I bought Mr. Particle's preamp. I would like to thank him and I am really excited. This is best of the best of Pal's icon pro variations!
EMIA Elmaformer (volume control) review
- Thread starter banpuku
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Congratulations, that sounds like a fantastic spec’d unit Kodomo, very much looking forward to hearing how you find it.
Congratulations. A jewel of a preamp. I like the others look forward to your comments.
Still enthralled with the transparency of my Icon4. A joy every time I hear only the music.
Very interested in your impressions Kodomo as I was about to compare a standard unit against my old LDR preamp. Pal suggested I have a special unit made with greater attenuation which will give greater volume control from SET to Duos.
Thanks
Blue58
Hi guys, I have a Dave Slagle SUT and simply adore it. However, have not experience with using passive preamp before. Have read up a bit on passive preamp, some claimed passive tends to have less drive and dynamic as compare to active preamp. Do you experience that with EMIA Elmaformer?
I could try answering your queries about the less drive or dynamic issues regarding using a passive preamp vs active preamp.
Once I have been using a silver rock preamp with silver transformer from audio consulting for a few months and it made me hesitated why need an ordinary active preamp?! I could say I couldn't hear any loss of dynamic at all for it. It was so fast, direct, emotional & details which made my $10,000 preamp embarrassed! A horrible experience indeed for using the device. Though they can't be compared in view of their price tag difference. The passive preamp costs nearly $20,000 around 15 years ago. I was absolutely impressive by using such unit and I believe that would be the best passive preamp I have ever encountered in my whole life!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m still intrigue by Dave’s transformer. However, am using a pair of active ATC which have an input impedance of10k ohms. Making passive preamp not too applicable. Will pursue when I have decided to move on from active ATC.
It maybe a bit difficult with an input impedence of 10k ohms. But the dac itself also plays an important role too. Does it has enough gain? The passive amp I have mentioned above isn't belonged to me. It was actually borrowed from my friend who owned the preamp as collection item! It was far too much I could afford indeed. I am however feel deep interest in Dave's transformer or the icon passive preamp too and also wondering how would it perform too!
Except where noted I have absolutely no business relationship with any subjects mentioned herein.
How does one calculate the relationship between source output impedance (DAC, phono preamp, etc.) and the output impedance of Emia's autoformer ?
What do members consider to be the minimum ratio of source to load impedance? 1:10 appears most often though in my past experiments I preferred 1:20.
I rotate in different main power amps but a fixture in my system is two sub power amps each w/12k ohm input Z. (This post is only about the autoformer but for reference, L variable output > sub amp #1, R variable output > sub amp #2. I mention this specifically because if L and R fed both sub amps the source load would double. The subject of the importance or lack thereof Re. channel separation below 150 Hz is a whole 'nother subject.)
My current preferred main amp has 44k input Z (balanced source required; no sound possible otherwise.) Main and sub amps parallel to 9.4k-ohm input Z.
Adding a speaker to line level transformer seems smart, moving the sub amp load from the autoformer to the power amp: SS main amp (35.5W @ 8-ohm bridged quasi-class A) > Jensen SP-2SX speaker to line level transformer, balanced output (draws a maximum of .4W from the main amp) > sub amp.
Notes: heard very recently from a 100% reliable source, a friendly close business associate who "LOVES" (his/her upper case; they never use hyperbole) her/his Emia silver autoformer: someone he/she knows now has both the silver Emia autoformer (ca. $7500) and a $70k active SS preamp, a collaboration of 2 senior aged audio legends. Prices make no difference to the subject, who has a difficult time deciding which to keep in his/her system. I'm impressed.
All I can say is I wish I found out about the Emia device sooner.
The business associate listed above finds the 1 dB step sizes perfectly adequate, but her/his system has a lot more gain than mine. Her/his device is used in a higher attenuation range, I'll use mine in a lower attenuation range. Some preamp makers have 1 dB steps in the higher attenuation range where a larger step is appropriate but finer .5 dB steps in the lower attenuation range. This makes a lot of sense to me; please comment.
Because I may prefer .5 dB steps, I consider the UK icOn brand of Slagle's device:
icOn: 3 dB gain, .5 dB steps
Emia: 7 dB gain, 1 dB steps.
How does one calculate the relationship between source output impedance (DAC, phono preamp, etc.) and the output impedance of Emia's autoformer ?
What do members consider to be the minimum ratio of source to load impedance? 1:10 appears most often though in my past experiments I preferred 1:20.
I rotate in different main power amps but a fixture in my system is two sub power amps each w/12k ohm input Z. (This post is only about the autoformer but for reference, L variable output > sub amp #1, R variable output > sub amp #2. I mention this specifically because if L and R fed both sub amps the source load would double. The subject of the importance or lack thereof Re. channel separation below 150 Hz is a whole 'nother subject.)
My current preferred main amp has 44k input Z (balanced source required; no sound possible otherwise.) Main and sub amps parallel to 9.4k-ohm input Z.
Adding a speaker to line level transformer seems smart, moving the sub amp load from the autoformer to the power amp: SS main amp (35.5W @ 8-ohm bridged quasi-class A) > Jensen SP-2SX speaker to line level transformer, balanced output (draws a maximum of .4W from the main amp) > sub amp.
Notes: heard very recently from a 100% reliable source, a friendly close business associate who "LOVES" (his/her upper case; they never use hyperbole) her/his Emia silver autoformer: someone he/she knows now has both the silver Emia autoformer (ca. $7500) and a $70k active SS preamp, a collaboration of 2 senior aged audio legends. Prices make no difference to the subject, who has a difficult time deciding which to keep in his/her system. I'm impressed.
All I can say is I wish I found out about the Emia device sooner.
The business associate listed above finds the 1 dB step sizes perfectly adequate, but her/his system has a lot more gain than mine. Her/his device is used in a higher attenuation range, I'll use mine in a lower attenuation range. Some preamp makers have 1 dB steps in the higher attenuation range where a larger step is appropriate but finer .5 dB steps in the lower attenuation range. This makes a lot of sense to me; please comment.
Because I may prefer .5 dB steps, I consider the UK icOn brand of Slagle's device:
icOn: 3 dB gain, .5 dB steps
Emia: 7 dB gain, 1 dB steps.
The Emia autoformer is capable of excellent sound quality. I have the copper version with 47 steps and 1.25db between each one. Before I got it, I was concerned the steps might be too large since I have reacted that way to every other stepped volume control. But the 1.25 db steps are just right. I have never found myself wanting to be between two settings.
In the 5 years I’ve had the autoformer I have used it probably 95% of the time, in preference to my two active linestages—-a custom version of the Emotive Audio Epifania and a homemade 6ah4 linestage. When making comparisons, I nearly always concluded the Emia and the tube linestages were very close. The tube linestages had slightly more body and drive; the Emia perhaps had slightly more detail. Very recently, however, after a few modifications to the Emotive I believe it has edged ahead of the Emia in detail.
In any event, the autoformer will always have the practical advantages of zero noise, no warm up changes, no tubes to wear out, and no power cord.
Hi CKK,A friend of mine in HK replaced his iCon with a Elmaformer Vol Control silver version recently.
He is now extremely happy because of the significant sonic improvement :
View attachment 119913
View attachment 119914
What version Icon is that and is it the copper or silver autoformers. I do love the Emia Ag, super functional looking and in black… perfect look.
There’s an interesting review of the EMIA Remote Autoformer in the April 2024 Stereophile. The reviewer Alex Halberstadt actually had two versions at hand, the copper and silver, and overall he seems to prefer the copper. I have the copper Slagleformer in my system but I haven’t compared it to the silver. However, I have compared Slagle’s copper and silver SUTs and I have consistently preferred the copper transformers.
(I posted this yesterday in a separate thread but realized it should go here instead.)
(I posted this yesterday in a separate thread but realized it should go here instead.)
I haven't met very many people that have preferred the copper over the silver. For both the SUT and the AVC, I vastly preferred the silver. And I had them at the same time to compare A/B side by side in my system. The common silver attributes of "brighter, less body" etc in comparison to copper that people are accustomed to with interconnect cables didn't apply in the case of transformer and autoformers windings. Instead, silver simply sounded more natural.
I've been using the copper EMIA Autoformer for a couple months and the clarity, transparency and immediacy is addictive. I'm using it with an Accuphase DP450 CD player and the Sutherland Engineering PhonoBlocks and there is no shortage of dynamics and volume. With pop recordings the volume setting in my system is between 12 and 20 for both CD and LP.. With classical music the volume setting is 20 to 30 and the gradations are fine enough for me to get the perfect level for my ears. I was tempted to get the silver version. I wonder if EMIA has a trade up program.
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