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  #11  
Old 02-27-2022, 10:01 AM
cleeds cleeds is offline
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Those are freakin' monster amplifiers!
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  #12  
Old 02-27-2022, 10:08 AM
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They are beasts for sure. And this is just the junior model. It’s big brother is the MTRX without the 2. They are 21.4 x 30.1 x 13.8 and weigh in at 40 lbs more at 220 each.

I think these amps have settled rather quickly. Quick update,

Woke up this morning and after everything warmed up we played “Fiona Joy Into the Mist.” This is an amazing piano album. Best solo piano album of 2015.

In this journey though the midst the keys on the piano are clear and crisp. There’s an emotional flow. On “Moon Over the Lotus Pond”, you can hear the pauses between each note. Mellow tones. You can clearly hear the complete range of harmonics - sweet, round, dark, rich. On this 7’ Steinway the sound is big - lots of power and resonance. Pleasant, clear, brilliant sound.

The EMM MTRX2 monos and Magico M3s pair very well together.

More later.
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  #13  
Old 02-27-2022, 10:27 AM
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Formerly YB-2 Formerly YB-2 is offline
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A very nice set-up. Think those amps may even be larger than the McIntosh MC602 I once owned.

And the technology is amazing. Cases even come with a pair of built-in hand to help with everything.

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  #14  
Old 02-27-2022, 02:05 PM
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Thanks for the comments.

Testing the way a combination of many sounds are being reproduced. Specifically drums and guitars. And great male vocals.

Mark Knopfler’s album entitled, “Sailing to Philadelphia” is excellent. And Boz Scaggs “Silk Degrees” is a must have album (APPR version).

Drum attacks are solid, clear and startling at times. Punchy and warm. There’s an excellent balance of attack, resonance, and control on a bass drum. You can clearly hear the pop of the high tuned snare. There’s a masterful flow of overtones after striking cymbals. You can even hear the air around the sticks when drummer hits them together to count them in to hit their cue.

You can hear as the guitar strings are plucked - very clean and pure. There’s a warmth and sparkle soulful sound that is so natural, as if the guitarist is on stage in front of you. The sound is crisp. There’s bite and a well defined, but not harsh flow. The sound fills the room and is airy and wide. There’s a wide bandwidth of treble.

Male vocals are vibrant. Courageous tones that are pleasing, smooth, and musical. With these amps you can clearly hear the rapid changes in pitch between highs and lows. A pure clean resonate sound.

I hear all this on the Pass 260.8s too, but with the EMMs there are so many more layers of goodness. The EMM sound stage is just incredible! There’s so much more that is being heard but that I’m just able to describe. Beyond comprehension. So engaging.

Testing female vocals next.
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  #15  
Old 02-27-2022, 02:20 PM
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Enjoying your comments on components not commonly discussed on AA. “The Last Laugh” on Knopfler’s StP is a reference piece for me. What were your impressions of that guitar intro on that with your EMM set-up?
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  #16  
Old 02-27-2022, 02:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dixon007 View Post
Enjoying your comments on components not commonly discussed on AA. “The Last Laugh” on Knopfler’s StP is a reference piece for me. What were your impressions of that guitar intro on that with your EMM set-up?

I’m not good at describing such. But to me the gentle plucking at the beginning is very clean, crisp and clear. I feel like the strings are so close to me. It some adds a warmth to the vocals. Of course they are more pronounced further into the song.
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Last edited by JoeN; 02-27-2022 at 07:51 PM.
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  #17  
Old 02-27-2022, 05:37 PM
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Listening to some of our favorite female vocals. This includes, but not limited to Sinne Eeg, Diana Krall, Jacintha, Carly Simon, Carole King, Elaine Elias, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Nina Simone, Jane Monheit and many others.

If I could only have one genre of music female vocals would be it. And that’s even more certain after hearing them on the MTRX2s.

There’s a euphoric sound with these EMM mono amps. There’s excellent control and projection. You can hear the full range of their angelic voices. I know of no other way to describe it but on some tracks (cf. Sinne Eeg, The Best I Ever Had) voices just keep going and going. There’s just layer upon layer that seems to linger in the air. It’s beautiful, musical, rich, and captivating.

Whether it’s soprano, mezzo soprano, or contralto it’s marvelous. Every note becomes more precious! These amps are built for any kind of music from classical to jazz to rock. There’s excellent definition, gentleness, and warmth. You get the feeling of transcendence on many songs … The edges of the vocals are crisp/sharp but remain gentle and musical.

I can’t fully describe how clean these apps sound. If you want clarity these are your amps.

I’m really enjoying these amps.
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  #18  
Old 02-28-2022, 07:40 AM
SCAudiophile SCAudiophile is offline
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Thank you for the great write-up of the journey demoing these amps...

They and their bigger brothers are fantastic sounding amps, especially when paired with that preamp.

Also, love the Sikhora TT, the rest of the system, new Adona rack designs and the room!

Very happy for you....
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  #19  
Old 02-28-2022, 07:50 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCAudiophile View Post
Thank you for the great write-up of the journey demoing these amps...

They and their bigger brothers are fantastic sounding amps, especially when paired with that preamp.

Also, love the Sikhora TT, the rest of the system, new Adona rack designs and the room!

Very happy for you....
Thank you very much. We’re going to be listening to much more vinyl today. And today is Jazz almost all day.

There is a special synergy with the EMM Pre and the DA2V2 DAC. With EMM digital = analogue. Meitner knows what he’s doing. And this free loan program that EMM offers is great. I’ve tried their DAC, Pre and now their amps in my system before purchasing. So far I’ve purchased the Pre, DAC, and SACD. …. They make great gear.
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  #20  
Old 02-28-2022, 08:20 AM
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Someone on another forum asked about the soundstage. …

The MTRX2’s are excellent. I’m going to play a lot more vinyl today. But so far with numerous hours of CDs and streaming they seem perfect (to me) for our setup. I have them for a total of two weeks before John McGurk of EMM Labs and Tony at Ellington HiFi in AL show up to retrieve them. So, the current plan is that I will be listening to them 12-16 hours a day. So, I’m nowhere near done testing and enjoying them.

So far the soundstage is larger and fuller. I remember when I had another home eval with the EMM Pre and compared it to the Pass XP-22 that I had a similar experience. This is that but on steroids. This is difficult to put into words, but I’ll try to give a brief example of what it’s like. All of us know about high and low tides:

Quote:
High and low tides refer to the regular rise and fall of the ocean's waters. High tide is when water covers much of the shore after rising to its highest level. Low tide is when the water retreats to its lowest level, moving away from the shore.
The Pass amps are like high tide. You are hearing great synergy with the Magico M3s. The soundstage is full and rich. What you are seeing (hearing) is beautiful. The MTRXs are like low tide. The previously unknown veil has retreated to its lowest level and what is left is a shoreline of sound that is clear, pure and musical. In both cases the same shoreline of music is in play, but one allows you to see (hear) more.

There is more energy around the individual images. This is a reach out and touch me experience. Reversing the analogy above the EMMs are like high tide, as there are just waves and waves of layering that you can hear. The sound is so natural. Diana Krall is currently on tour, but I don’t need to go to the venue as she’s already here.

This said, my words don’t do them justice. IMO, you have to experience these amps in your own system to fully appreciate them.
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