by Michael

New Emmlabs CDSA single-box CD – SACD player

One thing that may be of interest is that the new Emmlabs sinlge-box CD / SACD player, the CDSA, was shown for the first time yesterday. It will be $10K but it will not have a variable output stage (i.e. no built-in linestage).

At this time, Decemeber 1st is the expected release date.

Emmlabs CDSA CD / SACD player
Emmlabs’ CDSA CD / SACD player

Emmlabs CDSA CD / SACD player

Emmlabs CDSA CD / SACD player
In the final version only a couple of LEDs will be glowing like this.

It looks remarkably like an ordinary CDSD does it not? Sounded like one too, but I only had a wee bit of a listen… really less than a wee bit when I think back to it….

So much to hear, so little time.

Giant pictures on the daily photos…

… and they would be here:

RMAF 2006 Day 1

in Emm Labs / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / News / RMAF 2006 / Show Reports 2 comments
 by Michael

We will now be carrying the Acoustic Zen Adagio loudspeaker

… as well as the Acoustic Zen line of cables (which we have been recommending for years – even though they are not quite in the stratospheric, some might say astronomical :-), price range as the cables we generally prefer here).

But the Adagios are not just a good value, they are an exceptional value. We believe them to be a high-end loudspeaker at a lower mid-fi price of $4300

We have a number of customers (and fans) who get a little short of breath (or their significant others do :-)) when they think about purchasing $50K speakers.

We will also be getting in, hopefully in the near future, the $12K or so Marten Design Miles III and Kharma 3.1c loudspeakers – which are also near-full-range like the Adagios.

And of course there are the Audio Note U.K. loudspeakers at these price ranges for those who just want a speaker to sound good šŸ˜€

All of these speakers we have heard either many times or for many hours – and they have our full respect and we have recommended them many times.

Although we specialize in the ultimate cost-no-object high-end audio system, we really do try to help people with systems in all price ranges.

I guess what all this means is that people who actually make it to the store here will soon get a chance to hear that there are a few bargains out there (a very few) and that in the end you get what you pay for – but there can be happiness, satisfaction and pride-of-ownership at every price range.

You just need to stay away from the crap and the glitter and the over-hyped junk.

Just to give y’all out there some perspective, we will soon have loudspeakers here at AF that are $250K, $145K (on sale, somebody buy these now please :-), $55K, $50K, $40K, $33K and now…. $4K.

OK, a picture of the Adagio speakers similar to the ones we will be getting in a few days.

Acoustic Zen Adagio loudspeakers

in Acoustic Zen / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / News 0 comments
 by Michael

Audio Federation is Happy to Announce That We Now Carrry ELROD Power Cords

We have been auditioning the Elrod Statement power cords here for a few months now – and it has become one of those things that we, epsecially Neli, just can’t live without (and its not so awfully expensive that we don’t have to live without them – at least for a little while :-)).

ELROD's STATEMENT power cables

After seeing the Elrod powercords for years at shows like CES and Stereophile’s Home Entertainment Show, an audition was arranged. Being somewhat unweildy, we tried them mostly on amplifiers.

They just do something that no other powercord does, in our experience, nor is it likely to. These puppies are massive – they seem to let the amp have as much juice as it wants when it wants it [thinking of audiphile powercords now as a local reservoir of electrons – at the ready when the music’s dynamics require there to be adequate power NOW] and the resulting relaxed, open and deep sound is refreshing and natural.

ELROD's STATEMENT power cables

An upcoming Blog post will talk more about powercords – and the shootouts, specifically – but for now just imagine a spectrum:

Very detailed, Fast < --------------------> Very open, relaxed, round and full-sounding

on that spectrum we have:

Nordost Valhalla powercords < -------- Shunyata Helix Anaconda Alpha ------ Shunyata Anaconda Helix Vx -------- older Shunyata Anaconda Vx -------> Elrod Statements

The older Shunyata Anaconda Alpha is not as open sounding as the new Shunyata Anaconda Helix Vx so it should go to the left of it…

but it is less detailed, so it should go to the right of it… so this is not a perfect scale against which to measure all powercords…. but it is a start, I think.

ELROD's STATEMENT power cables

Anywho, the Elrod powercords on the right there is the sound that we, and many of our customers, are often looking for. A sort of antidote to the tight, controlled, detailed sound that many of our other customers like – but which some find a little too clinical and unnatural and who like more macrodynamics.

We have had the Elron Statements on the ML2.1 monoblock amplifiers quite a bit of late. Luckily the Marten Design Coltrane loudspeakers have a bass adjustment knob, because we got a LOT more bass all of a sudden when we put these powercords on.

We got similar, but somewhat less dramatic, results on the other systems and amplifiers we put these on.

These powercords are an easy fix for A LOT of anemic and/or clinical-sounding systems out there!

ELROD's STATEMENT power cables

in Elrod / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / News 0 comments