EMM LABS TSD1/DAC2
Digital sources
Just to make sure that I was not just dreaming I used a mid-priced CD player to see whether there could be such a difference between two digital players. It was, the sound became detached, uninspiring and orchestral fortissimo turned to sonic mess without any resolution. The EMM Labs justified its price with ease.
Function and form
SACD/CD transport EMM Labs TSD1: outputs - EMM OptiLink, AES/EBU (XLR), inputs - external clock (BNC), digital interface RS-232C, USB
D/A converter EMM Labs DAC2: digital inputs - EMM OptiLink, AES/EBU (XLR), 2x USB, coaxial, 2x optical, RCA, XLR
The craftsmanship is typically American, that is industrial design without finesse. The transport has a dissapointing noisy mechanism and the control software is far from intuitive but the sound makes up for all these drawbacks. After all, the EMM Labs were originally studio devices.
Bass management
Clarity & delicacy
Listening to old good recordings became vey rewarding with the EMM Labs. I was able to hear things that I had never noticed before - the compact disc like Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd or Dire Straits were like an opened window to aural bliss, like a transcendental trip to a higher dimension. The fidelity of strummed strings or the depth of David Gilmour's vocals was conveyed with such realism that I just listened and listened and listened.
Tonal accuracy
The music just flows. The dynamics of a choir is stunning. Then you spend 75 minutes on something that sounds like a prelude to an orgastic finale that explodes into a fantastically resolved and mighty sound maelstrom - voices, organ, orchestral crescendos...all is there and the EMM Labs conducts it with aplomb.
Spatial resolution
In the Symphony No.2 of Gustav Mahler (Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Leonard Slatkin) the EMM Labs becomes inseparable part of the music experience. Especially the soundstage, both lateral and its depth) ws excellent. All instruments and instrumental groups were brilliantly locked in their positions within the big orchestra and the sound travelled as they handed over the musical themes.
Recommended resellers
HI-FI studio TYKON, Ostrava, tel. +420 723 449 894
Manufacturer's website: http://www.emmlabs.com
Associated components
- Sources: Theta Compli, Audiomat Maestro Référence DAC
- Amplifiers: Audiomat Récital, Audiomat Opus2, Audiomat Festival
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Actinote Aria, Nordost Valhalla and Ego Professional.
- Loudspeakers: Triangle řady Magellan Duetto, Cello and Quatuor
Gallery
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ACCUPHASE DP-720 SACD
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AUDIOLAB 8300CD
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AYON CD-35 Signature SACD
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AYON CD-5s
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