EMIA LR Phono Corrector (review)

[Mike Lavigne]

Maybe 5 years ago the Emia copper mm phono stage was around $4200.

Now it's $33,750

What gives?. Is there a difference in the phono stage from 5 years ago and now, to justify a 800 percent price increase.

no, $33,750 is for Silver. the copper MM is $18,750 today. and until 60 days ago it was $15,000, and the Silver was $27,750.

LR Corrector

my guess is that performance wise my EM/IA competes in the + $50k and up range of phono's head on. it's certainly at or above any in that range i have heard at shows. likely the copper version with a single power supply is not that far behind. closer than the price difference.

i don't know about the 5 years ago price, but i don't think that was EMIA then (still just Experience Music), and i doubt it was with the LR circuit. Dave and Jeffrey had not joined formally together 5 years ago. no doubt there was some level of collaboration then, but this is different. if i have that wrong someone please correct me.

jazdoc owns the Experience Music Kahn phono and preamp built in 2011; but his is active, not just MM. i know it was much more dollars than $4200......more in the $30k+ range. the casework on his is literally 'art-work', and that was part of the cost for sure. it looks (and sounds) awesome.

 

[XV-1]

no, $33,750 is for Silver. the copper MM is $18,750 today. and until 60 days ago it was $15,000, and the Silver was $27,750.

LR Corrector

my guess is that performance wise my EM/IA competes in the + $50k and up range of phono's head on. it's certainly at or above any in that range i have heard at shows. likely the copper version with a single power supply is not that far behind. closer than the price difference.

i don't know about the 5 years ago price, but i don't think that was EMIA then (still just Experience Music), and i doubt it was with the LR circuit. Dave and Jeffrey had not joined formally together 5 years ago. no doubt there was some level of collaboration then, but this is different. if i have that wrong someone please correct me.

jazdoc owns the Experience Music Kahn phono and preamp built in 2011; but his is active, not just MM. i know it was much more dollars than $4200......more in the $30k+ range. the casework

Hi Mike

When I saw the $4200 price, I assumed it was the copper, then it was identified as the silver. I forgot to amend.
See two links, EMIA has been around since at least 2013.

If the phono stage is that good, I wish I bought the EMIA locally for $US 2500

Something going on with the pricing thou, unless the phono stage is completely different as you mention?


https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2013/10/28/rmaf-emia-saskia-schroeder-telwire/

https://www.stereonet.com/forums/topic/241122-sold-fs-emia-phono-stage/

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Talk about pissing on someone’s parade - blimey

Someone spends a good deal of their hard earned on their dream phono stage for which they are very happy and proud. Also over the moon with the sonics. I know so let’s all tell the world it shouldn’t have cost that price and you were in effect ripped off. Camaraderie at its best on wbf today I see. Wow. How sad!

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Talk about pissing on someone’s parade - blimey

Someone spends a good deal of their hard earned on their dream phono stage for which they are very happy and proud. Also over the moon with the sonics. I know so let’s all tell the world it shouldn’t have cost that price and you were in effect ripped off. Camaraderie at its best on wbf today I see. Wow. How sad!

happened on CS Port and Esturo Gold too.....it's what some do. price is.......everything.

and we wonder why some gear gets priced high enough so it gets respect. it's a simple way to judge.....but very wrong.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

happened on CS Port and Esturo Gold too.....it's what some do. price is.......everything.

and we wonder why some gear gets priced high enough so it gets respect. it's a simple way to judge.....but very wrong.

Just ignore the misery, Mike. Enjoy your new phono!

 

[djsina2]

I don’t believe that’s the same phono from 2014. You can view the myemia website archive and see in 2018 the LCR phono is listed as “in beta”.

 

[Jeffy]

Bonzo75, here's my take. The Aesthetix with NOS tubes was the best phono I ever heard. I owned it for over 20 years. When I auditioned the EMIA I was blown away in comparison. The dynamics were lightning fast and piano strikes were not limited at all in terms of dynamics. There was an aliveness that I have not heard before. It's what Lloyd Walker use to say "it lit up the room". The Aesthetix in comparison was slower, darker, and a little rounded in transients. I will say the macro dynamics in the bass may be one area where you can't beat the Aesthetix. Don't get me wrong the Bass is fantastic micro detail and speed out of this world with the EMIA. My only minor complaint with spending this much money (worth every penny though) is that the case work could be nicer and less DYI looking. That said, I may be the only one, but I like the copper version of the phono stage better than the silver version. I am using David's Silver SUT. Put on a sting quartet and you will think the musicians are right there, what more of a compliment can I give. Yes, my DAC performs as well, but no at this level. Oh, how quiet this phono is a huge plus with tubes yet Oy Vey what else can I say. Have a great holiday everyone.

 

[bonzo75]

Yes I know what you mean by aesthetix macro bass/midbass

 

[bazelio]

The current incarnation of the Emia phono stage evolved over time. It was not for sale to a wide market 5 years ago. About 4 years ago, I saw an ad on audiogon (I believe) for a beta unit. The guy sold it for about $6k and it was a copper unit. It looked distinctly different than mine. The 2013 show price was literally the price for the one-off unit at the show IIRC.

When I bought mine a few years ago, the price was lower than today's price, lower than the price of 60 days ago. Not many knew of Emia then. Today's unit also apparently includes a second power supply. But now, when I consider that (a) this is a unique and innovative product that actually *is* the culmination of years of R&D with little profit-taking until recently (b) Dave winds the transformers, chokes, and inductors himself, (c) he tries to find time to move forward with additional skunkworks projects like cartridges and a couple I can't mention publicly and (d) over the years has offered help to DIY phono and amp efforts with nothing in return, then I conclude a few things. One, he's probably in the red over time in aggregate. Two, he has historically undervalued his time and priced his product below fair market value. Three, I'm happy to see demand reach a point where he *can* now be better compensated. I'm not sure if it's all profit, either. I just paid $8 for one dozen eggs the other day, and $110 for 15 gallons of diesel fuel. In the US, the cost of everything is up. Way up. And, I'd pay today's prices for today's Emia, unless I could find this sound at a lower price elsewhere. I can't, and that's just how the world works.

 

[Jeffy]

Oh, by the way everyone I was at my local dealers David Michael Audio yesterday and I heard the new reissue one step of Muddy Waters, The Folk Singer. It is out of this world. The best I heard this recording. The space of the recording event is huge and the echo's go on for ever. This is a must buy before they run out.

 

[Lagonda]

my exit from Aesthetix had a few causes, (1) funding my Wadax adventure at that moment, (2) recognition of the size of the three "large" Aesthetix Io Eclipse boxes + four (soon to be five) Wadax boxes (something had to go), and (3) the realization that the Aesthetix, with NOS tubes, was going places that the CS Port was not.....so what was farther down that road?.....EM/IA was. and i was on the hunt for my 'into the sunset' phono.

i bought the Aesthetix used back in Feb 2021, sent it to the factory for the voltage change, and it sat there for 6 months until August when the work got done. so my hifi life evolved in the meantime with the Wadax entering my picture. i tried to make it fit, but alas, it was not in the cards.

without hearing the Aesthetix not sure i would have had the chutzpa to dive into the EM/IA. it opened my eyes. glad i did it. performance wise, for my investment, the Aesthetix was killer.

my impressions of my Aesthetix was that it was big and bold sounding, but just ordinary and a bit dull with the stock tubes. start down the NOS road and things got interesting quick. it opened up, the bass got agile, and much more nuanced. but it was not 'fast' and still quite round and blunted. i know going deep into tube rolling and other enhancements i read on the Aesthetix thread would have improved all those shortcomings. being self aware of my own culture, the odds of me being sufficiently rabid to chase things enough to stay on that path were slim. i was the wrong person for it. time to cut my losses and move on. so i never tasted all that Aesthetix was capable of. and i was offered much hand holding by the Aesthetix Nation.

my particular 'beyond full-tilt' EMIA, now with the MC Trio, is a $46k investment (base EMIA corrector + copper EMIA SUT = around $22k). buying direct. i think it a very good value. i paid all-in $15k (used + getting the voltage converted to 115v) for the Aesthetix. Aesthetix owners should be a happy bunch.

Thank you for your recap Mike !

 

[dave slagle]

Hello All....

Mike... thanks for the kind words. I do want to make it clear that the units we sold 10 years ago at $4,200 were completely different than the current LR offering. Our first units used capacitors for the RIAA EQ and had a capacitor coupled output so any type of silver option would be for a few inches of internal signal wiring. Mike's Unit has silver wound 80% nickel RIAA inductors and silver wound 80% nickel output transformers with over a mile of silver in them.

 

[djsina2]

A copper one just hit usaudiomart if anyone is looking.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

A copper one just hit usaudiomart if anyone is looking.

i will give that unit a very strong endorsement. just add the appropriate EM/IA SUT or if you have more than one arm, an EM/IA MC Trio and you are golden.

 

[Solypsa]

@banpuku if that is yours on offer, what are you moving to? Just curious

 

[Mike Lavigne]

so tonight i was listening to digital, letting the EMIA and CS Port warm up for a bit, the digital was really sounding special and was not sure the vinyl would happen. and then it did.

10 days ago i swapped out the Seimens D3a tubes in the EM/IA phono corrector for a pair of Telefunken D3a's @bazelio loaned me; these have taken things to a new level of tone and nuance, richer textures, a bit more bass omph.

so tonight i'm playing an original 6 eye Columbia pressing of Stravinsky conducting Stravinsky "The Firebird" (MS6328) and i have been taken for a ride. my room has completely disappeared and a holographic spaceship transported me to a land far away. magical. perfect. sparkling. alive. i've played this pressing dozens of times before, but it never was as convincing. this one can show it's fangs if all is not perfect. but the CS Port/Etsuro Gold/EMIA SUT/EMIA (Telefunken) phono absolutely captured everything and brought it both much more to life, and kept it musical and involving. all the little delicate things fully energized and powerful, yet flowing along with purpose. wanted it to never end.

maybe the EMIA phono is breaking in, maybe the Telefunken's are reaching optimal, whatever this is really really something. thank you Brian for these tubes.

 

[BruceBW]

see this thread has gone cold but wanted to add my 2 cents. I got the copper phono and silver SUT feeding a Slagleformer volume control and a 6SN7-300B amp that Jeffrey helped design. Lots of Intact iron.

wow

adding the phono transformed my system. As with everything I've done dealing with these 2 it is all about music and tone. highly recommended

my system

 

[Salectric]

see this thread has gone cold but wanted to add my 2 cents. I got the copper phono and silver SUT feeding a Slagleformer volume control and a 6SN7-300B amp that Jeffrey helped design. Lots of Intact iron.

wow

adding the phono transformed my system. As with everything I've done dealing with these 2 it is all about music and tone. highly recommended

my system

Very nice system Bruce!

 

[bazelio]

see this thread has gone cold but wanted to add my 2 cents. I got the copper phono and silver SUT feeding a Slagleformer volume control and a 6SN7-300B amp that Jeffrey helped design. Lots of Intact iron.

wow

adding the phono transformed my system. As with everything I've done dealing with these 2 it is all about music and tone. highly recommended

my system

Nice! Which phono had you been using prior to the Emia LR?

 

[BruceBW]

Nice! Which phono had you been using prior to the Emia LR?

over the years I've had many but in recent memory, probably not in the correct order, and probably some misspelled

Channel D Lino
Esoteric E-05
Allnic 5000
Van den Hul Grail SE +
Sutherland Loco
BMC MCCI Signature ULN

and prior to that an Aesthtix IO multi box unit with way too many tubes in it, a Lamm, Pass Phono and Xono, Conrad Johnson, RCM, and probably others

The BMC has been in use for a few years and of all of these I think the best especially for the money. The EMIA is simply in a different class. It makes music in a way that none of the others did even though they were all very good in their own way. I've had different amps over the years and various cartridges but the same speakers for around 20 so I think I've got a pretty good baseline, even though some I had long enough ago I can't say anything with certainty about them.

now that I made that list I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I've churned through so many but probably broke about even so it has been fun and not too expensive (until now)