Emm Labs PRE2

[I know this has been out a few months, obviously, but we haven’t posted the specs here yet. So here they are :-). Emm Labs has had the Switchman preamp for awhile, and the preamp inside the DCC2 DAC, which we use here all the time. Obviously, they are kicking it up a notch.]

[… and I quote…]

“The PRE2 embodies our recognition that the analog
preamp at the heart of every music system deserves the
very best treatment because it handles every sound your
system makes.

Built on the heritage of the famous PA6i Meitner preamp,
the PRE2 SE updates Ed Meitner’s classic to take a place
at the forefront of 21st century preamp performance.
Eminent recording and mastering engineer Tom Jung
explains: “Ed Meitner is the only guy on the planet who
has an equally good understanding of both digital and
analog circuitry.”

The PRE2 features six analog inputs, a recording loop,
infrared remote control and, most importantly, stunning
transparency. Due, in no small part, to the op-amp-free
dual-balanced audio path, the extraordinarily sophisticated
contactless switching system, and the (completely
proprietary) volume control system.

The PRE2 also extensively features our aerospace-grade
composite laminate circuit boards. These provide several
performance advantages over conventional boards:

  • Copper traces are microscopically smooth on top and
    bottom, making our boards sound more like discrete
    OFC wiring.
  • Naturally damped sandwich construction offers
    superior strength and vibration resistance.
  • Lower dielectric losses and superior heat conduction
    ensure a more uniform temperature gradient across the
    circuitry, increasing stability and longevity.

All of this makes the PRE2 the most sophisticated
solid-state analog preamp ever created. Use it in your
audio system and you’ll be able to control everything.
Except, of course, your enthusiasm.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Two sets XLR balanced Inputs
  • Four sets RCA un-balanced inputs
  • One set RCA un-balanced Recording Loop
  • Stereo XLR balanced output
  • Stereo RCA un-balanced output
  • 100% contactless dual-balanced discrete audio paths
  • Proprietary software-based analog volume control
  • Exclusive aerospace-grade composite laminate circuit
    boards
  • Precision machined infrared remote control
  • Large display with brightness control
  • Newly designed intuitive control system featuring programmable input naming, settings recall and
    many additional features.
  • RS232 serial port for wired remote control and
    multi-system control.
  • Sculpted, brushed aluminum chassis available in
    silver or black.

Power Supply:

  • Proprietary High-isolation resonant mode power supply for silent, green operation
  • Factory set to 100V or 115V or 230V, 50/60Hz
  • Power consumption: max. 40 W

Specications:

  • S/N ratio: 110dB (A-weighted)
  • THD: 1kHz <0.01%; 20kHz <0.01%
  • Frequency range: 0Hz-100kHz
  • Gain control range: Better than 62dB
  • Maximum output level: +/- 11V p-p (+26 dBu)
  • Maximum input level: +/- 7V p-p (+22 dBu)
  • Input impedance: balanced XLR – 10k,
  • un-balanced RCA – 20k
  • Output impedance: balanced XLR – 300,
  • un-balanced RCA – 150
  • System gain: +6db

Dimensions W x D x H: 435 x 400 x 92mm
Weight: 12kg

CES 2011 Show Report

[Seriously, it is NOT 2011. Time can’t be passing this fast. Last time I checked my watch it was 2002. Oh. Yeah. I don’t have a watch anymore…]

Spintricity is still not going to be ready by CES [for you techies, it requires a port to Rails 3.x and / or a larger / different server, and some database optimizations wouldn’t hurt either]. So…

The RMAF 2010 approach worked pretty well, but there are a lot more new equipment shown at CES than RMAF, and a lot more statement level equipment – and I don’t want to miss any of it.

So the current plan is to visit every room, in the traditional fashion around here. Probably skipping the main conference center – or maybe just peeking in at the new 3D video stuff.

Since I have to visit every room anyway – making sure I do not miss anything interesting – I will go for taking one photo of the entire room for each room, with extra photos taken of things like the open chassis Lamm ML2.2. But the primary focus, like RMAF, is to focus on the more in-depth aspects of the sound of the best / most interesting rooms.

OK.

So… what to do with these photos. I’m bored with the old show report formats here on Audio Federation. I think we did about 14 that way. So I am thinking that I will post the photos here on the blog, one per room perhaps, and have a fancy way, a magnifying glass or something like Amazon, where we can click to see the photo in a larger size than the standard size here on the blog. NOT like Audiogon where they pop up a whole new window with the slightly larger photo that you gave to go and close later.

Thoughts?

Not sure I will say ANYTHING about most rooms. Certainly not the marketing babble that other show reports excrete about every room being the Best Room Ever. And I got some friendly feedback that saying, more or less, ‘I don’t remember hearing anything remarkable here in this room’ was coming across as a wee bit negative. Besides, 200+ rooms is a lot to say things about – and in general we here are only really interested in the handful that really do something special anyway. 🙂

A comment on calling these 'Drug-like' systems

As a side note: It is not just [the better] drugs that do this to us [minus not so nice side-effects], of course, but things like seeing a new born baby [unless you are a pediatrician or something], love making, probably sky diving for the first time :-), and a whole host of things that occur in life [on TV anyway ;-)]. All these are wonderful life experiences that are so powerful that they leave us little room to say anything but ‘wow’. Instead of calling the stereo systems that do this to us ‘drug-like’ sounding systems we could call them ‘sex-like’, or ‘near-death-experience like’, or ‘life-affirming-like’ …