EMM Labs posts - the XDS1, TSDX, DAC2X, MTRX, PRE2 and other gear

February 9, 2015 by Michael

When you absolutely positively need more rack space

[As I was just getting over the CES cold I caught a worse 24 Hour Fitness cold. Now that I can stand up without coughing, it is time to move more things up from downstairs…:-)]

We wanted to put a turntable on this system – ostensibly to test it out. We didn’t want to move any of the components off the main HRS MXR rack there because we have a big demo tomorrow and everything is nicely warmed and settled.

So.. what to do. What to Do.

Inserting the HRS SXR rack in front like this works great. A little unsightly…. perhaps. But we can get to the preamp controls just fine [if we reach], and we do not need access to the DAC and Preamp power supply below on the lower shelves, so… it works!

Its a wonderful day in the neighborhood – about 65 degrees outside here in the Mountains in mid-February.

We have a lot to say about this Audio Note-fronted Emm Labs MTRX amp and Acapella Atlas system – about just what goes into a system sound that one will never forget … but give us a few days…

January 24, 2015 by Michael

Some semblance of normality

The shop is back to halfway operational now… finally … after CES 2015. And after both of us getting sick…. *cough* *cough cough* *SNEEZE!* … and now mostly recovered.

Since we took the HRS SXR rack to CES, and there was nothing sitting between the massive EMM Labs MTRX amps all of a sudden… we took then opportunity to move the larger HRS MXR rack up front.

This gives us 4 shelves instead of the 3 we have on our SXR.

Room for… the famous 2-box M9 Phono audio Note pre-amplifier. The Audio Note CDT-Five transport. And the Audio Note DAC 5 Signature DAC.

So… level Five, one step below the top-of-the-line Audio Note into the killer EMM Labs MTRX 750 watt drives-the-poop-out-the-speakers amp into the Acapella Atlas hyperspherical-horn speakers.

So, now, everybody expects me to write about how it sounds. Neli wants me to tell everybody about what it sounds like.

You know, this thing we do in high-end audio… where we change something in the hifi system and the sound changes and we evaluate the differences, hopefully enjoying the differences…?

We do this a lot. Most of you do this a lot.

The sound after we change something – it does not have to be all that much better. Just different. It is quite entertaining for it to be just different.

It can be… well, let’s face it: it is ALWAYS thrilling when the change makes the sound way better.

But it is also ALWAYS entertaining when the change is just a change.

And this change for the sake of change is what drives a large percentage of the industry, especially the used marketplace.

And it provides for seemingly endless fun here at Audio Federation as well.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES

Changing RCA interconnects out for XLR (or visa-versa).

Maybe the component likes XLR better?

Maybe one component handles ground differently than the other?

Maybe the XLR part of the circuit is not broken in yet?

Maybe the better connectors on one versus the other is making all the difference?

Maybe that extra 3dB of the XLR is doing some good?

Perhaps the RCA is better shielded and the XLR is getting too close to a transformer?

Maybe it is better to put the superior interconnect on the Source as opposed to the Amplifier?

….

Or maybe not.

Let’s try it and see!

Sometime I will try and write an exhaustive list of these things to play with and try in our systems.

[But for now… for this post… today… Sorry, I just couldn’t bring myself to write another description of yet another awesome sound of this what is becoming a very good-sounding system. Hope you enjoyed this non-post :-)].

in Acapella / Audio Note / Emm Labs 0 comments

January 3, 2015January 3, 2015 by Michael

CES 2015: Emm Labs MTRX Preview

EMM Labs will be in several rooms at the CES 2015 High Performance Audio show in the Venetian in Las Vegas:

Venetian 30^th floor suite 30-311 (Main Room EMM Labs and Isomike with the MTRX Amplifiers)

Venetian 35^th floor suite 35-307 (EMM Labs TSDX/DAC2X with Lamm amplification and Verity Monsalvat speakers) [Lamm room]

Venetian 35^th floor suite 35-309 (EMM Labs TSDX/DAC2X with Lamm amplification and Wilson Alexia speakers) [The other Lamm room]

The main demo room will have the full stack of EMM Labs and Meitner products plus meeting room.

We are really looking forward to hearing the MTRX on the Alexia speakers. This will allow us to triangulate just what the MTRX amps here are doing with respect to the Acapella Atlas versus what they do with the Wilson Alexia speakers.

How fun is that! [Lots 🙂 ]

We expect the amps to have even more significant impact on the sound of the Alexias, compared to other amps, given that they are so much harder to drive.

in CES 2015 / Emm Labs 0 comments