show.

We have all, all of us show goers, heard this same system, with the Pass Lab amps, many times over the last several years. We all know what this system sounds like. It is shown at CES and RMAF each year.

Oh, there have been minor changes: A little more musical when the EmmLabs PRE2 was inserted in the system. Then a bigger dose of musicality when the final version of the PRE2 was inserted in the system at CES a few years ago.

So most people who actually listen to the sound in the rooms at these shows had a pretty good idea of what to expect when they walked into the room this year. An EMM Labs amp inserted into the system? Probably going to be somewhat more musical / music-like.

And there was a definite increase in the EMM Labs sonic signature – that purity of tone – which is found in all their digital gear and their preamp.

But….

That was relatively minor compared to the difference in openness, in ease, in the way the notes could just hang there in space. It didn’t seem to control the speakers with an iron fist the same way the best tube amps do – but it didn’t just smack the drivers around with power like a lot of the big solid-state and big tube amps do, either.

[neli]: One of the room co-exhibitors described the effect of the amp on the speakers as “cheerful obedience”. I love this description.

Obviously we are still trying to figure out just what these amps do. And these particular amps are just prototypes – the finished products are supposed to be lighter, around 200+ pounds [yay!], smaller, and in a finish similar to their other gear… and are supposed to sound as good or better [we have already expressed our personal desire that this be so – several times now :-).]


Prototype EMMLabs MTRX amplifier on Sony speakers with EMMLabs digital and Pre2 preamp

But…

A few anecdotes.

1. I heard this system for the second time right after we walked back from the Wilson Alexandria XLF / VTL / dCS / Transparent demo at the Hyatt. Somehow this all-solid-state system sounded warmer and more involving [and timbrely correct and much more stable imaging for that matter] than the tube-based system at that demo. It was not a close thing. [VTL already hates me, but to their defense, there were many contributors to the overall sound at the Wilson demo, although you can rule out the speakers – we know the speakers well enough and they are in-general more musical and involving than the Sony speakers in this EMM Labs room]

[neli]: this was really not subtle. Made me want to hear these electronics with the XLFs. Much more involving. Much more dexterous. Real sense of effortlessness and ease. Proper timbre. Good harmonic response. Very clean, but not too lean.

2. They play the IsoMike-recorded music in this room. It is usually fairly calm stuff. But against this background of calm easy to listen to music was a more complex arrangement where lots of instruments were playing at once. There was quite some confusion and collapsing of the soundstage during this passage and it was readily obvious that it was the speakers were having a problem with this passage. The amps were so able to handle issues like this that the sound was not horrible or anything – it just casually revealed a flaw in the speakers against the background of the flawlessness rendering of everything else.

Ugh. Not sure that was clear. The point is how casual this all was. Often speakers and amps fight at times like these [in fact, many speaker-amp couples fight almost all the time 🙂 … the amp struggling to make the speaker do what it wants it to, and the speaker struggling to show that Newtons 1st law, 3rd law, all 3 laws in fact but lets just say ‘inertia’, are the law of the land. This fighting is actually audible, unfortunately]. The Sony speaker was not able to put up much of a fight against the MTRX – presumably due to the overwhelming force of 1500 watts and whatever else they are doing in those giant boxes – and this lack of fighting was a sonic relief for the listener.

3. It is rare to hear such a clear difference like this. Everybody could hear a difference – not just experienced listeners. Between the Pass Labs and the Emm Labs amps. We often heard these kinds of improvements between the Walker turntable and other turntables [the Walker has issues, like many turntables, and many small manufacturers, but excellence of playback is not one of them] and we used this fact to quantitatively determine that the Walker was more than a little better than the competition. If we extend this argument to amps, one has to conclude that these amps are significantly better than the Pass Labs, and by extension [by years of hearing Pass Labs compared to other amps] most other amps as well.

You all know we are as demanding of solid-state amps as we are of tube amps. The early Edge amps had a sophisticated mind-centric sound [like Ayre, Goldmund, MBL] with few bad side-effects and with enough inner detail / micro-dynamics to convey a sense of emotion [i.e. have some amount of heart-centric capabilities]. The big old $125K [back when $125K amps were unheard of] Edge NL Reference [pyramids] did most of this and with 800 watts it had some of the ease with speakers we see in the EMMLabs MTRX amps. These amps are acceptable [we don’t hate them] but they do not do half the things that the music demands, things that many tube amps are able to do.

Most other solid-state amps are just giant show pieces, or technical tour-de-forces, or just plain electronic hammers to beat speakers [and ears] over the head with [guess that metaphor ran out of steam there]. Nothing wrong with these other types of amps – they are just another way to have fun, after all.


Prototype EMMLabs MTRX amplifier rear

So where does the MTRX fit in?

Right now I think the MTRX is fairly balanced in terms of heart- and mind-centric capabilities. We don’t know if this new MTRX amp is just an amp at the top of the solid-state amp category – or something new. But in either case, it is welcome – and should be welcomed by everyone who assigns a high value to their system actually sounding like music. [Or if you happen to really like giant show pieces. Or if you like technical tour-de-forces. But not so much the electronic hammer thing :-)].

We have anticipated these amps for years, expecting some kind of nice, tuneful amps that don’t suck and which can replace the hole left by the increasingly problematic / then sold / then dealerless / finally defunct / now not-defunct Edge Electronics amps we used to carry.

But these MTRX amps – they are more than just worthy replacements for state-of-the-art solid-state amplifiers. They are an advancement of the art. They are one of the few components out there that will generate newer, better kinds of results – not just a different flavor – on our over-worked playback systems. They will be used to explore the frontier of just how good can things get, to hear just how good things can really sound.

Or, [lightening up a bit here :-)], they are just a new really fun toy to play with that will take us places we haven’t been before.

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